Fringe Archive - 2006 - Five Fifths of Casablanca

Here's looking at you, kid - as well as five very different theater companies splitting up a classic and reinterpreting it for a very good cause - the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival...

Fringe Archive - 2006 - Fringe TV and Fringe Mailbox

For the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, I got myself a PO Box, and the TV show I host, asked for video samples so we could try and include some of the out-of-towners in our pre-Fringe coverage. Said samples were sent to said mailbox, and on we go...

Fringe TV - Cue to Cue - homework time, who will the guests potentially be...?

CUE TO CUE - a TV show covering theatre in the Twin Cities - As we prepare to tape our fourth annual Minnesota Fringe Festival spotlight episodes, here’s a little overview of where Cue to Cue has been in the past three years...

A Call For Video Samples for Fringe TV

Fringe Mailbox

Mail Call - Week 1 - Missives from old friends The Candidatos, and new Fringers Guess Who's Coming, Dario and Bario.."

Mail Call - Week 2 - Christopher Leuck's I Want To Be Musashi-A Clown Samurai Fantasy, Wilson Loria's To The Winners, Jeff Baenen's Bud and Wally...

Mail Call - Week 3 - Three Crazy Sons' one man show Dancing with Jimmy, and the improv comedy of Fresh Meat NYC and 88 Improv...

Fringe TV Time, Year 4

Mail Call - Week 4 - The last of the video mailers, this one from Abby Browde and Erin Search-Wells...

Mail Call - Week 6 - Video missives from Majestic Theaterworks, Courtney McLean, Synapse Arts Collective, Timothy Mooney Repertory Theater, Hiram Pines, Three Stickes Theater Company and Jimmy Hogg...

Video Updates - Video sample overviews from Guess Who's Coming To, Dario and Bario, Christopher Lueck, Wilson Loria, 3 Crazy Sons, Fresh Meat, Majestic Theaterworks, Courtney McLean, Synapse Arts Collective, Timothy Mooney, 3 Sticks Theatre, and Jimmy Hogg...

CUE TO CUE - a TV show covering theater in the Twin Cities

Cue to Cue - 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival Broadcast Schedule

Cue to Cue - 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival Broadcast Schedule

Mail Call - Week 7ish

Cue to Cue and the Out of Towners - A Noble Experiment

Cue to Cue - 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival Broadcast Schedule

Fringe Archive - 2006 - My Pre-Fringe Top 10

If You Held A Gun To My Head...

...or, if I could only see ten Fringe shows, what would they be and why?

First, Clearing The Decks

Then here's the full run-down, with write-ups on

#1 - Perpetual Motion Theater Company - The Depth of the Ocean

#2 - Dan Bernitt - Thanks for the Scabies, Jerkface

#3 - Jeffrey Barnes - Remember Who Made You

#4 - Noontime Theatre & Otsie Kerplotsie - I Want to be Musashi: A Clown Samurai Fantasy

#5 - Universal Dance Destiny - African Roads American Streets

#6 - The Donovan Ensemble - Don't Drop the Soap or Lutherans Gone Wild!

#7 - Shantz Theater - A Year in the Life of 25 Strangers Living in a City by the Lake

#8 - Four Humours Theatre - Deviled Eggs

#9 - Leaky Pen Inc. - Mittens for Fat Kids

#10 - Fresh Meat NYC - Fresh Meat

And here's a quick-and-dirty write-up for the time-challenged

And here's the low-down on returning favorites from pre-Fringe Top 10/Top 20 lists past...

Returning Top 10/20ers 2005 - the final version, with Tom Cassidy, Tenth Muse, Unbound, Live Action Set, Scrimshaw, Walking Shadow, Allegra, Three Sticks, and the Players of Notorious Temerity - plus an earlier version when the list was still fresh and the schedule not finalized

Returning Top 10ers 2004 - Chameleon Theater Circle, and Tim Uren - and an earlier post about that cadre of artists coming back

Returning Top 10ers 2003 - Kevin Kling, the Ministry of Cultural Warfare, and Kurt Hunter Marionettes - plus an earlier post on these folks

Fringe Archive - 2006 - The First Fringe-For-All - and Other Previews

A bunch of previews of acts in the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, including the wildly popular new idea, Fringe-For-All...

