BlueSky post: MN Fringe show #1: (long title) aka The Fart Show - Malcolm Dekker and his Fringe vet dad Kyle have crafted a clever, inventive, goofy little show, with lots of fun audience fart sound participation, providing structure to something that might have just been a string of fart jokes; 4.5 stars
It seems a bit silly to try and craft a serious opening line about this show. It’s a show about farts. A number of parents brought their young children, and were rewarded with family entertainment (assuming your family is entertained by farts and all these families seemed to be). “A Completely Serious and Not At All Comedic Review of Farts, Flatus, and Flatulence, aka The Fart Show” is a light, funny Fringe show, conceived by 7th grader Malcolm Dekker and executed in tandem with his father, Fringe vet Kyle Dekker. As I said above, what could have otherwise been just a string of random fart jokes has instead been crafted into something quite clever, providing a framework on which to hang all the silliness.
“A noble gas has no reaction.”
The show is a five part experiment by Professors Poot (Malcolm) and Toot (Kyle), in their personalized white lab coats, to discover why people find farts so amusing. They cover the origin of the fart, farts throughout history, farts in the arts and sports, and conclude with some scientific analysis of what they’ve learned.
They also wisely get the audience involved right away, so everyone can start having a good time. They disperse noisemakers (fart noisemakers, of course) throughout the audience and then hope to encourage the audience at key points in the action to provide noise for key farting moments in history. Of course, many recipients just can’t stop making noise, so we are treated to the sound of farting throughout the proceedings. And the sense of joy among audience members learning for the first time how to use their armpits and a simple straw to emit farting sounds in order to be conducted by Poot on the “1812 Overture,” well, that was lovely to see. Fun had by all.
“Fart self-censorship in the movies, also known as the Hayes Code”
In order to dispense with the learning of lines, the narration is pre-recorded and Poot and Toot are mute clowns making presentations aligned with the spoken word. This conceit works very well, and the Dekkers interact with ease with their narrator, each other, and the crowd without need for words (which is not as easy as you think). There’s even a great bit where the narrator accidentally reads the stage directions about what he’s supposed to record for the results of a scientific survey of fart sound effects.
The set-up is simple, three folding chairs with three foot lockers full of props next to or behind them, configured as three points of a triangle of space onstage, which the Dekkers and their many happy volunteers make full use of. Inventive props abound - from a multi-colored plastic expandable set of tubes snaked through the audience early on to mimic the intestines, to molecule models, to large cardboard cutouts of vegetables, to ancient artistic drawings with labels slapped on them saying “All Ages Show” to cover up the naughty bits.
“Literally a blast from the past.”
There’s even a bit of audience competition involved, whether it’s a race to see who can sit on the most whoopee cushions in a minute (while expelling air and sound, of course), or a whoopee cushion version of musical chairs, where you have to grab a chair and sit, but also make that noise when you sit down.
(At the opening performance there was a minor mishap, two girls, one chair, and a loss of balance slipping off the side of a whoopee cushion led to a bit a of a spill and some tears - which even a well-deployed whoopee cushion couldn’t totally fix. However, the child rallied before the end of the show and was thoroughly enjoying herself again, no harm done. Be careful of your musical chairs technique when a whoopee cushion is involved.)
“Methane: It’s a Gas to Volunteer!”
Also, the show runs just a little short. The performers weren’t entirely sure how much time to leave as padding for all the audience interaction, even though a lot of that, just like their own performances, is bounded by interaction with sound cues of the narration. Upside, they’ve learned they can take their time and don’t need to rush. And there isn’t really a downside - audiences have a bit more time to get to their next show, and the artists coming after this show in the next time slot get a little more breathing room to set up.
“Mel Brooks did many test screenings of Blazing Saddles to determine from audience reaction what the funniest number of farts was. The answer is 12.”
“A Completely Serious and Not At All Comedic Review of Farts, Flatus, and Flatulence, aka The Fart Show” is good, silly fun, and a perfect respite from all the other serious shows we all will no doubt be seeing throughout the festival. Give yourself a break, have a fart, have a laugh.
4.5 stars, Very Highly Recommended
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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