Fringe 2024 - Returning Favorite - Broken Wing Productions (Sheree & Scot Froelich, Nicole Wilder)

The Wind Phone
Broken Wing Productions

The Wind Phone is found in a quiet park, not connected to any earthly system. On it, mourners will call their loved ones passed in hopes of finding the peace to work through their pain.

Venue: The Ribs of Humanity at Campbell Plaza
Tagged For: Drama, LGBTQIA+ Content
Content Warnings: Adult Language
Ages 16 and up

So many reasons to see this one.

First, it’s the return of Broken Wing Productions after their award-winning previous Fringe show “My Empty Arms” back in 2022.

I caught it late in the festival so it didn’t get a full review from me at the time, but this was the tweet response (remember tweets? I’ve shifted to threads now…) I posted after seeing it:

"My Empty Arms: Sheree Froelich recounts the absurdity/cruelty of what it's like to be pregnant, want to keep the child, and live in a society that makes it impossible to do anything but give it up for adoption; devastating and beautiful - 5 stars"

So if Sheree Froelich is the playwright, I’m already on board.  This time she’s co-creating the piece Callie Aho.  Nicole Wilder is back again as director.

In the cast, some of my favorite local performers, including Sheree, Anthony Sisler-Neuman and Boo Segersin.

And you’d think after the grief journey I’ve been on these past five years, I might have tripped over the concept of a wind phone before now but this is first I’ve heard of it - and it’s fascinating!  Here’s some further detail from their More Information tab:

“Based on the therapeutic concept of speaking to our lost loved ones to gain closure and catharsis, The Wind Phone takes its inspiration from Japanese garden designer Itaru Sasaki. In 2010, Sasaki installed a phonebooth in his garden so he could call his deceased cousin - someone he'd loved and communicated with regularly. In 2011, the Tōhoku tsunami killed over 15,000 citizens of the region Sasaki lived, and he opened his wind phone to his neighbors.

Since 2011, wind phones have popped up in regions all over the globe. At the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival, you can see their therapeutic value in action. Who would you call?”

They also have some links to wind phone resources, which I’ll layer into this blog post as well.

I’ve walked by the outdoor sculpture The Ribs of Humanity many a time on my West Bank Fringe walks between the Rarig Center and other venues in that corner of the Minneapolis theater scene (Mixed Blood, TRP, Southern, and the Barbara Barker Center for Dance, to name a few).  So it’s cool that I already know where this is, and it’s right nearby so many other Fringe locales this year.  Limited shade and it’s outdoors, so be forewarned, but I’ll bring sunscreen and a cap and I should be good for an hour.

Original work, compelling subject matter, off-beat presentation - very Fringey all around.  Can’t wait.

 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

 

Fringe 2024 Top 20 - #13 - old growth - Loom Lab (Re Edahl, Cal O’Brien)

old growth
Loom Lab

old growth draws from shapeshifting mythology and the language of the forest to present a physically virtuosic exploration of transformation, community, and self-acceptance. Dance, puppets, fights, circus!

Venue: Southern Theater
Tagged For: Dance, Dance - Modern, Physical Theater, Puppetry, Non-Verbal
Content Warnings: Violence, Gun/Weapon Usage
Ages 7-11 and Up

I'm always a fan of seeing as many different kinds of dance shows as I can at the Fringe each year and this one looked intriguing.  They’ve had critical and audience success with past Fringe shows pre-pandemic that I missed, so I’m going to see if I can rectify that this year.

The More Information tab on their Fringe show page gives some more detail of what they’re up to this time:

“Loom Lab’s old growth is a devised meditation on transformation, community, and acceptance, inspired by global mythology on shapeshifting, underworlds, and our innate connection to nature.

Part nonverbal storytelling and part catharsis via contemporary dance, old growth draws on the varied movement backgrounds of its cast to weave an exciting and captivating world where the laws of trees rule and honoring your truth is the only way to bloom. We use contemporary dance, circus arts, puppetry, fight work, and physical theater, to witness our characters try - sometimes successfully, sometimes not - to make sense of themselves against a background of engaging ensemble work.

