Staged chaos is an oxymoron in terms. 

If chaos is defined by a fundamental lack of control, then the sheer act of trying to stage chaos immediately negates its defining essence. 

Not to mention: true chaos on stage can put the performers’ bodies on the line, and maybe even the audiences’. 

But two recent shows revel in the chaos of this risk. Or do they revel in the risk of this chaos?

The physical stunts of Stamptown’s Jack Tucker (or is it Zach Zucker?) and his roller-skater Dylan may look and even flirt with being dangerous, but repeat visits to their madness reveal its method of honed precision.

And the chairs sequence in Symara Sarai’s I want it to rain inside at New York Live Arts’ Live Artery appeared so reckless against her body that it seemed to invite personal injury.