This annual showcase of experimental theater, performance, and music runs through 10/31 at Prop Thtr, 3502-4 N. Elston. Rhino Fest is coordinated by the Curious Theatre Branch, and features emerging and established artists from Chicago’s fringe. Performances take place in Prop’s north and south theaters. Admission for most shows is $15 or “pay what you can”; exceptions are noted below. For information and reservations, call 773-267-6660 (except as noted below) or visit www.rhinofest.com. Following is the schedule through 10/13; a complete schedule is available at www.chicagoreader.com.
R The Masrayana
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Dan Telfer’s play, a world premiere from Theater Oobleck, is inspired by the mythic monster from Beowulf. More than just a facile reversal of the original, with Beowulf as blustering warrior and Grendel as misunderstood misfit, this is a kind of comic-mythic cosmology of evil, exploring questions of time, mortality, and what it means to be God’s outcast. Colm O’Reilly is excellent in the title role–part Caliban, part Kramden. (ZT) a North theater, 7 PM.
R The Masrayana See listing for Thu 10/6. a South theater, 8 PM. $15-$25; reservations at 773-539-7838.
The Still Point Theatre Collective presents Teresa Weed’s new play based on the life and work of Trappist monk and radical political essayist Thomas Merton. This placid, overlong, dry-as-dust assemblage of set pieces fails to capture the essence of a man who was both removed from the world and deeply engaged with it; it feels stilted and lifeless in a way that Merton’s work never does. (ZT) a North theater, 3 PM.
R Wide Open Beaver Shot of My Heart, a Comedy With a Body Count
SUNDAY 9
