Sorry I fell behind on my Fringe posting. I got wrapped up in seeing shows and working and then I left town for a couple days toward the end of the festival - I know, mind-blowing, how could I? Well, there's this precocious nine-year-old playwright named Jaiden who is writing a play for Pillsbury House Theatre's Chicago Avenue Project, and I get to be her dramaturg and director. So I went on a retreat to the Baker Wilderness Area with the other CAP folks to work on plays, swim in lakes, and eat s'mores. Yeah, it was more fun than the average theater project. If you've never seen Chicago Avenue Project, you are SO missing out. Come see this one. I promise it will make you remember why we do theater. Seriously. Performances on Monday and Tuesday, August 27 and 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Pillsbury House Theatre.
I saw lots more Fringe shows, most of which I loved, a couple which I could have missed, one which was one of those beautifully mesmerizing train wrecks, and one which was that great Fringe experience: something totally original, wonderful, young and by people I've never heard of before. That last was my final show of the festival, the encore of Forks!
[Note to Buckets and Tap Shoes, sorry, I'm a loser, I missed your show, not for lack of love for the glory you guys make, will see the next one.]
Closing night party was worth catching just to see theater nerds take over First Avenue, though I had to cut the evening short because two vodka-tonics did not agree with me forgetting to eat and sleep and wooziness took all the fun out of it. Maybe I got woozy from the closure, I don't know.
But it was fantastic to see everyone again, to see the festival happen without me, to see Robin up there giving statistics and kudos to staff, volunteers, artists. I first discovered the Fringe as a binging fan and it was so nice to return to that perspective. I kept thinking, "Wow, there are nearly a thousand artists here and I don't know what any of their problems are."
Hopefully, with the festival over, people are done asking me how I *feel* about seeing the Fringe now that I'm not running it. Looking forward to moving on and directing lots of great shows. This fall, Anton in Show Business by Jane Martin at Starting Gate, and next spring Everywhere Signs Fall by the fabulous Alan M. Berks for Gremlin Theater. Plus I've got an application in to the Chekhov Festival at BLB for A Rain of Seagulls by Meron Langsner (a parody of The Seagull) to be produced by Ministry of Cultural Warfare along with a companion parody of Uncle Vanya to be penned by Matthew Foster. Plus, talking to History Theatre about a script by Jeffrey Hatcher for Raw Stages.
So good to be an artist again.
No comments:
Post a Comment