FRINGE: Down the Rabbit Hole

Down the Rabbit Hole produced by Empty Pocket of Portland, Maine was an adorable dance rendition of the classic Alice in Wonderland tales.

As the audience entered the theater, props were lying about on the stage for each of the characters. There was a top hat and scarf for instance for the mad hatter. The rabbit had ears that could rise upward with the pill of a string.

Alice of course dominated the dancing in many of the scenes and I was intrigued by the smooth movements of the field mouse who clearly had classical ballet training. Any time the field mouse scurried on the stage I had to watch and struggle to get a sketch.

The white rabbit was the other character that accompanied Alice dancing through all the scenes. He added a definite touch of humor to the proceedings. The Queen of Hearts did make an appearance but she wasn’t particularly menacing.

I wasn’t trying too follow any story line since there was no dialogue. I just enjoyed the playful dance routines. Overall it was a fun 45 minutes of dance.

FRINGE: Paco Erhard, Live Forever

Paco Erhard: Live Forever was in the Silver venue at the Orlando International Fringe Festival. The show was presented by German Comedy International from New York City presented the show.

Paco’s show was part stand up and part heart wrenching drama. Paco’s Russian accent added to the international flair.  Hard times were mixed with plenty of laughter.

Paco wanted to live the care free life of a beat generation writer like Jack Kerouac. Since Jack Kerouac wrote several books in Orlando My ears perked up. The Karouac Project in Orlando offers residencies for writers and I have had the honer of sketching many of these creatives as they write in the old College Park bungalow that Jack used to live in with his mom.

Paco’s description of taking LSD was intriguing since it is an experience I have never had.

I sat at the back of the theater since I had to sneak out early to teach a virtual class from my car in the theater parking lot. This was my first time using a phone hot spot to teach a class and thankfully it worked.

I can’t give a full review since I had to sneak out, but I was certainly laughing and had a great time at this one man show.

FRINGE: An American Not In Paris

Liv Rocklin Productions from New York City presented An American (NOT) in Paris. The show features 7 songs, 6 languages and 5 diagnosed conditions in a one woman show exploring OCD, loss of youth and an appreciation of the art of “C’est La Vie”.

Liv went to Paris as a student but the experience was interrupted by the pandemic which forced her to return to America. She had just met a Parisian man with American ties.  He promised not to kill her as he showed her a meat locker. Is there a better way to discover romance? She left that all behind.

The show explored uncertainties during those times and a brief return to Paris where she refused to explore the city as a tourist since she felt she was a native, even if short lived.

There was plenty of endearing humor in the show. At one point the guitar fell to the floor which seemed to punctuate her humorous point she was discussing to perfection. At one point the entire audience was singing along to the refrain of her song about “C’est La Vie”.

This is the type of show that is perfect for Fringe. I loved every moment. The show was light hearted and entertaining.

FRINGE: Your Camp, Mein Kemp: The Musical Political Satire

Your Camp, Mein Kemp, The Musical Political Satire is a Rrump era musical. The youth of America are indoctrinated into detention camps that promote Friendships, sing alongs, crafts, and dystopian MAGA re-education.

Vulva Va-Voom and Shane Mayforth who created the show, played the camp counselors. Vulvain her green tee shirt, was a former lesbian and she had to educate the children on straight binary male female roles. Her and another counselor could not change the camp system themselves but she felt they were doing good as long as they reported about that was happening in the camps to the outside world.

A large poster showed the moment the play acting began with Rump pretending to be shot in the ear my an assassin’s bullet. The theatrics needed were garnered from WWE wresting. Secret service acted as side players who gave the candidate a moment to raise a fist rather than keep him safe.

Polio has made a comeback among children thanks to the anti science rhetoric.  A small puppet played the part of a child camper who ends up in a polio pressure chamber to try and save his life. In a dance number two dancers were behind one another and they bent their arms at the elbows to create a swastika. A camp sign to the Eagles nest refereed to Hitlers Swiss mountain top retreat.

