Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras

THE ARTIST: Actress and singer-songwriter Claire Kander THE SHOW: Pullman Porter Blues THE DATES: Through Sunday, October 20 Claire Kander has made a name for herself in the Windy City, having recently graduated from roles in storefront productions to a part in the Chicago premiere of Pullman Porter Blues at the Goodman Theatre. The story centers around African American train workers on the luxury cars of the 1930s, and to get the feel of the time period, the show is backed by an onstage blues band. Kander’s character—who’s also part of the music ensemble—plays harmonica, an instrument that the actress wasn’t too familiar with when cast. However, Kander’s time spent as one half of the folk duo Scuttlebuggs has given her plenty of experience with music, as well as flying by the seat of her pants. In fact, she just returned from an adventurous four-month tour that, between sending the band camping at Yellowstone National Park and scouring San Francisco for the best espresso, consisted largely of open-mic sets. “We tried not to schedule too much,” she says. Now she’s back in Chicago for the Goodman show, jumping, as she puts it, “right from one great life experience to another.” Although some might find a life of sporadic gigs and constant movement exhausting, Kander seems to thrive on it. Sometimes her dual careers even inform each other; the formation of Scuttlebuggs was a result of her unpredictable acting schedule and, in true Chicago fashion, the weather. “There [are] always lulls in an actor’s life when ... there are just no roles to be had or you’re hibernating because it’s 30-below. That’s when music happens,” Kander explains. “You gotta do something when you’re holed up.” Scuttlebuggs’s quaint harmonies and starry-eyed introspection—which have led to frequent gigging at local venues such as Martyrs’, Uncommon Ground, and Beat Kitchen—are a far cry from the gritty stomp of Pullman Porter Blues. However, Kander believes that different musical styles are all “related as long as you mean it. And I always try to mean it.” Photo: © Timothy Burkhart, Groupon

This year's Rhinofest ends with seven different plays by cofounder Jenny Magnus. We tracked down each production company to ask what's in store. Curious Theatre Branch cofounder and playwright Jenny Magnus says she remembers when Bucktown was still hip. That was 25 years ago, when she and several fellow artists founded the Rhinoceros Theater Festival in their North Avenue performance space. Magnus says it all started as an experiment, “a way to feature people we thought were interesting.” Since then, the festival has gradually expanded in the name of its mission, which hasn’t always been easy. “It’s always been an enormous pain in the ass and usually not a profitable venture,” Magnus says. Because Rhinofest can be so expensive and unwieldy, everyone involved does it purely for a love of theater—or perhaps because they’re masochists. The festival is also low stakes: it’s free to participate, and each company involved gets a percentage of the door, with Curious providing the production staff and tech. It’s antiestablishment, DIY, and, as Magnus says, built on an ethos of “not needing affirmation or the permission of a big institution.” To celebrate the 25th anniversary, this year’s Rhinofest concludes with Magnus in Play, a staging of seven of the artist’s scripts. When Magnus’s colleagues approached her with the idea for this festival-within-a-festival, she didn’t want anything to do with it, feeling that the plays were too far in her past. “It almost feels like I’m attending my own funeral,” she says. She’s since come around, perhaps because she was overruled by the seven invited companies, all of which profess to being fans of her work. Not that one can blame them—these darkly comedic works are all highly experimental, posing a welcome creative challenge for the artists. To gear up for the event, we spoke with the various directors and actors about what makes each of their respective plays unique and why they were drawn to the scripts. 1. The Trips  Director Beau O’Reilly says you’ll see: A man with the build of a football player and a woman a fraction of his size physically squaring off during a metaphysical road trip. They’ll also engage in heated debates that morph into rhythmic, singsong exchanges. (February 20–22 at 7 p.m.)  2. The Willies Director Karen Yates says you’ll see: “[Seven] monologues about what keeps us up in the middle of the night,” as told by seven performers, all of whom remain onstage the entire time. Under the glow of flashlights, the ensemble will improvise movements and mysterious sounds between the monologues to “create this kind of living nightmare.” (February 20 at 8 p.m.; February 22 at 6 p.m.; February 23 at 9 p.m.) 3. How to Carry Love Director Kathleen Powers says you’ll see: Short segments, including 10 major monologues, written for one woman but performed by seven actors of varying ages and genders. “What would typically be an older woman is a 21-year-old; a youthful monologue is done by a 60 year-old,” she says. Also, there’s a futon and a bag of rice the “approximate weight of a baby.” (February 20 at 9 p.m.; February 21 at 8 p.m.; February 23 at 2 p.m.) 4. Nowhere But Up  The Billy Goat Experiment says you’ll see: A glimpse into the struggle of two women that leads to an “ignoble and dehumanizing but inevitable” end. (February 20 at 9 p.m.; February 22 at 5 p.m.; February 23 at 4 p.m.) 5. The Lucky Ones Actor Emmy Bean says you’ll see: The “relationship [between] two people who seem to be stuck together” portrayed by two actors who are recently married, plus a third performer just for this staging. What begins as a black comedy eventually turns into “an episode of CSI” underscored by Magnus’ homemade percussion soundtrack. (February 22 at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.; February 23 at 5 p.m.) 6. The Strange  Actors Jennifer Roehm and Julie Cowden say you’ll see: A girl (Jen) in her bedroom on three different nights, and a woman (Julie) appearing to her, drunk, during each. A lamp and low stage lights illuminate a sparse set, which includes something that looks like a bed. “Despite how twisted this little play is, it’s very human. It’s about forgiveness.” (February 22 at 2:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.; February 23 at 6:30 p.m.)  7. Room Performer Kelly Ann Corcoran says you’ll see: A “direct-address piece that [compares] an actor onstage [to the idea of] being available and present as a human being in your life.” The first four lines: “Stop doing anything, stop right now, just ... sit there.” These words set a contemplative tone, as do six haunting original songs by Magnus. (February 22 at 4 p.m.; February 23 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.)  Magnus in Play runs Thursday, February 20, to Sunday, February 23, at Prop Thtr (3502 N. Elston Ave.). Each script can also be found in Magnus’s new book, Observations of an Orchestrated Catastrophe, on sale now.

