Fringe 2026 - Returning Favorites - American School of Storytelling - More Better Stories

 

 

 

Speaking of the American School of Storytelling venue, they’re also producing their own show with a rotating roster of storytellers, collectively called “More Better Stories” - the folks behind this venue are some of the best storytellers in town and created some very enjoyable storytelling shows in Fringes past, so whatever they’ve got on the schedule is always a returning favorite

Description: 
Storytellers Jon Carlson, Vianna Isbister, Bernadine Joselyn, Hank Roubicek - each tell three times, and Erin Ferdinand, Kory May, Christopher Nelson, Laura Packer, and Anne Wiborg do "one off's" with stories for adults.
Venue - American School of Storytelling
Content Warnings - Adult Language, Sexual Content
Genre and Content - Comedy, Drama, Solo Show, Storytelling, LGBTQIA+ Content, Political Content, Religious Content
Ages 16 and up

The press packet materials have the following extra detail:

“The American School of Storytelling is the most intimate venue in the Twin Cities and for the third year as an Independent Producer on the "fringe of the Fringe" we are offering eight storytellers from around the country sharing adult tales of love, obsession, adventure, humor and horror on our 8'x8' stage.  Railroad engineer Jon Carlson, Tennessee based Vianna Isbister, Bernadine Joselyn coming from Grand Rapids (MN) and Houston based Hank Roubicek each tell three times while Erin Ferdinand, Christopher Nelson, Laura Packer, and Anne Wiborg will do “one off’s” for this year’s More Better Stories.”

If you check out their Cast and Crew tab on their show page on the Fringe website, you can find a rundown of who’s doing what when.  Here’s a quick summary of the titles on offer:

Three performances for:
Jon Carlson - Oz-America - The contrasting energies of my work and my polity inspire me, artistically, to alchemize both MAGA rage and the rage that animates The Resistance. Not only can Imagination and Humor dance with Rage, they desire to do so for the sake of the soul's liberation and human solidarity.
Vianna Isbister - Leaking (The Wolves are Everywhere) - invites audiences into liminal spaces where shadows stir, voices linger, and imagination takes on a life of its own.
Bernadine Joselyn - War & Peace in My 20th Century Life - What’s Worth Fighting For? - Imagination and longing led her from her childhood home in a first-ring Minneapolis suburb to India, the Soviet Union (later Russia), New York City and rural Itasca County, giving up building civil society for tree planting and tending along the way.
Hank Roubicek - Learning What? - With over 4 decades of teaching, he reveals emotional truths about education, learning, and the stuff that matters most.

One shots for:
Erin Ferdinand - My Dog Died (and All I Got was This Lousy Miracle) - author of "The Ghost Dog Diaries", a collection of essays and advice about life after death and our life, in general; debuting supernatural stories
Kory May - The Exact Moment I Became Someone Else - Kory May tells stories to make sense of the world—and since the world refuses to make sense, he keeps telling them - a Moth Mainstage performer and two-time Moth GrandSlam winner.
Christopher Nelson - Growing Up Small in a Mid-Sized Town - Come learn how balled-up socks, radishes and cow eyeballs are about the same size, but which one is good for throwing in self defense?
Laura Packer - Mermaids, Monsters, and Mysterious Strangers: Stories of the Unknown and Unexpected - Not everything can be explained. Not all strangers are who they seem. Not every monster is what you expect.
Annie Wiborg - Tell Me Again - Her days are full of reading, friends, family, volunteering, walking the dog, camping, working out – while frequently eavesdropping - at the gym.


One of the things I regret not doing in last year’s festival is getting out to the American School of Storytelling and taking in a show in this new-ish venue.  I’ll be trying to rectify that error this year - and there are even more promising presentations out there this time to make it worth a trip.

 

Interested in hearing about other artists I recommend based on past outings in the Fringe? Here's a link to a list of all the coverage of returning favorite artists from past pre-Fringe Top 20 lists of mine that are part of this year's Minnesota Fringe Festival. And here's links to the 2026 versions of my pre-Fringe Top 10 list and Top 11 through 20 for the 2026 festival as we ramp up toward the start of the Fringe on August 6th.  

 

  

Fringe 2025 - Returning Favorites - Snikt!Bamf!Thwip! - Invasive Species, or: In Space No-One Can Hear Your Steam

This one comes with a Fringe pedigree from three or more different angles if you keep staring at it long enough.

