BY JENN GODDU
Hi-Volt Theatre Company started out as many fledgling theatre companies do–with dreams and ambition and not much else.
The company’s first show, Part-Time Superhero (1999), was written by Harry Bauer, who was also the show’s star and producer. The cast rehearsed in the basement of Bauer’s apartment building. When other tenants needed something from a storage locker, rehearsals came to an abrupt halt, no matter what that did to the actors’ focus or their ability to really get into the moment.
"It was a very personal piece," said Bauer. "I’m a huge fan of comic books, I always have been, and I wanted to find a way to talk about that world." The play followed a man who has talents as a superhero but lacks the motivation to truly make it as a caped crusader. The project was so dear to him that Bauer decided to spearhead the production himself rather than shopping it around.
"It’s always a tentative jump to take that first step and say, 'I’m going to do this,’" Bauer concedes now. But it’s 2003 and there’s been no looking back. "I really enjoyed the experience of producing," he said. "I really enjoyed having my hands wrapped around it and I said, 'Hey, I want to do this again.’"
Three others involved in that inaugural production agreed and joined Bauer’s newly formed Hi-Volt Theatre Company. Peter Ellis, Chris Matthews and Elizabeth Kline (now Bauer’s wife) all decided they could support Bauer’s vision.
"Not to say we’re the only company like this," Bauer says of Hi-Volt’s driving mandate, "[But] we’re not afraid to venture into quirky and off-the-wall material…not doing it as a blatant off the wall parody but doing it with a very loving quality."
Adds Ellis, "For me Hi-Volt is about trying to create theatre that is fun, that allows the audience to become involved and really invites them in…We’re not just trying to do pop culture references, what really matters to me is that it means something."
Hi-Volt now has six productions to its name and recently incorporated and obtained tax status as a not-for-profit organization. A production of Mac Wellman’s comic satire 7 Blowjobs and an original soap-opera send-up Calgony Springs (written by company member Angelina Martinez) are scheduled to open in February and April, respectively, at Stage Left.
The company has also grown so that its only connection to basements now is that at least some of its core audience–enthralled by a company that has brought BBC television series "Doctor Who" or the role-playing fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons to the stage–only rarely leaves mom and dad’s basement for social activity.
That suits Bauer and the Hi-Volt ensemble, which today also includes Eric Roach and Arlo Guthrie. One of the company’s goals is to make theatre attractive to a new audience, even basement dwellers.
"A lot of the stuff that I do with Hi-Volt is to get people to the theatre who don’t normally go," Bauer said.
Ellis isn’t interested in doing the same theatre that has been done a thousand times and is only seen by the 50 plus generation. "I wanted to be doing theatre that really meant something to me, that I could identify with," he said.
To that end, both the original sci-fi/fantasy projects, D 'n’ D: Live on Stage! (2000) and Who’s that Doctor? (2002), were penned by Bauer and Ellis. Both shows are examples of the company’s own brand of "episodic theatre," which they continue to develop today. Bauer and Ellis create a basic plot line and the ensemble develops recurring characters but each night of the show’s run is a new play. The D 'n’ D comedy featured six role-playing geeks whose lives kept moving forward as they continued to play the game each performance. For the "Doctor Who" spoof, the company pushed itself further by introducing multiple locations and a new alien or villain characters in each episode.
"There is just a great thrill of creating a theatre piece and having it be totally encapsulated," Bauer said. "Each audience gets this experience totally unique to them."
To decide which of their ideas of a future episodic project to pursue, the company presented Hi-Volt’s Pilot Season in November 2002. Three different show ideas were performed for an audience who then voted on their favorite. Calgony Springs was the winner and will open on April 25.
But Hi-Volt doesn’t only concern itself with these part-scripted, part-improvised comedies. The company has also turned its attention to new works and new adaptations. Consumed by Poe (2001)–put together by company member Guthrie–was an original presentation of seven adapted stories of Edgar Allen Poe. Lick the Mouse (2001) was a Chicago premiere of a new play that used the Disney empire to satirize organized religion.
The Wellman production coming up next month will be the company’s first attempt at a published play. As Bauer put it, "It’s the first time we’re slamming down the dollars for the rights to a play."
Why? Because Hi-Volt doesn’t want to stagnate. For Bauer, it’s important "to not be afraid of trying new things and taking new risks, even if it means we could fall flat on our face.
"Being a young company definitely makes you idealistic," Bauer said. "It also lends you a sense to having a starting from scratch."
And yet it isn’t easy being a new ensemble in a city that boasts so many theatre companies, Ellis and Bauer concede.
The business side has been a particular challenge for Ellis. "I didn’t start out as a businessman, I started out as an artist wanting to create works," he says. Fortunately, he says, "It’s not like I’m trying to sell toothpaste. I’m selling something I love and something that is of me and of my family and people that I love."
Visit www.hivolt.org or e-mail hivolttheatre@yahoo.com.