Daily Fringe #7




Okay, the second Fringe weekend starts tomorrow—but before the big finale, there's tonight to catch shows before the all-day crushes of Saturday or Sunday. And speaking of crushes, have you found your Fringe crush yet? While most develop a crush on a performer, you can also develop a crush on a show as well. But if you haven't found a crush yet, tonight would be a perfect time, so that you can have your squee on for Friday night. Just sayin'. Need a boost to help you get your social on? Don't forget that tonight at Fringe Central at Bedlam, we have delicious beats from a live DJ! Shake it! Your pals, Bill and Matt
Photo du jour Malia Burkhart in "The Survival Pages" at Intermedia Arts. (Photo: Jeff Larson)
Fringe Central at Bedlam TONIGHT @ midnight: Late-night DJ (dancey!) $3 Summit pints during Bedlam Social happy hour (4-7 p.m. and 11 p.m.-2 a.m.) with six yummy Summits on tap and food service 'til close Get the complete schedule   Weather Today: 82° and sunny. Some patchy fog tonight with a low at 59°. Tomorrow: Patchy fog before 8 a.m., high 83°. Low: 63°. Saturday: Mostly sunny, 83°. Then partly cloudy and 62°.	The big ones So far, these are the top-selling shows in the following venues (we'll release the other half of the list in tomorrow's daily): Playwrights' Center: Life Sciences Interact: Strawberry Fields Temporarily Ritz: Secret of the Little Yellow Diary Southern: Fools for Love Jeune Lune: Gypsy and the General Theatre Garage: BULL Mixed Blood: Orange Are you thinking "My goodness gracious me, Betty, how in heaven's name are we going to see all this awesomeness?" Why, the magical Fringe Encore, of course! Remember that the final performance slot of the festival—8:30 at each venue (8 p.m. if you're Bryant-Lake Bowl)—is awarded to the top-sellingest show in each venue. The announcement of the Encore slots will be made Sun., Aug. 10 no later than 9 a.m. Stay tuned to fringefestival.org for all the info.   Drawing winners! Days 6 + 7 winners: Coffee for you, Sara Scrimshaw. And for you, George McConnell! And you and you and you, Julie Hill, Allison Posner and Shelbie Farness. And did you think we forgot you, Barb Hill? We didn't! Congrats, winners! (And keep in mind that if you win a pound of coffee in the daily drawing, you're still eligible for the other prizes on Sunday. Yay!) Stop by Fringe Central to put your name in the hat (or the, uh, box) to win coffee, an Equal Exchange gift basket or the Ultra Prize: Two '09 Ultra Passes and two season tickets to the Guthrie! (Drawing's on Sun., Aug. 10. Stop by Fringe Central to sign up and check out the rules.)
P.S. Here's your Easter Egg for the day. Okay, fine, they're turning it into a book. But still...

