The Wild 

by Walkabout Theatre (Chicago)

 

“It is a wild ride, indeed, and one that heeds the siren call of rich visuals and incantatory ritual and high-octane movement...”

Kerry Reid, Chicago Tribune, ★★★

 

“The Wild is part Martha Graham and Pina Bausch, part Fellini and Guillermo del Toro, and altogether brilliant in its mix of primal drives rational restraints. ...a daring, stunningly surreal ritualistic feast of dance, drama, music, wrestling, and costuming magic...”
Hedy Weiss, The Chicago Sun Times – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

“The Wild’s curious construction, sumptuous visuals and seductive physicality could leave you wanting a second go at it.” Kris Vire, TimeOut Chicago – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

“The energy generated and work created by this process-oriented ensemble is uniformly terrific, well-executed and worth the hour spent in their company.” Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review – RECOMMENDED 

 

The Show:

“The matching of visible strength with invisible force.” Rhythmic, muscular, and full of risk, The Wild is the world premiere of a devised laboratory theater performance based on the words of playwright Charles Mee, Dionysian rituals, and a pulsing mix of global folk performance. Walkabout Theater Company examines what happens to people when institutions crumble and deities fail to show up. 

 

The Wild was created using Walkabout’s model of laboratory theater, a process of creating work that emphasizes the actor as author, develops a practice of actor training, and cultivates visceral experience. Beginning with the mythic figure of Dionysus and the work of playwright Charles Mee, the Walkabout ensemble gathered a collage of theatrical research including American and Bulgarian folk music, barbershop quartet standards, choreography from Bob Fosse and West African dance, pagan parade costumes, and text from Charles Mee, Chekhov and Euripides.

 

Using these sources, ensemble improvisations, and original work by the actors, The Wild was created as an exploration of savagery, civilization, worship, boundaries, tearing something apart and attempting to put it back together again. 

 

The Company:

Since 1999 Walkabout Theater Company has performed and produced new site-specific and original work in Chicago, challenging traditional theatrical models of production, performance, narrative and story. Through active exploration of the theatrical form and the architecture in which theater is created, Walkabout seeks to deepen the connection between the artist and her community. 

 

Thom Pasculli (Director)

Thom is the co-artistic director of Walkabout Theater and specializes in developing physical and laboratory theater, actor training and exchange. Past projects include creating a performance tour and international symposium in South Africa, an intensive street performance program for high school students in Colorado, and most recently a festival of innovative new works-in-progress for theater professionals at Dartmouth College called VoxFest. Most formidable in his experience were his years as a company member of Double Edge Theatre in MA, his training at the Odin Teatret in Denmark and the Grotowski Institute in Poland, and working with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Redmoon Theater, and Trap Door Theatre in Chicago. Thom has performed at the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the Moscow Art School. Thom is currently the co- artistic director of Walkabout Theater and one of the founding directors of Vox Theater and VoxFest. Currently Thom teaches movement at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

 

Kendra Miller (Dramaturg)

Kendra is the Co-Artistic Director of Walkabout Theater and a performing artist in Chicago. Recent credits include directing Partners (LiveWire Chicago Theatre), performing and devising The Wild(as part of Steppenwolf's Garage Rep) and Core of the PUDEL (Trap Door Theatre), co-directing Thine (Walkabout) with Thom Pasculli, assisting Tina Landau on Steppenwolf's production of The Wheel, and dramaturging Oohrah! (LiveWire Chicago Theatre). Formerly she served as Artistic Assistant at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and as Development Associate at Redmoon Theater. She is a graduate of UC San Diego. 

 

Design Team

Directed by Thom Pasculli
Dramaturgy by Kendra Miller
Set Design: Stephanie Pasculli
Lighting Design: Sarah Hughey
Sound Design: Cooper Forsman and Andrew Rovner Choreography: Al Evangelista and Ensemble
Costume Design: Paul Scudder, Delia Basemen and Ensemble Production Stage Manager: Dina Klahn

 

Performers

Nigel Brown
McCambridge Dowd-Whipple Al Evangelista
Cooper Forsman
Katie Mazzini
Kendra Miller
Dana Murphy
Paul Scudder