Well it’s 2 days after the Fringe and I’ve just uploaded the last of my Fringe crush videos. What? believe it or not it takes about 15 mins for each 1 minute video. Till next year- I crush on you all!
And just for fun, you can see all 39 Fringe Crushes! Posted there for your crushing pleasure! Enjoy! And please stop by P-sha Production’s YouTube and comment on your favorite Fringe crush!
You have no choice. Unless your Grandma is on her death bed and can’t wait another 90 minutes, you are going to see Heronymus. If you don’t think you want to go, I’ll buy you the damn tickets.
HeronymusReturns.com
RickshawBoy.com
Buy Tickets
Congratulations to Corene Fry (Pet Fringe) and Rozz Grigsby (Kids Fringe)!!! Great job ladies! This was in my opinion the best yet. And I hear from Corene she’s hoping to grow the Pet Fringe even more next year! You couldn’t help but stop and watch the kids having a blast. I know I wanted to jump in the bounce house. Hey ladies how about an adult bounce house? And Corene I’m keeping my fins crossed for that dolphin show
Again Awesome job!
My friend Jason from Notco tells me that VarieTEASE is hitting the road! Good luck!! If you missed them @ the Fringe you missed a GREAT show!!! So don’t pass up the opportunities below!
And so far they’re doing a performance of past, present and future Varitease
and then 2 shows for Gaydays!
repost from Notco’s bulliten…
VarieTEASE CARNIVALE … the cult undreground hit that swept the FRINGE and emerged as the hightest attended show … transfers to the PARLIAMENT HOUSE for 2 encore presentations for GAY DAYS …
Friday and Saturday, June 1-2 @ 8pm
Tickets $10 and may be purchased at www.WANZIE.com … look to the top left for the link to the BOX OFFICE …
Don’t miss this SPECTACUAR EVENT!
“I have a crush on EVERY BOY!” No, not really, but close!
6. Tod Kimbro. I failed to get to his show, but I saw him everywhere, laughing and enjoying everything. And I regretted not seeing his show intensely. I loved his score for DRIP, and I have made up my mind that he’ll be the first thing I see next year.
5. Max from Six Characters. I don’t know exactly what it was. The way he pulls out his gun in the priest uniform. The way he first flips the bird. I can’t put my finger on it (hur hur). But he just embodies cool. I love him!
4. Willy from DRIP and VarieTEASE. I knew he was in both because I saw DRIP the night his hair protector fell off mid-dance, and the entire VarieTEASE cast was also behind us at that show, continually screaming out praises. But he was so awesome in VarieTEASE that my Fringe crush buddy and I could hardly contain ourselves.
3. Gus the Kissing Camel!
2. Calculus: the Musical! It started out as just a special affinity (also known as a girl crush) for Sadie, but I can’t leave Marc out. This whole show and both these two people are totally crushworthy!
1. T.J. Dawe. Could it be anyone else? He is the Fringe Idol, he is the ultimate Fringe Crush. Well, for girls. Guys (gay, straight, or other) are all up on the Poofy duVey. And it’s not that I don’t love her. I just don’t *crush* her. T.J. Dawe is just magic, and he’s genuinely nice, too. Which works because it makes Maxim and Cosmo that much more believable. Although from what we’ve heard, he wouldn’t really take anyone up on the offer he made during his show.
Like everyone else who came to the Fringe Festival this year, I truly wanted to adore Heart of Coal. Anyone who I had met who was involved in the show, even people whose names appeared in the program that I knew – I really like all of them. And of course the fact that Heather Henson had created the show’s puppets was a huge selling point. I got to learn a little bit about the environmental issue at hand in the show and I agreed with it a great deal. I was really excited before sitting down in the Green Venue to see the show on Thursday night. I even brought a bunch of friends, Fringe virgins, to see it.
At the end of the production, I regretted that it had been my friends’ first Fringe exposure. They hated it. I didn’t have such strong feelings against it, but something about it had bothered me. The set was beautiful, and I even liked the story. Albeit simplistic and lacking the allegory to truly make it a fable, I loved the idea of a fantasy kingdom and the problem seen through the eyes of a little girl. I loved the whimsy of it. I loved the concept and I adored the look of it, its use of music, the video that opened the production.
But it’s taken me this long to figure out what bothered me about it. First of all, the show would have been immensely more satisfying had there been a small, squawky puppet character, as I have come to love so well in other Henson creations. Think of the rats in Muppets Take Manhattan.
