The 25th Annual Rhinoceros Theater Festival
Beginning January 2014, the Rhinoceros Theater Festival brings you more of the brightest stars of Chicago fringe theater, music, multimedia, and performance. Next year, Chicago's longest running fringe festival marks its 25th anniversary, promising more shows and more surprises! So please follow us for more updates:
About the Rhinofest
Each year, Curious Theatre Branch curates and produces the Rhinoceros Theater Festival, which provides production and exhibition opportunities to hundreds of artists, drawing thousands in attendance each year. The longest-running multi-arts fringe festival in Chicago, the Rhino features works in theater and performance from Chicago companies and national artists alike.
First organized 25 years ago in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, the Rhino is unique among national fringe festivals in that artists are never charged a fee to participate, and each year our programs are individually curated rather than selected on a lottery basis.
The Rhinoceros Theater Festival is supported in part by grants from The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Alphawood Foundation, and by the generous gifts of our individual donors. Curious Theatre Branch is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Artistic Directors: Jenny Magnus & Beau O'Reilly. Rhino logo: C.hill. Web & graphic design: J. Bivens.
Support the Rhinofest
Presenting "rude, strange, often brilliant original work" is what we do. From the storefront to the halls of the Museum of Contemporary Art, from Wicker Park to Rogers Park, for the last 25 years we've tapped our imaginations and "collected some of the most radical, poetic, life-affirming fantasies Chicago has seen in recent years" (Chicago Reader). And throughout the years, we've eschewed gimmicks and membership drives. Because "pay what you can" is our commitment to you. Always.
Please join us in advancing the mission of the Rhinofest and Curious Theatre Branch, one of Chicago's few all-original theatre companies. Your contribution will swell the ranks of committed loyalists who believe in honest, collaborative, and fiercely independent theatre.
Rhinofest Archives
Since 1988, Curious Theatre Branch has curated and produced the Rhinoceros Theater Festival, providing production and exhibition opportunities to hundreds of artists, drawing thousands in attendance each year. The longest-running, last-standing, multi-arts fringe festival in Chicago, the Rhino features works in theater and performance from Chicago companies and national artists alike.
Propose a Show
Play a part in the 25th Annual Rhinoceros Theater Festival! The Rhinofest occurs for six weeks from mid-January to mid-February at the Prop Thtr, 3502 North Elston. Please be aware that artists are responsible for producing, casting, and directing their own shows. Also, the ideal festival piece runs about an hour to seventy minutes. Twenty minutes is too short, and two hours is too long.
As the festival producer, Curious Theatre Branch provides the performance venue at no charge to performers; shows are generally scheduled to perform at least once a week, but we will consider other circumstances and scheduling limitations as well. Prop Thtr provides the lighting plot, but please note that due to the high volume of performances, shows with simple lighting and/or technical requirements may be given preference.
All proposals due September 1, 2013.
