Poor Dog Group is a group of CalArts graduates who formed five years ago to explore the outer bounds of theater in a way reminiscent, to me, of the Wooster Group in NYC. I’ve long been a fan of their work, among the most challenging I’ve seen in LA. This is their new show at the excellent Bootleg Theater near downtown.
March 6 – 29 | Thurs-Sat | 7:30pm
Five Small Fires began as an investigation into ancient ritual, and the nature of satyr play within Greek theater. Set in a community center, revolutionaries of an abstract New Age movement stew over life’s meaning and purpose. A dark secret begins to reemerge, causing the members to seek aggressive liberation. While philosophical rhetoric builds upon itself, the members continue to seek emancipation from the troubles of contemporary life by conducting a series of lessons and tests, which they broadcast on-line. As these rituals collide in celebratory chaos, a higher community is formed through dance, initiation rites and radical apocalyptic anarchy.
“GO! “The performances are beautiful and beautifully orchestrated as they present the ultimate paradox for the disconcerted among us who naively yearn for a civilized world.” – Steven Leigh Morris, LA Weekly review
“It’s creepy, oddly familiar, and mesmerizing all at the same time.” – KCRW