About Loom Lab
Loom Lab is a collaboration between movement artist Re Edahl and theatre artist Cal O’Brien. Born of a desire to create truly interdisciplinary work, Loom Lab uses devising as a frame upon which to weave stories, finding our voice at the intersection of genre, identity, and form. Our desire to devise new work is emergent of our commitment to process and development. With our collective skills in dance, theatre, film, independent production, company management, and education we exist as a collective of individual artists eager to invite in the experiences of fellow artists as well as audience.”

Mythology, dance, circus arts, puppetry, fight work - sounds eclectic and funky - count me in.

 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

 

Fringe 2024 Top 10 - #3 - Daddy Issues - Pretend Productions (Allison Vincent)

Daddy Issues
Pretend Productions - Allison Vincent

Daddy Issues is a solo show recounting Allison Vincent's caretaking for her father while also negotiating their complicated relationship and the demise of his memory and her childhood home.

Venue: Phoenix Theater
Tagged For: Drama, Physical Theater, Storytelling
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Mental Illness, Suicidal Ideation/Self-Harm
Ages 12-15 and up

The reason for this one making the list is also simple - Allison Vincent.  I’ve seen her in more great Fringe shows than I can enumerate (her bio lays it out better than I could), many of them with the company Transatlantic Love Affair where she’s a founding member and co-artistic director (beautifully crafted storytelling through physical theater) and also turning up on the inspired lunacy end of the artistic scale in Josh Carson’s Mainly Me Productions, just to name a couple. I’d heard Allison was creating a new solo piece through the Naked Stages program at Pillsbury House Theatre, but didn’t get a chance to see it.  So I was very happy to see she’s bringing a version of that story there.  Very much looking forward to seeing this one.

Allison can also be seen in Transatlantic Love Affair’s Fringe show this year, 5x5, as well as guesting during the run of the Fringe game show Pants On Fire, so clearly she’s not planning on sleeping for a week and a half. 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

  

 

Fringe 2024 - Returning Favorite - Blackout Improv

Blackout Improv Does Something!!!
Rogues Gallery Arts

Blackout Improv, Minnesota's premiere all Black performer improv group returns to the Fringe bringing guests and our renowned approach to comedy which mixes humor, and heart with a social Justice bent.

Venue: HUGE Improv Theater
Tagged For: Comedy, Improv, Puppetry
Content Warnings: Adult Language
Ages 12-15 and up

It’s Blackout Improv.  That’s kind of all I need to know.

They were #2 on my Top 10 list back in 2017 when they were last in the Fringe, and delivered the kind of 5-star Fringe experience I expected.

They make a better case than I can - here’s a pitch from the More Information tab on their show’s Fringe page:

“Blackout Improv is the Twin Cities premiere all-Black performer improv team. Its players have performed on stages all over the world but the group is based right out of the Twin Cities area. The troop was founded in 2015 and continues to grow and expand, currently containing 16 active members! Locally Blackout Improv has been involved in shows at HUGE Theater, The Phoenix Theater, Mixed Blood, The Guthrie, Strike Theater, Bryant Lake Bowl, the Ordway and so many more. We've run workshops in schools and with special groups. We strive to connect with our audiences in a way that promotes honest and inclusive dialogue and conversation. Our troupe consist of seasoned improvisers, teachers, actors, comedians, clowns, cartoonists, storytellers and so much more. You may spot our members on stages across town, on screen, or producing their own works across the creative industry.

It has been a while since Blackout Improv had a venue selling best run in the Minnesota Fringe Festival six years ago. Since then we have been performing all over, gracing stages from Amsterdam to the Ordway just a few weeks ago. We love connecting audiences to Black joy and social justice through our unique style and approach to comedy. Since a lot of what we do is improv its safe to assume that each one of our performances will be unique as we generate a performance for you spontaneously, in large part based on your suggestions. These shows will be especially different as every one of our performances will feature different games with a rotating cast and feature a separate Black twin cities artists as a guest. (More updates on special guests coming soon!) The things you can rely on are  that we will be funny, heartfelt, honest, and unapologetically  Black!!!”

