“?” (Question mark)

Dear Santa, Please bring a couple of heaters to the members of Abandon Productions. They really do need and deserve them. The troupe has been both naughty and nice, and its shows are some of the most innovative, intriguing and joyful in town.

But it’s friggin’ freezing in that old, unheated warehouse they call a theater. When they say BYOB (Bring Your Own Blanket), they mean it! Fortunately, because this troupe’s performances are so captivating, you forget how numb your butt has become until you stand to leave. By then, however, your applause has jump-started your circulation again.

The 12-member Abandon Productions’ troupe, under the guidance of founder and artistic director Doniel Soto, presents vignettes that combine vocal experiments, dramatic interpretations and physical movements. Sometimes there’s a theme, sometimes there isn’t. Mostly, the results are charming, inventive and fascinating.

The troupe’s current production, titled “?”, brings all these aspects together. As the audience enters the theater, troupe members already are in the midst of warming up on the concrete slab they call a stage, and audience members feel as though they’ve stumbled into a rehearsal. Before long, they realize that’s the intention—Soto is calling out directions from his perch above the risers, stopping and starting the piece at will and directing what the audience soon realizes is the production.

The a cappella vocals range from doo-wop to Gregorian chants and strange, tribal rhythms, while the movements portray spider webs, roller coasters, the Eiffel Tower, rivers, mountains and high-concept themes. The joy these performers project is highly infectious as they emote with their bodies, their faces and their voices. It’s a shared experience, with not a single selfish performance or ego-driven action onstage.

Although the concept of creator creating as the audience watches works some of the time, it feels intrusive and forced at others. But, once the street-thread-clad performers start up a new path, and the magic unfolds, you’re apt to forgive the director’s small excesses and the theater’s refrigerator temperatures.

“?” plays at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are $10 and $13. Abandon Productions is at The Space, 2509 R Street, 737-2304. Through December 21.