Some Fringe-For-All Teasers - Background on Fringe-For-All acts Trans State, MATHeatre, Gunyou, Commedia Bouregard, Universal Dance Destiny, Scrimshaw, Unbound, Topsy Turvy, Electric Telescope, Mechanical Division, Muse of Fire, Council of Doom, Holm, Fools, and Four Humours...

Fringe-For-All Post-Mortems

No Balls

There... Isn't... Time... - Fringe Out of Towner Showcase, part 1

And It's Opening Day Already - Fringe Out of Towner Showcase, part 2

Fringe Archive - 2006 - My Pre-Fringe Top 20

If You Remove That Gun From My Head...

...or, if you let me see ten more Fringe shows, what would they be and why?

Here's the 2006 edition of my pre-Fringe Top 20, slots 11-20, with coverage of...

#11 - Topsy Turvy Theater - Alex the Boy Scout (and other stories)

#12 - Suspiro/Inept Productions - Sin Cities 7

#13 - Bruce Ario - The Longest Road

#14 (part 1) - New Theater Group - How To Cheat
#14 (part 2) - Emily Gunyou - She So Beloved

#15 - Mechanical Division - Cannibal! The Musical

#16 - M & M Productions - Tall Tale of a Broke Heart

#17 - Jenny Pennaz Dance Works - One An(d)other

#18 - Upright Egg - The Afterlife Project

#19 - Trans State

#20 - 88 Improv - 88 Improv presents The Hitchhiker

Fringe Archive - 2006 - Community

Other posts about Fringers around the edges of the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival...

Plea for a BYOV

Anyone Got A Pool?

Fork It Over, You Cheap Bastards (Please?)

Slim Pickins

Thanks Leah Cooper and Matthew Foster (and to all of you)

Welcome, Robin!

Fringer Wins Title of Funniest Person In Twin Cities

Fringe Archive - 2006 - Fringe Lottery and Ping Pong Ball Awards

2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival blogging coverage by me of the various lotteries and my tongue-in-cheek Ping Pong Ball Awards related to said lotteries...

The Fickle Ping Pong Balls of Fate - Be patient, and be ready. And if all else fails, be resourceful...

The 2nd Annual Ping Pong Ball Awards, set 1 - The Emphasis on the D, Classy Lady, Audience Participation, Oops I Did It Again, Thanks I'll Be Here All Week, Best. Proxy. Ever., Lions & Tigers & Bears Oh My, & Fly, Monkeys, Fly Awards

The 2nd Annual Ping Pong Ball Awards, set 2 - The Favorite Title (So Far), Favorite Description (So Far), This Should Be Interesting, Waiting To Exhale, & I Am Trying To Break Your Heart Awards

The 2nd Annual Ping Pong Ball Awards, set 3 - The Eat Me, & My Kind of Musical Awards

The 2nd Annual Ping Pong Ball Awards, set 4 - The (Unintentional) NAMBLA, Limp Noodle, Truth in Advertising, Nice Ass, & Moms Only (?) Awards

The 2nd Annual Ping Pong Ball Awards, set 5 - The Sentimental Favorite, Hot For Teacher, My Kind of Queers, & All Day All Night Awards

The 2nd Annual Ping Pong Ball Awards, set 6 - The Sigh of Relief, Not As Dirty As It Sounds, Internet Is For Porn, Vanishing Point, Pentecostal Wisconsin, & Bourbon and Butter Awards

The 2nd Annual Ping Pong Ball Awards, set 7 - The Fringe: The Next Generation, Mixed Kharma (parts 1 & 2), Double Feature, Because It Is Bitter & Because It Is My Heart Awards

The 2nd Annual Ping Pong Ball Awards, set 8 - The Ah Let Em In, Climb Every Mountain, One Is The Loneliest Number, PHEW & Red Badge of Courage Awards

The 2nd Annual Ping Pong Ball Awards, set 9 - The Can't Hardly Wait, Total Eclipse of the Fringe, Wish I'd Thought of That, Go Blogger Go, & Handsome Cowboy Awards

Movin' On Up - Coming in off the wait list and onto the regular schedule for the 2006 Fringe are...

The Disappeared - Fringe artists we won't get to see this year, as they're dropping off the waiting list...

