When Michael Gellman came to Chicago from Canada in the winter of 1983-’84, he noticed that despite the city’s reputation as a theater town there was little happening in the way of collaborative play development–which was what he had come here for. As resident director of the Toronto branch of Second City Theatre from 1980 to ’83, he says, “I learned about developing plays through improvisation with actors, playwrights, and directors, and I wanted to take that process beyond the comedy revue format and into more expansive work.”
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Though Chicago had improv acting companies and playwrights’ training centers, Gellman saw a gap in the area that interested him. So he launched the Seed Show project at the Organic Theater, where extensive collaborative development produced new works, which then received low-budget productions. In 1988 he founded Theatre Works to continue the effort. Though Theatre Works sponsors occasional public performances (such as last year’s The Liars Opera at Second City E.T.C.), the emphasis is on development, not final performance. While income is generated by classes in improvisation, play writing, and other subjects, says Gellman, “We need to find innovative ways to raise money. Our problem financially is that we generate but we don’t produce–just like the Chicago City Council.”
The evening’s intended prevailing mood is comic, but Gellman thinks it can also serve as a forum for innovative ideas about how to forge more productive connections between the Chicago arts community and public and private funding sources.
