4-28-2000
BY LUCIA MAURO
It starts with the letter "A," sounds a bit wacky and has the potential to burrow deep into the psyches of audiences. It appeals to children and adults alike, and frequently plunges into underground theatrical experiences. Give up?
How about this. What do you get when you cross a semi-fringe theatre troupe with the notion of commercial-educational appeal?
The Aardvark is a "theatre collective" of actors, designers, musicians and arts educators that, since 1995, has persevered in an unpredictable arts climate. Along its journey, it has established itself as a vital laboratory for new and experimental work while educating future audiences about the imaginative power of theatre.
Co-founder/artistic director Ann Filmer, known for her bubbly personality and intelligent direction, recently guided me through The Aardvark’s inspiring development. For a company she describes over the years as "being blown around in the wind," it certainly seems to have managed to grab hold of some solid artistic terrain.
True, the group started with no set plan except for Filmer wanting to direct Robert Patrick’s I Came to New York to Write. It tackled projects as they came along, and talk of a board of directors, a permanent space or subscriptions never crossed its mind. Yet passion, integrity and networking have gone a long way in shaping The Aardvark’s vision.
Filmer cites three key phases of growth for a company that is now Tier-N Equity and boasts six world premieres by Chicago playwrights as well as its solid Young Actors Collective Program and acclaimed work with the Chicago Office of Tourism. The Aardvark is also in the midst of producing its first-ever Estrogen Fest—which takes a dark, edgy look at female relationships in three disturbing plays—April 15-May 22 at Angel Island Theatre.
"We’ve done a lot of different things," says Filmer, who received her bachelor’s degree in dance from San Jose State University. "I’ve always wanted to choreograph and then naturally moved into directing. I knew as an actor, I was concerned with the bigger picture—with bringing a piece to life.
"If there is a thread, it’s that we don’t do naturalistic plays. We’re not drawn to sentimentality at all. The Aardvark walks that fine line between danger and absurdity."
The troupe debuted I Came to New York to Write in 1995 at the Organic Greenhouse and teamed up with the now-defunct Retro Theatre to pay for playwright Robert Patrick’s plane ticket—making him available for in-person interviews. The production, which starred Alexandra Billings and Stef Tovar, garnered a lot of attention and led to the world premiere of Patrick’s and Andy Cobb’s play, Actors Are People Who Lie to You, one year later at Bailiwick.
This parody of Chicago off-Loop theatre resulted in an invitation to perform at the 23rd Annual Jeff Citations. Filmer and core company members, like Barry Bennett of Milkbaby and actor Laurie Larson, continued to make like-minded contacts in the community and launched a series of collaborations.
In the summer of 1996, The Aardvark in conjunction with Unity Productions created the popular interactive show, The Convention, at Subterranean’s Comedy Asylum. This spoof of political campaigns—written by Cobb, Bob Craig and Chip Schubert—received national attention from USA Today and "MTV." Another local playwright, Vincent Bruckert (who is now the president of Aardvark’s board), saw the show and introduced himself to Filmer. They collaborated on Bruckert’s black comedy, Children of Strangelove. At the time, The Aardvark was still trying to establish an identity and the company entered what Filmer calls its second phase.
Filmer’s pungently warped production of Steve Martin’s WASP and Excerpts from Cruel Shoes was presented at Voltaire in 1997. It remains one of The Aardvark’s most sophisticated stagings. Martin even sent the cast flowers on opening night. Shortly after Filmer became associate artistic director of Writers’ Theatre Chicago and The Aardvark went on a brief hiatus. But the Martin play unexpectedly led to Filmer’s staging a tribute to the playwright-comedian at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Filmer admits that The Aardvark did not even consider itself a company until just over a year ago when she met actor-designer-educator Heather Graff. Together, they created a summer performing arts camp in which 22 children, ages 6-12, wrote, designed and performed in an original play. This sparked another relationship with the City of Chicago, extending into 1998 with two back-to-back educational programs: the now-annual Haunted "L" Loop and Graff’s The Santa Scavenger Hunt at Garfield Park Conservatory’s holiday "Celebration of Lights," seen by more than 26,000 people. For the latter event, actors dressed like plants and provided the young participants with clues for their botanical-themed scavenger hunt.
These successes inspired Filmer to commit to The Aardvark full time. Graff currently serves as the director of Youth Programs, which includes summer camps in Lincolnwood and on the South Shore. The company has an ongoing partnership with the Edgewood Middle School in Highland Park. Students write, design and perform in their own plays, such as a recent one based on the myth of Pandora’s Box transferred to a vending machine that spews both evil and hope.
"We want children to have a complete theatre experience," says Filmer. "No parents are allowed. That way, the children realize what they can accomplish on their own. It’s all about creative problem solving, building self-confidence and community. If they decide to go into theatre, they will realize how they need to know about every aspect. All of us at Aardvark have to be versatile."
Now in its third phase, The Aardvark has not neglected its commitment to original works by Chicago playwrights, including Bruckert’s Beckett-inspired Here’s Buford and Tom Patrick’s Descent (A Darwinian Comedy), which both premiered last year. Filmer sees the troupe’s greatest challenge to be the gradual disappearance of reasonably priced rental spaces. So far, all of its shows have been produced at a different theatre to accommodate the needs of each play.
But, like the intrepid animal for which it is named, The Aardvark will no doubt follow its collective nose to more fertile creative ground.