In all seriousness, however, I think there is a fine line crossed when the message of artwork overtakes the artistic achievement of the product. I don’t listen to any particular music for its message. But I try care for the earth – I’ve been a vegetarian for years, I drive a compact car (until I can afford a hybrid), I love composting, I am a recycling maniac, and I voted for Dennis Kucinich in the 2004 primary. But I don’t listen to music for any political purpose. There is great political music – don’t get me wrong, but it’s also first and foremost beautiful music. Think Sergai Prokofiev and Bob Dylan. I don’t listen to third-rate fourth-wave punk music just because the bands making it espouse hatred for George W. Bush and love for tofu.
I don’t disagree with the message of the Heart of Coal in any way, shape or form. I doubt there are many people who attended the Fringe who do, although I saw a McCain sticker on a car in the Shakespeare Festival parking lot. But the show’s problem comes in that it needs more development than simply presenting an issue. The same problem is everything I take issue with in Christian rock. A great deal of extremely popular Top 40 or radio rock music is awful, and much Christian “rock” consists of slimy derivatives of that. Yuck. But people listen to it because they agree with its message.
And don’t get me wrong. Heart of Coal was not that. It was completely original (although the Evil King could have done without the eye-patch). And it came close to living up to its potential. But there’s a reason that Schindler’s List is a movie that high school students watch in classrooms all across America and Syriana never will be. Much of Hollywood needs to realize this, too. We as audiences don’t have to put a stamp on something and say it’s great just because it deals with an important issue. There is a decided difference between activism and art. As a piece of activism, Heart of Coal is stellar. As a work of art, it’s a good start. More than that, though, I would love to see the ideas in this play developed into something that pulls together more, possibly developing other characters, and playing around with dialogue more. The bottom line is that to me, the best art doesn’t tell me its important and then try and live up to that label. The best music, theatre, anything really, is that which compels me with a beautiful story, a wonderful structure, and has an artistic impact on me which changes my mind. I think that a work like Heart of Coal has the potential to be that – it just needs more time.
Hot on the heels of posting about Emily’s record review, let me point you to P-Sha Productions on YouTube (which I’m sure is temporary until they get a real web site) for one. P-Sha is Denna and her friend Joey’s creative venture. You’ve seen their work in the “Little Mark” videos and Fringe Crush of course. They also did a great announcement for the Broadway Across America 07-08 Season.
Jamie is an actor currently in school and I’ll be sure to let you know when and where she’s performing this season.
One of last year’s contributors, Katharine, is currently attending art school in Toronto and keeping up with Boris and WHiRR. She’s also been producing a web comic called Robot of Leisure on and off for almost a year now.
As for myself, I have a few things I’d like to talk about. Orlando Scene TV is a brand new project I’m working on with a number of people including Fringe’s own Mark Baratelli. Orlando Video is a simple blog where I showcase online video produced locally, and anyone can submit a video. I will soon be re-launching Liberatr.net, the parent website of all my projects, with a new look and feel and loads of new features, like a local bulletin board, a Wikipedia-esque directory of local people and places, event listings, reviews, and links to stuff you want to find. Think Blogging Fringe but for all of Central Florida. The interesting thing is, it will never be complete unless the community gets involved.
Last but not least is the Florida Creatives Happy Hour. Right after I started this group I found out about a few others in town that had more history and more consistent attendance, but I really believe we need a discipline-agnostic, wide-reaching powerful group with the ability to educate, unite disparate groups, and exist independent of a government or corporation. We get together on the third Monday of every month at the Crooked Bayou in downtown Orlando (and hopefully other cities in Florida soon) to have a beer and meet up. That’s it. No agenda, no membership fee. You even get a free button! Event listings and RSVPs Upcoming.
Please keep Blogging Fringe in your subscriptions, as we’re going to do our best to keep some great content coming out here all year long, particularly for Orlando Puppet Festival this fall. We still have a few more reviews to post, a few more videos to upload and lots more reflection to do for next year. I might be trying to make it to another Fringe this summer - I’ll keep you posted.
