Author: editor

It is time again for TheConveyor.com to put forth our opinions and bestow the Awards of Excellence for the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.  2011 was another top notch year with the quality of productions up again.  This year's difference was that no single show was way ahead of the pack.  Our top shows all were very close in ranking, making it very difficult to pick just one show at the top. We made a choice, but I think this year a case could be made for three or four shows to be the overall best. We had to chose only one.

Best Overall Fringe Production
You Only Live Forever Once from the Four Humors Theater

The Top Tier by Genre – In addition to the best overall production, we recognize the top tier of productions. The shows listed below in each grouping represent the best of the festival, FringeNext and the workshops were not included. Each genre, as defined by our reviewers, breaks the festival out into comparable categories. In each genre we have listed, in alphabetical order, the shows that stand out as exceptional.

Best Narrative
Denali
Melancholy Play
Miss Magnolia Beaumont Goes to Provincetown
Peyote Business Lunch
The Lydia Etudes – About Loving Anton Chekhov

Best Non-Narrative
101 Rules For Dating (of which you will hear 20 or so…)
Darker
The Body Speaks: Scripted
To and Fro and Up and Down
Vindlevoss Family Circus Spectacular

Best Story Telling/One Person Show
Curriculum Vitae
Headscarf and the Angry Bitch
I Love You (We're Fucked)
Missing: the fantastical and true story of my father's disappearance and what I found when I looked for him

Best Dance/Movement/Interdisciplinary

Rip in the Atmosphere
The Body Speaks: Movement
White Girl

Another way we honor the participants of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival is by identifying many elements of each production that deserve recognition. The awards listed below single out individuals and elements of shows that were exceptional. They are ranked in order.

Best Individual Performances
George Alexander in Peyote Business Lunch
Joe Hutcheson in Miss Magnolia Beaumont Goes to Provincetown
Mindy Heithaus in Darker and The Body Speaks: Scripted
Dawn Arnold in The Lydia Etudes – About Loving Anton Chekhov

Best Ensemble
Peyote Business Lunch
Darker
You Only Live Forever Once

Best Musical Moment
Music From The Proof: A Workshop
I Love You (We're Fucked)
Headscarf and the Angry Bitch
Opal Opus: Journey to Alakazoo

Funniest Show
You Only Live Forever Once
Curriculum Vitae
Peyote Business Lunch
101 Rules For Dating (of which you will hear 20 or so…)

Best Script
Chris Wesselman, Paul Lieber, and Christopher Karr for Peyote Business Lunch
Joe Hutcheson for Miss Magnolia Beaumont Goes to Provincetown
Jason Ballweber, Ryan Lear, Dan Peltzman, Rachel Petrie, Mark Rehani and Matt Spring for You Only Live Forever Once

Best Overall Moment
The inclusion of FringeNext and FringeDevelopment series, a great way to expand the festival.
The 'giant' mouse trap in You Only Live Forever Once
Michael Hall in a towel and a 10 gallon hat in The Body Speaks: Scripted
Jessica Ferris squeezing through the frame of a folding chair in Missing

Most Fringey Show
Vindlevoss Family Circus Spectacular!
Tooth and 'Nuckle
The Body Speaks: Scripted

 The Conveyor is again proud to announce our Awards of Excellence for the 2010 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. This year's festival continues to possess a consistent high level of quality. After seeing about as much Fringe as is humanly possible (but not every show!), we wanted to give our opinion on the best.  Using a set of categories and groupings we created to best compare all of the varied types and genre of performance, we have come up with what we believe represents the best of the festival.  First we considered the 1 production that stood about all of the rest:

Best Overall Fringe Production
Aberrant Reflections on the Barbarism of You & I

The Top Tier by Genre – The shows listed below in each grouping represent the best of the festival. Each genre, as defined by our reviewers, breaks the festival out into comparable categories. In each genre we have listed, in alphabetical order, the shows that stand out as exceptional.

