By Damien Jaques Senior Contributing Editor Published Dec 14, 2011 at 2:03 PM

Since February of 2000, Bunny Gumbo Productions has produced nearly 400 spanking new 15-minute plays using the following recipe: Eight playwrights, eight directors and 30 actors take eight original scripts from initial concept to performance in 24 hours.

Play topics, circumstances, settings, directors and actors are randomly drawn from hats. Some of Milwaukee's premier theater artists have been involved. It's called Combat Theatre.

Beginning early last summer, Bunny Gumbo co-founder Jim Fletcher and several associates read every script that has been produced to choose the best eight, and those are being revived for one night only this Saturday. The event, which will include a silent auction, is a fund raiser for the company.

Playwrights represented are Patrick Holland, Michelle Hoffman, Jim Thibodeau, Doug Jarecki, Randy Rehberg, John Van Slyke, Julie Pandl and Tony Wood. The versatile Jarecki is also among the 26 actors who will performing at the fund raiser. His colleagues will include Karen Estrada, Toni Fletcher, Libby Amato and Tami Rentmeester.

Bunny Gumbo also runs a high school student version of Combat Theatre, and a play written by Jolie LeBell from that project will be performed.

The event begins at 8 p.m. at Combat Theatre's home space, the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut St. Tickets are $25 and available only at the door.

Damien Jaques Senior Contributing Editor

Damien has been around so long, he was at Summerfest the night George Carlin was arrested for speaking the seven dirty words you can't say on TV. He was also at the Uptown Theatre the night Bruce Springsteen's first Milwaukee concert was interrupted for three hours by a bomb scare. Damien was reviewing the concert for the Milwaukee Journal. He wrote for the Journal and Journal Sentinel for 37 years, the last 29 as theater critic.

During those years, Damien served two terms on the board of the American Theatre Critics Association, a term on the board of the association's foundation, and he studied the Latinization of American culture in a University of Southern California fellowship program. Damien also hosted his own arts radio program, "Milwaukee Presents with Damien Jaques," on WHAD for eight years.

Travel, books and, not surprisingly, theater top the list of Damien's interests. A news junkie, he is particularly plugged into politics and international affairs, but he also closely follows the Brewers, Packers and Marquette baskeball. Damien lives downtown, within easy walking distance of most of the theaters he attends.