The “Elephant” came out of a discussion over chili with a group of about 30 writers, actors and director types. That group of 30 being responsible for the myriad of plays that Curious has produced over the last ten years of our 20 year history.... Curious is always fiercely loose-knit and here we were looking at ourselves.... The discussion was trying to focus on who “we” are... for some, Curious is the three original writers and the work that comes from them. For some, it is the four that produced at the Lunar Cabaret and the PAC/edge. For some, it is the group of actors that have worked together over the last 20 years, all the way back to Wicker Park. For some, it is the more current work, the Becketts, the Rhino, the MCA, the McGuffins.... People tend to speak out of the part of the project they knew up close.
It reminded me of the Blindmen and the Elephant. “I am examining the tail in front of me, therefore the elephant must be the tail.” “But what about the belly?” “The elephant ear?” “The oh so impressive tusk?” Well. Keep looking!
We are vital and lively in our twentieth year. Glad to have you for a first look at the Other Side of the Elephant.—Beau O'Reilly, Co-Artistic Director
This collection of short works, assembled in honor of the Curious Theatre Branch's 20th birthday, stacks a totem pole on top of a mile marker; a whopping nine plays by nine writers are showcased over three nights to commemorate two decades of fringe. The pieces run the gamut, from vignette to monologue to performance-art fugue, but share in the exaltation of language as a self-sufficient narrative engine that's always been this company's hallmark. Perhaps accidentally, they also speak to one another, echoing the elliptical synergy that's kept the Curious collective rolling all these years.—Time Out
