BLiNK at The Russian Hall

Imagine creating a performance whose total duration could be no more than the length of time it takes you to read this blog post. What would you do?

Would you go big with a gimmick? Or would you decide on something more minimalist and conceptual?

Would you attempt to make a statement or would you merely seek to entertain?

Go it alone or seek safety in numbers?

Keep things clean and relatively PG or invite some hoots and howls by adding a bit of raunch?

These were just some of the questions in the air last night at The Russian Hall in Fight with a Stick and A Wake of Vultures' presentation of BLiNK, a return showcase of tasty theatrical morsels by some of the finest artists in this city that was as compelling for the conceits on display as for the collaborative hook-ups the format seems to inspire.

Oh yeah, and then there were the dogs, which included a couple of scene-stealing poodle crosses and a Cerberus-like hound of hell to whom one risked being thrown if one exceeded one's allotted time. It was a fate that some performers seemed to actively court and that others