The Fire Room

The Fire Room is an inventive, highly modernized, cutting edge, in your face, sharp piece of artistry. It's such a great and fresh idea. The show itself reminded me of the story "Dante's Inferno" but more contemporary. I applaud the actors, design team and director. MASTERFULLY DONE! Amazing and stupendous work done by all. It was a very selfless cast of actors whom constantly stayed in the moment, played actions, and tried to keep the momentum going. One piece of criticism that I had was the use of the other three women, although effective and creepy, they didn't add too much to the play, nor did they take away. I think this goes into making a stronger bolder and cutting edge choice with them. They were interesting entities but also ... full review

Loved the idea and structure of the story but the tech overwhelmed a fair amount of the dialogue. I liked all the actors, overall, but felt some emotional context and theatrics went overboard and took me out of the beautiful message. Bravo to everyone for real beauty on stage, though. ... full review

The REVIEWS are in! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-scarborough/hollywood-fringe-the-fire_b_3421709.html "In the space of an hour, the actors experience love, despair, anger, and loneliness. Like a good science fiction story, it seems so likely that, who knows, this just might be what is meant by getting a second chance at love." - James Scarborough http://laist.com/2013/06/13/the_2013_hollywood_fringe_festival.php "The whole thing could have come across as kind of silly, but the actors do a good job psychologically grounding their portrayals of souls who are still striving and aspiring to love, even after death. This result is a production of great integrity and atmospheric strength." - Lyle Zimskind http://losangeles.bit... full review

Fringe is the time when I find new artists to follow the rest of the year. Otherwise I just stay in the same cycle of trusting who I know and rarely taking chances. Right after I had the pleasure to interview this group group on Bitter Lemons*, I reserved my seat. They have a great energy, they know how to describe the work that interests them without bashing all others, and they're game to try anything. That's the impression I got from The Fire Room as well. I don't think they intended for the weather to match their locale, but otherwise the space felt great for the piece (echo and all). Here is why I will follow them (and it's a similar reason to Will Play For Food, Naomi Bennett and Four Clowns). Fugitive Kind. Live. Theater. ... full review

A well-executed, surreal tale that will have you laughing one minute, holding back tears the next, and possibly laughing and crying at the same time (if you're capable). Meghan Brown's The Fire Room presents a version of the afterlife that is both tragic and allows for endless possibilities--but only if those possibilities are allowed to grow. As it seems, in death (as in life) no one is done climbing the ladder of understanding, and if you're not willing to be patient and keep climbing, you'll stay stuck at the bottom--possibly in bureaucratic hell. Amanda McRaven's direction also presents the story in an interesting and complimentary light. The cold, dark, and lonely confines of death blanket the audience from the moment you take you... full review

In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Mola Ram reaches slowly into a sacrifice's chest and pulls out his still beating heart. In the remarkable production of The Fire Room, writer Meghan Brown manages to do the same to the audience. Only she hold the heart up to the light, lets it feel the sunshine, and then kisses it warmly and pushes it back into your chest stronger and better. It's poetic yet punk rock, lyric yet laugh-out-loud, and fearless, dynamic, and touching. Only a hour long, the fugitive kind builds an entire magical purgatory with its own set of rules and then spins a wistfully simply and yet richly complex narrative. I hesitate to call it a love story, because that so dismissive and simplistic, but it is that. A romance,... full review

Watching "The Fire Room," I kept coming back to one of my favorite quotes: "Everything I've ever let go of has claw marks on it." This one-hour production from Fugitive Kind grabs you with a passion not often seen in the hip, ironic stance taken by so many in entertainment. Meghan Brown's script puts its heart on its sleeve, fastens it with nails, then comes at the audience full force, without worry of bruising or cuts. It's fast, funny, smart and, in its own twisted way, incredibly sweet. It's not afraid to care in a time where caring can often be seen as weakness. The cast is as fully committed to director Amanda McRaven's directorial vision as possible, and McRaven staging is far from the nearly sitcom-style direction often seen on stages... full review

This is one of those moments when your heart aches at the beauty and eloquence that is live theatre- and how real life will never measure up to the poetry, the lyricism, the magical movement and eloquent honesty that is explored and released in this innovative story. Then, there is the embarrassment of emotional riches, highs and lows, that you are forced to experience whilst crowded and rubbing up against your fellow audience members as they live through their own personal, yet communal, experiences. I arrived at the show exhausted and not entirely sure I would be physically able to make it through- and then it began, and by the end I felt that not only had my mind and body woken up, but my spirit was also awoken and re-energized.... full review

Lovely and haunting, movement beautifully integrated with the textual storytelling. I can't wait to see more from this company! And one of the most intriguing set designs I've seen at the Fringe!... full review

This was an amazing work of art, from the set design to the pre-show staging, all the way to the stunning climax. I loved everything about it (except the lack of air conditioning in the building), especially the brilliant direction of Amanda McRaven. This is a must see!... full review