Photo By James Czar / JAMESCZAR.com

(L-R) Michael Monks, Michael Landers and Matthew A. Pyle play antagonistic soldiers in Know Theatre's Streamers.

The Know Theatre Tribe will kick off its 2005 season in early January with its 50th production, David Rabe's searing Vietnam-era drama, Streamers. Producing edgy theater since 1999, the Tribe enters its sixth season under new artistic leadership, with Jason Bruffy, also the founder and ongoing organizer of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

Dubbing the upcoming season "Tribal Minds," Bruffy says, "The Tribe is the most basic form of culture and society. 'Tribal Minds' is a closer look at individual perceptions in the face of the Tribe." The balance of Know's season includes the regional premiere of Sarah Kane's 4.48 Pyschosis (Feb. 17-March 12), the world premiere of Frank J. Avella's Iris (March 31-April 23), the regional premiere of Jane Martin's Good Boys (May 5-28) and the world premiere of two one-act plays by Jennifer Spillane and David Tucholski, Sticks & Stones may ... (July 21-Aug. 13).

Bruffy and Know Executive Director Jay Kalagayan begin 2005 with a new approach to presenting their shows, expanding from three to four weeks of performances. Previously, Know offered a "pay-what-you-can" evening for their opening Thursday evening. In 2005 they will apply that approach to their first weekend (Thursday-Friday-Saturday evenings at 8 p.m.), followed by three weeks of admission at regular fare ($12 for students and seniors; $15 general admission). Bruffy and Kalagayan expect this will create more word-of-mouth to draw audiences to Know productions.

An anonymous donor through the Greater Cincinnati Foundation has become the preview performance sponsor. Another recent grant has enabled Know to acquire more sophisticated lighting and video equipment, which they'll put to use in Streamers.

Know's mission statement indicates that the group seeks "to engage a diverse audience making theatre more accessible to all." Bruffy observes, "Too often theater has a stigma of elitism, of being highbrow. Being based in Over-the-Rhine, we want to make it possible for everyone to sample new works. Our opening week will let people do that with no risk. We see our contemporary plays as a gift to the community."

Kalagayan adds, "There's real strength in the diversity of our audience." He also sees their performance venue, a church basement at 1425 Sycamore St., as an asset: "We think the intimacy of Gabriel's Corner brings a vibrancy to our shows, not to mention demonstrating our ongoing commitment to downtown Cincinnati." Kalagayan says the group has had opportunities to relocate to other neighborhoods, but they prefer to stay close to the center.

Know also stays close to contemporary subject matter. Although Rabe's play was written in 1976 and reflects attitudes about the war in Southeast Asia, its themes and sentiments are powerfully relevant today, with American soldiers under siege in Iraq. Streamers is about a small group of soldiers from divergent backgrounds -- a socialite from Manhattan, a farm kid from Wisconsin, a young man trying to escape from an inner-city ghetto. It's 1968 and they're stuck in an Army barracks in the middle of a war they don't understand. They wrestle with ideals of manhood, stereotypes about race and preconceptions about sexual preference.

Bruffy, the play's director, says, "Circumstances have repeated themselves. We forget how things remain the same. As these men talk about the war, they fall into their own version of purgatory and start to destroy themselves. Too often we do that here in Cincinnati: We focus on the world outside, losing sight of how the same issues are right here."

Streamers' relevance is underscored in many ways, Bruffy suggests. "People remember the period, or they know someone who was in Vietnam. This fall's close presidential election parallels the election in 1968. These similarities lead us to ask questions about what's right and what's wrong. Through a play like this we can learn from the past."

Bruffy and Kalagayan and their entire "tribe" are certain that by expanding accessibility to this show, they'll share a history lesson with an audience that needs to hear it.

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STREAMERS opens on Jan. 6 and continues through Jan. 26 at Gabriel's Corner in Over-the-Rhine.