Theatre News Wire

The Filament Theatre Ensemble is thrilled to present a brand new theatrical experiment: the SUSTAIN36 Theatre Project. In partnership Zaarly, the marketplace that helps you buy and sell with people nearby, Filament will attempt to create a brand new, locally-sourced, world premiere theatrical production in 36 hours.

Beginning at 8:00am on Wednesday August 24, a team of artists from the Filament Theatre Ensemble will take up residence in a vacant storefront on Milwaukee Ave. and Irving Park Rd. Starting with nothing but a title (provided by a winning applicant from Zaarly), Filament will begin the process of creating a completely original play. Throughout the next 36 hours, Filament will look to the community for all aspects of the production - sets, costumes, audience seating, volunteer contributors - via the Zaarly platform, which will allow users to bid on the offers on the website, the Android or iPhone app. Community members can then share their stuff or their time in exchange for a ticket to the SUSTAIN36 Theatre Project performance which will be performed Thursday, August 25 at 8:00pm, a mere 36 hours after the playwriting process began.

The Filament Theatre Ensemble is committed to producing theatre in a folk tradition with an emphasis on community, imagination, and sustainability. Embracing an old-world system of borrowing, bartering, and trading, adapted to our modern world through the internet, Zaarly encourages a neighborhood-centric marketplace for the exchange of goods and services. This old world system made new is what excites Filament about this adventurous community supported theatre project. Theatre is by its nature an intensely collaborative art-form, and through this project Filament hopes to further explore the concept of Community Supported Theatre, as they did previously this season through a unique ticketing platform for Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice.

Following the SUSTAIN36 Theatre Project performance, there will be a party during which the Filament Theatre Ensemble will announce their 2011-2012 season. Come be the first to hear the exciting news!

To participate in the SUSTAIN36 Theatre Project, visit online at www.filamenttheatre.org, get the up-to-the-minute updates on Twitter using the hashtag #sustain36, and follow the listing updates on Zaarly.

Tickets for the SUSTAIN36 event, which includes an after party with food and drinks provided, are $36 and can be obtained by visiting http://sustain36theatreproject.eventbrite.com. In lieu of purchasing a ticket, audience members can contribute to the SUSTAIN36 Theatre Project by answering requests for production needs on Zaarly. All items will be returned to their owners after the performance.