Even if you’re unfamiliar with the comedian, he’s probably just a few degrees removed from your favorite star. Hari Kondabolu should be more recognizable than he is. The comedian has performed on Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live and currently cohosts the increasingly popular Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Podcast. But despite these successes, Kondabolu remains mostly under the radar. Given his prodigious talent for making people laugh, this is flummoxing. And it becomes even more so when you realize that his background links him to some very famous names beyond Conan and Kimmel. Here are nine facts about Hari that you might not be aware of. Even if you haven’t heard of him yet—don’t worry, you will—you’re bound to recognize some of the names he’s connected with. 1. The Queens-raised comedian graduated from Townsend Harris High School, as did Richard Rodgers and Ira Gershwin. The school mascot, Hari the Hawk, is named after him. 2. Hari went on to receive a master’s degree in human rights from the London School of Economics, whose alumni also include John F. Kennedy and Mick Jagger. This degree eventually helped him land a job—just not the one he expected. It was while Hari was working as an immigrants’-rights organizer at the 2006 HBO Comedy Festival in Seattle that he was discovered. 3. As an Indian American comic, Hari often bases his material on racial and cultural issues. This made him a natural as a writer for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, the now-defunct sociopolitical late-night show. 4. In October 2011, Hari joined the ranks of published Spin contributor Chuck Klosterman when he published his own cover story on Brooklyn rap group Das Racist. 5. Hari’s connection to Das Racist actually runs much deeper—hypeman Ashok “Dap” Kondabolu is his little brother. Together, they host the Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Podcast. 6. Hari has become something of a fixture in the podcast/radio scene, with guest appearances on programs such as NPR’s All Things Considered and WTF with Marc Maron. 7. In December 2012, Hari was featured on a Flavorwire list of 2013 up-and-comers alongside Angel Haze and Girls star Alex Karpovsky. Flavorwire praised Hari’s work as “intelligent, political comedy that isn’t afraid to get a little bit radical.” 8. Earlier this month, Hari’s debut album, Waiting for 2042, was released on Kill Rock Stars. This makes The Decemberists, Sleater-Kinney, and the late Elliott Smith his labelmates. 9. On one of Waiting’s tracks, “Weezer Broke My Heart”, Hari laments the fact that, at 28, he had somehow become “the creepy old dude at a Weezer concert.” Hari Kondabolu performs at Lincoln Hall on Friday, April 4, at 9 p.m. Tickets are $14–$17 and can be purchased here. Photo courtesy of Hari Kondabolu