Putting the piece on alone was something of a necessity, Starr writes over email. “There’s a period that I think every comedian or performer who makes their own work deals with, where it feels like pulling teeth to get people to work with you,” they explain. “Not necessarily because they hate you, but because of scheduling. There’s not enough hours in the day.” One of the show’s songs, “Freeze,” uses the form of a classic improv game to analyze this competitive rat race side of Chicago acting. Another sketch depicts Starr being recognized—”Oh my god, you were in Fun House!”—while in the act of cleaning a ladies’ toilet. With Starr’s gifts for the tender and the ludicrous, audiences are sure to welcome this two-night event as a faithful self-portrait of the storefront scene by one of its emerging, uh, stars. v
Mon 11/26 and Sat 12/1, 7:30 PM, The Frontier, 1106 W. Thorndale, brownpaperbox.org, $15.
