I got a chance to attend the lottery drawing for the Fringe Shows and Play in a Day this week. Beth said they had 91 applicants this year, which I'm sure breaks some sort of record.

To explain, under the rules laid down by the Canadian Ass'n of Fringe Festivals (CAFF), our festival must reserve 20% of their spots for international shows and 20% for shows from their home country. Our Fringe is the oldest in America, coming up on the 16th year, with over $175,000 going to the performers last year and projections for this year are higher as we are adding a new venue.

Blogging Fringe Podcast 06
fringe_06_henson.mp3
Length: 4:39

The file is just an MP3 - no iPod is required to listen to this show, although that is a popular way to enjoy podcasts.

I am very pleased to see more and more people coming to the Puppet Festival every night. That either means that the word has gotten out, or people are bringing their friends.

Show: Songs of Mirth and Mayhem
Company: Paul Mesner Puppets
Venue: Mad Cow Theatre (corner of Pine St. and Magnolia Ave.)
Show times: Thu Nov 2, 10:15 PM;
Tickets: $15
Call: 407-297-8788 - info and tickets

When I spoke with Paul Mesner tonight, he told me that Songs of Mirth and Mayhem is a much younger program than Wiley and the Hairy Man (a few months compared to a few decades). Still, my 24-year-old self found this show to be even better than Hairy Man. In no way is this show intended for young people, covering several adult subjects including drugs, sex, and violence!

The show is primarily a cabaret,

What do event bloggers do with our phtos and video? Do we make pretty slideshows? Add fancy graphics? Do any editing at all?

Show: The Traveler
Company: Dramaton Theater
Venue: Mad Cow Theatre (corner of Pine St. and Magnolia Ave.)
Show times: Thu Nov 2, 9:15 PM; Fri Nov 3, 7:45 PM;
Tickets: $15
Call: 407-297-8788 - info and tickets

I didn't know what to expect from The Traveler going in to the show. What I found was something very special. New York's Dramaton Theater made themselves famous doing non-verbal theatre, but the Traveler is more straightforward. The play is a collection three short stories about people on literal different walks of life. The first two stories are adapted from previous works, namely Richard Midleton's On the Brighton Road (1911) and William Yeats' Purgatory (1922). The third story was written for Dramaton by Enma Ito of Fantoma Theater Company of Osaka, Japan. The stories really go together to make up a whole in this piece: hats off, kids.

Possibly the most notable part of the show are the puppets.

Once again I have no time to post, as Jack and the Beanstalk starts in 15 minutes. I might not make it!! Very quickly I wanted to point to a video by Blogging Fringe's friend Mark Baratelli. He made a video about himself of all subjects, and he mentions that he will be performing in Sunday night's show. Check it out:

YouTube - 11-3-06 Mark's Weekend

After seeing The Traveler and Songs of Mirth and Mayhem today, I went to Club Pita with a friend, and we hung out a bit late. I need to get some sleep now, but I will post the reviews tomorrow afternoon, promise.

If you read Elizabeth Maupin's blog today, you'll see that she was having some trouble with her blog software.

Show: Wiley and the Hairy Man
Company: Paul Mesner Puppets
Venue: Mad Cow Theatre (corner of Pine St. and Magnolia Ave.)
Show times: Wed, Nov 1, 7:00 PM; Fri, Nov 3, 10:30 AM; Fri, Nov 3, 1:00 PM;
Tickets: $15, $12 with Student ID
Call: 407-297-8788 - info and tickets

Paul Mesner is clearly an accomplished puppet performer and builder. I know this because he performed the entire show on his own, live, doing all the voices AND running the tape machine! Paul has been performing Wiley for almost 20 years now, testified by the fact that some of the puppets are built from "Reagan Era Government Cheese Boxes".

Uh-oh! Some of our first Non-Fringe content starts to leak in. The Orlando Puppet Festival opened today with a wine and cheese reception, followed by a screening of Handmade Puppet Dreams, a collection of shorts compiled by Heather Henson and Michelle Renee Bousquet. Following that was one of many presentations of Paul Mesner's Wiley and the Hairy Man.