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Inside a Real ‘Fire House’ You Are Immersed in Phantasmic Lives of Firefighters
Set in Chicago’s oldest fire station (now Firehouse Art Studio) the immersive play "Fire House” is only loosely tethered to a realistic portrayal of what fire fighters do. What it conveys is an impressionistic vision of the experience that fire fighters may undergo.
Produced by Chicago Shpatz, an experimental theater company created by Chicago artists Matthew Schlerf and Sivan Spector, just 25 audience members are led through each performance of the immersive experience "Fire House." After a trek up the 19th century staircase, director Spector guides us to a locker room, where a dispatcher (Nu A.M.), cigarette dangling from their lips, jumps between a squawking radio box and a Chicago map on the wall.
As a mix of sounds slowly gains meaning—other dispatchers voices, radio news fire reports, etc.—a number of firefighters are gathered around the table. It becomes clear that one is a recent arrival, perhaps a cadet graduate of the fire academy—the Newbie (Steven Hou) asking questions. Inquiring into the cause of a possible arson that Newbie asks earns a gruff answer: “Our only job is to stop fires.”
The Chief (Matthew Schlerf) establishes himself as the authority, barking terse directives. A card game is dealt by the Martyr (Capri Gared-O’Connell), the best actor of the lot, who is fully in character and delivers lines as we imagine a hustling fire fighter would.
Then Newbie loses a hand, and becomes subject to hazing —abashedly accepting a pink thong he is to wear. The Chief departs and later reappears wrapped in a towel, wet from the shower. “Has anyone seen my clothes?” the Chief bellows. Then he drops the towel, revealing he is wearing the thong. A joke that short circuits the Newbie’s hazing and conveys the camaraderie of the men. Other character types of fire fighters are present, The Muscle (Margo O’Connell), the Sage (Jarais Musgrove), dispensing wisdom. Bad blood between the Martyr and the Muscle ends up in slammed locker doors.
This site-establishing scene segues to another room, where the fire fighters move in unison, then silently take off at break-neck speed when an alarm sounds. Windows sometimes flicker red, suggesting flaming structures. Characters appear, seemingly residents caught in unexpected moments doing private things who have been caught off guard as fire fighters barge in. Another room features a model house, presumably for strategic firefighting planning. Another scene finds a dozing Chief disturbed as the Newbie flicks water droplets on his sleepy face.
The show evolves into other rooms, one that becomes a dance floor with a DJ, where some audience members splayed on the floor to have arms and legs manipulated by bystanders. Clearly we’ve moved into another dimension of “Fire House.” A motto is shone on a wall: “For a better world something may need to burn.” A wraith in white beckons us into an alcove where we are to write out an answer to “What are we willing to allow to be burned” and throw it into a raffle ticket roller cage. Later an audience member brings me the answer I entered: “My Books.”
And so it goes, mysterious, other worldly, experiential but unwieldy for those who want a clearly defined storyline. Just an hour, and we are returned to the lobby for post show chats and conviviality at the refreshment area. “Fire House” is a valiant step into immersive theater, perhaps less successful on the ground charted so well by the now-defunct Windy City Playhouse, or Rough House Theater’s quirky annual “House of the Exquisite Corpse.” Nevertheless “Fire House” is recommended for the venturesome enough to opt out of standard theater seating. "Fire House" runs through May 30 at Fire House Art Studio, 1123 W. Roosevelt Rd in Chicago.
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