Back in April, a bunch of local theatre folks got together to have dinner and meet up. Tonight was the second installment in what seems to be a 3-or-4-times-a-year event, held in local theatre spaces. The April 6th pot-luck was hosted by Mad Cow Theatre downtown, and today’s was held in the lobby of the Orlando REP.
Folk etymology has derived the term “potluck” from the Native American custom of potlatch; the word “potluck”, however, is actually of English origin. It is a portmanteau word formed from (cooking) pot and lucke. The earliest written citation is from 1592: “That that pure sanguine complexion of yours may never be famisht with pot lucke,” Thomas Nashe. As this shows, the original meaning was “food given away to guests”, probably derived from “whatever food one is lucky enough to find in the pot”, i.e. whatever food happens to be available, especially when offered to a guest. By extension, a more general meaning is “whatever is available in a particular circumstance or at a particular time.”
Potlatch is actually a good custom from which to derive this kind of dinner - the potlatch is often celebrated at special events, like births, celebrations of the harvest, and weddings. It is a show of wealth and prosperity, where the person holding the potlatch holds a feast, and trades some prized commodity for things they might need.
The tech community’s BarCamp and the PR and Media community’s BlogOrlando could be seen as a kind of potlatch - we’re trading ideas and experience.
The idea for the Theatre Pot-Luck was originally spawned by local actor John Baker via Elizabeth Maupin’s Orlando Sentinel theatre blog, which is also the best place see announcements for other upcoming events. The Orlando Arts Blog is another good place to check. Apparently, the Orlando Shakes has volunteered to hold the next one in a few months. Right now there is no organizer, it just sort of happens as someone steps up to offer space - which is, in my opinion, as it should be.
With Florida Creatives and BarCamp, the geeks are really fixated on a single person having all the ideas, and I think this is stifling the creativity and experimentation that could be happening if the organizations were more headless. One way we can do that with Florida Creatives is having chapters in other cities, which we are getting going in Melbourne/Brevard now, and hopefully more successfully in Jacksonville some day - the only stopping other cities is an initial organizer.
Yes, someone does have to take the reins, but only until it gains critical mass. Even when I tried to move the Happy Hour to the Fringe Beer tent some of the downtown folks still went to Crooked Bayou looking for their regular 3rd Monday beer-and-tots… funny.
I really meant to take some pictures, but when I was there, I just didn’t see an opportunity.
What goes on at a theatre potluck? Well I talked to Arwen Lowbridge from Fractured Atlas in New York - she’s down here visiting so she could check out Beth Marshall and Tod Kimbro’s My Illustrious Wasteland - they were both also there, along with Betsy Maupin, of course - I ate dinner with them and (for a few minutes) John DiDonna, but he had to run.
Arwen and I waxed delicious about non-GMO, CSA farms, picking your own fruit, and having fresh food delivered to your house. I also had my first face-to-face meeting with Maupin, who said something to the effect of “You look bigger than on the Internet”.
I later moved over to a table with David Almeida , Marcie and Stephen J Miller from Here Be Dragons. There were some interesting threads there too, like one about experimenting with different roles while you’re in school, because once you’re out, you get cast as yourself for the rest of your life. The other hot topic was nudity, since David had done a play at Fringe with an extended nude scene.
I also got to hear about the history of this event, which is really important to me. The more I get into this, I see myself leaning more towards the role of documentarian and historian. I’m actually thinking about shooting a 20-25 minute documentary in a few weeks if I get the logistics figured out - I also hope that I will be able to get the help with editing that I’m hoping for… more on this later.
Looking forward expectantly to the next Pot-Luck - next time I promise to bring something. Betsy’s chicken and David’s brownies were great, and I heard good things about some lo mein and Stephen’s apple pie too.
I was leaving the festival on Saturday night and just felt inspired to call in and leave a message for everyone.
Thank you to Cervo Systems 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.
(A repost from my MySpace which is set to public during the Fringe but will go back to private after, so if you please feel free to request me as a friend! My email is dennarenee@yahoo.com, you’ll need that too Enjoy!)