The original lyrics sometimes built around existing show tunes were a strong way to showcase the hypocrisy and chaos of modern MAGA times. No one was safe unless they towed the line and parroted the party lines.  The fact that dark political fascist intentions have crept into a Fringe musical are a clear sign that all Americans need to wake up to the horrors that are soon to follow.

FRINGE: American History vs. American Idol

American History vs. American Idol presented by Team Ron Ros from Orlando Florida, was a musical romp through history. The serious professor was interrupted by students who felt they were auditioning for American Idol.

The student singers started the show wearing powdered wigs but those wigs soon came off to be rested on the mannequin heads at the back of the stage.

In some ways the show reminded me of Rocky Horror Picture Show with the serious professor who was interrupted by others who were singing and dancing on the edge.

For the Boston Tea Party number there was a board with holes for 3 heads cut into it. Actors stuck their heads through the holes and their hands fit into the legs and shoes so they could conduct a rather odd dance number. This is sort of similar to Chaplins potato dance number.

FRINGE: Done to Death By Jove

Done to Death by Jove presented by Nicholas and Collett Productions from Hastings England, at the Orlando International Fringe Festival, is a Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie mash up featuring a cast of 6. However, 4 of the cast along with sets are stuck in traffic on I-4.

The two English actors who were left did there best to play all the parts. When Watson had to change into the part of a woman be speared thick lipstick around his mouth because he could not see back stage.

A laptop computer gave all the sound cues for the show but neither actor was familiar with how the program worked, so sound cues fell off the tracks. Quick costume changes, of which there were many, were done behind a thin metal costume rack. The audience could see the costume changes a happening but the actors requested that no one look.

When there were supposed to be more than 2 actors in a scene they used hats to stand in for the missing actors. The show was fast paced and hilarious. I loved every minute as I laughed my head off.

Tickets are $15. The final show is tonight, Sunday May 25 at 7:40pm. It really is a fun romp.

FRINGE: Improv Erotica

Molly M. Brinkman from Vancouver, British Columbia presented Improv Erotica in the silver venue. Some erotic romance novels were scattered on the stage. She had a comfy 1960s era lounge chair but she only sat down for a brief moment.

Before the show audience prompts had been collected which would inspire her erotic fantasies. Unfortunately her production manager had not arrived from Vancouver yet and Molly didn’t use many of the prompts.

Molly had an amazing ability to build an erotic story in just moments. The star crossed lovers would be drawn to one another unable to resist a magnetic force that pulled them together. Each story had a conflict or misunderstanding then a glorious climax.

To build another story, romance novel covers were projected on the theater screen in quick succession and the audience was asked to shout out when they wanted to stop on a title. I love listening to stories about visceral animal heat, and Molly had a real talent for quickly tying together passionate tales. In other FRINGE shows she empowered women with Woman’s Guide to Peeing, My Body of Work, and Pack Animals. If you are looking for some hot literary entertainment, then Molly Brinkman’s Improv Erotica could fire up the loins.

FRINGE: En Mi

Choreographer Ana Antonietaa Cuellar Ivanova created this show after the worst of the pandemic. Social isolation had resulted in less creativity. As she developed the show she realized that creativity and all that she is as an artist has always been there in me (EnMi).

She explained, “We are like a painter with a brush, you hold the power to design your life, painting anew on a blank canvas each day.” As I was doing this sketch in the dark theater, one of the dance sequences had an audio track of the sound of a pencil or pen moving on a sketch page. It was as if the theater was filled with the sounds I made as I created the sketch. It was soothing and reassuring.

There were 8 dance sequences built around a poem. Each dance had a video opener with flowing liquid patters and a bold fluid drawing that represented the them of the dance.

Since I am learning Spanish, I will share the poem the show is built around as it was written…

EnMI

En mi esta la creatión, la

inspiración,

la fuerza,

Y el poder.

En mi esta la paz, la fé,

la salud,

Y el amor.

