It's fall, but the Kitchen Dog Theatre is done going Through the Leaves. Dallas' off-off-Broadway theatre company kicked off their 2001-02 season with Franz Xaver Kroetz's Through the Leaves, ending Sept. 30 at Heldt/Hall Theater in the MAC. The company's artistic director Dan Day directs.

In Through the Leaves, translated from the German by Roger Downey, a fragile butcher tells of her relationship with her mysterious lover. When Through the Leaves played Off-Broadway, it won five 1984 Obie Awards, including one for Kroetz, director JoAnne Akalaitis and actress Ruth Maleczech. Known for his ultra-onstage realism, Kroetz also wrote Mensch Meier, Farmyard and Working at Home.

Kitchen Dog Theatre co-founder John Morgan plays the lover, with Shelley Tharp as the butcher.

Performances of Through the Leaves began Sept. 8. Tickets are $15. For reservations, call (214) 953-1055. Kitchen Dog Theater is on the web at http://www.kitchendogtheater.org.

* In their 2001-02 season, Kitchen Dog will also stage Mark Ravenhill's Some Explict Polariods (Oct. 13 – Nov. 11), Craig Lucas' Reckless (Nov.17-Dec. 22), William Shakespeare's Coriolanus (April 6 – May 12, 2002) and a New Works Festival (June 8 – 30, 2002).

— By Christine Ehren