Rocket ships. Time machines. Samurai warriors. Aliens. Wizards. Sounds like the stuff of comic books or Saturday afternoon monster movies. Actually, these are the typical subjects of the shows dreamed up and brought to life by the writers, directors and actors of Lincoln Square's own The House Theatre of Chicago. They're on a mission to fight evil. In this case, evil takes the form of snooty theatre that's boring, impenetrable and costs a lot of money for a ticket. Since its start in May 2001, founders Nathan Allen, Phillip Klapperich and Shawn Pfautsch have been reinventing theatre through their own energetic, interactive and playful approach. It's an approach that has won the hearts of critics from the local press to The New York Times and audience members alike. The House Theatre even has its own groupies. "If we weren't theatre majors, we would want to have nothing to do with theatre," explains Nathan Allen. "Unfortunately, most of what's out there is hard to understand or boring. We think it's a terrible thing to make people pay money to sit in the dark with other community members and feel like they don't get what they're watching." That's why the members of The House Theatre had to do something to save the theatre that they loved, before it was too late.
Rebels of the Chicago theatre world, The House Theatre breaks down that time-honored barrier between the audience and actors. During a typical show, a live band plays loud music, the audience (with its members drinking and smoking) shouts at the actors and the actors shout back. Rather than just sitting silently in the dark, the House Theatre wants its audiences to become part of the show. Company member Chris Matthews explains, "We believe that everyone should want to jump in and participate." During one show, a woman's cell phone rang at an emotional moment in the dialogue. All of the actors stopped and stared at the woman. One actor took the phone out of her hand, answered it, and said, "No, I'm sorry she's not available. She's watching a play. I'm going to have to put you down now." Then he shot the phone. "If watching a play is the same as going to see a movie, where you can't interact, then you might as well be seeing a movie instead," observes House Theatre company member, Jake Minton.
The House Theatre's edgy, rock and roll style extends to the venue where most of its shows take place. The Viaduct Theater is a big warehouse-like space that doesn't much resemble a traditional stage. It's located at 3111 North Western—appropriately, under the Western Avenue Viaduct. "When I go to see a show, I don't care if there's a plush lobby," says Nathan. "I want to go to a bar, or a rock show, I want to be able to smoke. I get mad when I buy a drink at intermission and I have to finish it before I go back to my seat. When you see one of our shows, you'd better bring your beer back in with you." The House Theatre's founders knew that Chicago, with its long history of independent and experimental theatres, would be the place to call home. "Chicago has a great lineage of ensemble theatres like the Steppenwolf, Lookingglass and The Goodman," says Nathan. "We don't want to look anything like The Goodman or Steppenwolf, but we have so much to learn from them."
 The House Theatre presents all original work, with most plays written and co-written by its prolific members. The plays are built on the myths of their generation and spring from influential pop culture like rocket ships, monsters, space, movies like Star Wars and E.T. "The stories are mythic, epic and playful," explains Nathan. "We want our audiences to have a great party and celebrate life." But make no mistake: the players may be whimsical, but the subject matter is as serious as Shakespeare. Explains House Theatre founder and writer Phillip Klapperich, "Our treatment of the subjects is never childish. We include elements that could be found in stories for young people, but we've woven in serious topics." Actor Chris Matthews puts it this way: "We want to break your heart, but we want to trick you into having fun while your heart is breaking."
What they're doing is working. And it resonates more than ever with young audiences, a group that traditional theatres long to reach, but rarely see in their seats. "Most kids don't have an extra $60 to spend on a theatre ticket," says Nathan. "And if they do have it, they'd rather spend their money to see their favorite band in concert." House Theatre shows, by comparison, run about $20. In just a few years, the House Theatre has built its own cadre of groupies, ranging in age from high school students, to college kids, to twentysomethings who regularly attend shows—for both new and repeat performances. (The interactive nature of a House Theatre show means that each one is truly unique, and you never know exactly what will happen.) Some fans organize bus trips to the city to see the shows. Others hold nights where they get together and watch past plays on DVD. Their level of obsessiveness is flattering, if not downright eccentric. One fan has given the gift of a bottle of wine at the opening of every show—that is, a bottle of homemade wine with a hand-drawn label customized for that show. And the love is definitely returned by The House Theatre members. They even added a blog to their website so that fans can keep up to date with and respond to all of the happenings at the House.
Another signature element of a House Theatre production is the artwork that promotes each show. This is largely due to the vision of Chris Burnham, the theatre's art director and the man behind its graphic style. "We're well known for the work Chris does," says Nathan, "and for having a recognizable, strong graphic presence." That presence is owed to the comic-book inspired style Chris applies to all of the House Theatre materials, fused with hints of old movie posters and pulp fiction paperback covers. For some shows, such as the Valentine Trilogy, Chris creates corresponding comic books that capture the stories of each play. He's also responsible for designing the House Theatre's answer to the show program: trading cards. "The idea is to get people to interact when they receive them by talking about each card and passing them around," explains Nathan. Local businesses sponsor each card, to advertise their goods and services to audience members. After each show closes, the trading cards become collectors' items, sold on the House Theatre's website.