Best Narrative
Harold
The Council
Medea

Best Non-Narrative Theatrical
Aberrant Reflections on the Barbarism of You & I
A Short Lecture of a Different Time
Tantric Acting at the Holiday Inn
The Finkles' Theater Show

Best Movement/Dance/Interdisciplinary
Just Say Know
Money Back Guarantee
That One Show

Best Story Telling/One-Person Show
A Brief History of Petty Crime
A Night of Well Adjust Ladies
Ain't That Good News
Blue Collar Diaries

Another way we want to honor the people and teams in this year's Cincinnati Fringe Festival is by identifying many elements of each production that deserve recognition. We’ve created awards, as listed below, which point out individuals and elements of shows that stood out. They are ranked in order.

Best Individual Performers
Jason Ballweber as Harold in Harold
Chris Wesselman in Aberrant Reflections on the Barbarism of You & I
Taylor Cloyes as Willow/Rose in Sophie's Dream

Best Ensemble
Harold
Aberrant Reflections on the Barbarism of You & I
Madea

Funniest Show
Tantric Acting at the Holiday Inn
The Council
Soul Juice
A Night of Well Adjusted Ladies

Best Script
Michael Comstock for Tantric Acting at the Holiday Inn
Nick Ryan for Harold
Christopher Karr, Mike Miller & Chris Wesselman for Aberrant Reflections on the Barbarism of You & I

Best Musical Moments
Ain't That Good News
Sophie's Dream
Soul Juice

Best Overall Moment
Oklahomahatma in Tantric Acting at the Holiday Inn
The visualization of the Murder of Madea's Children in Madea The Historian becoming digital in A Short Lecture of a Different Time
Banging the Gong with the head of a dead councilmember in The Council
One Phrase: Scarecrow Fucker from Harold

Most Fringey Show
The Finkles' Theater Show
A Short Lecture of Different Time
The Council

First This line, then picutre:

This is a test, do you see the photo?

CityBeat has announced great news that on Sunday August 30th the 13th annual Cincinnati Entertainment Awards will be presented at a hip club, showcasing the best of Cincinnati Theatre. The CEAs are Cincinnati’s longest running theater awards program, using votes from the public and from established theater critics to determine winners in 20 different categories. Everyone had a great time last year at BELOW ZERO LOUNGE (1122 Walnut Street, Over-the-Rhine, www.BelowZeroLounge.com) and the 2009 event is back.

Continue reading “2009 CEA: Theatre Awards Show August 30th”

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

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.

The 6th annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival has announced it’s line up.

The festival runs May 26th through June 6th. More details are here from the Enquirer.

Continue reading “CincyFringe 2009 Line Up Announced”

Three young velvet clad actors sat down with me in front of the Know Theatre’s stage. At the end of the interview as I took the picture accompanying the article the three actors, Vandit Bhatt, Anne Marie Carroll, and Todd Patterson, all realized they were wearing something velvet. All three are very unique but they all bring two new elements to the Know’s 2007-2008 Season, freshness and enthusiasm. All three resident Know actors warmly demonstrated a rich passion for their craft. At the same time they are just really nice people who put forth a sense of normalcy one doesn’t expect if you buy into the old fashioned stereotypes of actors. I’ve met a few actors around Cincinnati and sometimes connecting with their audiences is not the favorite thing in the world. I was floored by the comfort all three had talking with me about their ideas, their careers, their acting experience, and their life this season working at the Know. That personal connection to the performers adds so much more to the theatre experience. At local theatres, like the Know, you can meet the actors and talk about their craft, their performance, the art of acting. That gives you value for your ticket far exceeding the price.

