Over thirty years of Curious theater! Founded in 1988 by Jenny Magnus and Beau O'Reilly-as the Curious Theatre Branch of the alt-rock cabaret act Maestro Subgum and the Whole-Curious has consistently worked with an ensemble of artists in a non-hierarchical decision-making process, through which the philosophy of collaboration as a social force is explored on every level. Curious Theatre Branch has produced more than 100 full productions of world-premiere shows in nearly 30 years, amazing audiences year after year in how much can be accomplished for so little. Curious has developed its recognizable style, using an economy of means and production to make deeper and deeper, rather than larger and larger, work. In 1995, Chicago Magazine named Beau O'Reilly one of the 50 most influential people in Chicago theater. In 1998, the Chicago Tribune named Beau O'Reilly and Jenny Magnus were named among the Artists of the Year. Nearly every year since 1998, Newcity has included them among the 50 most influential people in Chicago theater. Curious's Waiting for Godot and The Caretaker was named among the top five theater productions of 2006 and 2009, respectively, by Newcity. In 2007, Curious Theatre Branch won an Orgie Award for Original Theater for the year-long Samuel Beckett festival, No Danger of the Spiritual Thing: 100 Years of Beckett (best ensemble), and in 2011 Curious was granted a season-long residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art, culminating in Jenny Magnus's Still in Play: A Performance of Getting Ready.
Voraciously CURIOUS, brilliant, deeply fortifying, hilarious-a heartbreaking adventure. Something like a human heart redesign, a makeover through theater, or an art surgery that hurts, but heals. -Barrie Cole Writer / Playwright I've been to so many Curious Theater shows over the years. They can be pretty raw, which I like, and always surprising. I'd leave feeling more awake and more alive, which is exactly what you want when you go see a show. -Ira Glass, This American Life Host, NPR