And improvisor and director Duck Washington made a great pitch during Fringe Previews that last time around, which still holds:




If you’ve seen them in action before, I didn’t need to convince you to see them again with this post.

If you haven’t seen them, go.  Treat yourself.  You won’t regret it.

 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

 

Fringe 2024 Top 20 - #12 - Take The “T” Out - Silly Miss Tilly

Take The “T” Out
Silly Miss Tilly

Lily a girl who loves to sing, but fear and excitement are the same feeling. Watch and join as her friends encourage her to go to Silly Miss Tilly's Karaoke show that will change their lifes. "YOU CAN DO THIS"

Venue: Southern Theater
Tagged For: Clowning, Comedy, Improv, Puppetry, Spoken Word, Storytelling, Audience Participation, Kid Friendly, Non-Verbal
Content Warnings: (none)
Ages 2-6 and Up

Many Fringers (like myself) were introduced to Silly Miss Tilly (aka Amber Corbett) last year when she hosted the Fringe previews (with long-suffering support from Amber Bjork for pronunciations and other necessary explanations).  

Silly Miss Tilly hosts weekly karaoke for kids and families over at Can Can Wonderland.  And now she’s bringing a version of that show to the Southern Theater stage, with help from brother/sister team Lily and Zay Womack’Odell, Ellie Barber and Yong Kim (aka, Alexander Super Tramp).

There’s pre-loaded karaoke performers but also room for adventurous audience members to get up there on stage themselves and join in the fun of singing in front of strangers.

Gotta be honest, I would totally watch that.  Hence, it’s on the list.

 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

 

Fringe 2024 Top 10 - #2 - What You Need to Do Is!

What You Need to Do Is!
Bugalug Ink (Eric Simons & Alsa Bruno)

Silly characters, real advice—What You Need to Do Is! is an improvised, life coaching seminar. You ask REAL questions and we help your solve everything from the smallest quibbles to serious GROWN FOLK BUSINESS.

Venue: Phoenix Theater
Tagged For: Comedy, Improv, Storytelling, Audience Participation
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor
Ages 12-15 and up

The reason for this one?  Alsa Bruno - the other half of the Bugalug Ink team alongside Eric Simons (aka, Clemons Samons, Owner, Coach, Power Forward)

Here's a reason it’s good to have human pictures in your Fringe publicity.  You stop and think “Hey, I know that guy!”  He’s not really Logan Jack, Renaissance Gentleman, Retired Rodeo Clown - he’s Alsa Bruno.

Alsa’s a founding member of Blackout Improv (another returning favorite for this year’s Fringe) and co-founder of the Black and Funny Improv Festival.

He was also part of the ensemble for “I Never Eat December Snowflakes,” an original holiday show concocted by the theater company Little Lifeboats back in 2015, for which I was one of the writers. 40 short pieces, chosen from at random by the audience, performed by the ensemble in rapid-fire succession until the show time ran out, or they ran out of pieces to perform, whichever came first. Not quite improv but close enough for that show.

This Fringe outing is genuine improv and though I’m intrigued by the concept, I just know Alsa delivers the funny, so that’s enough to get me in the door, and get a high placement on the top 10 list this year.

He’s also on the roster for the Blackout Improv show, so there’s a couple of places to catch him in action this Fringe. 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

  

 

Fringe 2024 Top 20 - #11 - TransMasculine Cabaret, Starring Vulva Va-Voom

TransMasculine Cabaret, Starring Vulva Va-Voom

Hardships, meet hilarity. "TragiComic transgender-identifying true confessional" & "obscene, maniacal burlesque star" sound incompatible...but this gritty nightclub headliner combines stranger things onstage.