The 'You Like Me, You Really Like Me' Award

Fringe-Guthrie Encore Lottery

Fringe Archive - 2006 - Life of a Blogger (and Mom)

A bunch of random entries scattered around the other coverage of the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival...

Happy Birthday, Mom! - Yes, today is one of the many days to celebrate the woman without whom both I, and this blog, would not be possible.

Four Fringe Venues In One Place

F*** off and get back to the Fringe, amateur - I think I have a new title for my blog...

On the blogging sidelines...

The emailing barrage begins

First Blush...

First Pass...

Nailbiter

Blog Withdrawal

If You're Going To Be Part Of The Fringe...

Just How Many Shows Can One Person See in 11 Days

So, Tell Us About Yourself

My Two Fringes

First Show of the Fringe

Crunch Time

Star Charts

Mom's Thursday Short List, part 1

Mom's Thursday Short List, part 2

Thursday Night Posse Proposal

Invisible Ink

Countdown

The Red Nose Is The Smallest Mask

Don't Be Shy

Stalked By A Fringe Show

Fringe Volunteers Are The Best - But You Knew That

When Audience Members Attack!

Subject to Change

NO. FLASH. PHOTOGRAPHY. EVER.

The Use of the Word Idiot

Farewell, Mom

What I'm Seeing - Monday Edition

What I'm Seeing - Tuesday Edition

What I'm Seeing - Wednesday Edition

What I'm Seeing - Thursday Edition

Things I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging

What I'm Seeing - Friday Edition

What I'm Seeing - Saturday Edition

What I'm Seeing - Sunday Edition

Caffeine, My New Best Friend

Fringe Etiquette for the Holocaust

One Last Time...

Up For Air

Full Immersion

The Revenge of Inanimate Objects

Fringe Archive - 2006 - Festival Snapshots

For the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, I experimented with getting quick, down-and-dirty mini-reviews up on everything I'd seen the day before. Unfortunately, it also gave me unconscious permission in some cases to not get around to writing all the full reviews I meant to. Still, it was an interesting tool, and everybody did get *something* written about them, however brief, so I've gathered them all here...

Opening Night Snapshot - A Day of Love and War with Mom

Friday Night Snapshot - An Evening of World Premieres

Saturday Night Snapshot - A Lot of Laughs plus some Androgynous/Homoerotic Dance

Sunday Snapshot - Puppets, Preachers, Pools & Science, Oh My!

Monday Snapshot - Clown Samurai, Brain Injury, & Torture

Tuesday Snapshot - Fallen Paradises, Puzzles, Cat Whisperers & Really Tall Men

Wednesday Snapshot - Flatulence in a Scent Free Venue, Firsts, WonderDave, Singing Cannibals and a Sliver of the Universe

Thursday Snapshot - Great Dance, Help Wanted, Black & White Christmas, and The First Show I Can't Recommend

Friday Snapshot - Rats, Bats, Cats, Laser Buddhas, Dance Party & the Full Gunyou

Saturday Snapshot - Baggage, Bridges, Borderlines, Bent, the Afterlife, and the Wonders of the World

Sunday Snapshot - The Lips of a Clown, Pulling Teeth, Crowded House & One Last Dip in the Ocean

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 5 Stars - Life-Altering Experience

From the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I rated...

5 Stars - Life-Altering Experience

Very Highly Recommended

A Heap of Broken Images - Allegra Lingo

Baggage - Players of Notorious Temerity (saw it twice)

Bent - Tenth Muse (mini-review at the top of the page - best thing I saw that day) - and I have to include here, too, one of the more bizarre audience moments of my Fringing - that year, or ever - Fringe Etiquette for the Holocaust

Deviled Eggs - Four Humors

Great Hymn of Thanksgiving/Conversation Storm - The Nonsense Company

How To Cheat - New Theatre Group

Tales to Tickle a Striped Ass Baboon - Third Rabbit Dance Ensemble (mini-review at the top of the page - best thing I saw that day)

Thanks for the Scabies, Jerkface! - Dan Bernitt

The Depth of the Ocean - Perpetual Motion Theatre Company (saw it twice)

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 4-1/2 Stars - Damn Near Perfect

From the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I rated...