Daily Fringe #6

You see it at museums, theme parks and fairs. After a long day of fun, eventually kids (and occasionally husbands) have had so much sensory overload that they just can't handle it anymore. It's the Three O'Clock Meltdown and you can recognize it by: Standing in the middle of crowds, shouting while the parent talks quietly but firmly. Stamping of feet. The key phrase: "I'm not tired!" Since most Fringe days start after three, it's not a daily problem (especially since the time it would occur is prime time at Fringe Central, with its tasty selection of Summit Beers). But after six days of theater, with five big days to go, your brain may be so full of awesomeness that you'll feel like you're on your fifth bowl of Saturday Morning Sugar Bombs. After all, you're hearing about all these great shows, but it's impossible to see them all! Aaaaaaaaaargh! Relax. You've got five more days to catch the shows you need to see. Talk to your friends, check out the nearly 1,300 audience reviews, get news from our Fringe blog and find out what you really want to see, not what you "need" to see. But the main thing to remember is to have fun at the Fringe. Because otherwise we are marching right back to the car and going home right now, mister! Your pals, Bill and Matt
Photo du jour "EMISSARY'S N.O.W." presented by Emissary. (Photo: Dave Stagner)
Fringe Central at Bedlam TONIGHT @ 9:30 p.m.: Dreamland Faces TOMORROW @ Midnight: Late-night DJ (dancey, dancey) Friday + Saturday: General havoc, mucking about and cavorting $3 Summit pints during Bedlam Social happy hour (4-7 p.m. and 11 p.m.-2 a.m.) with six yummy Summits on tap and food service 'til close Get the complete schedule   Weather Today: 20% chance o' storms, 84°. Night: Partly cloudy, 62°. Tomorrow: Why did we even put this in this year? Friday: The weather hasn't just been perfect, it's been the same day in and day out. Saturday: It's like living in Los Angeles or Hawaii or somewhere where citrus litters the streets.	Fringe in the news City Pages has their reviews up Here's a handy place to find mnartists.org's festival coverage In case you misplaced them: Here's one handy page of the Star Tribune's reviews and the Pioneer Press' coverage (one page each, that is... they're not suddenly sharing a Web site or anything) Erica from Minneapolis Metblogs has been kicking some Fringe butt with reviews and stories and stuff Matt Peiken's been making videos for Mpls.St.Paul magazine Fringe Famous has been reviewing and posting postcards and started their very own Fringe hall of fame and are planning on having awards Baron Dave Romm from KFAI has been blogging and podcasting So has Fringe alumna Leigha Horton And our own former bloggers are now at Twin Cities Daily Planet (Matthew Everett, Kate Hoff, John Munger, Phillip Andrew Bennett Low and Wendy Gennaula) and the City Pages' Culture to Go blog (Christopher Kidder)   Drawing winners! Day 6 winners: Okay, so we've been really fancy about putting the names in the daily... And they were drawn last night. It's just that... we forgot to write them down and take them home after trivia at Fringe Central. Which was an utter success, by the way. So totally a new tradition. We'll announce last night's winners (and tonight's winners) tomorrow. Promise. Stop by Fringe Central to put your name in the hat (or the, uh, box) to win coffee, an Equal Exchange gift basket or the Ultra Prize: Two '09 Ultra Passes and two season tickets to the Guthrie! (Drawing's on Sun., Aug. 10. Stop by Fringe Central to sign up and check out the rules.)
P.S. Here's your Easter Egg for the day.

Fringe in the news for August 6

Here’s a selection of various media from around the tubes:

• City Pages has their reviews up
• Here’s a handy place to find mnartists.org’s festival coverage
• In case you misplaced them: Here’s one handy page of the Star Tribune’s reviews and the Pioneer Press’ coverage (one page each, that is… they’re not suddenly sharing a Web site or anything)
• Erica from Minneapolis Metblogs has been kicking some Fringe butt with reviews and stories and stuff
• Matt Peiken’s been making videos for Mpls.St.Paul magazine
• Fringe Famous has been reviewing and posting postcards and started their very own Fringe hall of fame and are planning on having awards
• Baron Dave Romm from KFAI has been blogging and podcasting
• So has Fringe alumna Leigha Horton
• And our own former bloggers are now at Twin Cities Daily Planet (Matthew Everett, Kate Hoff, John Munger, Phillip Andrew Bennett Low and Wendy Gennaula) and the City Pages’ Culture to Go blog (Christopher Kidder)

