A group effort — TUTA troupe crafts ‘Fulton Street Sessions’

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Kirk Anderson (left) and Trey Maclin perform in a scene from the TUTA Theatre Chicago production of "Fulton Street Sessions."

‘FULTON STREET SESSIONS’

◆ Through March 25

◆ TUTA Theatre Chicago at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago

◆ Tickets, $40

◆ (847) 217-0691; tutato.com

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For years now, director Zeljko Djukic has entered the rehearsal room with a dependable script in hand, whether by Shakespeare or Chekhov, Brecht or Beckett, or a contemporary writer from the Balkans or Eastern Europe.

But to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his company, TUTA Theatre Chicago (the acronym stands for The Utopian Theatre Asylum), Djukic decided to let the inmates run the madhouse, setting five actors from his ensemble free to create something of their own. The result, “Fulton Street Sessions,” which he describes as “a non-traditional cabaret production comprised of sketches, musical numbers and interludes,” will receive its world premiere Feb. 23 in the Chicago Dramatists space, with a cast that includes Kirk Anderson, Jaimelyn Gray, Stacie Beth Green, Trey Maclin and Jacqueline Stone.

The title reflects the address of the company’s rehearsal space at Fulton and Milwaukee, where Djukic oversaw an extended series of workshops that, as he put it, “little by little turned into something we became excited about.”

“Initially, we had no idea of producing this,” said the director. “I have just always been interested in giving more space to the actors to work outside the standard producing model. I wanted to explore the language and authorship of the actor, rather than the language of the playwright.”

Yet he had no pre-conceived notions of how all this might work, or how the actors would go about looking for their own material.

“The main idea was to come into the room and see how things evolved, which was both risky and exciting,” Djukic said. “Along the way we isolated a few themes we thought were important. And we agreed we would work in phases, which we did. We met for about 10 sessions in the early fall, and ended up with a loose outline. We then took a monthlong break before beginning workshops in November, and finally spending several weeks in actual rehearsal.”

In January, a preview of the piece was performed for three nights at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park as part of In the Works, a theater lab series presented by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture.

“We had large crowds there, and engaged in discussions with the audience following the performances,” said Djukic. “We did further work on the show since then, too.”

The genesis of a theme for “Fulton Street Sessions” came out of the powerful blizzard that hit Chicago last February. But don’t look for any literal version of that storm.

“It changed into the whole idea of being stuck — physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically — and it evolved further into stories of being caught in between two things. And the material is not topical; it’s more about finding ways to express these ideas and feelings. We’ve moved away from realism, leaving things open so the audience can build on them. The work is more driven by rhythm and movement than narrative. And while the improvisational element was important at the start, we formalized things, with a certain musicality guiding us in terms of structure.”

Djukic was intrigued when one early observer of the piece said it was “like children’s theater for adults,” because things are understood but not necessarily logical, with morphing locations, intense imagery, fragments of characters and relationships of crucial importance.”

As he explained: “The idea of being stuck led us to the notion of purgatory — a sort of waiting room where people had strange encounters with each other.”

The music for the 80-minute show also was created largely by the actors, many of whom are gifted singers and instrumentalists (on guitar, percussion, piano), with Joshua Schmidt, composer of the award-winning Off Broadway musical “Adding Machine,” serving as consultant.

Born in Belgrade, Serbia (when it was still Yugoslavia), Djukic taught acting at that city’s Drama Art School before moving to the United States and earning his master’s at the University of Maryland. He founded TUTA in Washington, D.C., in 1995, with his wife, designer Natasha Djukic (who has created the costumes for “Fulton Street Sessions”), but the couple relocated to Chicago in 2002, bringing elements of their distinctive European style with them.

Djukic, who returns to Belgrade periodically (last year he directed Tony Kushner’s play, “Homebody/Kabul,” at the National Theatre in Belgrade), says the theater throughout the Balkans and Eastern Europe has changed radically since the fall of communism in the early 1990s.

“Before the changes, directors thrived by developing a unique way of dealing with texts and communicating with their audience — devising sophisticated metaphors and design that thrived on indirection. But during the pas––––t two decades playwrights realized they could speak for themselves. They no longer have fear. And there is no longer a need for that special approach to staging plays, so the director is less crucial.”

“I’ve never done anything like ‘Fulton Street Sessions’ before,” said Djukic. “But one of the reasons I have a company is to try new things with people I’ve worked with over time and trust. I wouldn’t repeat this any time soon; I’m looking forward to having a script again — maybe something by Pinter or Chekhov, and then at some point ‘The Ship of Dolls,” a play about family relationships in transitional times by Milena Markovic [whose “Tracks” and “Huddersfield” were big successes for TUTA a number of years ago], and another by a Croatian playwright about the trafficking of young women from East to West.”

“But the joy of seeing these actors with their own creation is incredible. And the whole process will certainly influence the way I direct plays in the future.”