Smart, nuanced and moving, Sideway Theater's No Chaos: Pollock's Wife examines the often overlooked abstract painter Lee Krasner's life and her volatile relationship with husband and fellow artist Jackson Pollock. This play at the New York International Fringe Festival, written and directed by FringeNYC "Excellence in Playwriting" award-winner Michael Stock, shines a light on Krasner's work and her struggle to be taken seriously as a female artist in the early- and mid-20th century.

"No chaos" is a phrase that Jackson Pollock would say when people would call his work "chaotic" -- which is ironic because his life very much was.  The play opens on Krasner (Elise Randall) dividing up photos of people into groups: the butterflies, the moths and the bats.  She is trying to make sense of her chaotic life through her art, but can't figure out what group her late husband (Andrew Shapiro) falls into.  She thinks back to pivotal moments in her relationship with Pollock, an alcoholic, and how their love story became a tragedy. Through memories, recreated on stage with help from actors Maddy Stark and Greg Wenz, who shift into roles such as Peggy Guggenheim and Willem de Kooning as needed, Krasner comes to an understanding of what she and Pollock were.

With a minimalistic set containing only a few metal chairs, coffee cups, pieces of Krasner's collage and paintbrushes, Michael Stock and assistant director J. Preston Witt create a focused and complex story about a woman whose life is turned upside down by a relationship. Stock has obviously done his homework and not only establishes a sense of authenticity within the time period, but also gives the audience a sense that he really understands the people whose lives he's written about. The nearly bare set centers viewers on the characters, the fast-paced, yet intelligent dialogue, and Krasner's monologues, packed with emotion and vulnerability.