Still trying to figure out the best way to navigate social media platforms that are increasingly full of garbage. No longer using the site formerly known as Twitter, giving BlueSky a try (a lot fewer Nazis). So that’s where the posts on the fly during the festival will be posted (https://bsky.app/profile/matthewaeverett.bsky.social), and then I’ll gather them here at the end of each day for the snapshot of my daily festival travels from show to show, with longer reviews to follow.
MN Fringe update: spent much of the afternoon trying to figure out my schedule for the next few days; much behind my usual planning :) It might have something to do with the fact that these are the days Mom would be here, and my brain has been kind of resisting...
A friend whose judgment I trust was a big fan of Wells Farnham's last Fringe show, his new one "I Have Griefances" had 3 shows opening weekend, concluding w/shows tonight 8/4 5:30pm (I'm going), & Wed 8/6 8:30pm at Barker Center. If you're curious, don't wait.
MN Fringe show #23: I Have Griefances - solid recommendation from friends on this one; Wells Farnham delivers a very funny solo show that is oddly sweet despite all the profanity, in tribute to the multiple members of his family that keep coming down with various strains of cancer - 5 stars
MN Fringe show #24: The Gentlemen’s Pratfall Club from Comedy Suitcase - so many great one liners, so many ridiculous characters, so many painful looking stage “accidents” Joshua English Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen serve up comedy from so many directions; brilliant - 5 stars
MN Fringe show #25: Cabin Fever - so many lesbians, so little time; this cast of improvisers/drag queen nails all the conventions of the reality TV dating genre and will say and do pretty much anything they can’t broadcast for the public :) just as funny as it is bawdy and unexpected - 5 stars
MN Fringe show #26: Joan of Arc for Miss Teen Queen USA - it would've been so easy for this to be a surface-level, flashy, one joke premise kind of comedy, so kudos to Melancholics Anonymous for serving up something not just funny but having depth, great characters; fascinating all-around - 5 stars
Here’s some handy links to coverage of 5 Star and 4.5 Star Shows I've Seen (VERY Highly Recommend), 4 Star and 3.5 Star Shows I've Seen (Highly Recommended), Other Shows I've Seen (3 Stars or Less), as well as my Fringe Top 10, Top 11 to 20 and Returning Favorites lists for this year, and all the coverage of this year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival.
As I’m sure many artists are, I find myself struggling with the idea of
just “taking time off” (what a luxury) and submerging myself in a whole
lot of theater for 11 days while the world is on fire so… I’m going to
put some phrases and links down here (and at the end of each post going
forward) and if you find yourself compelled to explore one or more of
them, so much the better. There’s a lot going on, and it can be easy to
get overwhelmed and tune out, but as Congresswoman Sarah McBride
recently said, “If everybody shows a little courage, nobody needs to be a
hero.” I freely admit this list and these links are hardly
exhaustive. It's just something to get started. Do what you can, where
you can, however you can. Let’s help one another get through this.
Contacting your elected officials about the issues that matter to you (and protesting as necessary)
Starvation in the Gaza Strip
Immigration raids around the United States
Ukraine fighting off invasion by Russia
Trans rights
Climate change action
Housing shortage and the unhoused
Reproductive Rights
Voting rights, and running for office
The courts, from the Supreme Court on down to the local level
Don’t forget to laugh - even gallows humor is still humor
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