Enjoy a night of laughter and libations when theater comes to the people.
The Kirk Players of Mundelein will perform four original short plays at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at Tighthead Brewing Company in Mundelein. Each play will have its own director.
The plays include “Genesisters” by Ken Preuss, directed by Randy Margison; “Genie-ology” by Jean Ciampi, directed by Tom Gorham; “Reflection” by Keith Whalen, directed by Susie Hill; and “Then You Suffer” by Keith Whalen, directed by Marilee C.C. Rusiniak.
Patrick Blake of Libertyville, artistic director for Kirk Players, said that the company started these nights at the brewery about three years ago.
“We had gotten three or four very short plays and put them together and worked with Tighthead,” he said. “Last year we had a writer’s contest that we advertised and told people we were going to have a contest to support new writers out there. We were surprised — we had 384 submissions. We read them all and chose what we felt were the top three last year and performed them last summer. This summer, we are performing four more that are from that contest.”
“Genesisters” is about four ladies in a boardroom in Heaven who are perfecting a pitch to convince God to keep Earth a planet.
“It’s quite funny; it’s very cute,” he said.
“Reflection” is about a middle-aged female psychiatrist whose patient is none other than Dracula.
“He’s having some self-esteem issues. Can’t even look himself in the mirror,” he quipped.
“Genie-ology” is about a genie and genealogist who can track down one of your ancestors and bring them back. The wish goes awry when a nerd asks for his eighth-great grandmother, who was a 16th-century witch.
The final play is called “Then You Suffer.” It’s about a couple on their second date and the man discovers his new lady friend believes in every single superstition under the sun.
“They’re quite good. They’re all about 10-15 minutes long so people can take a break and buy another beer,” he said. “They’re always funnier when you’ve had another beer.”
The Kirk Players do three main shows a year and have started branching out into adding smaller shows as well to supplement their calendar.
“Tighthead has been a wonderful partner to us,” he said. “We’ve sold out every performance there.”
Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” will be perfomed Nov. 1-3 in Mundelein.
His cast is “doing great” with this material, he said.
“They’re having a lot of fun,” he said.
He hopes people take a chance on the evening of fun theater.
“It’s going to be fun, enjoyable and you get a free beer with your ticket purchase,” he said. “It’s a very fun show. Who doesn’t want to laugh on a Sunday evening before you have to go to work for the week?”
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
‘Relationships and the Supernatural’
Where: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 25
Where: Tighthead Brewing Company, 161 N. Archer Ave., Mundelein
Tickets: $20
Information: 847-521-6192; facebook.com/kirkplayers/events