Invasive Species, or: In Space No-One Can Hear Your Steam
Snikt!Bamf!Thwip!
Venue: Rarig Thrust
Show Description:
On a quiet night in the Harbor of London, the sailing vessel Nostromo crashes into the dock with only one surviving crew member. What happened? And why is everyone wearing tiny top hats?
Genre & Content: 
Comedy, Horror, Mystery, Puppetry, Sci-Fi
Warnings:
Blood, Gun/Weapon Usage, Loud Noises, Violence

First of all, this is the other Fringe show that I mentioned was using one of my favorite old horror movie tag lines, this time in the title.

Second, it’s the latest from Snikt!Bamf!Thwip! (aka Tim Wick) who has been lampooning iconic pop culture stories (from Star Trek to Bridgerton to Agatha Christie to John Wick from long before they landed on my pre-Fringe Top 20 list back in 2012, continuing on to this present incarnation, a steampunk satirical version of the Alien sci-fi/horror movie franchise (just as they’re gearing up for a TV series version where a bunch of greedy morons bring the titular alien invasive species to Earth, with predictably gory results - say goodbye to the human race, I guess.)

"Invasive Species: or In space No-One Can Hear your Steam" is an original comedy taking a look at "Alien" and "Aliens" through the lens of Steampunk. The sailing vessel Nostromo crashes into the London harbor with only one surviving crew member. What happened to the rest of the crew and why does it require so many gears and tiny top hats to figure it out?

Third, it’s being directed by Brian Watson-Jones, part of my pre-Fringe Top 10 list from way back in 2009 in his Tedious Brief Productions days, and who just had a truly great 5-star solo show in last year’s Fringe, "Close Call: A How-Not-To Guide to Being a POS"

Fourth, a key member of the cast is Kjer Whiting, who played an extra-sexy Van Helsing in the hilarious 2023 Fringe hit “4 Bisexuals and 2 Guys Named John Kill Dracula" (#1 on my pre-Fringe Top 10 list that year for a reason, and it more than delivered on the premise.)

So with all these folks working on it, chances are we’ve got another solid comedy on our hands.

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.

 

 

Fringe 2023 - Returning Favorites - Scot Froelich and Brian Watson-Jones

Phoenix Presents
Scot Froelich, Rob Ward, Brian Watson-Jones

This is an anthology of three unique shows:

"Aging In An Age of Change" by Scot Froelich
We don't have to burn out or fade away. There's a third option between taking up too much space and ceasing to exist.

"Slices" produced by Brian Watson-Jones
Dark, twisted, and occasionally humorous stories told by those on the edges of society, sanity, and morality. A collection of storytelling monologues from The Pumpkin Pie Show by Clay McLeod Chapman, performed by Cate Jackson, Gregory Parks, H Jo Raiter, and Brian Watson-Jones.

"How to Kill a Horse" by Rob Ward
A pitch-black, one-man musical comedy about the true history of the weirdest, nastiest, horse-killingest case of fraud in American history!

Venue: Phoenix Theater
Tagged for: Comedy, Horror, Solo Show, Storytelling, Historical Content
Content Warnings: Adult language, Blood, Abuse/Physical Violence, Crude Humor, Sexual violence, Suicidal ideation/self-harm, Sexual Content, Gun/Weapon Usage, Mental Illness, Drug Content, Violence, Other Divisive Content

The Phoenix Theater is one of the venues outside the main Cedar-Riverside hub of the festival where independent producers are offering still more shows, including this three-in-one production under the banner of “Phoenix Presents.”  With this, plus a musical (Extreme Roadshow, from John Orenstein) and some improv comedy (Playback Time, from The Reservoir Frogs), the Phoenix has a full roster of Fringe shows to partake of.  And on opening and closing weekend, you could just hang out for a three hour block back to back to back and catch all three of the shows that are part of the “Phoenix Presents” showcase (schedule below and on their Fringe page, as well as the Phoenix website). The days in between opening and closing weekend of the Fringe you can catch the other shows as well :)

I’ve been a fan of Scot Froelich’s work in the Fringe since his 2013 solo show “Men Will Be Boys” (which was in my Fringe Top 5 that year), then 2016’s “Break Your Heart”, and then 2019’s “A Man’s Guide for Appropriate Behavior in the 21st Century” - all of which I thoroughly enjoyed (plus some additional fun storytelling as the fish half of 2017’s “A Mermaid Abroad, and A Fish Out Of Water”).  So I’m up for whatever he might want to say on the topic of aging this year.