Another night at the Orlando Fringe Festival. I got to see all of the shows I wanted! TJ ( I like to call Tee-jah, one word) Dawe great as always!
The Mr. Fox a really fun show. Although I’d say not to sit in the front row as it’s some what a spit zone Here’s the thing, anything associated with the above mentioned Tee-jah, Greg and or Chipped Paint Productions will be a must see on my Fringe list. I hope Greg becomes a Fringe regular!
Skip Peril was GREAT! But how could it not be with such a tremendous cast! I think this is some of Eric Pinder’s best work!! And hello, Jason Horn can rock a dress!
And then a truly Fringe-esk time at Truth or Dare with Pepe!
Never in the history of my Fringe experience have I ever seen a photo op in the show but here it is…every single person in the show including the tech!!! br>That’s right, some how during the show a photo op started and ended with every person in the venue in the pic! What fun! Also a lil of this happened:
and some of this:
Truth or Dare has one more show on Sunday @ 4:20pm, what will happen at it….who knows but I’m sure it’ll be spicy and maybe a bit awkward but fun no the least!
My shows for tomorrow….
Blues: A Handbook for the Future Homeless, A Brief History of Crime, Oral and Tod Kimbro
See you there, don’t act like you don’t know where…..
Last night was the first day of shows for the 2008 Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, and I must say the Fringe has got a lot of great stuff going on! So many wonderful shows, both from Orlando regulars and some new folks as well - there’s even a show that takes place in the women’s bathroom! No matter what happens at this year’s festival, you’ll be sure to find daily updates at http://www.bloggingfringe.com
First thing you’ll notice is that the size of “The Green” has about tripled in size, with the Beer Tent remaining the center of attention. Because of the Fringe Membership drive and the special treatment for VIP members, beer/wine tickets are now $4 each, but I’ve seen some folks getting $1 off with their badges.
I saw Voci Dance’s “Perfectly Broken” at the Red (outdoor) Venue at the Orlando Shakes (the old beer tent location, and I think this is such a great use of this space! Even if the conflicts with the Orlando REP are resolved next year, I still would love to see this extra venue stick around or replace the old Red Venue, which was so tiny and hard to find.
Voci didn’t disappoint either, with an all-new show - lots of solos, more dance pieces that tell short stories over the course of two or three pieces, a live two-piece band and some really amazing dancing. I also liked the “Vocitini” table they had set up outside.
Some cool things to check out are Tod Caviness’ Poetry Vending Machine - $5 gets you a custom-written poem by one of the poets in residence. Also check out the Saturday night Poetry Smackdown events.
Another interesting addition is the Digi-Dada Theatre - Mark Biddle from The Office Art Gallery has written a series of short skits for Fringe Patrons to perform on camera in his mini-TV studio at the Shakes Fest, and he will be compiling the clips into a longer surreal piece to show off sometime soon.
I also went to the opening night of Gemma Wilcox’s “Shadows in Bloom”, which feels like a prequel to last year’s “The Honeymoon Period is Officially Over”. I’d like to ask Gemma and see what she has to say about this. Lots more characters, and lots more Gemma!
We are just getting started, but there is one more thing I’d like to mention - anyone and everyone has the ability to get their 15 minutes in this year, thanks to Blogging Fringe. I will be syndicating blogs - it’s simple and you get to keep all the publicity! Just send me a link to your blog or your blog’s feed - I’ll filter out posts that mention the Fringe Festival and re-post them to Blogging Fringe. When people check out the most recent posts on the site or do a search, they’ll see your posts, but when they click the links, they are directed to your blog, so you get to keep all the comments and maybe make some new friends in the process. Contact me through www.BloggingFringe.com or MySpace/Facebook to get listed as a Contributor.
Last but not least, come join the Florida Creatives on Monday for a visit to the beer tent and some socializing - we’ll be there from 6PM until 7:30, then we’ll head to the Shakes for Barry Smith’s show, American Squatter.
Hope to see you all out at Loch Haven Park this week! Happy Fringe!
That’s right. Thursday night, July 26th, 2007 the Orange County Commission met and voted on the building of a new sports arena (for the Orlando Magic, the old one is to be sold and demolished), some renovations on the 70+ year old Citrus Bowl (home of the Capital One Bowl, the Champs Sports Bowl, and… not much else), and of most importance to you, the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center (see if you can get us to stop calling it OPAC any time soon).
