The handy thing about Fringe previews is that sometimes, there’s a couple of shows that hadn’t really been on your radar yet, but seeing a little snippet of the performance makes you think, “Hmmm, I’d actually like to see the rest of that.” Second night of Fringe previews had three of those for me.
What Takes Who - Sugar Throw Theatre
A dinosaur is born, and what happens next? Join us as we walk through time and space.
Depictions of capitalism, what it means to exists in the body of woman, and wonder what it mean to make impactful change.
Again, because there was a tag for LGBTQ+ content on this show, it hadn’t completely escaped my notice. I just wasn’t quite sure, based on what was on their Fringe show page, what type of show it was. The preview cleared that up in a very engaging way.
In a sign of the times, their master puppeteer and one of the other actors both got sick at the last moment, right before preview night. Yikes. But the director pitched in, and I think they got another friend to help them out as well because there aren’t any guys listed in the cast and crew that I could see, and yet a fellow walked out and held up a sign that said,
“Everything the state says is a lie and everything it has stolen”
No lines, he just held up the sign and slowly rotated so the whole audience got a chance to see it, while other scenes went on behind him. Two of 36 moments the director said would make up their show. One actor had a monologue that began, “What kind of girl are you?” And then a lesbian mother and her dinosaur marionette child had a conversation about cultural appreciation vs. appropriation.
Can’t quite put it into words, but I like the vibe. I could sit with whatever these folks are cooking up for an hour. Also a first-time Fringe producer. As it says on their More Information tab for the show page on the Fringe site: “Yeah, this may be one of those ‘weird Fringe shows’ and yeah, this show may not help you escape the feeling of inevitable doom. BUT we have music, laughs, tears, and a friendly puppet to show us the way!”
(You can click on the following links to see a set of links to the full Top 10 list, the Top 11-20 list, a list of returning favorites, and the full coverage of the 2022 Fringe on this blog.)
(Side note: Also during Fringe season, Minnesota has a primary election coming up on August 9th. Early voting options are currently available. You can also check out what's on your ballot ahead of time on the Minnesota Secretary of State website, as well as other voting services and information. In Minneapolis, not only do we have the Governor and Lt. Governor on the ballot, but there's our U.S. Congressional Rep., our MN State Senator, the MN Secretary of State and MN Attorney General, as well as our County Sheriff and County Attorney, and two members of the Minneapolis School Board. These are the people who decide what laws we live under and how they get enforced. These are the people who decide whether or not we have voting rights. These are the people who decide how our kids learn. This is how we change things. Personally, I'm alternately furious and despairing that my goddaughter and her little sister now have fewer rights over their own bodies than they did a month ago - there are things we can do, voting in the primary (and the general election) is one of them - here's a place you can go to do more.)
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