True Wave

The way it has been told to me is that Chicago Theatre has risen in three waves. We are currently riding the third wave. The second wave took place in the late eighties to mid-nineties. It gave birth to companies like Lookingglass, Oobeleck, Chicago Shakes, European Rep, Shattered Globe, Famous Door and more.

There was a pretty great panel on the first wave not too long ago at the storefront. Starting in the mid-sixties, and rising through the early eighties the first wave of Chicago theatre saw the Goodman grow and transform into a national player. It birthed Steppenwolf, the Organic, The Body Politic, Black Ensemble, Victory Gardens, and many others. It built  a world-class theatre city from scratch and saw the rise of the storefront scene that powered (and continues to power) it.

When I moved here, there was one seminal moment in Chicago Theatre history I knew of. Everybody knew about Steppenwolf's True West. It announced Steppenwolf, and Chicago, as a major player on the scene. (I was five at the time, so I can only go by what I've been told.)  The pic on the right is the Chicago cast, Sinise directed and then acted in the show in NYC.

The night of the panel, the two recurring themes were "F-you, I'm going to do it myself", and "we're going to do this together." Chicago wouldn't wait for it to happen, they'd make it happen; and artists across Chicago would work together to make it happen.

Sharon Phillips told a story about one year the Body Politic didn't have money to finish their season. A bunch of companies put an insert in their playbills asking for audiences to help their friend by giving a dollar-fifty to the Body Politic. Soon donations rolled in, and they were able to finish the season, largely because of the support of audiences from other companies around the city.

While I was at the panel, I kept returning in my head to the waves. Why has there been three waves. The entire panel they kept referring to it as the first wave of Chicago Theatre. So at the end, when they had a question and answer session, I asked. "What  ended the first wave. Is there a moment that would be the point on the timeline that signaled it?"

In my head, I was thinking it would be St. Nicholas ending. Or Stuart Gordon leaving the Organic. The Body Politic or Wisdom Bridge folding. I think I stumped the panel: It never really ended, there has been theatre in Chicago the whole time.

A week or so later, I was talking to one of the people intimately involved with the first wave and I mentioned it again. They said they hadn't thought of it till then, but they gave an answer. Their answer stumped me. I never would have thought of it.

"When Steppenwolf took True West to New York. I think that is what ended the first wave. The city changed, everything became about that." It took years to recover, and when the city did, is when the second wave starts to take off.

I was amazed. This seminal moment, a touchstone of Chicago theatre? Ended the first wave? I asked another person, who said the same thing. I've been thinking about that ever since.

The city is different than it was when I moved here in 2000. The single biggest change that I've noticed is that more people are staying here. When I moved here, it was a point to build up resumes, before hitting one of the coasts. Now I increasingly know people who have no intention of moving, unless work takes them somewhere. Even people who work elsewhere, come back as often as they can. It's about the time that shift began to happen that I'd say the third wave began. The city didn't change because of the Loop Theatre district. The city changed, becase many artists re-focused on the city.

The artists in Chicago rose together, and then stopped rising for a while. Then the city rose again and again. At each point the common thread is an immense amount of talent and working together. When rugged individualism and a collective community has thrived, so has the city's theatre scene.

When it became about New York and LA, it staggered. The danger in focusing on New York is you forget about Chicago. If you're walking, looking off in the distance, it's really easy to trip and fall.

Now, I'm not arguing against New York or LA. Nor am I arguing that people shouldn't move if they have a job offer. Work takes people to other outposts. One scene being successful doesn't mean others can't also do well, it's not a zero-sum game. However, when the focus of a city's artists and critics is off in the distance, the work, and the city suffers.

Broadway in Chicago is much like True West, a blessing and a curse. There are a lot of really good things about BIC, jobs, tax revenue, a chance for audiences to see shows in the grand palaces of the loop. It's only loosely connected to Chicago's hundreds of theatres, and it makes a lot of money for New York.

Once again, Chicago is ascending. And once again that ascendency is not driven by touring shows or New York. Once again the focus is shifting away from what's being created in Chicago. If that happens, the wave ends again.

The city's theatres rise and fall together, like boats tied to the same dock. Some rise more, some fall less, but they are collectively moored. Maybe the nature of waves is you don't notice when it has crested. But if you saw an ominous weather report, what would you do?

*True West photo from Steppenwolf.org