The concept of Bunny Gumbo’s Combat Theatre, which is nearing the end of its first decade, is well established to those familiar with local theater. A few playwrights get together and create 16 short plays in 48 hours from topics and settings chosen at random; those plays are then performed in a one-time-only event for curious audiences. Sleep is lost. Exhaustion sets in. Things get weird. Last January someone from the Blue Man Group showed up onstage.
Nearly six months after its last outing, Combat Theatre returns to the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center on June 6and 7 for another frenetic 48 hours, this time involving the collective talent of more than 40 people. Actors in the latest outing include Sophia Dhaliwal, Dan Katula, Anne Miller, Michael Moynihan, Amy Geyser and more.
Somewhere at the head of it all is Bunny Gumbo creator James Fletcher. This year, he comes to the show having orchestrated a Combat Theatre “boot camp” for high school students in the middle of May. With any luck, the few weeks between boot camp and this weekend’s show will have given Fletcher enough time to rest.
“It takes a lot of organization and staying on top of things,” Fletcher says. “If one person doesn't show up, the whole show can fall apart. I don't sleep for about two weeks before the show.”
On the other hand, it’s exactly this type of physical stress that produces some of Combat Theatre’s most memorable moments. A few years ago, actor John Maclay had to cancel on the show two minutes after it opened: He’d gotten a call that his wife was about to give birth. Producer Laura Nichols had an hour to learn the lines and perform Maclay’s role. Another time, Bo Johnson was playing a kidnap victim tied up in a chair. In the course of the performance, the chair became trapped between two sections of the stage. Johnson was unable to move, and the entire audience could see what was going on. “It turned into a three-minute bit,” Fetcher says. “Three minutes of an audience laughing nonstop.”
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Ultimately, all of the work and stress goes beyond a few one-time-only plays, as Fletcher has helped to forge some valuable connections over the past 10 years of Combat Theatre. Actors seen on the front line get a certain visibility they wouldn’t otherwise enjoy.
“They end up working with a director they've never met before, or even another actor, and down the line they get another gig out of it,” Fletcher says.
For more information, visit Bunny Gumbo online at www.bunnygumbo.com.
