On Saturday Fringe-ing begins at 2pm. The five shows I’m catching on June 4th are:- 2pm at Hanke 1
THE VINDLEVOSS FAMILY CIRCUS from Karim Muasher and Carrie Brown
Professor VindleVoss and her adopted son Edvard the Zombie invite you to the rebirth of their once towering family circus! With only a few dusty artifacts and their quick wits, they make the magic of the big top live again! Come eat the free popcorn, feel your belly rumble with laughter, and watch with amazement the death-defying thrills for children of all ages!
A circus fringe-style with a zombie assistant. Need I say more? After the circus it’s a two-plus block sprint (and hoping for a five minute late start) for
- 3pm at Artworks
PEYOTE BUSINESS LUNCH from Artemis Exchange
A job applicant meets the CFO of an Indian Casino Corporation and the CFO’s Secretary at the Olive Garden inside their casino for a final interview – which just so happens to be a peyote-fueled vision quest. With the help of Spirit Guides, the men explore their collective subconscious with cleansed perception and experience the pure sensations of the human soul on capitalism (with unlimited soup, salad, and bread sticks.)
The third show about trying to find a job, is someone trying to tell me something? Local group Artemis Exchange was founded in 2008 by Christopher Karr and Chris Wesselman. In the 2009 Fringe Festival AE presented A PERFECTLY WONDERFUL EVENING (which I had a small part in helping to cast, heh) and last year’s Fringe entry, ABERRANT REFLECTIONS ON THE BARBARISM OF YOU AND I, which returned to the stage this past March at New Edgecliff Theatre.
- 4:15pm at Hanke 1
RIP IN THE ATMOSPHERE presented by Psophonia Dance Company
Descend into the depths of Psophonia’s rabbit hole. Where weightlessness ensues, everyday reality ends. Such abandonment is natural at Earth’s highest atmospheric level. But what if the ability to control your body stopped working at ground level? If your sensory flow suddenly disappeared, how would you function in the world? RIP IN THE ATMOSPHERE, our sensory deprivation is your sensory overload. Experience every atmospheric level as Psophonia Dance Company dares to split your mind. So point yourself over to this mixed repertoire of the senses and upset your equilibrium. Let it rip!
- 7pm at Media Bridges
THE LYDIA ETUDES: ABOUT LOVING ANTON CHEKOV from Dawn Arnold – The Moving Dock Theatre Company
Earthquakes happen when no one is looking. The controversial love between Anton Chekhov and a woman named Lydia comes alive on stage in THE LYDIA ETUDES. An intimate look at the master storyteller, Anton Chekhov, told through the eyes of the woman who might have been his one true love. Be transported into the world of Chekhov as Dawn Arnold portrays Lydia and Anton, and a host of other characters, in her original adaptation of Lydia Avilova’s memoir and Chekhov’s letters to Lydia. “A dynamic, compelling glimpse of a fascinating woman writer by an equally mesmerizing theatre artist.”
An intriguing sounding solo work out of Chicago, Illinois. Following TLE, in probably the worst scheduling for myself,
- 8:15pm at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
MELANCHOLY PLAY by Sarah Ruhl featuring the ETC Intern Company
Our not-so-sad-story begins with Tilly: a banker and melancholic. Tilly flits about town spreading her sweet sorrow to everyone she meets: her psychiatrist, Lorenzo; her boyfriend, Frank; and two lesbian lovers, Frances and Joan…. so of course they fall in love with her. This makes Tilly happy, very happy. But this is not the Tilly they fell in love with! Her suitors become dismayed and yes, melancholy by the transformation of their temptress. Havoc and mayhem ensue: a battle over her coveted vial of tears, a metamorphous catastrophe…and it is up to our heroine to make it right.
The works of playwright Sarah Ruhl are familiar to Cincinnati audiences. Recent performances of her scripts include, THE CLEAN HOUSE at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, EURYDICE at Know Theatre of Cincinnati and DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE at ETC. Local actress Regina Pugh (who recently gave a emotionally strong performance as Arlene in ETC’s NEXT FALL) directs this farewell performance of the 2010-2011 Intern Company.
Reviews for these performances will be available on Sunday.
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