Serious topics identity… presented by an absurd comedian

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Tagged For: Comedy, Storytelling, Drama, Musical Theater, Solo Show, Political Content, LGBTQIA+ Content
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor, Drug Content, Sexual Content, Mental Illness, Sexual Violence, Suicidal Ideation/Self-Harm, Other Divisive Content
Ages 18 and Up

I guess you could say this is part of my “gay agenda.”

I’m always looking for queer content at the Fringe because I tend to get so little of it as an audience member  the rest of the theater year.  

(Given that I’m the Literary Director at Threshold Theater, and we’re all about developing and producing new work by living LGBTQ+ playwrights, I read a lot of queer material the rest of the year, and we have public new play readings, and productions as well - but I mean, queer theater I’m not doing myself :) It’s edifying, and feeds my creative soul to see the work of others in this space.  So I’m grateful the Fringe provides a stage for plenty of it.)

With TransMasculine Cabaret, honestly, it’s the pedigree the show carries along with it into our festival.  The show postcard art and the video trailer have a list of awards and glowing critical reviews from past stagings at other Fringe festivals:

The Social Good Award, Venue Choice Award - Tampa Fringe 2023
Audience Choice Award - NYC Fringe 2024
Artist That Pushed Boundaries Between Art Forms - Asheville Fringe 2024

“Go for the heartwarming story, stay for the sheer talent of a performer that will bowl you over… a wonderful performer… beautiful and talented… the most powerful voice we’ve heard…” - NYC’s Young-Howze Theatre Journal

“Smart and provocative show… packs a wallop… fiercely unapologetic… this cabaret is indeed a VIP experience!” - NYC’s Lavender After Dark

“It’s smart, edgy and brilliant.” - The Orlando Sentinel

Any good Fringe schedule for me has some trans representation in the mix, and this show seems to be as good a place to start as any.

Check out the trailer and see if it’s for you.

 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

  

 

Fringe 2024 - Top 10 - #1 - Least Likely To Succeed: Tales From a Midwestern Homeschooler - Tristan Miller

 

Least Likely To Succeed: Tales From a Midwestern Homeschooler

Tristan Miller

New York based comedian Tristan Miller shares their experience growing up homeschooled in Minnesota!
"Miller's Humor is unique." - The Otago Daily Times
“Captivating And Charming in equal measure" - Art Murmurs
“Surreal, Brilliant, and Highly Relatable." - TheatreReview

Venue: Bryant Lake Bowl
Tagged For: Comedy, Storytelling
Content Warnings: Adult Language
Ages 12-15 and up

After Tristan Miller landed on my radar with his 5-star stand-up show “Manic Impressive” at the 2019 Fringe, he returned again for the first virtual pandemic Fringe in 2020 (a comedy podcast project with his friend Tucker Daily Johnston called Focus Testing). In the windup to that virtual Fringe I wrote the following:

“It wasn't until I saw Tristan Miller’s preview in the traveling artists showcase prior to opening night of the festival last year that I realized, "Oh, yeah, I definitely want to see that."  His stand-up comedy show ‘Manic Impressive’ was supposed to be dealing with fun subjects like bipolar disorder and depression, and given that my mother had just died a month before the festival, I wasn't entirely sure I was up for it.  But while Miller may be a comedian with a mission, he's still a comedian first and a very funny one.  My tweet review at the time was ‘to be brief, Tristan Miller’s stand-up show Manic Impressive was... both :) An entertaining, informative and quite circuitous tour through a brain that can make his life challenging sometimes - 5 stars.’  Basically after that introduction, I'm down for whatever he's doing next.”

All that’s still true.

That’s the thing about drafting these lists prior to any previews happening.  Sometimes you miss a gem in the flurry of dozens of offerings where you’re just making your best guess.  But the upside is, once you know, you’ve got an easy top of the list for the next time they appear on the Fringe schedule.

Do I also find it amusing that I’m giving the #1 slot to a show called “Least Likely To Succeed?”  Absolutely, that’s just a bonus.

Oddly enough, as I was drafting this, Tristan started messaging me - just in case I hadn’t already noticed he was coming back with a new show.

