3209 W. Cuyler #1.
Chicago, IL 60618
Ph: (773) 879-4610
Email: hall@wneptheater.org

the Odds
An Entertainment Focus Group Theatrical Concern
Directed by Brendan Gardiner

ORIGINAL RUN:
November 7 - November 30
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8PM

the Odds
is an original sketch revue, written and performed by EFG (The Entertainment Focus Group), focussing on gamblers, from the accidental interloper to the addicted thrill-seeker, playing their hands in a world where the bubble doesn't burst the way it's supposed to.

The Entertainment Focus Group is comprised of the original members of Spicy Clamato, a short-form improv group formed at the University of Illinois in 1993. It was Spicy Clamato's job to raise money for The Penny Dreadful Players, a student-run theater company now celebrating its tenth year.

The individuals who now comprise EFG -- Mike Brumm, Brendan Gardiner, George Eckart, Lindsey Harrington, Michael Powers, and David Stinton -- returned to or made new homes in Chicago after college. One by one, they studied at the ImprovOlympic and performed on various teams there. They continued to perform long-form improv around Chicago as Old Spice until 2000 when they conceived of a variety show that would encompass all their abilities. They performed the show at the WNEP Theater, calling it The Entertainment Focus Group, a name which came to represent the group itself. WNEP then invited the group to create a holiday show for their mainstage slot, and 2001's much-lauded "Christmas in July in December" was the result.

Information on their shows can be found at www.theproducesection.com, a humor website the members of EFG created and maintain.

The Critics Weigh In...

“This sketch-comedy revue, written by the Entertainment Focus Group and directed by Brendan Gardiner, shows the many faces of chance...garnering laughs are a mother who supports her son as he adjusts to his "quitting gambling patch," some spoofs of commercials for Banco Popular, and a poker-table debate over the name of the actor who played TV's Webster.  The biggest kudos go to Matthew Colton as a corporate jester, skewering his boss with sardonic rhymes and double entendres that Shakespeare would've applauded...clean and well-executed...a safe bet...”
-- Chicago Reader --