Tag Archives: Joe Stollenwerk

CFF17: My Fringe Schedule: Day 6

I’m kicking off the second week of Fringe with three more production on Monday.

CFF_Pet FishFirst up is winner of the 2017 longest title award, pet fish are for killing by accident somehow it’s really quite inevitable from local new participant, Dehydrated Mermaid Productions:

Tabitha is questioning her relationship of nine years with Marc – with a “C.” Antioch is smugly secure in her relationship with grad school. And whiskey. Marla has a pet fish. Also, everything is terrible. What is love? Baby don’t hurt me.

Written by Sara Tripp Swartout and directed by Shelby Becker, the cast includes: Sarah Durham, Candice Handy & Erin Ward.

CFF_mOtherNext, Stacey Vespaziani of Odds and Ends Productions returns to the Cincinnati Fringe Festival for the 5th time this year with her new solo show, mOTHER:

What happens when you find yourself questioning a perceived norm and ultimately choose to step outside of it? This is the query that the solo show mOTHER examines through one woman’s first person journey of exploring and ultimately rejecting motherhood.

Her previous fringe shows include: BETTER/WORSE (2008), I TAKE IT BACK! (2007), RUNNING MY ASS OFF AND GETTING NOWHERE (2006) and BRITNEY SPEARS AND ALL THE OTHER SHIT WE DEAL WITH! (2005).

CFF_Nine Short Plays logoI end the night with NINE SHORT PLAYS FOR THE THEATRE, written and directed by Joe Stollenwerk:

A fast-paced and fun collection of short pieces that explore various facets of theatre, performance, and storytelling, ranging in topics from race and casting to falling in love with theatre, and from Henrik Ibsen to Shirley Bassey. It is an eclectic collage in a variety of styles from realism to meta-theatre, autobiography to absurdism, parody to poignancy, including group pieces and monologues.

The cast includes Burgess Byrd, Joe Hornbaker, Barbara Karol, Mindy Seibert & Tara Williams.

Stollenwerk’s previous fringe entry was CATALINA in 2013. Long time local theater patrons may remember Joe as the Artistic Director of the late, great Ovation Theatre Company for nearly a decade. Most recently, Stollenwerk wrote the acclaimed adaptation of THE HANDMAID’S TALE presented by Know Theatre of Cincinnati in early 2015.

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CFF17: NINE SHORT PLAYS FOR THE THEATRE

CFF_Nine Short Plays logoNINE SHORT PLAYS FOR THE THEATRE
Part of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival ’17
Art Academy Studio
Over-the-Rhine

Written & directed by Joe Stollenwerk

Cast: Burgess Byrd, Joe Hornbaker, Barbara Karol, Mindy Seibert & Tara Williams

NINE SHORT PLAYS FOR THE THEATRE is a fast-paced and fun collection of short pieces that explore various facets of theatre, performance, and storytelling, ranging in topics from race and casting to falling in love with theatre, and from Henrik Ibsen to Shirley Bassey. It is an eclectic collage in a variety of styles from realism to meta-theatre, autobiography to absurdism, parody to poignancy, including group pieces and monologues.

  • Wed, May 31 at 7pm
  • Mon, June 5 at 9pm
  • Wed, June 7 at 9pm
  • Sat, June 10 at 4:45pm

Official page | Press release | Facebook page | Facebook event | Official website |

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CFF13: CATALINA

CFF_CatalinaCATALINA
Presented as part of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival ’13
Art Academy Auditorium
Over-the-Rhine 

Reviews: Enquirer | CityBeat |

CATALINA is a playful examination of the dynamics of women, theatre, and history, combining metatheatre, feminism, and pop culture. Catherine of Aragon, a.k.a Catalina, attempts to tell her story after having been overshadowed by her husband Henry VIII. Three actresses play a variety of women and men who supported or blocked her. Together, they examine how history and theatre pit women against each other, how history is written by the (male) winners, and the pitfalls of being a working actress. The play manipulates time and identity while commenting on the fact that the play itself was written by a male.

  • Wed, May 29 at 7pm
  • Sat, June 1 at 9pm
  • Wed, June 5 at 8:45pm
  • Fri, June 7 at 7:30pm
  • Sat, June 8 at 5:15pm

Official page with online ticketing |

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