Not only has the House Theatre caught the attention of local audiences, it has also received accolades from the local press and recognition in The New York Times for "Valentine Victorious," the third play in its Valentine Trilogy. (The same New York Times article mentions reviews only of shows at The Goodman and Steppenwolf.) May marks the House Theatre's fifth anniversary; in only five years, the theatre has built an impressive fan base, produced ten original shows and kept its finances in line, all while its members are having the time of their lives. "We're kicking ass," says Nathan. "The timeframe and projections we made when we started, we're cutting in half." Although the theatre's first show was "Death and Harry Houdini," it was its second show that was its breakthrough. Phil wrote and directed "The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan," which was originally scheduled to run for six weeks. Instead, it ran five months. Both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune published reviews of it in their theatre sections. "'The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan' really blew up the House," says Nathan. "It was a big Chicago theatre story." After the success of its second show, the House Theatre re-ran "Death and Harry Houdini" for the benefit of its new-found fans.
 Other House successes include "The Great & Terrible Wizard of Oz," a show that takes a familiar story to new territory. "We chose a story everybody knows and took it to a place where it becomes about being pushed into adulthood and facing serious issues that people don't generally want to deal with," says Phillip. The wildly popular Valentine Trilogy included three plays about reluctant superhero Valentine, played by Nathan, who travels through time to feudal Japan ("Curse of the Crying Heart") the Wild West ("San Valentino & the Melancholy Kid") and 1930s Chicago ("Valentine Victorious") to fight villains of all shapes and sizes. Its current production, "The Boy Detective Fails," is a collaborative effort between the House and one of Chicago's literary young guns, Joe Meno. The first show not written by a House member, "The Boy Detective Fails" captures the bittersweet sensibilities of a typical House story in its stage adaptation of Meno's yet-to-be-published next novel. The show opens Saturday, May 13, 2006 and runs through July 1. Season Four for the House promises to be as action-packed as ever, with three new productions available for the package price of $65 ("less than a tank of gas!" the House website says). "Hatfield & McCoy," "The Sparrow" and "Hope Springs Infernal" will run starting in September 2006 through June 2007.
Not bad for a group of college friends that decided it was a good idea to start a theatre group. The core group at the House Theatre met as students at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Nathan and Phillip grew up together in Colorado. Most in the group wear many hats. Phillip, who is the Executive Director, also writes, directs and occasionally drives the truck. His mom is the group's costume designer. Phillip, Shawn and Nathan did the legwork to get incorporated as a nonprofit back in 2001, which involved talking to lawyers starting a year in advance. "That was some crazy paperwork for a bunch of theatre kids," says Nathan. Jake Minton, whose father also trained in the theatre department at SMU, joined the group, as did actor Chris Matthews. Currently, there are about 17 in the company, including five paid staff members. Of course, the group expands with new members for each production. The House office, located in a Ravenswood warehouse building, is exactly as you would imagine it: a Peter Pan, never-grow-up type of space filled with skateboards, toys, rocket ships hanging from the ceiling and big posters from past shows.
Don't be fooled. The House members may have a good time, but their success has come from the hard work they've done to create a House Theatre experience. "We want people to say, 'Hey, let's go see a House show tonight.' It's not so much about the specific show as it is the experience of going to one of our shows that we want to cultivate." It's about creating a community, too, both on the stage and in the seats. "I am really proud of the people we work with, the family we have here," says Nathan. "Part of me is dumbfounded how this magical body of brilliant souls comes together for each production. We're changing each other's lives." Which comes back to the group's name, and why it's so appropriate. Besides its reference to a family, the name "House Theatre" describes the union between its performers and its audiences. "I love that we get to make something tangible. We all have an incredible sense of ownership in what we do," says Phillip. "We believe in what we do, the wholeness of the House and the community of it."
There's only one way to know what a House Theatre show is like: experience it for yourself. And there are plenty of opportunities to do this over the next year during its Season Four. If you're jonesing between shows, visit the House website to buy DVDs of past performances, as well as t-shirts, posters, trading cards and other memorabilia. You also won't want to miss the chance to support the House Theatre at its annual Valentine's Day Fundraiser, Love-O-Rama, coming again in February of 2007. Keep in touch with what's on at the House by visiting its website, www.thehousetheatre.com.
The House Theatre of Chicago
4700 North Ravenswood Avenue
Suite SW2
Chicago, IL 60640
www.thehousetheatre.com
Ticket Line 773.251.2195
Office 773.769.3832
|