En mi esta mis sueños, el

cambio,

la sabiduria,

Y la esperanza.

En mi esta la libertad, la

seguridid,

la verdad,

Y ;a confianza.

En mi esta la tranquilidad, mi

felicidad

mi creatividad,

Y mi valor.

Y aunque des prisa siempre estén

mis sueños,

en el pasado,

o en mi presente.

en mi… han estado siempre,

Por que soy you quien manifiesto

mis sueños,

mi mundo,

mi presente y mi futuro.

Porque yo soy yo y todo esta en

mi.

Tickets to En Mi are $15 with a Fringe button. Remaining show time for En Mi is… Sunday May 25 at 7:35pm

FRINGE: Exposed (F*%k De$antis)

Exposed (F*%k De$antis) was created by visionary Josie Nixon who hosted as her alter ego Juice the Trauma Clown. In Colorado, Juice met Orlando powerhouse Beth Marshall and together they are taking Exposed on the road. Juice acts as the hostess for the show.

The show explores what DeSantis deplores. At each of the seven performances a rotating opening storyteller will perform. I chose to go the night Michael Marinaccio opened for Exposed.

Michael presented a brief family history that outlined the Marinaccio family relationship with religion. He outlined that many ways in which religious groups break and ignore the 10 commandments. One member of his family is actually a priest for an Episcopalian congregation, but Michael’s family saw through the falsehoods often presented.

Michael took his 2 boys to The Holy Land Experience where they could get there picture taken with a cardboard cut out of Christ on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. There was a bean bag toss game and one of the targets was the devil himself. Michael’s son ran behind the devil and stuck his head through the hole. What resulted was one of the funniest pictures I have ever seen of a young innocent boy’s face poking out from the devils chest.

In one story Ella Hadley did somersaults to enter the stage. She was all high spirits and energy. In her story she fell hard for the football quarterback, who was black. They dreamed of building a life together after they escaped from the backwards town in Kansas. Her father purchased a video camera and he took it to one of the high school football games to shoot video of his daughter as a cheerleader. Towards the end of the game the hometown team scored a glorious touchdown. The energetic cheerleader leaped into the arms of her quarterback boyfriend and kissed him. Her father didn’t know of the relationship and he stormed down the bleachers and dragged her home where she was beaten viciously. Her father’s racism crushed her. Beth Marshall acted as the narrator throughout the story while Ella ignited scenes with her energetic performance.

Before the show as the audience waited to enter the theater, we were all asked to fill out a card that confesses something that no one knew about us. Juice read these cards between acts in the show. After writing my confession and handing it in, I kind of wished I hadn’t written what I did. I was thankful when my card was not read in the first set. In the second set my card was read aloud on stage. There was laughter from the women seated in front of me and several expressions of shock. It was over before I could process how I felt about it. There were confessions of being sexually assaulted and childhood accounts of horrendous situations. I was seated in an audience with people who had experienced so much trauma. My little confession felt insignificant in comparison.

Exposed is a powerhouse of a show which will leave you thinking long after you leave the theater. Tickets are $15 with a FRINGE button. The final show is on Sunday May 25 at 6:05pm in the Pink venue. Bobby Wesley will be the opening storyteller for that performance. I loved the show.

FRINGE: Cat Lam, An American Darling

Cat Lam: An American Darling is a one hour stand up routine solo show in the Scarlett Venue. Cat was given a seasoned introduction as America’ Darling by a salty live announcer. Cat entered the stage wearing a daisy shaped headpiece. I was hoping to sketch her wearing it but the headpiece came off rather fast.

The show covered everything from women bosses to anxiety disorders. I liked when she branched off to discuss the intimacies of marriage. There is some adult language, mature themes and sexual content.

This was a show that allowed for a hilarious view of Cat’s life. I like shows like this with plenty of laughter and insights into life.

I would highly reccomment the show. I was fully engaged the whole lime, though distracted a bit with sketching.

Tickets are $10 with a Fringe button. The final show time is Sunday May 25, 7:55pm.