Anne Marie Carroll
In our discussion I asked the trio about their favorite role so far. For Anne Marie Carroll it was her portrayal of May in “Fool For Love” by Sam Sheperd. She is a very beautiful woman who has a very Midwestern mindset. She came across as a grounded person who works very hard and is very conscious about the effort she puts into her craft. I also asked about the role this season each actor was looking forward to. With a warm wit Anne Marie declared that she is really looking forward to the next show. Males dominated the first production (“The Pillowman”), which included Vandit and Todd in key roles. Anne Marie professed her bias for musicals and she’ll get her chance to perform on stage in “Christmas to Come” opening on December 6th. Behind the scenes she was responsible for one of the more curious technical elements of “The Pillowman.” Near the end of the show Todd’s character, Katurian, is shot in the head. Yea, the run of the play is over, so I gave away the ending! A “squib” is then used to splatter fake blood on the back wall. My friends and I who saw the show together got into a nerdy discussion as to how they did it. We sat in the front row and couldn’t figure it out. It was like a magician’s trick. The two guys gave her a little lite ribbing about it. My guess is that it was one of the more technical challenges the actors face, as opposed to the technical staff. It might also be one of the more enjoyable parts of the show for Todd, who likely had to trigger it. I have to wonder who got to clean it up every night. The bad part is, they wouldn’t tell me the secret. I’m going to have to follow-up with them later and find out how they did it. Those are the little theatre stories that don’t get told in the media, but that make theatre a lifestyle unto itself. Anne Marie’s favorite drink is a “Moscow Mule” (Vodka, Lime Juice, Ginger beer- served in a cold copper cup) She’s not yet found a bar serving one in Cincinnati. She’s had a little bar tending experience, so I’ll take her word that it is a good drink. Her other big interest is in photography, which she as a younger person dreamed of taking portraits as a way of supporting her acting career. She chuckled remembering that, most because of the fact that she was trained in traditional photography (on actual film) and she therefore feels left behind in the world of photos.

Vandit Bhatt
The most laid back of the group was Vandit Bhatt. He had a beard for the show and comparing it to his head shot, I wondered if he purposely grew it for the show or if that was just a new look for him. He showed that heis laid back when he didn’t mind that I mispronounced his name. He at least didn’t show it. I’ll likely mess it up again, but my shortcomings don’t phase an actor who comes across with a sly sense of wit, but with an undertone of intensity that exploded with his performance in “The Pillowman.” He was the last person asked about his favorite theatre genre, and after the first two answered “musicals” he smoothly quipped “Ah…I shy away from Musicals,” after which Ann Marie and Todd burst out laughing. I take it that Vandit is not keen on singing, or at least his singing in comparison to the others. I think I should have asked him about that, but not every actor needs to be an opera singer. Vandit favors a Rum and diet Coke as his drink of He’s not one to drink for the experience of drinking, it is more about the other affects of drinking. He was emphatic that he does not drink Tequila. He favors Shakespeare as his favorite theatre genre and is wild about movies.

Todd Patterson
The most energy of the trio clearly lies with Todd Patterson. His personality is so very contrary to his first Know performance at the introspectively intense Katurian. His outside interests includes sports (soccer), but he sticks to acting in the theatre realm. He’s a beer drinker, so the Christian Moerlein OTR Pale Ale is he drink of choice at the Underground bar. I asked about how they worked on dialects for the roles in “Pillowman” and Todd mockingly and loudly whispered “For some people it didn’t take that long…” which was a light hearted ribbing of Vandit. The production included accents for three of the four leads. “It is another layer you put on-top of your role,” he said.

When I asked if they still get nervous before a show, the consensus was fairly clear. They don’t dread the show until the last second before the curtain goes up. Each had a different comment that showed a different layer of each actor’s personality: When thinking about doing a good job on stage or when thinking about performing here is what comes to mind: Todd: “Not gonna fuck it up” Ann Marie: “My nerves lie with singing.” Vandit: “Nervousness, at least for me, is that you don’t want to disappoint the audience”

“They trust us with the characters,” Todd confessed while saying that in most other theatres he and Vandit wouldn’t have been given the roles in “The Pillowman” they played. “This is the best an actor can get right out of college,” Vandit said, enforcing the trust he feels the Know Theatre has placed on him.

The next production all three appear in is “Christmas.to.Come”” a reworking of a reworking of Dickens “A Christmas Carol.” The show starts December 6th and runs through the 28th. Tickets are available online at www.knowtheatre.com or by calling 513.300.KNOW.