“Betsy” Maupin has a bit of news about the PAC in her latest blog. John Kennedy (political blogger for the Sentinel) was giving semi-live updates during the meeting, and my new favorite news aggregator for Orlando, Outside.in, doesn’t have much news at all.
The best coverage of “the venues” by far has been the Orlando Weekly. Searching their site for “Pleasure Dome” or “Venues” will bring up lots of relevant results (including the several reasons why they were not interested in building a new arena or renovating the Citrus Bowl. The Orlando Weekly Blog has also been getting much more frequent updating lately, so if you’re into reading blogs, check out their RSS.
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!
Patron’s Picks are being predicted, already. And you’ve all seen the lines wrapped around the box office computers.
It’s getting tense. There will be more handing out of little flyers, more rushes for tickets for shows you haven’t seen, more final performances for certain shows, more beer tent melees, more of everything, for five more days.
So who better to come out of blogging hiding than BF’s Head Bitch in Charge (otherwise known as the HBIC)?
That’s right kids, I’m back. But I can say that I haven’t seen a show I haven’t liked thus far, so no worries. I’m more selective than I was last year, but I’ve also seen more.
And I probably think too highly of my own opinion. No, wait. I definitely think too highly of my own opinion. But that’s the power you have when you piss people off! There is no bigger ego-stroking to a critic than bad feedback. If you write something worth arguing with, then you’ve arrived as, well, something. Maybe.
Anyway. Thus far this year, I think the Fringe has been better overall. The ticketing system, while it may be strange to carry around a bunch of receipts, works super quickly and is nearly fool-proof. There have been some negative sentiments expressed thus far about the “celebrity announcements” before the shows, but a) I haven’t seen shows in all of the venues and b) I haven’t heard any “celebrity announcers” who had shows this year at the Fringe, so I have yet to be offended by them. The shows are great, as well, although maybe I’m silly but I could go for a little more drama. I love musicals as much as any show tunes singin’ queen, but maybe a few more really thought-provoking shows could help round it out better.
The most significant improvement, and that which beats out all others, has been the relocation of the beer tent. From a simple patio barbeque behind the Shakespeare Festival to the creation of the paper mushroom littered Green, where vendors are thriving and the community feel of the Fringe has swelled to an all-time high. I have met so many people this year and felt like such a part of the Fringe family so far, even just a simple blogger, audience member, and sometimes volunteer. It’s been wonderful so far, and here’s hoping that the Festival’s closing keeps it up.
Here’s to a Memorial Day weekend for the ages! Stay tuned for my recommendations based on what else I’ve loved so far.
On Monday night at the Orlando Fringe, the cast of Six Characters: Best Show Ever from NY, NY had an event where patrons got to throw pies in the face of a character.
Later, Rye from Influx Dance (Boston, MA) gave our producer Ryan a rainbow tattoo sporting the phrase “Become a Rockstar”.
We should have continuing coverage throughout the week. 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.
Sunday was a theme park day….you know the kind. You get up early and go, go, GOOO all day! And what a fun day it was! I started my day off at Cupid and Psyche. Hello musical! Meghan who I’ve seen in Doodie Humor really is a versatile gal! Who knew she had a voice on her. The show was a fun, campy, cute explanation of a few mythological stories. Psyche sounded like a Disney princess. (I forgot to get a program so I don’t know anyone’s bios or names…whoops) I would like to know how long it took Mercury to learn how to wheelie?
A quick, ok not so quick stop to see some Pet Fringe where. Jungle Adventures had some fun animals to get up close and personal with. I ran into my friend and Pet fringe top dog Corene who tells me that next week end is going to be a BIG weekend for Pet Fringe. You know I can’t wait!!!!! Who’s’ up for a kissing camel?
Off to see the Screw You Review in the Brown Venue. Oh my Lord!! Can I just tell you I was laughing so hard I was crying!!!! I almost Pee(drettied) in my pants!!!! If you like to laugh, go see this show and if you don’t like to laugh then SCREW YOU!