That’s right, we have a real live music reviewer on our site, and she wrote a fabulous review of the music from the Red Venue Patron’s Pick. One of my favorite bits of the article is when she had to explain the Fringe to a fickle, theatre-agnostic, indie rock loving audience:
From RetroLowFi » Matheatre – Calculus: the Musical! (Self-released, 2007):
… One incredible thing about Orlando (there’s at least one) is that the City Beautiful is home to the longest running Fringe Festival in North America. For a city generally associated with Disney and conservative thought, I guess we do have some cultural significance. The Fringe itself started over 50 years ago in Edinburgh, Scotland, and put most simply, is a non-juried festival of art, theatre, music, and mayhem, open to anyone who would like to put on a show. Essentially you could almost say the first Fringe was the very first ever indie rock festival. There are festivals all over the world, and Orlando’s is somewhat notable. Every May, the Fringe rolls through, bringing with it public nudity, copious amounts of alcohol and joints, hysteria-driven writer/actors, strange pets, dance troupes, zombies, hippies, and more drag queens than you probably should shake a stick at. It’s a sight to see, but as I found out by exposing some of my certifiable nerd friends to the chaos, it can be almost too much to take in.
If you want to know what Emily thought of the record, head over to RetroLowFi.com and check out the full text. Please leave a comment, as well - it’s good Blog Karma. Emily is one of 5 or so contributors to the site, with music, live performances, television, film and books being among the main subjects discussed. It has a decidedly international focus, which I never seem to be able to achieve with any of my projects (I don’t have any affiliation with the group except friendship), and the reviews are top-of-the-line and very biased - like good reviews should be. If you’re in to fringe pop culture, check out RetroLowFi.
Zombie Girlfriend
Doodie Humor
Orange Venue
Doodie Humor is back once again, to satirize moral satire and basically gross us out to the point we laugh. Real hard. And with spurting blood, nasty talk, pimps, hoes, flesch-eaters, horror-obsessed best friends (there’s one of those in every single post-Scream horror films, isn’t there? Self-reflexive much?), and the most hilarious mime you will ever meet, they succeed tremendously. At some points the show seems slow, but maybe it’s just the fast edit madness of everything else going on at the Fringe. This is a great show overall, and the perfect late-nite faire to end your day.
The plot is not hard to maneuver your way around. I thought it might include a little more of a 50s doo-wop sort of feel – you know, including high school sweaters and poodle skirts for some unknown reason. But despite it’s typical everyday normal post-collegiate setting (where the football playing bully of yesteryear has grown into a rent-a-cop), it’s still an absolute hoot. All of the actors do a fine job, and the 90 minute show even reaches a satisfying conclusion. Albeit a long one, I wouldn’t think of anything in it that should go. And it just keeps getting funnier toward the end, videos included.
The best part might have to be the projection shown during the “pre-show” announcements. I heard a more incestuous promotional one at the Green Venue earlier that night to see Heart of Coal, but the Zombie Girlfriend pre-emptor included instructions on the projection screen of how to avoid the pre-show announcements. We all threw in a “Hells year mother fuckas!” for good measure.
Overall, Zombie Girlfriend is a fine time to be had, and both for its humor and low ticket cost, a show I’d recommend to anyone and everyone.
It seems the last time we wrote a sparkling review of a then somewhat lesser known artist at Fringe, he won Patron’s Pick. (And he used our quote on his promotional materials, which drove our stock up!) I took a certain sense of pride in knowing that we had picked ourselves a winner. For me, I think when the critical voice meets the things that move people, you have truly great art. Mark Baratelli did that last year, and we congratulate him again this year for winning the Blue Venue Patron’s Pick this year, in a very tough field!
However, we wrote another sparkling review of a show that did not receive such a sparkling review in another publication. May have caused controversy, and yes, I believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion. When I have deep discussions over art and criticism with my mother, she usually says to me, “That’s why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream.” What one person loves is not for everyone. And any good critic knows that – every good critic, actually. And while I will defend critics and the critique of even shows at a non-juried event like Fringe to the end, it’s nice to say that you can pick a winner.
So we here at Blogging Fringe want to send a special congratulations to the outstanding team behind the Red Venue Patron’s Pick – Calculus: the Musical! What started out as a series of mnemonic devices to remember tricky formulas (I’m really having a Pete and Pete flashback now!) has taken this year’s Fringe by storm, with three sell-out dates and an extremely successful run. Not only that, but Sadie and Marc of Matheatre are two of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and so I just want to extend a special congratulations. We are proud of all of the Patron’s Picks winners, but every blog has to have a darling, I guess.
Hooray for Little Isaac!
Calculus: the Musical! will be playing in the Red Venue at 11am on Monday, May 28th.
I realise now - I should have left this on the Blogging Fringe Voicemail Review Hotline. Too late now, I guess, but here’s the news:
We were honored with a Fabby Award for “Fringe of the Fringe”!
