The Bowling Green theater scene, already rich with university and independent companies, is about to have
an added ingredient.
Jonathan Chambers and Sara Lipinski Chambers, a married couple who teach in the Bowling Green State
University’s Department of Theatre and Film, launch Broken Spectacle Productions this weekend with its
inaugural production "The Drunken City" at Cafe Havana, 309 S. Main St. Bowling Green with
showtimes tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Lipinski Chambers is directing with
Chambers serving as the producer.
When it comes to theater, Lipinski Chambers said: "We have a more-the-merrier attitude."
The play, space and cast say a lot about the goals of the new troupe.
Broken Spectacle aims to perform new plays, those written within the last decade, in unusual space, using
the area’s wealth of talent.
The show features young adult actors of the same age as the young hipsters on the prowl in Adam Bock’s
comedy about a bride-to-be and her friends and a group of guys on the town.
While most are BGSU students or recent graduates, Broken Spectacle will cast its net beyond campus.
"We’ve been here in the county for close to 14 years," Chambers said. "We know a lot of
people that we’d like to work with. There are certain plays we find interesting but don’t have the
people the right age to do the roles. This gives people an opportunity to work and it gives people the
opportunity to see their work."
"We’re trying to focus more on contemporary work," Lipinski Chambers said, "and hopefully
things that might border on the avant garde."
The goal, according to the troupe’s mission statement is to create theater that’s "fun, surprising,
and thought provoking."
They also want to be able to pay cast and crew, Chambers said. "We want to come up with a business
model that at least allows them to be compensated somewhat."
As teachers, they explained, they want their students to know they can earn money for their work.
Lipinski Chambers said that exactly what that business model will look like is uncertain. They do know,
she said, that they will not go the not-for-profit route. That would entail an educational mission,
which they feel is well covered by Horizon Youth Theatre.
They admit feeling their way into the venture that wants to distinguish itself in other ways.
They are not wedded to traditional showtimes anymore then they are wedded to traditional venues. Broken
Spectacle may stage late night show in a bar.
Nor do they anticipate issuing a full schedule for a season of shows. They will announce productions as
they are able to schedule casts and venues.
Upcoming will be a public reading sometime this summer of "Kin" by Bathsheba Doran, a 2011 play
that explores the dynamics of the formation of a new kind of family, and Lauren Gunderson’s 2011 revenge
comedy "Exit, Pursued by a Bear" in August.
"The Drunken City" premiered in 2005 in Ithaca, NY. The cast features Erin Williams, who also
serves as choreographer, Holley Mohser, Kendra Beitzel, Christopher Eastland, Casey Toney and Jarod
Mariani. Nicole Floyd is assistant director and Devon King is stage manager.
Maiden voyage
What: “The Drunken City”
Who: Broken Spectacle Productions
When: Tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Cafe Havana, 309 S. Main St., Bowling Green
How much: $10 in advance at the venue; $12 at the door