Why yes, Tristan, I did notice.  (Hopefully, he’ll be pleasantly surprised.  I told him he was on the top 10 list, I didn’t mention I’d slotted him in at the top already.)

He mentioned this year’s show is “a new hour of stand up” and that it’s “a lot lighter than Manic Impressive! It’s nice to be working on something more goofy.”

I remember smiling and laughing a lot during “Manic Impressive” and laughs were hard to come by for me in the summer of 2019 (as previously stated) so I was doubly grateful for Tristan’s skills as a comedian.

Tristan’s bio on the Fringe site this year says: “As a comedy performer Tristan has been featured in The Devil Fest and Devil Cup Comedy Festivals along with the Minnesota and Kansas City Fringe Festivals in the USA and The Dunedin, Wellington, and Nelson Fringe Festivals in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Tristan's material runs the gamut of mental health, identity, religion, politics, social issues, along with a grab bag of characters and impressions!”

If you need further convincing, Tristan’s social media feeds and YouTube channel have lots of examples of his humor and other insights.

The Bryant Lake Bowl is a little trickier to get to this year because of construction on Lake Street, but shows like Least Likely To Succeed: Tales From a Midwestern Homeschooler are the kind of thing that make it worth the extra effort to get to the venue.  And I shall.  If you need a laugh, I’ll hopefully see you there.

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

  

 

Fringe 2024 - Returning Favorite - Lily Conforti, Corpus Dance Works

 

All The Hullabaloo
Corpus Dance Works (formerly LC Creations) - Lily Conforti

In this dance show we rip through the cereal box of life looking for the prize at the bottom. Milking the nostalgia of our youth; we loop through the woes of adulthood because in the end…Trix are only for kids.

 

Venue: Southern Theater
Tagged For: Dance, Storytelling
Content Warnings: (none)
Ages 7-11 and up

I nearly missed this one in the listings because of the company’s name change, but the minute I saw Lily Conforti’s name as choreographer I realized one of my new favorite dance companies was returning for another Fringe and I was quite happy. (Auto-correct keeps wanting to make her last name Confetti, but it's not an entirely unwarranted instinct - her shows are celebrations that aren't afraid to play with making a mess :)

The company used to go by the name LC Creations, which is the name they had during their 2019 Fringe outing Botanical Dancing which caught my eye (and a lot of other folks’) during previews.  That was still the name they had when they returned with the rest of us after a two year pandemic pause in 2022’s Fringe with I think we are supposed to be ‘Coming of Age’ by now.

Both times, five-star entertainment in my opinion.

The first time, my preview write-up of Botanical Dancing was more exhaustive than my response after seeing the show - just a quick tweet review there:

Botanical Dancing: what a fun, joyous little dance party that was; dancers conveying the love of what they do directly to the audience without saying a word, just moving (and painting) with their bodies, delightful - 5 stars

(That was the year Mom died a month before the Fringe Festival so I’m still surprised, frankly, that I managed to attend every day of the festival that year and see a show in pretty much every slot. I was still a bit raw and shell-shocked. That I managed even the briefest of notes as a record still astonishes me.  Wish I’d had it in me to write more expansively on the last pre-Covid Fringe. There were a lot of great shows that year, well worth going on about at length, Botanical Dancing included.  All that said, joy was in pretty short supply that year, so the fact that a dance show was able to elicit that sort of happy response from me at the time is kind of miraculous.  Very grateful for that show at that moment.)

I think we are supposed to be ‘Coming of Age’ by now got more of the standard full review treatment.  Still the same joy, love and energy, this time with a rock band thrashing away as their accompaniment.  Great fun in a completely different way.  Of the show, I said in part: “While I’m glad I had the ear plugs (it was still plenty loud, I didn’t miss anything), I’m also very glad I was there.  You’re not liable to find a more fun dance show in the Fringe this year.  They’re serious about dance.  But they’re also serious about enjoying themselves, as is the band, and they want to make sure you enjoy yourself, too, whether you come up on stage for the dance party at end the end or not.  I’m very excited to see whatever they do next.”

