I was very intrigued at the idea of subtle gestures. The fact that the storyline wasn't too extravagant, but rather very simple, simple enough to actually mimic or imitate what the characters were "feeling." I really felt this was evident in Miffy's character. Her gestures made me see what she was feeling. -Aara Five Days in March was an experience unlike any other. It broke that bonds of what I view to be conventional theater. The actors specific movements on stage seemed involuntary and random at times.

The Seattlest review of chelfitsch starts out like this:

Before we even start getting into the coolness of chelfitsch's performance last weekend at On the Boards, we need to apologize for something: We try to make sure to let readers know about events in time to get tickets, but for the second time this season, OtB sold out before we started plugging. This is their 30th anniversary season, and the line-up has really rocked, so consider this your notice for the month.

And includes things like this:

I was utterly impressed by Five Days in March.   After a couple disoriented minutes of trying to read subtitles while simultaneously watching the fascinating movements of the actors, I eventually gave up any semblance of control and allowed the play to wash over me.   The work itself was unique in that it had no real notable incidents taking place, lest you include the beginning of the Iraq war (which was more part of the stasis of the play than anything else), and jumped from part to part in the five days, extrapolating more information from instances you thought were mere

The first five minutes of Five Days in March reminded me of the first five days or so of the one-plus quarters of Japanese I took in undergrad. Which is to say, I felt completely disoriented and out of my element. I was trying to simultaneously read the supertitles and watch the story being told in the quiet physicality that was unfolding on stage, at every moment convinced that one was making me miss out on the other.

On a bare stage, the actors speak and move with the utmost casualness. I thought I was going to see a play, or a dance-theater work, instead  7 actors forgot they were in a theater and simply told me about some  events in their lives that happened to coincide with the start of the  war. Except: the story was completely deconstructed. We kept jumping  slightly forward, slightly backward in the timeline of events.

I pretty much always go see OTB shows with my sweetheart, who I'll call A.   After shows, A and I generally have a pretty vibrant conversation about our first thoughts.   I thought I'd try to capture at least part of that conversation for this post. Me:   I really would have liked that show when I was 20. A: Why is that? Me:   I don't know... It's just what I was into then. A:   Yes that makes sense.   You like putting every day in art whereas I like putting the art in every day.

chelfitsch is now in Seattle and settling into our Studio Theater. Before they got here, though, they made 2 other stops at the Walker Arts Center (Minneapolis) and the PuSh Festival (Vancouver BC). Here's a quick selection of some of the writing that's come from those venues: The interpersonal military complex - Star Tribune

ArtZone and ArtZine (both part of Seattle Channel) said some kind words about chelfitsch in their most recent episode/issue.   Watch the episode (which includes a few 12 Minutes Max alumni!)  or read about the performance.