The Streb Laboratory is back home in is laboratory in Williamsburgh for a few weeks while they work on new material,and revise existing material with the same intensity, elan and infectious enthusiasm. But now mad scientist/super hero Elizabeth Streb has come up with a way to capture some of that infectious energy. Certain performances – dubbed “S.L.A.M. ((Streb Laboratory for Action Mechanics) Inclusive – are followed by an introductory PopAction class, and an introductory trapeze class. a discussion with Ms. Streb and her amazing 
cohort of catapulting co-conspirators. All this for an extra $10 over the bargain ticket price of $20.
Ms. Streb is fond of rearranging the artistic universe. With SLAM Inclusive, she’s rearranging the geography of the relationship between artist and audience. Rather than underscoring the difficulty, the inaccessibility of their work, Streb and the company share the pleasure of their craft, demystifying it and removing or at least rearranging the barriers between performer and audience. That may be even more radical than the work itself which, in seven years of watching the company, never fails to move me. I’ve taken classes at SLAM, and had occasion to move the odd chair, usher and sweep up, and there have been times when I’ve seen the same show as many as four times in a weekend. The last performance is always as exciting as the first.
If you’ve never been, go.
Scheduling and ticket information here. The current production, called “Run Up Walls,” will only be around through May 23rd. The company (in addition to SLAM Inclusive, which is new – adding a large class immediately after a performance) also regularly teaches children and adults.
