The Small Giants Band is a Chicago-based multidisciplinary arts collective devising imaginative and playful theatrical experiences. Our debut work, Notes On Nothing is a non-linear exploration of missed connections, found memories, and changing weather patterns. Notes on Nothing uses instant-composed music, movement, and poetry blended together in a seamless one-act work of Composed
Theatre.
Formed in 2018 and premiered at the Maverick Concert Hall in upstate New York, Small Giants Band grew out of a desire to reinvent the actor-musician relationship, imagining them as equal collaborators in a theatrical work. Through a blend of improvised music and movement, Small Giants creates a kaleidoscope of theatrical moments that invite the audience to bring themselves into the space and explore what it means to be alive, be alone, and be together in all its forms.
Meet the Band
Jake Sorgen is a Chicago-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, and writer. He has composed scores in Chicago for Redtwist Theatre, The Story Theatre, Trap Door Theatre, 2nd Story, Haven Theatre, The Passage Theatre, A Theatre in the Dark, Oakton College, Stage Left Theatre, and many others around the country. His original works – often merging text, movement, and music – have been performed by Invoke String Quartet, Kite Saxophone Quartet, Loadbang Ensemble, Outlet Trio, Ashley Bathgate, and other groups featuring Jake as an instrumentalist and narrator. From 2014-2019, Jake served as Artistic Associate and Resident Composer for The Rogue Theatre in Tucson, AZ and was named the “Maverick Prodigy Composer” by The Maverick Concert Hall in 2018. He holds an MFA in Composition from the Vermont College of Fine Arts
Sarah Grant is a Chicago-based actor, director, and theater educator. She was most recently in Windy City Playhouse’s smash-hit Southern Gothic. In Chicago, she has worked at the Goodman Theater, Northlight Theater, House Theater, Theater Seven of Chicago, The Inconvenience, and Red Tape Theater. Other Chicago Credits include: A Very Merry Madrigal (Theo Ubique); Sleeping Beauty and Godspell (Provision); hamlet is dead. no gravity. and A Hedda Gabler (Red Tape); and Death and Harry Houdini (House Theatre). Regional credits include: The Dos and Don’ts of Time Travel (Phoenix Theatre, Indiana). She is a faculty member at the Chicago Academy for the Arts where she directs and teaches. She holds a master’s degree in the humanities from the University of Chicago.
Matt Bowdren is a Chicago-based actor, director, and educator. In Chicago, Matt has been fortunate to work with TimeLine Theatre, Windy City Playhouse, the Shakespeare Project of Chicago, and was a founding member of The Story Theatre. Matt is an Artistic Associate for The Rogue Theatre, where he has performed or directed over 30 productions. Favorites include Hamlet (Arizona Daily Star MAC award best actor), Waiting for Godot, The Crucible, Uncle Vanya, and many others, as well as being a part of original adaptations of literary classics such as As I Lay Dying, Mrs. Dalloway, and Tales of the Jazz Age. As an educator, Matt served as a faculty member at Pima College and as a Faculty Fellow and teaching artist at the University of Arizona. Matt teaches acting fundamentals, voice and movement, ensemble training and devising, and directing for the stage. Matt holds an M.F.A in Performance from the University of Georgia and is represented by DDO Chicago.
The Small Giants Band 