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Critical Mass Performance Group is committed to long-term collaborative development of new works, reinterpretations and adapatations of classic texts, and the use of alternative performance spaces. We believe in the transformative power of the theatre, in an essential theatre that is about thought and energy and the human mark in time and space. We seek to extend the boundaries of traditional theatre forms with a rigorous process that focuses on a visceral meeting of text, idea, image, music and physical expression. Through the provocative examination and enactment of stories, we aim to explore the big questions of human existence which reverberate socially, politically and spiritually for us. The Company is committed to engaging in a dialogue with the community of Los Angeles through our work, and outreach to under-served populations in the forms of education and accessibility.

Critical Mass Performance Group (formerly The Firebrand Theatre Company), retains a flexible structure, working on a project-by-project basis, and is currently under the fiscal sponsorship of Cornerstone Theatre Company in Los Angeles. The development process of each project is unique to the challenges of its particular material and production requirements, and can span a period of several months to several years. The core company consists of 7 members, including actors, composer and director/playwright/producer, some of whom also take responsibility for administrative tasks. Company members are paid for workshops and performances of each project.

Projects are developed through several phases of workshops which include public showings of works-in-progress, as well as community outreach. In the past, outreach has included lecture/demonstrations and showings (Children of the Night, Juvenile Court School, West Valley Community Center, Huntington Library); accessibility to the deaf community through ASL

interpretation; pre-and-post performance dialogue, and discounted tickets for student groups. Since we perform in a variety of communities and traditional as well as non-traditional venues, we do not have one "traditional" audience. Audience for each project consists of "regular theatre goers," people wo have seen our past work, and most importantly, targeted audience related to the particular material and venue. (The Akhmatova Project, for example, focused on the Russian community through Russian newspapers, radio and door-to-door contact in the Russian neighborhoods. As a result, approximately 1/3 of our total audience was Russian).