Ceremony at Bootleg Theater

At 35 years of age, Michael Kass lost himself. And instead of looking for answers at the bottom of a glass or from the comfort of a therapist's couch, he quits his job, hops a flight to Peru, and searches for a shaman who can prepare a renowned tea that promises to make him see his worst fears. How far will one man go to find himself? And will he be able to find his way back? Award winning storyteller Michael Kass takes inspiration from his own narrative to weave this hilarious and spellbinding true tale of love, fear and ayahuasca. Deftly directed by Diana Wyenn, this 60minute adventure—performed on a bare stage by the charismatic Kass with the aid of eight colorful buckets and a vibrant and immersive sound design by Martin Carillo and lighting design by Tony Shayne—takes audiences from downtown Los Angeles to the Sacred Valley in Peru and back. At turns self deprecatingly funny and unsparingly frank, Kass's intensely personal story grapples with universal themes of isolation, self doubt and coming of age in the context of a shamanic medicine ceremony.