Daily Fringe #5




Take note: Live Action Set, presenting "Deviants," has cancelled tonight's 7 p.m. performance due to injury. So far the remaining shows will run as scheduled. From what we saw Monday, things are hopping! Of course, that fits with the 10 percent ticket increase we saw on opening weekend. And the now nearly 1,100+ audience reviews. Yay! This year, the venues are grouped close together, many within walking distance. Heck, the Rarig has four theaters in the same building! So, consider the idea of walking, biking, or taking Mass Transit to the Fringe. Some tools to help: Get walking directions on Google Maps: For example, Rarig to the Southern is just ten little minutes. MetroTransit's NexTrip gives you up to the minute info on where the next bus is, in addition to a search function that will help you plan your route. Biking! The Fringe program has suggested bike routes. MetroTransit buses and trains have bike racks that allow you to get to more distant venues and bring your bike along. So very Fringe green! Your pals, Bill and Matt A special request: On Saturday, an artists at Rarig misplaced a MiniDV videotape of her performance. The tape is small, in a clear plastic case and clearly labeled "Fringe 08." If you happen upon it, just drop it off to at a box office. Thanks!
Photo du jour "(life seed)" presented by Nic Hager at the Lab Theater. (Photo: Brad Dahlgaard)
Fringe Central at Bedlam TONIGHT @ 11 p.m.: Fringe-themed pub-style trivia TOMORROW @ 9:30 p.m.: Dreamland Faces $3 Summit pints during Bedlam Social happy hour (4-7 p.m. and 11 p.m.-2 a.m.) with six yummy Summits on tap and food service 'til close Get the complete schedule   Weather Today: Mostly sunny, 86°. Night: Mostly clear, 61°. Tomorrow: Ditto. Thursday: Ditto.	"Three Muses (Fringe)" Bid on the prints at eBay. Local artist, Visible Fringe alumnus and friend of us all John Largaespada has graciously donated four digital prints to Fringe. John specializes in photoillustrations that are a little strange, a little haunting and entirely fascinating. And he's interpreted the now-famous Fringe kitty: Their names are (from the left in the larger print): Pumpkin Seed, Bobo and Boo.   Drawing winners! Day 5 winners: Alex Franzen, Melissa Markes and Karen Goneau. (Even if you win a pound of coffee in the daily drawing, you're still eligible for the other prizes on Sunday. Yay!) Stop by Fringe Central to put your name in the hat (or the, uh, box) to win coffee, an Equal Exchange gift basket or the Ultra Prize: Two '09 Ultra Passes and two season tickets to the Guthrie! (Drawing's on Sun., Aug. 10. Stop by Fringe Central to sign up and check out the rules.)
P.S. Here's your Easter Egg for the day. Just in case you need a Fringe date. P.P.S. Here's another one you've probably seen. We've had it stuck in our heads for a few days. Need to get it out.

The Jamal Lullabies

One of our out-of-towners had their premiere just last night. Here’s a short clip from The Jamal Lullabies:

One performance cancelled: Deviants

Live Action Set, presenting “Deviants,” had to cancel their performance for tomorrow night, August 5 at 7 p.m. due to an injury of a cast member. So far the remaining shows will run as scheduled.

Opening weekend’s numbers

14,215 tickets issued! That’s a 10 percent increase over last year—thus erasing last year’s dip in attendance. W00t. If you want to read the press release, it’s right here (PDF). And it is a stunning, stunning piece of literature.