A hop down the hallway to the Orange Venue to see VariTEASE: Carnival. Now I’ve seen the last 4 VariTEASE shows and Carnival was my favorite. So I figured what the heck I’ll see it again. I’m so glad I did because babyBlue and her crew blew it up!!! WOW. The addition of Matt Henery who you may remember from Eye Candy and Anthropology 101 was a wonderful addition. And lemme tell you , if you can’t find someone you think is a hottie… well then you might need to get your eyes fixed!
Did a 360 and back in the Orange Venue to see Fringe legend T.J Dawes back this year with the finished product Maxim & Cosmo. TJ always boggles me with his fluid style of story telling. How does he remember all of it? Talent, pure and simple.
A quick trip across “the Green” (formerly known as the Beer tent/ outdoor stage) to hit Sport: Rematch. I am not a sports fan. So last year I didn’t have this show on my schedule bt after hearing person after person sing the praises of the show I had to go and boy, I’m sooo glad I did! Fun, fun, fun!!! Pure and simple fun! I think I and my friends laughed from start to finish! This year is no different! SO go, take a friend, take your kids. This is a Great show for everybody!
I finished my night 3 off with Suitcase of Memories in the Brown venue. This was such a heart warming show. It was so touching and I think it made it even more knowing most of the writers of the show. I am so proud of John Sullivan who’s been telling me about this show since last summer.
Ok now I have to tell you…. I lied! You’ll have to check back for day 4! I’m tired and gotz to get some ZZZs!!!!
I will however leave you with this……..
This episode comes to us straight from the official Blogging Fringe tent on the lawn at the Loch Haven Park. Ryan helps Amy make a button for Herschel Gertz, Kurt Fitzpatrick tells us about Rebel Without a Niche and Ms. Emily Kane raves about Calculus: The Musical!
We should have continuing coverage throughout the week. 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.
Today, day 2 aka Saturday was a get a really cool toy but then you have to go to Grandma’s day. You know when for whatever reason you finally got a snazzy toy you’ve been waiting for forever but then you have to leave it because you have to go to Grandma’s house. That was my Saturday! Just when the Fringe is in full swing I have to leave it and go to work! At least I got to play for just a bit before rushing off to work the box office for Camelot. At least it’s my final shift while the fringe is here. Wheww!
So stopped by the Blogging Fringe tent for a brief, helped set up, make a button then off to 1 show. Today’s show was So Kiss Me Already Herscel Gertz, a one woman show by Amy Salloway. I found this show completely charming. As I watched I completely connected in her story even though I am not Jewish nor went to summer camp. Most of us went (maybe still are going) through that self searching, trying to fit in, puberty hitting, awkward first love time of life. She’s so cute with her ponytails and converse that it’s easy to go back in time and you won’t mind the visit, no matter how traumatic your adolescents was!
After the show I chatted with Amy and she told about how she had forgotten her programs. She was gushing how nice the Fringe volunteers were and how they rescued her! She was so thankful. Our fringe volunteers, just another example of why the Orland fringe festival ROCKS!!! And Amy I think I can safely say that Blogging Fringe ahava(s) YOU!!!
Before heading to work chatted with Kyle from Light My Way: A New Musical, Ricky Avila from Matador and Joey from Heart of Coal. Joey tells me their first show was well received and felt good about it! Go Joey!!! For those of you who don’t know, Joey is the other part of P-sha productions! You may have seen some of our work and not even known it was ours :)!
Well today the Fringe is really starting for me, I have 6 shows on my schedule!!! WHOOOT! So if you see me around the Fringe or at the Blogging Fringe tent tell me what you’ve seen, tell me about your show or just say HI!
So this year for Fringe, in addition to providing day-by-day accounts of what’s going on, reviews of the shows we see (we being me and 3+ other people, come help out if you like), making the occasional video and taking some photos, I am doing something else. I have a vendor space in the “Beer Tent” area (beer is NOT Orlando Brewing like I thought). So far, I didn’t have anything there Thursday on account of the rain and all the stuff to do, and I didn’t have it Friday because I was seeing shows, but I actually set up today and had a decent experience.