4-1/2 Stars - Damn Near Perfect

Very Highly Recommended

A Year in the Life of 25 Strangers Living in a City by the Lake - Shantz Theater

Cannibal The Musical - The Mechanical Division (scroll down for the mini-review, and assurances that I will be the last one eaten)

Christmas in Bakersfield - Traveling Kurkendaal Productions (scroll down for the mini-review)

Die Clowns Die - Joseph Scrimshaw (scroll down for the mini-review)

The Star Chamber - Screaming at the Sky Theater Company

Two Queers and a Chubby - What Happened? Productions (mini-review at the top - best thing I saw that day)

Ukraine Morrocco Monte Carlo - Majestic Theaterworks (scroll down for the mini-review)

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 4 Stars - Excellent

From the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows that I rated...

4 Stars - Excellent

Highly Recommended

1926 Pleasant - Walking Shadow

Curriculum Vitae - Jimmy Hogg, aka The Roodie Pancake Experiment (scroll down for the mini-review)

Don’t Drop the Soap or Lutherans Gone Wild - Donovan Ensemble

Fresh Meat - Fresh Meat NYC

HP Lovecraft’s The Rats in the Walls - Tim Uren (scroll down for the mini-review)

Monsters In America - Puppets of Mass Distraction - Chameleon Theater Circle

Mittens for Fat Kids - Leaky Pen, Inc.

Remember Who Made You - Jeffrey Barnes

Sock Puppet Serenade - Kurt Hunter Marionettes

The Musicker’s Balalaika - Walking Boxes

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 3-1/2 Stars - Good Job Plus

From the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I rated...

3-1/2 Stars - Good Job Plus

88 Improv presents The Hitchhiker - 88 Improv

African Roads, American Streets - Universal Dance Destiny (scroll down for the mini-review)

Borderlines - 3 Sticks (scroll down for the mini-review)

Dirty - Chris Schlichting (scroll down for the mini-review)

She So Beloved - Emily Gunyou (scroll down for the mini-review)

The Afterlife Project, or 'She's Just Sleeping' and Other Lies Your Mother Told You About Death - Upright Egg (scroll down for the mini-review)

The Wonders of the World: Recite - Totally Realistic Productions (aka Missoula Oblongata) (scroll down for the mini-review, and wounded artist response - serves me right for making an REM song title joke and not explaining it - ah well...)

Wonderland - La Vie Theater

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 3 Stars - Good Job

For the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I rated...

3 Stars - Good Job

Recommended

Alex The Boy Scout (and other stories) - Topsy Turvy Theater

Burning Bridges - Timothy Meyer (scroll down for the mini-review)

Firsts - Happenstance Theater

Higher Power - Little Red Square Theater

I Want To Be Musashi - A Clown Samurai Fantasy - Christopher Lueck, Noontime Theatre and Otsie Kerplotsie

One An(d) Other - Jenny Pennaz Dance Works

Past the Size of Dreaming - Starting Gate Productions (scroll down for the mini-review, and a chatty and informative response from the playwright)

Sh*t Up Louder - Tom Cassidy & Co.

Sin Cities 7 - Suspiro/Inept Productions

Tall Tale of a Broke Heart - M & M Productions (scroll down for the mini-review)

The Day the Universe Came Closer - Hiram Pines (scroll down for the mini-review)

The Longest Road - Bruce Ario

Welcome To Dystopia - Typewriter Bear Suit Skateboard Productions

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 2-1/2 Stars - Not Bad, Needs Some Work

For the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I've rated...

2-1/2 Stars - Not Bad, Still Needs Some Work

Resonance - Cynthia Veal Holm

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 2 Stars - Not Bad, Needs Some Work

For the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I rated...

2 Stars - Not Bad, Needs Some Work

Trans State

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 2 Stars - Not Bad, Needs Some Work

For the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I rated...

2 Stars - Not Bad, Needs Some Work

Trans State

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 1-1/2 Stars - Life's Still Too Short

For the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I rated...

1-1/2 stars - Life's Still Too Short

none

phew

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 1 star - Life's Too Short

For the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I rated...

1 Star - Life's Too Short

Dario and Bario - DB Productions

(scroll to the bottom of the Thursday Snapshot and there they'll be...)

Fringe Archive - 2006 - 0 Stars - Run For It

For the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival, shows I rated...

0 stars - Run For It

none

phew