Fringe

Two volunteers braved the throng of suburbanites at the Taste of Cincinnati yesterday to help promote the 2008 Cincinnati Fringe, which starts Tuesday night. They are even sporting this year's spiffy volunteer T-shirt. If you want to volunteer, it is not to late. Click here for more!

The Fringe Bar Series has been announced and every night of Fringe there will be something fun and different to keep you up late into the evening.

Wednesday May 28 @ 10:30 PM
Reid Faylor

Thursday May 29 @ 10:30 PM
Casey Apgar & Mike Swain

Friday May 30 @ 10:30 PM
Hi-Status Productions

Saturday May 31 @ 9:15 PM
DJ Stacks w/ The Late Circuit

Sunday June 1 @ 9:30 – 10:30 PM
Steven Rosen (Cell Phone Concert)

Sunday June 1 @ 10:30 PM
Open Mic Night

Monday June 2 @ 10:30 PM
Fringe Olympics

Be gentle, I'm a virgin.

A Fringe virgin, that is. I moved to Over the Rhine shortly after Fringe last year, and have just never made it down in previous years. This is surprising, if you know me, as I'm a pretty active member of the Cincinnati theater community, and probably know (by some degree of separation) a good portion of the actors and crew working so hard to put these shows together.

Here's a short checklist of things that need to happen to prepare for the Cincy Fringe:

1. Thaw out prior year's Fringe t-shirts and check for freezer burn.
2. Obtain directions to where we left (buried) the “special” volunteer who is keeping watch on the Fringe Flame needed to light the cauldron during the Fringe opening ceremony.
3. Get favorite pair of shorts cleaned, pressed, and let out a little. Baggy is in, but not if the belly is too jelly.
4. Grease up the pigs.
5. Procure a generous amount of Fabreze.

This is no longer a test, this is the live Fringe Blog 2008, the official blog of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. For takes on the festival, check back here daily for the ramblings of nice people who don't really want to make you run away in fear, but understand if you do.

In what could be nothing short of an actor's dream, Jason Bruffy and Eric Vosmeier mythically died in the final episode of the Story of the search for the 5th Annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival's image. The special affects rival nothing since the epic movie The Great White North (aka Strange Brew) See the action for yourself!

Location

Dates May 27 – June 7, 2008

A Know Theatre Production, For Info or Tickets: www.cincyfringe.com or call 513-621-ARTS.

Will Anthony Darnell win another Acclaim Award?

The Fringe has released 3 episodes of what can be described as the warm, loving story of how CincyFringe Director Eric Vosmeier managed to alienate nearly the entire staff of the Know Theatre and Fringe Festival. Chapter 1:


Chapter 2:

The 5th annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival has announced its lineup for 2008. The Enquirer has more here.

TheConveyor.com is planning on wall to wall, beer to beer, and play to play coverage again this year of the Cincinnati Fringe festival. Keep an eye on The Conveyor's Fringe Coverage for more news and previews of Fringe.

Big News for the Cincinnati Fringe Festival:

How far would you travel to see 6 Fringe shows? Rich Bencivengo and Jon Weddell journeyed all the way from North Jersey to see the Cincinnati Fringe festival for themselves.

I don't believe in fate, but it was strange that while making travel plans 10 months ago, Rich and Jon got into a conversation about where to see theatre while they are traveling in the Midwest.

Last night at the closing night after-party, Fringe Producing Director Jason Bruffy made the announcement of the Pick of the Fringe winners before a packed crowd. The Winners were:

Critics Pick: "True + False"

Audience Pick: "Calculus: The Musical!"

Producers Pick: "iLove"

The constant discussion point people had with me this week was what shows I liked the most at this year's Fringe. Well, to formalize my picks, I've come up with a list of the best in a couple of categories, from my own perspective.

Best of Fringe: Here are the productions I felt were the the Top tier shows, in order.

1. The Kid in the Dark
2. iLove
3. True + False
4. Calculus: The Musical!
5. girlfight
6. Mad

Most Fringe: Here I chose the shows that broke the most ground during Fringe:
1. lusthaus (1914)
2. Tommy Nugent’s the Show

Two couples struggle to find themselves. Alivia and Harrison are drifting apart. Harrison is focused on changing himself and ignores Alivia in the process. Alivia is lost and can't voice her own opinion. Salisha and Brock are void of passion for each other and seek it in the form of odd hobbies.

The Ovation Theatre Company production is a collaborative work based in part of input of their audience at the Fine Arts Sampler this past February.

Amanda Thompson’s one person show was a women’s show tonight. The women out numbered the men by about 4 to 1. I would best describe this production as cute. The character Britney, the Bride, is a woman trying to find her way in a Bridezilla world, self aware of the pitfalls of weddings.

Reality and truth are at the forefront of The Monkey's Paw, the story of a man dealing with fatherhood, over a backdrop of extreme neurosis. The Characters of Mike and Tish are among the most developed of the Festival, with their internal struggles being opened up in each scene.

One of the mainstays of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival has been the one-man-show. In his third appearance at CincyFringe Les Kurkendaal again shows his mastery of this form and gives you a humorous look into the life of his boyfriend’s wealthy conservative family.

Picture yourself in Europe just before WWI, then tear off multiple layers of your life. Lusthaus (1914) confronts love with haunting imagery. The music, lighting, and costumes put you in a Europe with hidden sexual fantasy, intensely woven into the use of movement. Josh Beshears, Katie Kershaw, Jen Spillane, and Michael Stone portray four individuals mixing lust and love with violence and anger in a challenging effort directed by Gabe Johnson. I was intrigued by this work.

Calculus: The Musical!. Encore Performance
9:45 PM, Saturday, June 9.
Art Academy of Cincinnati,
1212 Jackson Street.
Ticket go on sale June 6, 2007 at 10 a.m.
Call 513.621.ARTS (2787)