While You're At It...
 
...Or Shows In A Similar Vein

Captivated by the one-person whimsy or superheroes of...
10,000 Comic Books?

Try
The Swimmer
Anne Dimmock
Acadia Cafe

and/or

Try
Six Steps Part Deux
Illusion Theatre

and/or

Try
KBYE Now News Hour
Unitard
Acadia Cafe

and/or

Try
A Superhero Story
Two Time Theatre Company
In The Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre

The Swimmer
A different kind of one-person show. An intimate venue for an intimate show. It kills me that one of the things I lost in my recent computer crash was the notes of my phone conversation with Anne Dimmock (they still exist, just not in a format I can access on this slower, older backup computer. sigh). It was a great conversation, and Anne has a poet's way with words. For starters, look at her show description:

"Between baptisms and near drownings, the swimmer navigates dangerous waters. A daughter's first bra; a black taffeta dress; lethal cocktails; a Latin lover. And cancer. A sensuous tale of survival."

This is also Anne's first foray onto the stage as a performer. Like me, she has been a playwright letting the actors do the work in the stage lights up til now. For this most personal of stories, though, she's putting herself out there. She's been developing this piece in front of audiences of fellow cancer survivors and under the tutelage of Heidi Arneson, who certainly knows a good autobiographical one person show with Fringe potential when she sees one.

So I'm joining Anne in uncharted waters and I recommend you do the same.

Six Steps Part Deux
This is sort of a six degrees of separation thing for me (no pun intended). Yes, it's about superheroes in therapy after they save the world, a followup to last year's Six Steps (superheroes don't need the full 12, I guess - and anything involving superheroes begs for a sequel). So that's the first reason it goes on my schedule. William Leaf, the lead actor in my show, Dandelion Snow, is also in this ensemble, so that's another reason. Another of the actors donning tights is Nathan Tylutki, who recently played the role of the gay Marine Seth in my short play Leave that was part of Bedlam Theatre's Ten Minute Play Festival in June. Brent Doyle penned both parts of this superhero saga, and he was an invaluable and regular reader for a number of months for a weekly new play reading series I used to host (great actor, great writer, friend to new work of others). Ellen Fenster, talented actress and director about town, is helming this sequel, and she directed a little snippet I wrote for the Chicago Avenue Project at Pillsbury House Theatre last year with an actor playing a six-foot talking worm who's done a few other things you might know about. It was fun last Fringe, and word from the cast has it that this script is even better than the last.

KBYE Now News Hour
Two reasons
1) Tim Uren is part of the group Unitard, so if you liked 10,000 Comics, you'll probably like this
2) Satirical news shows - like the Daily Show with Jon Stewart - are the only things that can talk me down off the ledge after watching too much CNN, which I do, way too much.

A Superhero Story
Again with the superheroes. The description is delightfully cheesy. It's also a musical. For some reason, I've never heard of Two Time before even though they've been around for six years. For some other reason, most of the cast has body doubles. Finally, their bios are also delightfully cheesy.

While You're At It - other shows that, if you like any of the other top ten/sure thing shows I mentioned, should also be of interest to you:

The Valets (for the Plants and Animals crowd)
Punk Rock Awesome (for the In Defense of Sin crowd)
Delaware, And Other Lies (for the Kevin Kling crowd)
Osama Kincaid, Painter of Terror (for the Death Penalty Puppetry crowd)
Pipes (for the Origin of Consciousness crowd)
Lokasenna (for the Metamorphoses crowd)
EAT! A Generous Buffet of Karen Carpenter's Songbook (for the Philosophy/Ben Folds crowd)
Tequila (for the Philosophy/Ben Folds crowd)
VISION'S TALE: Curse of the Machine / Cycles of Social Haunting / Birth of Vision (for the Judas Cradle crowd)
The Queen of Block E (for the Beaded Fringe crowd)
Whiskey Bars (for the Knock! crowd)
Look Ma, No Pants: The Last One (for the Improv A Go-Go crowd)
Jack & Ben's 10th Annual Bar Crawl and Moveable Feast (for the Improv A Go-Go crowd)

(For more of my writing - plays, past blog entries and more - visit www.matthewaeverett.com)