Brian Watson Jones, between his work with the Bard Fiction/Tedious Brief crew back in 2009 (Fringe Top 10 that year), his own producing work on the Fringe Orphans short play showcases in several of the years since, plus a Bisexual Unicorn in Fringe 2019, has never been shy about swinging for the fences. Here he and his cast are taking on the material of Clay McLeod Chapman’s The Pumpkin Pie Show, which Chapman and a friend brought to our Fringe back in 2008. I missed it back then but my fellow blogger at the time Kate Hoff was a big fan, with a hearty recommendation, so I’m happy to get another chance to see a version of it this year.

And though I’m not as familiar with Rob Ward’s work, “a pitch-black, one-man musical comedy about the true history of the weirdest, nastiest, horse-killingest case of fraud in American history” certainly sounds very Fringey and worth a look.

Friday, 8/4
7pm - Aging In An Age of Change - Scot Froelich
8:30pm - Slices - Brian Watson-Jones
10pm - How to Kill a Horse! - Rob Ward

Saturday, 8/5
5:30pm - Slices - Brian Watson-Jones
7pm - How to Kill a Horse! - Rob Ward
8:30pm - Aging In An Age of Change - Scot Froelich

Sunday, 8/6
4pm - How to Kill a Horse! - Rob Ward
5:30pm - Aging In An Age of Change - Scot Froelich
7pm - Slices - Brian Watson-Jones

Friday, 8/11
7pm - Slices - Brian Watson-Jones
8:30pm - How to Kill a Horse! - Rob Ward
10pm - Aging In An Age of Change - Scot Froelich

Saturday, 8/12
5:30pm - How to Kill a Horse! - Rob Ward
7pm - Slices - Brian Watson-Jones
8:30pm - Aging In An Age of Change - Scot Froelich

UPDATE 8/3: All three storytellers did a rapid-fire combined Fringe preview together on Fringe Eve, the night before the festival began:

 

 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10, and Top 11-20 Lists, plus the full list of all returning favorites at this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.  

 

 

Fringe 2023 - Returning Favorites - Sandbox Theatre

Yes No Maybe (please explain)

Step back into the 90's with this heartfelt, awkward, sometimes cringy look at Kristina's notes from high school.

Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
Tagged for: Comedy, Drama, Original Music, Physical Theater
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor, Loud Noises

Another returnee from the pre-Fringe Top 10 list on this blog for 2009, Sandbox Theatre keeps reinventing itself with each new ensemble-created work.  Back then it was their take on June Cleaver as June of Arc.  Since then, here’s a random sampling of other offerings: newts, pilots, boxers, game shows, children’s book illustrators, personal testimony, and record players in space. I’m confident this Fringe outing from them will deliver yet another sampling of that kind of variety.

Sure, the Fringe, and culture in general, can’t help but keep taking us back to high school (this isn’t even the only high school show in this Fringe).  But I have no doubt that the way Sandbox does it will be nothing like I’m expecting, and very much in keeping with their “build a whole new, detailed world out of nothing” way of doing things. Plus, the company has been evolving in new ways behind the scenes since last I saw them (again, with the pandemic, I missed some things), so I’m curious what results that brings to the stage.
 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10, and Top 11-20 Lists, plus the full list of all returning favorites at this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage. 

 

 

Fringe 2023 - Returning Favorites - Madde Gibba

Boy Crazy

A choose your own adventure musical. Long before Taylor Swift was up at midnight writing love songs, Madde was at a piano weepin' about boys. A night of funny stories and overly-dramatic songs.

Venue: Rarig Center Arena
Tagged for: Comedy, Improv, Audience Participation, Musical Theater, Storytelling
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor, Sexual Content

When I saw the name Madde Gibba in this year’s Fringe show listings, I thought, “I know I’ve seen that name before…” Reaching further back to the pre-Fringe Top 10 list from 2009, Madde was part of the crew that put together the off-kilter boy/girl scout troop dark comedy "Thin Mint."

This time she, too, is doing a choose your own adventure style of show with audience input (see the Lady Z Productions shout-out for another), but this one is of a more musical and romantic sort.  Just sounds like fun, so why not?