And now here they are with what’s next, which involves a lot of breakfast cereal, among other elements.  

The “More Information” tab on their show page has pictures and further detail on the show and its origins:

“The idea for this show came from experiencing our own individual post grad identity crises. In our conversations, we began to reminisce on the simple pleasures of childhood, like solving the maze on the back of the cereal box and reaching for the prize at the bottom. The plot of our work is also driven by a diverse musical score that gives momentum to the peaks and valleys of our story. We crave to bring whimsy and vigor to the stage through dance that snap, crackles and pops to life with bright colors, eclectic music and boxes and boxes of cereal. This dance show really is one size fits all; it appeals to the theater nuts, the dance maniacs, and the cereal eaters; what more could you want!?

This show is a collaboration that brings contemporary dance, pantomime, and nostalgia to the Fringe stage. It is a reflective birds eye view of the unanticipated emotional roller coaster of post academia life. This story arc is carried on a vehicle of colorful cereal advertising, irony, and vigorous movement. We dance an ode to the wheaties eaters, a sonnet to the Bran lovers, and a ballad to those who wake up and try everyday. In the most SERIOUS of contemporary dance works, we will be asking the hard questions of: Who pissed in your cheerios this morning?”

They’ve contained messes before (paint, no less), so I’m sure they’re on top of the way cereal can get out of hand sometimes as a prop. The pictures promise another intriguing ensemble romp so I’m very much looking forward to it.  If you’ve seen them before, I don’t need to convince you to go to this one.  If you haven’t seen them yet, treat yourself this year. Dance has rarely been more accessible and fun as it is in the hands of these artists.

 

(Photography by: Olivia Smith)

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

  

 

Fringe 2024 - Returning Favorite - Denzel Belin Presents

First weird Fringe thing, I've been asked to do a cameo.  Well, more of an interview, I guess.

My friend Denzel Belin asked me to sit in as a guest for the final performance of Minnesota Tonight at this year's Fringe on Sunday, August 11th at 1pm - so that's how I'll be starting my last day of Fringing this year. (Normally I figure out my first day of Fringing and don't start scheduling the end until sometime in the middle of the festival, but we're switching things up this year.)

Minnesota Tonight, for Fringe purposes, is being titled as a countdown "5 Episodes of Minnesota Tonight; 4 Minnesota Fring3, it’s Minnesota 2Night’s 1st Time at Minnesota Fringe."  So you'll find it at the front of the show listings because it's got a number at the front of the title.

Minnesota Tonight brings music, comedy, sketch, interviews, games and more to the table! Highlighting and celebrating Minnesota and the talent and excellence that is here, there are five unique shows to see!

Venue: Mixed Blood
Tagged For: Comedy, Improv, Audience Participation, LGBTQIA+ Content
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor (oh good, I can swear)

In Denzel's request for me to be a guest he described the show as follows:

“I had a fantastic and successful time reviving the show on my birthday, April 1st, and I am incredibly excited to bring five unique episodes to the Fringe Festival. I would describe Minnesota Tonight as a late night style show that brings stand up, sketch comedy, interviews, music and more to audiences all under the umbrella of highlighting and celebrating Minnesota and the people and things it has to offer…

In the style of a late night show, I will be doing interviews with special guests. Because this will be a part of the Fringe Festival, I will be curating my interview slot as “Fringe Favorites”. This is where you come in. I would love to interview you during this slot. There will be no “gotcha” questions and there will be a chance to promote your own projects or projects you are passionate about. During the interview, our comedy friends from SmartMouth Comedy may chime in or I may ask them hypothetical questions based on the interview. These are to add joy and fun for the interview overall and in no shape or form geared to attack the guest… It would be roughly a 10 minute segment.”

Since my goddaughter Ursula’s 15th birthday was also April 1st, I missed out on seeing Denzel’s relaunch of Minnesota Tonight.  I was out in Montana visiting her and the family instead.  This seems like a handy way to catch up on what I missed.

