By Paul Cosca www.steadstylechicago.com

It has been said that the most dramatic part of any production is that it ever happens at all.  As a critic, I see a show almost every week, and for every performance I see, I can only imagine the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into getting it to the point where people are in the seats.  So perhaps it is of interest to know what kind of effort it takes to put a show together in this city.  Well...here you go.

Seven weeks ago, on the day before I held auditions for "Alligator", I was the recipient of a very harsh lesson: just because you perform in a space doesn't mean you rehearse there.  With 70 people coming the next morning for auditions, I had to come up with some solutions very, very quickly.  Next time you go to a show, think about what that show would look like rehearsing in someone's apartment, because that happens more often than you might think.

Luckily, I managed to assemble a fantastic cast including former cast members from National Pastime, Promethean Ensemble, and The Mammals; their dedication and enthusiasm has helped shape "Alligator" into something truly fantastic.  Theatre is, and always has been, a collaborative effort (and don't let any hard headed director ever tell you otherwise).

Over four weeks of rehearsal (and 5 different rehearsal spaces), we were almost set to go.  We had spent those four weeks turning the basement of Dream Theatre into a proper theatre space; we created a light and sound system, built a set, and even installed proper theatre seats!  After putting in weeks of hard work (as well as about 400 pounds of river rocks), we put together a space we were intensely proud of.  And then...the flood.

On July 24th, the day of our final rehearsal, hundreds of people all over Chicago awoke to find their basements completely flooded.  The folks at Dream Theatre awoke to find the same thing.  They lost many sentimental items (along with more practical things like props).  We lost our space.  While our loss was not nearly as bad as theirs, it certainly wasn't very much fun.  We threw away over 100 pounds of gravel that had gone into building our swamp, and found our show a little bit homeless.  Lucky for us, the generous owners of Dream Theatre offered up their upstairs space (they are currently performing their original "Orestes" up there), and we scrambled to put our show back together in a matter of hours.

Opening night was our first full run in the space.  But frankly, I don't think anyone would have known if it hadn't have been mentioned in the program.  I see a lot of shows every month, and it was as polished as just about anything I see.

So what's my pitch for this show?  There is a lot of really fantastic theatre out there.  There are passionate people making brilliant art all over Chicago, and we are just as passionate and just as talented as any of them.  This is a great chance to see a script by Jeremy Menekseoglu (he was recently awarded by The Reader as having the best new play in Chicago), and a great chance to see a very talented group of actors.  Many of these folks are actors that you may not have heard of yet, but you will soon, as they are headlining in shows all over the city.

And best of all, mention SteadStyle, and I'll give you a $5 discount at the door.  "Alligator", directed by Paul Cosca, runs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30pm at Dream Theatre (556 W. 18th St.).  For more information, or to buy tickets, visit www.brikenbrak.webs.com.