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10, and Top 11-20 Lists, plus the full list of all returning favorites at this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage. 

 

 

Fringe 2019 - Returning Favorites

Here's a collection of links to all the entries about old friends from past years' Top 10 and Top 20 list who I'm excited to see coming back again for Fringe 2019 (updated as I post new entries):

All Is Bright - Shelby Company

For a quick list of links to my other postings, check out my Top 10 and Top 11-20 new Fringe artists to check out for Fringe 2019.  There's also Returning Favorites, and Fringe Shows I Just Can't Watch Right Now, but You Probably Should.  If you want to keep me company, during my first Fringe without Mom, I'll be posting my schedule here.  Also, here's some links if you want to hit all the Fringe 2019 blog posts, or see the full Fringe Archive from years past (just keep scrolling down, or hit the different years in the archive listing for the full blog on the right side of the screen and zero in on July and August)

Fringe 2019 - Returning Favorite - Shelby Company - All Is Bright - Mixed Blood

Description: During SantaCon, an annual Christmas pub crawl, three costume-clad partiers are totally stoked to pound brews, knock back shots, and maybe reckon with the crushing emptiness of existence.

Fringe memory can be like that of a goldfish sometimes.  Shelby Company, a theater group based out of New York, was a regular fixture in the Minnesota Fringe for six years running (every year from 2009 to 2014).  But they haven’t been back since 2014, so a lot of Fringe-goers might not know or remember them.  Trust me, they’re the best.  If you’ve never seen them, you should treat yourself.  If you’ve been missing them like I have, rejoice, they’ve returned.

Shelby Company blew my mind with a comedic metaphysical meditation on good, evil, faith, and a person’s purpose in life for their first Fringe visit in Dan Moyer’s play Winnemucca (three days in the belly).  The following year Moyer and Jonathan A. Goldberg contributed a series of bizarre comedy shorts that got scrambled from performance to performance in both cast and content called Uncle Shelby’s Traveling Treasure Trunk.  Shelby gave Goldberg the playwriting reins all to himself the year after that with the buzzed about baseball play, Sousepaw (the unlikely pairing of an alcoholic pitcher trying to make a comeback, and Reptile Girl from the local circus, in the early 1910s).  The following year, Goldberg served up the naughty noir comedy Font of Knowledge.  After that, Shelby brought Moyer back with a new script of his own, Fallsway (I’m still kicking myself for not writing a review of Fallsway at the time.  It was gorgeous, a 21st century Our Town.  Yeah, I had my own Fringe show to worry about that year, but damn, I should have written something down).  Lastly, Goldberg and Shelby returned with the clever, spooky love story, Real Dead Ghosts.

I’ve missed them quite a lot.  So had Mom.  We were both very happy to hear they were coming back again.  I’m sorry she won’t get a chance to see them again.  But, as with everything this year, I’ll be her proxy.

The press packet from the Fringe on Shelby included the following:

"Shelby Company is thrilled to return to Minnesota Fringe, where they debuted Winnemucca, Sousepaw, and Fallsway, among others. Playwright Dan Moyer premieres a new play, All is Bright, directed by frequent collaborator Jess Chayes, who helmed a sold-out run of Moyer’s play Half Moon Bay at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York."

Another short description of the show goes:

"During a Christmas pub crawl, three partiers try to change their lives. Or at least get some pizza."

And a more expansive description gives a bit more detail:

"Set during SantaCon, the annual pub crawl infamous for its Yuletide debauchery, All is Bright examines the kind of loneliness only the most social of situations can inspire. Can people ever change? Or does the chance to do so just pass us by, like a crowd of drunk Santas."

The cast includes Grayson DeJesus, from Winnemucca back in the day, and James B. Kennedy, the pitcher from Sousepaw.

I need a Shelby Company/Dan Moyer theater fix more this year than I can adequately express.  I’m so glad they’re back.

See All Is Bright.  Don’t even wait for the reviews.  Just see it.  I know I’ll be there.

First Show - Sunday, August 4, 2019, 5:30pm - Mixed Blood Theater



For a quick list of links to my other postings, check out my Top 10 and Top 11-20 new Fringe artists to check out for Fringe 2019.  There's also Returning Favorites, and Fringe Shows I Just Can't Watch Right Now, but You Probably Should.  If you want to keep me company, during my first Fringe without Mom, I'll be posting my schedule here.  Also, here's some links if you want to hit all the Fringe 2019 blog posts, or see the full Fringe Archive from years past (just keep scrolling down, or hit the different years in the archive listing for the full blog on the right side of the screen and zero in on July and August)

Returning Favorite - Fringe Orphans - TRP

The Orphans return for their fourth (non-consecutive) year! A cabaret of short pieces created by a bevy of talented artists. All of them too good for a full hour.

