It’s hard to replicate the title for this one correctly, as it’s sort of a strikethrough line scratching out “exercises” and replacing it with “exorcises” - you know, fun with words, etc.
Phil Gonzales was in my pre-Fringe Top 20 for 2023 for his last Fringe outing, Lost In Bear Country: Birth, God, Death...and the Bearenstain Bears, which I quite enjoyed:
“high-energy verbal whirlwind of a show, randomized by the spin of a wheel; topics this time: God, Sports, Race, sprinklings of autobiography; funny and serious at the same time - 5 stars”
Well, the spinning wheel of many colors is back again, outfitted with different topics, along with the theatrical crates one also expects in any Fringe show, for…
Trust Exercises Exorcises
Raffish Ripoff Productions (Phil Gonzales)
Venue: Rarig Xperimental
Show Description:
Phil Gonzales spins his Wonder Wheel of Wonder and spins a few tales of his messed up high school theater experience. Storytelling + improv + pathos + trauma + acting lessons! Also, it's apparently funny? (shrug emoji)
Phil Gonzales spins his “Wheel of Trust” to explore how high school theater shaped, and warped, his understanding of trust, performance, and identity. Blending absurdist comedy, audience interaction, and deeply personal storytelling, the show uses ensemble-building exercises to explore the cult-like control his teacher had over the children in his theater program. Part monologue, part satire, and all exorcism, this is a story about reclaiming your narrative, confronting the roles you were forced to play, and learning to trust in spite of the trauma.
Genre & Content:
Comedy, Improv, Drama, Solo Show, Storytelling, Audience Participation
Warnings:
Adult Language, Drug Content, Mental Illness, Abuse/Physical Violence, Sexual Content, Sexual Violence, Suicidal Ideation/Self-Harm, Other Divisive Content
As Phil puts it on his Fringe show page:
“Look, it's been a while since I've done a show. I'm a little older, a little heavier, and a whole lot... sillier? I guess? We'll go with sillier.
A few years ago, I really started delving into my lack of trust: in myself, in my loved ones, in society, in authority. Pretty much in everything. My therapist was all "What gives?" And I was all, "I think I know what gives." And he was all, "Wanna talk about it?" And was all "Lights up... on an empty stage." AND I WAS BACK IN THE GAME, BAYBEEE!
This show is a comedy and a traumady. It's funny because life is funny. Is it graphic? No. I don't go into gory details. Plus, the gory details? Not really mine to share. The truly terrible stuff is someone else's story.
This is the story of my experience in a brutal, horrible, messed up, manipulative, cult of personality. It's the tale of being the inside outsider. The example. The second best. It's the story of self-worth, and how precious a thing that is.
It's also completely randomized! I spin a wheel to guide me through the story! Come every night! I get bored easily, so I tend to make up the show as I go along. Bring a friend! Want to audience participate? We can do that!
PLEASE COME TO MY SHOW.”
Sillier and somehow also more traumatic than last time? In this format? Sure, I’m down. Spin that wheel!
Update 7/24/2025, their Fringe preview:
Here’s some handy links to my Fringe Top 10, Top 11 to 20 and Returning Favorites lists for this year, as well as all the coverage of this year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival.
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