—Matthew

Daily Fringe #4




Whew, that was intense! Four days of theater, some 22 hours of actual shows you could see, out of 320 hours of potential performance, plus(!) the nights at Fringe Central* and the Fringe Opening Night Party! And we're not even half-way done yet! That's right, you have ample opportunity to catch the show you heard everyone talking about. Or if you need more help, there's a staggering 800+ audience reviews online to point you in the right direction. 'Cause as we say at the Fringe Online Services Dept.: They all can't be Mom! What's more, tonight at Fringe Central we're doing a special screening: 48 Hour Film Project: Best of Minneapolis, a bevvy of short films shot, chopped and screened over a 48 hour period earlier this summer! Screenings are at 7 and 10 p.m. And there's Fringe-themed pub trivia tomorrow night starting at 11 p.m. Prizes! All right, rest up for today, unless you're talking a Fringecation***, because while the pace may ease for the next few days, the Fringe doesn't stop! Your pals, Bill and Matt *"Fringe Central: Taste the Kitties"** ** Created by Matthew J. G. Foster (American, 1975-). Released under a Creative Commons license. *** Fringecation, as defined by our own Deputy Audience Services Director Zoe Benston: "Taking a paid vacation to work 12 hour days at Fringe."
Photo du jour "Meet the MacBeths" presented by Lauren and Joshua Iley at the Lab Theater. Joshua Iley as Mac and Lauren Iley as Betty. (Photo: Brad Dahlgaard)
Fringe Central at Bedlam TONIGHT @ 7 and 10 p.m.: 48 Hour Film Project 2008: Best of Minneapolis; with Ira Livingston (the producer) at 7 TOMORROW @ 11 p.m.: Fringe-themed pub-style trivia $3 Summit pints during Bedlam Social happy hour (4-7 p.m. and 11 p.m.-2 a.m.) with six yummy Summits on tap and food service 'til close Get the complete schedule   Weather Today: Sprinkly, 84°. 40% chance of storms tonight—and believe us, NOAA knows what they're talking about. That thunderstorm last night? Yeah, Matt was on the Greenway when it hit even though NOAA was all, like, "Dude, don't get on your bike, there's gonna be rain after 10" and then Matt goes, "Whatever, NOAA, you're just government scientists!" and then NOAA's all, like, "Harsh, dude! TAKE IT BACK," and Matt goes, "I'm leaving. Write on my Facebook Wall when you're ready to admit that you're not my mom, okay?" Low 67°. Tuesday: Partly sunny with a 100% of gnarly. High: 85°. Partly cloudy at night, low 63°. Wednesday: Mostly sunny and cooling off, 83°. Low: 61°.	Today's links Thanks for your patience over the weekend with the Web site—we were getting slammed and service was spotty, but everything's better now. And if you think we had tech problems, don't go to Edinburgh... Yiiiikes. Reviews: Audience reviews, Pioneer Press, StarTribune (through vita.mn), lots more Today's schedule Tomorrow's schedule   Own your very own Largaespada! Local artist, Visible Fringe alumnus and friend of us all John Largaespada has graciously donated four prints to the Minnesota Fringe. (The eBay auction starts tomorrow, so get your credit cards ready.) John specializes in photoillustrations that are a little strange, a little haunting and entirely fascinating. And he's interpreted the now-famous Fringe kitty: And the proceeds benefit the Fringe! Thanks, John! (Details on the auction will be available tomorrow morning.)   Drawing winners! Days 3 + 4 winners: Julie Holmen, Allison Broeren and Amy Mork won a pound each of Equal Exchange coffee in Saturday's drawing. And Mark Bullock, Sean Wagner and Courtney Roche won the coffee for Sunday. Congrats! (And keep in mind that if you win a pound of coffee in the daily drawing, you're still eligible for the other prizes on Sunday. Yay!) Stop by Fringe Central to put your name in the hat (or the, uh, box) to win coffee, an Equal Exchange gift basket or the Ultra Prize: Two '09 Ultra Passes and two season tickets to the Guthrie! (Drawing's on Sun., Aug. 10. Stop by Fringe Central to sign up and check out the rules.)
P.S. Here's your Easter Egg for the day. RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

Interviews!

If you’re not reading Leigha Horton’s blog, you really should. She has bunches of interviews up with Fringers—including the folks from “American Sexy,” “Audish” and standing-in-line audio clips.

A few years back when we did podcasts, Leigha was our Voice of the Fringe and is a Fringe veteran in her own right.*

—Matthew

*Full disclosure: Through the Ministry of Cultural Warfare, which Leigha run together. Leigha and I go back 8 years to Fringe 2000. She’s not in a show this year, so she’s blogging mightily.

More MTV… Matt Peiken Television!

Video #2 and video #3 of Matt Peiken’s video coverage for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine!

I especially love how Mike Fotis sort of glances over at the very top of #3 all, like, “What’s goin’ on? Oh, a camera. I will casually walk away now.”

—Matthew