This is a place where ideas good enough for a five or ten minute riff, but not quite enough to stretch the length of a full Fringe show, go for refuge.

Once again it brings together a roster of Fringe favorites - including curator Brian Watson-Jones, Heidi Berg, phillip low, Scot Moore, Jenna Papke, David Schlosser, Duck Washington and many more, as writers, directors, designers and performers.

Titles of the shorts this time around include: A Day at the Museum: A Cautionary Tale; D0C3NT, I Feel Like Something's Missing, Intro to Gay Dating 101: Fresh Meat; Lemonade Stand, and The Sad Unicorn.

I’ve reassured Mom no one will be ripping a page out of a Bible this time (yes, guys, she still remembers that).  Bring on the weird scenes and snippets!

They have two shows opening weekend - Thursday 8/2 (tonight) at 8:30pm, and Sunday 8/5 at 7pm


Here's some handy links to my full Top 10, Top 11-20 and Returning Favorites lists.

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - Scream Blue Murmur

"Northern Ireland's Scream Blue Murmur search for explanations in a world of chaos and flames. Through spoken word and song, this show is an irreverent look at a world of constant change and bizarre happenings."

If you didn’t have a chance to see them in 2007 or 2009 or 2011, boy are you in for a treat!  I'm so happy they're back.  Music, spoken word, actual genuine Irish accents (plus, they're just charming, lovely people).  I’ve loved them all three times before, I expect no less this time.  Set aside a slot for them on your schedule and enjoy a little something different.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

FFA 1 - Nightmare Man - Wow, I'm Really Gay, part 2

Back during Fringe 2009, director Paul von Stoetzel was #5 on my pre-Fringe Top 10 list that year for a double feature of Fringe directing (I don't know how directors, actors or anyone else does one show, much less two or more, but there you are - some people are more energetic and efficiently scheduled than me.)

This year he's back again, and doing double duty again. He's one of three directors on the "bring your own venue" short play showcase The 612 (which we'll get a sampling of at Fringe-For-All #2), and he's the sole director on

Nightmare Man

Studio Alethea Productions

which previewed in the second half of Fringe-For-All #1

Here's their spiffy video trailer...



Here's their Fringe-For-All preview...



And another sample song...

More Than You

And here's the Twin Cities Theater Connection interview...

Fringecast 2011 - Nightmare Man

Honestly? The reason this blog post is called, Wow I'm Really Gay, part 2, is that, well, I'm glad Derek Meyer is talented, because it makes me feel less guilty about just liking to watch him onstage. Doesn't really matter what he's doing. He makes it very easy to pass an hour watching a Fringe show.

I first saw Derek in a couple of wonderfully bizarre, if sometimes slightly uneven, sci-fi Fringe shows from Electric Telescope - The Cold Dark Matter At Hand and Virginity of Astronauts - and again in a Flowershop Project production of the new play Dawn's Inferno (directed, not coincidentally, by Paul von Stoetzel.

Now normally, a production that looks like the trailer above, with a title like that, and is described thusly below...

"A new musical written and composed by Nathan M. Schilz, this World Premiere performance of Nightmare Man is directed by film and stage veteran Paul von Stoetzel.

Nightmare Man is a tale of guilt and heartache as Thomas (Derek Meyer) struggles to come to terms with his past. He meets Jade (Madelyne Riley) in a dream, who tries to help him alleviate his suffering. Featuring Martin Ruben, appearing courtesy of Actor's Equity Union, this intense musical is based on the original short story by bizarro fiction writer Jeremy C. Shipp."

...might have a tough hill to climb with me. Paul's tastes as a director tend to run a little darker than my standard choice for entertainment.

But it's Derek Meyer. And he's singing. Which is something I wasn't previously aware he had in his bag of tricks.

The Fringe-For-All preview had its issues. The volume of the backing track was a little overpowering, so Derek beginning the song at a low volume was sometimes a struggle to hear. But when he let loose on the second half, I stopped worrying. OK, the guy's got a set of pipes on him.

