Artist Spotlight and 9/11 Event

Tomorrow morning, Fringe will commemorate 9/11 with a special event at Meridian Stage at 11 am. This event will feature speakers, artists, performers and will be recorded for WBEZ's Chicago Amplified. Please join us, and to participate, please make a ribbon at Fringe Central.

On the eve of this anniversary, Les Kurkendaal (Nightmare in Bakersfield) reminds us that Fringe artists are part of a worldwide community:

CHICAGO FRINGE 2011: ON THE MAP, UNDER THE RADAR

DAY NINE

9/11 Primer: Epoch of the Peacemakers. ...inside my Kaleidoscope. Neither Transparent nor Opaque. Let Me Count. Clean Start. Little Ivory Fingers. Spandex. Mother Tongues. Camelot is Crumbling. The Man in the Arena. From the Nightshade Family. My Salvation has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey. Acrobat Daredevils. Bedbugs. Nightmare in Bakersfield. No Gender Left Behind. Jesus, Shakespeare and Lincoln Walk in a Bar. Alone Apart. Miss Fortune. Evolution. Nearly Naked. Othello's Furies. Strangerland. The Roast of Santa. Motherbanking Bankhole.

. . . and the Closing Ceremony at Fringe Central!

CHICAGO FRINGE 2011: ON THE MAP, UNDER THE RADAR

DAY SEVEN

Nearly Naked. Mother Tongues. Bedbugs. Nightmare in Bakersfield. Mama Juggs. At 5'2" and 125 lbs. Miss Fortune. Moving Day. Acrobatic Daredevils. Strangerland. From the Nightshade Family.

New at Central!

Have you created a "thread" at Fringe Central?

Check it out, near the archway to the ticketing area/bike parking room. Write a message of hope, peace and Fringe and contribute to the 9/11 commemoration organized by HumanThread and presented by the Fringe Festival.

More info here.

Have you noticed the Time Out banner hung in Fringe Central?

There are also complimentary issues of the magazine available! Time Out Chicago is all over the Pilsen map and very much on the Fringe radar this year.

Check out reviews and contribute your own comments and ratings here.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

What is Fringey? Nicolette Lalor offers one answer: lingerie party meets murder mystery!

CHICAGO FRINGE 2011: ON THE MAP, UNDER THE RADAR

DAY SIX

Theater Thursday Event: No Gender Left Behind. Gloss Over. Neither Transparent nor Opaque. Soul Mates Don't Die. Anonymously Yours. Hooray for Speech Therapy. Jesus, Shakespeare, and Lincoln Walk in a Bar. Acrobatic Daredevils. Alone Apart. The Man in the Arena. Evolution. ...inside my Kaleidoscope. Hub and Spoke. Let Me Count. Aberrant Reflections on the Meaning of You and I. Motherbanking Bankhole.

Industry Voices: Alexis Williams

Alexis Williams, a literary associate at Bret Adams Ltd. Artist Agency and judge in the 2011 Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival (full bio below), shares her perspective on Fringe with us:

Oh, the joys of Fringe.

Fringe gives the participants a chance to get their work out there, to have it produced and publicized on a larger scale (which, let me tell you, is easier said than done). Fringe enables audiences to get a lot of culture, from a variety of sources, in a quick, intense burst, without straining the bank account.

And for those of us who work on the business side of the theatre industry, it gives us the opportunity to hear new voices, voices that may not have been on our radars before.

We all know the success story of Urinetown – which humbly began in the NY Fringe Festival and eventually ended up with 9 Tony nominations and 3 wins on Broadway – there’s that glint of promise that permeates the very spirit of Fringe – anyone can be Cinderella, and that’s just thrilling.

Plus, from an agent’s perspective, getting to know new, exciting work and writers is always a plus - even if only, initially, just to continue to follow someone’s progress or to track their upcoming work.

Sure, most big theatres produce new plays and have fantastic programs for emerging playwrights, but the writer of the must-see new show at the Goodman probably already has representation – the writer of the must-see show of the Fringe very possibly doesn’t. Makes for some very useful, practical scouting.

And beyond that it makes for some fun. There’s just such a great sense of community and straight up fun around fringe, you can feel it in the air. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a participant, an audience member, a scouting agent or producer – no matter who you are it makes for one heck of a good time.

BIO:

Alexis Williams has been a member of the literary department at Bret Adams Artists’ Agency – a New York based agency representing actors, playwrights, directors, composers and designers – for the past three years. Before joining the team at Bret Adams Alexis worked at McCarter Theatre Center, assisting directors such as Emily Mann, Shirley Jo Finney, Michael Unger, and others; served as Literary Manager for Detroit’s Planet Ant Theatre, where she originated and developed Southeast Michigan’s first late-night theatre series; and completed a fellowship at the Contemporary Stage Company in Wilmington, DE. At Chicago’s Stage Left Theatre Alexis developed an evening of new, thematically linked short plays written by up-and-coming American College Theatre Festival winning playwrights. In her time in the theatre Alexis has worked as a producer (various projects, including co-producing 13^th Street Rep’s first new short play festival), a director (favorite pieces including Arcadia at Princeton Summer Theatre,Equus at Northwestern University, and the first production of Kyle Jarrow’s Emperor’s New Clothes Redux at Contemporary Stage Company), a teaching artist, and has assumed multiple other roles in the theatre industry. Recently she was a judge for the 2011 Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival. Alexis is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and a graduate of Northwestern University – where she served as the Artistic Director of Northwestern’s Multicultural Theatre Ensemble.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Super awesome story time with the Harlotry and Necromancy Appreciation Society:

CHICAGO FRINGE 2011: ON THE MAP, UNDER THE RADAR

DAY FIVE

Nearly Naked. Soul Mates Don't Die. Nightmare in Bakersfield. From the Nightshade Family. Moving Day. At 5'2" and 125 lbs. The Roast of Santa. Let the Lady Sing. The Temp. Mother Tongues. Strangerland. Miss Fortune. Existential Crisis. ...inside my Kaleidoscope. Camelot is Crumbling. Am I Blue. My Salvation Has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey. Neither Transparent nor Opaque. Bedbugs. The Other Day. Little Ivory Fingers. Mama Juggs. Night of the Living Dead: the Puppet Show. Wild Women XXX. Anonymously Yours. No Gender Left Behind.