There are lots more things that went on, including LOTS more videos (and a couple that will never see the light of day…), but those will have to wait until tomorrow! Blogging Fringe is not over! We still have so many shows to try and properly review, so many photos to share, videos to upload, and really try to get things a tiny bit more organized, too. Stay with us for at least another week.
International shows, we’d love to hear how the circuit is going, and I think all your new friends would too, so keep blogging and giving us something to blog about - send in photos, stories, crushes, whatever! Help make Blogging Fringe an international affair!
If you’re in Orlando, please subscribe, and check out some of the Liberatr.net links on the right. Sadly, I had a few of these sites break because of server problems during Fringe and I haven’t been home to fix them. Very very soon, everything around here should be more or less back to normal. Thanks again everyone for a Fabulous Fringe!
Ahhh a new playlist of Fringe crushes!
Ryan Says: I put ALL the Fringe Crush videos over on our Fringe Crush page.
Sandra Diaz and Jeremy Seghers of Carbon Productions speak about the issue behind this year’s Heart of Coal, Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. Sandra points out iLoveMountains.org as a place to go for more information on the issue.
Look forward to Blogging Fringe’s coverage of the 2007 Orlando Puppet Festival and the 2008 Orlando Fringe. Subscribe to our audio and video posts via iTunes, and keep checking Blogging Fringe for reviews, patron voicemails (321-441-3964) and more.
P.S. Clicking on the ad at the end of the video or making buttons and badges this week helps pay for our tent out on the green! We appreciate the support.
Blogging Fringe Podcast 10
fringe_10_sixcharacters.mp3
Length: 37:43
Blogging Fringe is proud to present the cast of this punk-rock-vaudeville-revival show from New York, NY. We are joined by Kym Bernazky, Jim Ford, Max Frey, Andrew Gaines, Suchan Vadoor and Devon Assuncao. Not appearing in this podcast are Alexandra Gray and Katharine Houston.
Links mentioned in this podcast:
Six Characters Website
Six Characters MySpace
Orlando Fringe
Blogging Fringe
Leave an Audio Comment Here
Liberatr.net
Thank you to Cervo Systems and the Detroit Creative Group for providing bandwidth and hosting for Blogging Fringe.
The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts. We have also made our feed available for easy linking to iTunes or other feed readers.
Download VoiceMail Review 11
fringe_2007_voice_11_murder.mp3
Length: 1:00
Paige leaves some comments for Murder on West 18th in th Red Venue. Call 321-441-3964 to leave your review.
Show: Murder on West 18th
Company: Playwright’s Round Table - Orlando, FL
Venue: Red (Orlando REP)
Times: 5/18 - 9:20PM, 5/19 - 6:30PM, 5/20 - 11:00AM, 5/23 - 7:55PM, 5/24 - 10:35PM, 5/26 - 12:55PM, 5/27 - 4:25PM
Tickets: $10 (Students, Seniors, PRT Members $8)
Rating: Mature Audiences (nudity, language)
Thank you to Cervo Systems and the Detroit Creative Group for providing bandwidth and hosting for Blogging Fringe.
The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts. We have also made our feed available for easy linking to iTunes or other feed readers.
Download VoiceMail Review 10
fringe_2007_voice_10_rickshaw.mp3
Length: 3:35
John and company, repping RickshawBoy.com, review Matador and several other Fringe productions. Call 321-441-3964 to leave your review.
Show: Matador
Company: Angel Kiss Productions - Orlando, FL
Venue: Purple (Orlando Shakes)
Times: 5/18 - 11:45PM, 5/20 - 7:15PM, 5/21 - 9:50PM, 5/23 - 7:40PM, 5/24 - 11:50PM, 5/25 - 10:05PM, 5/26 - 9:00PM
Tickets: $10
Thank you to Cervo Systems and the Detroit Creative Group for providing bandwidth and hosting for Blogging Fringe.
The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts. We have also made our feed available for easy linking to iTunes or other feed readers.
Download VoiceMail Review 09
fringe_2007_voice_09_rematch.mp3
Length: 0:24
Ryan leaves a review for the hilarious and highly anticipated SPORT: REMATCH in th Silver Venue. Call 321-441-3964 to leave your review.
Show: SPORT: REMATCH
Company: PB & J Brewery - Orlando, FL
Venue: Silver (Orlando Shakes)
Times: 5/18 - 7:35PM, 5/19 - 1:40PM, 5/20 - 9:10PM, 5/22 - 7:55PM, 5/24 - 9:15PM, 5/26 - 3:10PM, 5/27 - 3:40PM
Tickets: $7 (Students, Fringe Artists $5)
Thank you to Cervo Systems and the Detroit Creative Group for providing bandwidth and hosting for Blogging Fringe.
