Director Pavol Liska lifted his company's name from his countryman Kafka, who used it for the theater in his novel Amerika. But we're sure ol' Franz would approve: Deploying a fresh intelligence, an ingenious theatricality, and a pleasingly odd sense of humor, the Nature Theater of Oklahoma has become one of the top alternative companies in New York. This is an especially big season for the group: No Dice—their four-hour "epic of the everyday"—gets its official premiere at Soho Rep in December, and Mark Russell's "Under the Radar" festival hosts the revival of their Poetics: A Ballet Brut—a joyous piece of dance theater—in January. Check 'em out and see what makes these folks the most excellent faux Okies in town. "No Dice," special performance location to be announced; "Poetics: A Ballet Brut," the Joseph Papp Public Theater.