Service Opportunities

Hannah Withers of Maxine's Tap Room gave theater producer Erika Wilhite a directive for the Sunday night events she wanted in the Fayetteville bar. She wanted something "weird, and smart, and not so in your face."

And something that would fit into the awkwardly narrow space of the decades-old watering hole, all while attracting patrons on what had been a slow night.

Wilhite, of the Artist's Laboratory Theatre, has more than once set up a show in unconventional spaces, such as a sheet fort built inside an art studio and an outdoor tour of Fayetteville's alleys. Her work this time transforms Maxine's into a rotating series of open mics, music shows and games conducted in front of a live audience. Since the outset, audio from the shows has been recorded. Now, the shows, which are works in progress on their own, will go through the next phase of their development. Local NPR affiliate KUAF 91.3 FM has agreed to run the audio on one of their high-definition signals broadcast over the web. A successful run there might translate into a weekly broadcast on the actual FM channel.

The Sunday Night Services have evolved into a set of four separate events. The rotation happens every week, unless a large-scale event such as the just-concluded Fayetteville Roots Festival or the upcoming Bikes Blues & BBQ rally alters the bar's schedule in a significant way.

All of the services are unique, Wilhite says.

"Speak For Yourself" is a community open mic night that carries a new theme each month. Speakers then have an opportunity to share something related to the topic, which on Sunday will be "After Midnight."

"The All You Need To Know Show" is a well-researched, curated show that also discusses a topic such as "Elections," which was featured two months ago. The event explores the theme via songs, monologues and examples of found theater.

The newest of the quartet of shows is called "Singled Out" and features music. The current host of the event is Adam Cox, a member of local bluegrass outfit Cletus Got Shot and a solo artist. The idea behind "Singled Out" is to highlight a band member away from the comforts of his group. Each event includes a question-and-answer session and an opportunity to play live.

The fourth of the events is the game show called "Whosie Whatsit," hosted monthly by local playwright and actor Mark Landon Smith. Joseph Fletcher, a New York City-based theater professional and Wilhite's longtime collaborator in Artist's Laboratory Theater productions, writes the script for "Whosie Whatsit." The show is a homage to television game shows such as "The Match Game," which Fletcher says he watches for inspiration. One of the elements of the event, which is called Fayetteville Fact Check, draws inspiration from the program "Hollywood Squares." Fletcher inserts Fayetteville-specific references inside the game, which provides dialogue on current events in a way that's fun for the panelists and participants.

"The game show is more about having a good time than knowing everything," Fletcher says. "If it goes right, the contestants are never wrong."

And Wilhite and Fletcher hope they're right about the Sunday Night Service series and its upcoming radio expansion. The games are still being tweaked, and Fletcher is preparing to move to Fayetteville to be nearer to the action of this event and several others Arts Lab has planned.

The shows, particularly "Whosie Whatsit," are developing a fan following and hitting the mark on the introductory goals.

"It gets pretty intimate. But the bar being packed isn't always because of us," Wilhite says.

At least not yet.