Murals

Soak up all the art in Pilsen! Go see a Fringe show, then check out the neighborhood's beautiful murals:

CHICAGO FRINGE 2011: ON THE MAP, UNDER THE RADAR

DAY FOUR

Mama Juggs. Mother Tongues. At 5'2" and 125 lbs. Anonymously Yours. Motherbanking Bankhole. ...inside my Kaleidoscope. Let Me Count. Aberrant Reflections on the Meaning of You and I. En Solo. Gloss Over. Alone Apart. The Other Day. Seeing Red. Spandex. Night of the Living Dead: The Puppet Show. The Four Food Groups. Clean Start. Little Ivory Fingers. The Temp. Hub and Spoke. Wild Women XXX. Where the Heart Lies. Let the Lady Sing. My Salvation has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey. Othello's Furies. Soul Mates Don't Die. The Man in the Arena. From the Nightshade Family.

First Weekend Underway!

Image from "Moving Day"

CHICAGO FRINGE 2011: ON THE MAP, UNDER THE RADAR

DAY THREE

The Temp. Tordu Vol. Strangerland. Miss Fortune. Am I Blue. Nearly Naked. Frames. Bedbugs. Nightmare in Bakersfield. No Gender Left Behind. Moving Day. Wallstories. Camelot is Crumbling. The Roast of Santa. Evolution. My Salvation has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey. Wild Women XXX. Where the Heart Lies. Let the Lady Sing. Spandex. Soul Mates Don't Die. Clean Start. Hooray for Speech Therapy. Jesus, Shakespeare and Lincoln Walk In a Bar. Neither Transparent Nor Opaque. The Four Food Groups. Anonymously Yours. Seeing Red.

Make you want to Fringe?

A sample of Fringe magic:

CHICAGO FRINGE 2011: ON THE MAP, UNDER THE RADAR

DAY TWO

THE TEMP.

WALLSTORIES.

AT 5'2" AND 125 LBS.

THE MAN IN THE ARENA.

MOTHERBANKING BANKHOLE.

. . . INSIDE MY KALEIDOSCOPE.

TORDU VOL.

LET ME COUNT.

ABERRANT REFLECTIONS ON

THE BARBARISM OF YOU & I.

EXISTENTIAL CRISIS.

SPANDEX.

FRAMES.

ALONE APART.

SEEING RED.

Moving Day

Venue: Dream Theater

556 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Thursday, September 01, 2011 8:30 PM

Saturday, September 03, 2011 5:30 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 4:00 PM

Friday, September 09, 2011 10:00 PM

Saturday, September 10, 2011 7:00 PM

Description:

Feeling swamped? Let down? Stuck in time? ...Moved lately?
We prescribe a healthy dose of inertia, the human experience. MOVING DAY explores the true grit of moving forward or backward; figuratively or literally;
from place-to-place; from highs-to-lows; from love-to-loss and back again. Back to packing, unpacking, and dealing with all those empty boxes. Come check out MOVING DAY, a collaborative ensemble production.

Company:

ToddsBurn Productions (Chicago, IL)

This is our first production working as an ensemble under the Toddsburn Production label. We are a locally based group of actors, writers, improvisors, technicians, and creators who have come together to create a completely organic and collaborative piece of theatre. Each of us involved in the ensemble has recently undergone a significant move in our lives which we were inspired to artistically share. The process and group have been wonderful and we plan on creating much more as an ensemble!

...inside my Kaleidoscope

Venue: Dream Theater

556 W. 18th Street

Performances (click to purchase):

Friday, September 02, 2011 8:30 PM

Sunday, September 04, 2011 4:00 PM

Monday, September 05, 2011 7:00 PM

Thursday, September 08, 2011 10:00 PM

Sunday, September 11, 2011 2:30 PM

Description:

Christopher's life is unexpectedly dismantled when he has to leave his cushy lifestyle to find a new way in Miami. His two unlikely cohorts: God, a seemingly unfriendly ally, and Mr. Post, a philosopher who disagrees with his own philosophy are his only solace.

Company:

Then & Only Then (DeSoto, TX)

My previous production productions include: If By Chance, which had two production one of which was the DFW Fringe Festival; Love Potion #5:Tribal Musk, won 2nd Place PIA Award; The Mythical Memphis Coy: or Just Another Metrosexual?, which deemed MVP of plays to see in North Texas.

CHICAGO FRINGE 2011: ON THE MAP, UNDER THE RADAR

DAY ONE

Mama Juggs.

Tordu Vol.

Strangerland.

The Roast of Santa.

No Gender Left Behind.

Moving Day.

Frames.

Camelot is Crumbling.

Nightmare in Bakersfield.

En Solo.

Nearly Naked.

Wallstories.

Bedbugs.

Miss Fortune.

Am I Blue.