Fringe

The Pick of the Fringe for 2009 were announced last night and here are the winners:

Audience Pick
Gravesongs

Critic's Pick
7(x1) Samurai

Producer's Pick
Empire of Feathers

Some off-kilter picks of my own from the festival:

Well, we did it. 31 shows in 11 days.

I'm not completely sure what I'm going to do with myself tomorrow.... sleeping in will be a part of it for sure, to recover from teh Finale Party that begins in about 60 minutes.

This was far more fun that I thought it would be. I'm not going to commit doing this for next year yet. 

However, I will be reserving this week off from work.

Cheers. On to the party.

This is easily the best Cincinnati Fringe Festival to date. There were more outstanding shows that I have seen in previous years, and the quality has been shockingly even. I say this, having attended every festival to date.

But though there were many shows to love, we arrived at our choice for Critics' Pick with little disucssion.

Our pick is Empire of Feathers by Giant Bird.

The Conveyor is proud to announce our awards of excellence for the 2009 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. After seeing about as much Fringe as is humanly possible, we wanted to give our opinion on the best. We have created a series of categories and groupings and have come up with what we believe represents the best of the festival.

I'm trying to decide whether I ought to feel embarrassed for just saying the words "Assholes and Aureoles" to a gentle elderly couple who wandered into New Stage looking for a show.

(They were looking for something else)
(I think they were a little bit confused by my response to their question)
(Would I have so enthusiastically said "Asshole" to that lady in any other context?)
(Probably not. Fringe is cool)
(And she didn't get mad)
(It's been an awesome twelve days, thanks everybody)

So, Griffin and I both have votes in the Critics' Picks, which either shows the increased respect for Internet media or is yet another sign of the coming Apocalypse.... your call.

Basically, we're all expected to vote for three shows, listing in order our choices.

I just want everyone out there in Fringe land to know that my socks have been rocked. This has been an incredible festival in so many ways. I'm thrilled with the caliber of work this year. I haven't seen a bad show, nor have I really talked about anyone else seeing a bad one. It's been a great time, and I hope that everyone else is having as much fun. And oh yeah, we broke goal last night with 37 more performances to go. This is the earliest yet!

When Thumping Techno-music plays an omniscient yet emotionally flawed character, what else could you want? Kazoos? You got it. Hats? There are some of those. Boxes? Lots of those.

"April Fools" by Four Humors Theatre is a conceptual romp that explores comedy, poetry, music, and takes big chances. The payoff is in the unexpected. There is a loose narrative here that takes a back seat to expression. At times they go for a laugh, at other times the laughs just creep up on them for no apparent reason.

Writing drives "The Success Show" from Finite Number of Monkeys, and the script by Michael Comstock is force that puts the the You in You-niverse. The setting is a self help seminar and we are served up a satirical spoof worthy to be compared to early SNL or SCTV. The structure of the show puts the audience member inside the seminar right from start where you are greeted and asked to make a name tag. I was "Bob". I wanted to remain anonymous. My Fringe Media Pass had my name on it, but I wanted to keep everyone guessing.

Post-Post Reconstructed Modern Feminism is the best way I can describe the tone of "Assholes And Aureoles" from InterAction Theater, Inc. It's pronounced like the bird "orioles" in case you were wondering.

No, I just made up that form of feminism because I have no other way to describe a show with vignettes about rape, life in a women's shelter, and pedophilia. If you can see the humor that be found in those topics, then this show is for you. It makes you laugh, but you feel a little bit bad for laughing. Then you feel stupid for feeling bad, etc.

Thought I would share some of the great work the Visual Fringe Crew is doing.

Go to:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025007&id=1378571178&l=2df9bd928f

Jay B. Kalagayan
Founder, Director of Development
Know Theatre of Cincinnati

Volunteer Liaison / Coordinator
Cincinnati Fringe Festival
“Just Left of Off Broadway”
www.knowtheatre.com
513.300.KNOW (5669)

There is something about the Fringe Festival that is magic. You feel it balls to bones. It's a little ethereal.

But there is a more tangible magic. This is the magic of strange shit appearing on my desk. Today this included half of a tub of cold mashed potatoes, and an 8" serrated blade knife.

Where do these items come from? Who can say?
The Fringe giveth and the Fringe taketh away.

Berma-shave,

MD Eric

People keep asking me if I'm okay because lately I seem to have developed an even more undead-like glaze than is even normal for my generally deadpan demeanor. I walked to the bank this afternoon and realized I had my eyes closed for most of the Walnut Street portion of my route. I ran into Shawn on the way back from my second trip of the day to Coffee Emporium. I. Am. Tired.

So, one week into the festival, I have a series of personal notes. Read on--if you don't mind navel-gazing.

I had a realization while I was doing Call Me. (Note I said "doing" since Call Me is a participatory show.)

Until this show, I have never done a participatory show. Never seen Nick and Tina's Italian Wedding or been to a participatory whodunnit, nothing.

So, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

Travel and Where Drunk Men Go: A Poem with Music have very little in common, except one key thing...each had more audiences where over half the crowd had not yet seen a Fringe show. This makes sense, of course, as dance and poetry have their own following, so they would attract a less "fringe" audience.

A raucous satire of motivational speakers, The Success Show is simply one of the funniest shows of the festival.

It's tought to review a comedy that you really liked--how do you demonstrate that it's funny? By ruining the best jokes of the show by repeating them in your review?

I would do anything for the Conveyor, but I won't do that.

I will say, however, that this Powerpoint-based show had the audience rolling up to the end--and it's one of the can't miss shows. It's one of the best of the festival.

This thing is flying by at light speed. Damn.

Last night marked the halfway point for this year's Festival...at least in number of days. The beauty of the Fringe, however, is that we have a huge number of shows left...hopefully I'll get to see a couple.

So, if you do a satire and your opening night crowd responds with "gales of laughter", is your show a success?

Not if you're the reviewer from CityBeat.

This is called missing the point.

My audience laughed throughout. Apparently, every audience is laughing.

If you like dark comedy and aren't offended by religious satire, you'll laugh. Again, and again.