I only made $10 at the tent today, but I think the real goal is to make sure it’s serious, to set ourselves apart, and to give the team a home base to work from. I’ve also encouraged artists to come by the tent and hang out, particularly those from out of town. One such maiden is Amy Salloway, who is a lovely Minnesota girl with a one-woman show about Jewish summer camp. She came by to chat with Emily, Jamie and I tonight over some delicious corn Arepas from the booth next door. I hope she comes back and is the first of many.
Also, I finally met John V. of Radio Rickshaw tonight - apparently, they sponsored the poetry smackdown at the outdoor stage… S.K.I.P. of Nonsense won the prize tonight, and rightly so - he’s fantastic. Mark Baratelli said many times that the spoken word community needs to put together a Fringe show next year: he’s right. Amy Steinberg’s been doing it for years, even Unicornicopia had a show - why hasn’t Nonsense Records done something?
After that there was a very small excursion to the Peacock Room where we ran into the Senorita from Matador. Now that I think of it, I could be dropping names all night in this post, but I don’t have all night… I have to get up and go fly a kite.
Tonight was a good salad night. You know, when you have a salad and it’s just the right mix. Not too much lettuce or dressing or other random vegetables that you might enjoy. It was a fun night with just the right shows, food from the fringe vendors and chat with Fringe friends! Megan from Cupid and Psyche (orange venue) tells me she was pleased with their first show and that they came in on time! Wheww!
My boss let me out of work early from the box office of Camelot ( here till Sunday , plug plug, if you’re not fringing) and I squeezed in Matt and Ben(Pink Venue). Check our Emily’s full review of the show to be posted soon!
The guys faced a few of opening night challenges and pulled it off with charm. Put it all together with the talent of the Kyle Beach and Andrew Snyder and guidance of James Brendlinger and you’ve got a really good Fringe show. Guys I hope you’re able to chillax and enjoy the Fringe! Jesus in Montana(yellow venue) is a crazy journey into religious insanity but as Barry Smith starts to really spin his tale, I caught myself thinking “Wow, maybe he is onto something!” Could I be the next cult member???? If Barry were the one explaining it, I too might have been in the basement with Jesus. His style is relaxed and effortless. A great one man show, that keeps you entertained as well as intellectually engaged. Amen
As I make my way around the Fringe I am adding more and more Fringe crushes to my list. I’m up to 5….does that make me a Crush-ho?
Wow! What a fun night!! Opening night of the 16th Annual Orlando FRINGE! All decked out in my mod 60’s best I headed to the 1st offical night of Fringe!!! Mingling with people some of which I haven’t seen since last year, I chatted it up with the likes of John Sullivan and friends from Suitcase of Memories, Jamesson Beane and Logan Donohoo of Coming In, Mark Baratelli of Improv Cabaret just to name a few. Dancing the night away to the sixties music and just good times all around!
I also saw my first show of the festival: Voci’s Waiting. I saw last years Paint Chips which was a lot of fun and really enjoyed the addition of Christa Bell’s poetry to this years show!
I chatted it up with my pal John C, a close friend of the show, about Christa’s collaboration with Voci. Seems that Genevieve (Voci’s artistic director) was meeting someone at Stardust Video & Coffee when the place became packed. Not knowing there was a show she peeked in to see Christa in action, the rest was as they say history.
The show is very pro women and defiantly speaks to many female centered issues. All I have to say is GO GIRL POWER!!! But not in an old Spice girl way.
See you at the Fringe!!! …day 2
Oh and get ready I may be asking you…..
Who’s your Fringe crush??
The 16th Annual Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival kicked off on May 17th with a series of parties, performances and a parade by the festival artists. Ryan Price from Blogging Fringe was there to meet some artists and watch things go down.
We should have continuing coverage throughout the week. 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.
Enjoy!)
Here’s the thing, anything associated with the above mentioned Tee-jah, Greg and or Chipped Paint Productions will be a must see on my Fringe list. I hope Greg becomes a Fringe regular!
br>That’s right, some how during the show a photo op started and ended with every person in the venue in the pic! What fun! Also a lil of this happened:
