BY LUCIA MAURO
Prop Thtr’s minimalist moniker reflects the unadorned focus of a company dedicated to infusing playwrights’ words with life through performance. And, as basic as this may sound, Prop’s consistent commitment to language and actors’ expressive abilities stands out in a contemporary theatre environment where hot-shot design and mega-marketing efforts can increasingly eclipse the essence of the form.
But the Prop Thtr’s name–whose origins refer to everything from agitprop to propaganda to only being able to afford props to an unwillingness to label itself solely as a theatre–allows for fluidity and evolution. "Early on," says co-founder Stefan Brün, "we did not want to have a structure so huge that it would stifle the project at hand."
Brün, who is Prop’s technical director, teamed up with artistic director Scott Vehill and other local artists–then students at Columbia College Chicago–in 1981 to establish an outlet for diverse independent performers. The company grew out of a class project, which resulted in the Prop artists building a basement theatre space, which still exists at Columbia. And, while the theatre is closely associated with its dedication to new play development, its earliest shows consisted of a mix of 20th century works (from Brecht to Shepard) and a production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
Of Prop’s more than 80 productions presented over the past 20 years, 40 have been world premieres. The aesthetic later gravitated more prominently toward original or newly adapted pieces about counter-culture figures and/or Chicago icons, including Charles Bukowski, Nelson Algren and Ben Hecht.
Since 1998, Prop helped create the National New Play Network, which now numbers 11 sister theatre companies (including the larger Woolly Mammoth in Washington, D.C., and smaller experimental Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas). It produces a New Plays Festival every summer in Chicago, and provides an environment for playwrights to hone their craft and have an opportunity to produce their work beyond Chicago–typically at Prop’s network theatres.
Prop Thtr also has expanded into a youth playwriting division and film production company–Vigilante Films–which has completed three films.
Since its inception, Prop has approached the notion of a permanent space with equal malleability. Actor Jonathan Lavan, who joined Prop in 1989 and serves as its executive director/executive producer, acknowledges that if a viable space comes their way, they might purchase it. But, if not, they are fine with renting.
"Prop has developed very organically," says Lavan. "We try not to set real fixed goals. We prefer to take the baby steps that add up to bigger things."
The company’s first space was located near Betty’s Resale Shop on Lincoln Avenue around Addison. After about three years, it moved to a space at Clybourn and Fullerton and, by late 1989, re-located to Wicker Park on North Avenue. In the mid-1990s, Prop produced shows at The Firehouse until it got gutted by a fire. And, most recently, Prop has settled into the former Phoenix Ascending Theatre at 4225 N. Lincoln.
Brün, who is also a founding member of Curious Theater Branch, and the intrepid Vehill always made sure that Prop encompassed poetry readings and performance art with attention to the writers, the actors and visual resourcefulness.
Through Oct. 13, the Curious Theater Branch is producing the 13th annual Rhinoceros Theater Festival in association with Prop–marking a pivotal merging of both companies’ related aesthetics.
While Prop has grown and receives grants from the Illinois Arts Council and individual donations, the small artistic and administrative staff–which also includes associate director Maureen Michael and literary manager Jonathan Abarbanel–does not adhere to a rigid structure that could hinder its creative edge.
Through ads in theatre trade publications and their Web sites (www.propthtr.org and www.newplaynetwork.com) they receive submissions from a broad cross-section of local, national and international playwrights. Prop’s reading committee then whittles down the submissions over a six-week period. According to Lavan, one-third to one-half of the submissions come from Chicago.
"The rule is that the play cannot have been produced before an audience," adds Lavan, "We don’t have real specific criteria. But we are drawn to plays that speak to us [i.e. Prop] the most."
Selected playwrights then spend a weekend at Prop reading their scripts. They have their own director and dramaturg, who help them prepare for staged readings. Lavan acknowledges that there is no surefire formula why certain plays–like Jim O’Connor’s Jeff Citation-winning Rosemary, which is being produced at Philadelphia’s InterAct Theatre Company–rise to the top.
"There might be a strong advocate for a script," he shares, "or it just comes down to relationships and luck. What we do is take playwrights out of isolation and give them a creative outlet. By hearing the words and seeing their work performed live, they can observe how strongly they are engaging an audience.
"Talk-back sessions may or may not help. It’s more about finding those rhythms. It’s my belief that live theatre is the most important part of the art–that playwrights have a live audience out there as another character, even on a subconscious level."
Prop also presents a season of fully staged works. Some of its more recent successes include the following plays that received or will receive productions beyond Prop stagings: John Sussman’s Nelson and Simone (Live Bait Theater); G. Riley Mills and Ralph Covert’s Streeterville (TimeLine Theatre); Jamie Pachino’s Return to Morality (Philadelphia’s InterAct Theatre Company); and Charles Pike’s Now Dig This…The Terry Southern Show! (currently being workshopped for a full production by New York City’s Lark Theatre).
"We give playwrights that initial contact," says Lavan. "Then it’s up to them to pursue future opportunities. They have to be willing to make those connections–although we continue to provide resources for writers. Since 1998, we have served close to 100 playwrights."
Future plans include a production of Mills’ Raising Blue, Paul Peditto’s Essanay and the New Plays Festival next summer. Brün also envisions a blend of more productions that take a fresh approach to classic 20th century theatre, as well as more cost-effective co-productions with other theatres.
"Through coalitions and collaborations," Brün states, "one does not get isolated intellectually."
A story about the origins of the second half of Prop’s name–the abbreviated Thtr–is rooted in a "Wheel of Fortune"-inspired joke. Because Prop Thtr is so minimal, it didn’t want to buy any vowels. But, as many playwrights can attest, Prop Thtr does not skimp on the quantity or quality of the words it generates.