And I’m going to try and see it opening day of the Fringe at 10pm as well (when it’s actually Minnesota Tonight and not Minnesota This Afternoon, when I’ll be guesting on it :) just so I have a better idea of the format and what I’m getting myself into.  SmartMouth Comedy also has a show of their own in the Fringe: In Our Sketch Era - in case I want to do some additional homework (still figuring out the schedule, as I always am this time of year).

So, that’ll be a different way to kick off my last day of Fringing for the season.  Come see me then, or just see Minnesota Tonight anytime during the festival that fits your schedule.  Denzel always puts on a good show.

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

 

Fringe 2024 - 22 Years On...

Back in 2003, the Minnesota Fringe Festival offered me an Ultra Pass (meaning I could see as many shows as I wanted for free) as long as I wrote a blog about everything I saw at the festival.

"Sounds great!  What's a blog?"

And here we are...

That's a lot of theater.

That's a long list of possible returning favorites and there's always a bunch every year as that list gets longer.

And even so, there's always a bunch of brand new artists I've never heard of and never seen offering up new ways to tie theater in knots and make it something new and exciting.

On we go.  Year 22...

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

  

 

Fringe 2024 - 15 years on...

So, back in 2009, I saw a Fringe show called "Winnemucca (three days in the belly)" from a visiting group called Shelby Company (the new play had been in my pre-Fringe Top 10 list that year and when I finally saw it, it did not disappoint, I loved it). 

One of the three actors involved was a guy named Will Brill.

And just a couple of weeks ago, Will Brill won a Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Play ("Stereophonic").

So... that's a weird and cool thing that happened that reminded me of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and the fact that you just never know...

Come see more ridiculously talented people (the locals and those just passing through) starting August 1st.

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

  

 

Fringe 2024 - 5 Years On...

July 1st is a day of contradictions for me (which is in part why I'm blogging about it some 4 days after the fact).

My dear mother Beverlee died on July 1st of 2019.

Hard to believe she's been gone five years now.

Seems like yesterday, seems like a million years ago.

I'd certainly be talking with her about politics right now if she were still with us.

And all the strange antics surrounding my work as treasurer for my condo association.

And the unionizing of the audience-facing departments at the Guthrie Theater including the box office where I work my second day job.

But most of all I'd be talking with her about the upcoming Minnesota Fringe Festival.

One of the saving graces of July 1st is that is also the day that the Fringe website goes live with all the information about the shows which will be part of the festival this year.

So I took the day off from work at both my jobs and just immersed myself in the truly bizarre assortment of 102 shows on offer this August.

And now that I've sorted the returning favorites from the newbies, and drafted up a new Top 10/Top 20 lists of interesting new acts I'll suggest other folks check out, it's time to fire up the old blog again.

It is a testament to the weird times we're living in that I've yet to bounce back into a regular diet of theater-going throughout the year like I used to have. At the height of everything, pre-pandemic, I'd be seeing and reviewing several shows a month.

This blog has been silent since last September, when I posted a call for folks who might be interesting in joining my playwriting group as either a writer or an actor.

That's just a shame.

There's theaters out there producing shows, and I should be seeing more of them.

So, that's a post-Fringe thing for my "to do" list.

Also need to get that website back up and running (my former webhost went out of business quite suddenly and took my site and old email address with it - sigh - so I'm still rebuilding my contact list for things like theater reviewing)

It's been nice to be able to dive into something new, dealing with Fringe, rather than dwelling on the loss of my primary Fringe-going partner of 13 years.

It's also comforting to know that, thanks to an award the Fringe staff gives out each year at the end of the festival, the Beverlee Award for an adventurous audience member, there are now four new "Beverlees" out there for me to cross paths with, compare schedules with, occasionally see a show with. It's been an intriguing new set of relationships to navigate, but it does make the Fringe a bit less lonely.

That, of course, and all the other artists, staff, volunteers and fellow audience members involved.  More than anything the Minnesota Fringe Festival is a reminder of community, and why it's so necessary.

So, let's talk about some theater.  I'm clearly overdue...

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.