Friday, July 27, 2018

3 - The Flashlight Zone: 20 Science Fiction Plays in One Hour - Flash Grenade Productions - TRP


20 Science Fiction plays performed rapid-fire in under an hour. Aliens, robots, time travel and more - all at the speed of light!

I was bummed when I missed this show’s first outing at the Phoenix this past spring, so I was happy to see it pop up on the list of shows in the Fringe this summer.

Their recent Fringe preview was a real standout, too - a high energy, very funny scene in which a mime invades an office and slowly takes over another person’s job just by pretending.

Also, in my notes, I notice I scribbled “Artists of color!” - I should add, a majority of artists of color in the ensemble. (No offense intended to anyone, but the first round of Fringe previews were a pretty lily white night until Flash Grenade showed up.  It’s another way the company stood out from the crowd.)

I like a generous dollop of scifi as part of my entertainment diet, and Flashlight Zone should do nicely.

Here’s some more context: “The Flashlight Zone: 20 Science Fiction Plays in One Hour is a fast-paced sprint through the world of Science Fiction. Over the span of one hour, twenty short plays will explore space aliens, time travel, and artificial intelligence. Inspired by Chicago's Neo-Futurists and a century of Futurist writers, this show puts the audience in control as they choose the order of the plays while the performers race against the clock!”

And some more: “Alone, a robot toils in an underground room. A soldier receives a mysterious message from their future self. A self driving car becomes self-aware. And that's just the beginning… Space Aliens and strange technologies abound alongside deep questions about what it means to be human in a rapidly changing world.”

Here's some handy links to the full Top 10, Top 11-20 and Returning Favorites lists.


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