So he's singing about the bloody dismemberment of his late girlfriend in some horrible accident. It's Paul von Stoetzel directing - I wasn't expecting a light fluffy musical comedy. In fact, it's partly the disconnect between the concepts of "Paul" and "musical theater" that has me so intrigued.

But truly, if Derek Meyer wants to stand there, barefoot, in a T-shirt and slacks, singing for 45 minutes, I'm down with that. Sign me up.

(Wow, I'm really gay.)

Fringe 2010 - Returning Favorites

Here's a bunch of handy links to all the write-ups on Fringe acts this year that were spotlighted in past Fringe Top 10 and Fringe Top 20 lists on this blog. (We'll see if I have enough time to get to them all this year. They tend to keep piling up...)

Aspect I Studios/Damian Sheridan (Top 10 2004) - 7/6/2010
Twin Cities Daily Planet
Single White Fringe Geek

Ben Egerman (Top 10 2008) - 7/11/2010
Twin Cities Daily Planet
Single White Fringe Geek

Joking Envelope (Joseph Scrimshaw) (Top 10 2005) - 7/8/2010
Twin Cities Daily Planet
Single White Fringe Geek

Partizan Players (Top 20 2009) - 7/10/2010
Twin Cities Daily Planet
Single White Fringe Geek

Shelby Company (Top 10 2009) - 6/22/2010
Twin Cities Daily Planet
Single White Fringe Geek

Rachel Teagle (Top 10 2008) - 7/11/2010
Twin Cities Daily Planet
Single White Fringe Geek

Fringe 2010 - Returning Favorites - Partizan Players

Unfortunately, Partizan Players last year ended up being one of those acts that I pimped on my 2009 Fringe Top 20 list, and then managed to completely miss all the performances of
Something Witchy. I'm hoping to correct that this year.

And what better year to do it than one in which Partizan revisits their 2005 Fringe hit (which I also missed, what is up with me?), The Princeton Seventh - a show so universally beloved back then that for this year's Fringe page, they just re-posted all their audience praise from last time to convince you to come out this time around. Can't argue with that strategy.

I also can't argue with the cast, which includes not only the talented Alex Cole and Ari Hoptman, but the lovely and talented Alayne Hopkins, who recently played a werewolf for me in a Thirst play I wrote. Added incentive to go, as if I needed more.

Their website - partizanpictures.com

Their show page

Fringe 2010 - Returning Favorites - Shelby Company

Of the 54 different shows I saw last year at the Fringe, there were only two I loved so much that I found a way to go back and see them a second time.

Only one of the companies that produced those memorable shows is back again in this year's Fringe.

That would be Shelby Company.

Their show this time around...

Uncle Shelby’s Traveling Treasure Trunk

- described as "A scaled down traveling version of the Shelby Company Cabaret"

This could be a variation on their current production...

Uncle Shelby's WunderPantry of Possibility

which is described thusly...

"A cabal of talented, emerging writers create a plethora of material. Through alchemy and editing they summon up a cohesive evening of mischievous merriment that zigs, zags and finds a straight path to the brain, heart and lungs. This inspired collection of music, scenes, jokes, theatrical burps and dramatic hiccups will make you laugh, gasp and think.

written by Jonathan A. Goldberg, Dan Moyer and Ben Forster"

Dan Moyer wrote last year's mind-bogglingly good Shelby Company Fringe show "Winnemucca (three days in the belly)" - a script so good just reading Scene 1 vaulted them into my Top 10 list for the 2009 Fringe. The production itself lived up to the script's promise - 5 stars all the way. (Plus they did a wonderfully odd preview at the Out of Towner showcase.) And the Shelby Company folks were also delightful people offstage.

And if you need more convincing, read this, or some of this...

So I was mighty happy to hear Shelby Company's number get called in the Fringe Lottery back in February.

And I almost don't care what they're doing. Whatever it is, it's going to be good. And I'm gonna be there, with Mom in tow, opening weekend.

If this blog is good for anything, hopefully it'll help spread the word and swell their audiences. Shelby's coming from New York, the least we can do is cross town to see them at whatever venue they're at.

I see a lot of theater. I don't get excited about a lot of theater. Shelby Company does theater I get excited about. Give 'em a look.

You can learn more about them at www.shelbycompany.org

My coverage of them last year can be found via the links above, or here, here, and here.