The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts. We have also made our feed available for easy linking to iTunes or other feed readers.
Download VoiceMail Review 08
fringe_2007_voice_08_ps69.mp3
Length: 0:29
Ryan leaves a review for Susan Jeremy’s P.S. 69 in th Orange Venue. Call 321-441-3964 to leave your review.
Show: P.S. 69
Company: Watson Arts - Brooklyn, NY
Venue: Orange (Orlando Shakes)
Times: 5/18 - 6:00PM, 5/19 - 1:40PM, 5/20 - 9:00PM, 5/24 - 6:00PM, 5/25 - 8:10PM, 5/26 - 6:30PM, 5/27 - 11:00AM
Tickets: $10
Thank you to Cervo Systems and the Detroit Creative Group for providing bandwidth and hosting for Blogging Fringe.
The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts. We have also made our feed available for easy linking to iTunes or other feed readers.
Download VoiceMail Review 07
fringe_2007_voice_07_six.mp3
Length: 0:32
Ryan leaves a review for punk-rock-buster-keaton-vaudeville act Six Characters in th Purple Venue. Call 321-441-3964 to leave your review.
Show: Six Characters: Best Show EVER!
Company: Six Characters - New York, NY
Venue: Purple (Orlando REP)
Times: 5/19 - 4:30PM, 5/20 - 2:20PM, 5/22 - 8:00PM, 5/23 - 11:40PM, 5/25 - 6:00PM, 5/26 - 12:40PM, 5/27 - 6:00PM
Tickets: $10
Thank you to Cervo Systems and the Detroit Creative Group for providing bandwidth and hosting for Blogging Fringe.
The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts. We have also made our feed available for easy linking to iTunes or other feed readers.
Download VoiceMail Review 06
fringe_2007_voice_06_poofy.mp3
Length: 0:40
Ryan leaves a review for Burden of Poof in th Yellow Venue. Three shows left. Call 321-441-3964 to leave your review.
Show: Poofy du Vey in Burden of Poof
Company: Courtney Cunningham - New York, NY
Venue: Yellow (Orlando Shakes)
Times: 5/19 - 11:00AM, 5/20 - 8:25PM, 5/22 - 10:20PM, 5/23 - 7:25PM, 5/25 - 6:00PM, 5/26 - 4:20PM, 5/27 - 5:55PM
Tickets: $10 (Students, Seniors $8)
Rating: Mature Audiences
Thank you to Cervo Systems and the Detroit Creative Group for providing bandwidth and hosting for Blogging Fringe.
The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts. We have also made our feed available for easy linking to iTunes or other feed readers.
Download VoiceMail Review 05
fringe_2007_voice_005_heart.mp3
Length: 0:35
Ryan leaves a review for Heart of Coal in th Green Venue. Call 321-441-3964 to leave your review.
Show: Heart of Coal
Company: Carbon Productions - Orlando, FL
Venue: Green (Orlando REP)
Times: 5/19 - 2:20PM, 5/21 - 10:30PM, 5/23 - 7:35PM, 5/24 - 8:35PM, 5/26 - 10:20PM, 5/27 - 5:10PM
Tickets: $7 (Students, Seniors, Environmental buttons $5)
Thank you to Cervo Systems and the Detroit Creative Group for providing bandwidth and hosting for Blogging Fringe.
The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts. We have also made our feed available for easy linking to iTunes or other feed readers.
Download VoiceMail Review 04
fringe_2007_voice_04_cinedance.mp3
Length: 0:49
Ryan leaves a review for LIVE FEED in th Yellow Venue by CineDance Jazz Dance. Their last show is TONIGHT! Call 321-441-3964 to leave your review.
Show: LIVE FEED
Company: CineDance Jazz Dance - Orlando, FL
Venue: Yellow (Orlando Shakes)
Times: 5/19 - 8:40PM, 5/23 - 6:00PM, 5/25 - 11:15PM
Tickets: $8 (Students, Seniors, Dance ticket stubs $6)
Rating: Mature Audiences
Thank you to Cervo Systems and the Detroit Creative Group for providing bandwidth and hosting for Blogging Fringe.
The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts. We have also made our feed available for easy linking to iTunes or other feed readers.
