Fringe

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.

Photo by Mikki Schaffner Hey Gang, are you ready for some fun? Dance you self over to the Art Academy and see a show full of satire, groovy beach wear, science, religion, murder, and enough sexual innuendo to make 100 teen age guys cream their trunks. "Brother Bailey's Pageant of Moral Superiority and Creation Science Island Jamboree" from Ornamental Messiah Productions has all of that and more.

The script and cast have the satire down squarely and drive a few knives into Religious Extremism. Laughs are abundant and the jokes are very fresh. The staging could use some polishing and the transition between scenes was very choppy at times.

I can say I generally laughed my ass off and that is not an overstatement. I nearly busted a gut with the ending. I will not give it away, but writer Brad Cupples out did himself. Don't miss this one if you want to go to heaven.

Fringe festivals are the perfect events that give productions like "7(x1) Samurai" a chance to shine and be appreciated. David Gains out does everyone in the audience with his energy and focus. He can stop on a dime with one character and slip into another without dropping a beat. He is as humors a Buster Keaton movie, but is as Graceful as Gene Kelly playing the Road Runner.

This show was a near sellout on opening night and at the second performance added 50 seats to the original 75 seat set up.

"DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so, " (John Donne)

I like food. I like sex. "4 Food Groups" by Pones, Inc. puts love and sex into a four sided box and spits water on it and chews very slowly....and....

OK, sorry, back to the review.

Sex is the topic and it gets a full and very daring treatment. Motion and elements of performance art mix in with this non-narrative piece that shows the contrasts we have within ourselves about our lovers and those we hope become our lovers.

Surprises abound with "Villainy" from This Ain't Real Theatre Company. I went into seeing a show based on Shakespeare with much fear and trepidation. How would that work for Fringe? Well, it does work by turning the bard on his ear, and poking a few holes into Willie Shakes' most famous bad guys.

Photo by Daniel Smyth Two Fables are better than one. In "Guns and Chickens" a tornado strikes a farm. The Chicken runs off and ponders the road. At the same time Peter, the son of the farmer, heads to the city to earn the money to rebuild the farm. Both find the approach to the road they are on may not be the way

Motion fills the stage as the city comes alive for Peter. The cast is from CCM and use motion, as directed by k. Jenny Jones, very effectively to depict cars, horse races, and a jail cell.

Your investigative reporters are on the chase for hard-hitting news. Check out this riveting video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHRtdV_usBo

The fascinating thing about 4 Food Groups is that it seems to be morphing over the course of the festival. I sat next to an old friend who had seen the premiere, and she told me that there was considerably more dance in the version she saw today. It was also fifteen minutes longer, apparently.

If you saw the company's The Factory at last year's
Fringe, expect a more polished show, but one that is definitely
non-narrative--it's told primarily through movement and interpretive
dance than dialogue.

Four Wishes is an exception at the Fringe, in that its a children's show that is entirely appropriate for children. It's a puppet show so it kind of follows. I'm not sure if Guns and Chickens is appropriate for children, but it likely comes pretty close. Other than that, I'd be hard-pressed to come up with anything family friendly. That said, the adults in audience seemed to have a good time, too. It's also nice to see something center around Native Americans.

Gravesongs staged by the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati's intern company in ETC's main theatre is one of the most polished and accomplished shows of the Festival. It's surely in my top 5 at this point.

After four days of Fringe, I've seen fourteen shows, on my way to seeing the entire festival. My top shows of the festival at this point are, in no particular order:

• Empire of Feathers
• The Terrorism of Everyday Life
• It Might Be OK
• Seven (x1) Samurai

All but Terrorism are still in town, and all are well-worth seeing it.
On to Day 5.

A 50 minute, one-man version of The Seven Samurai, 7 (x1) Samurai is a tour de force of movement. See it.

This is one of the top shows of the festival.

The single performer has the kind of motion and movement skills that you normally only see in performers like Jim Carey. (Thanks to Claire for pointing that one out--it helps me avoid using the M word, which I fear will stop people from seeing it.