Theatre Classes Chanhassen Retirement Home’s next Performance Training class begins on 9/8. Sessions run 8wks. Taught by Chanhassen professionals! Register now 952-934-1525 or more info at chanhassendt.com under Education.

STEPPINGSTONE THEATRE needs Actors, Singers, Dancers: Boys and Girls age 8-10, 11-13. Teens 14-18 and Moms and Dads of all ages for ” The Best Christmas Pageant Ever “. Aud. Sept. 15-16. Perf. in December. Call 651-225-9265 for appt.

ENTERTAINERS WANTED DEJA VU NIGHT CLUB Immediate start. no contests. no dance exp nec. Indep contractor status. FT/PT. Must be 18yrs. 315 Washington Ave N. Mpls. Call 612-333-6333

FALL ACTING INTENSIVE with REGGIE PHOENIX Oct. 13-Dec 10, 2008 phoenixtheaterworks.org

Models/Actors Mpls today: LA/NY tomorrow. Call 763-746-3695 caryninternational.com

SOUTH METRO CHORALE auditions for new season and June tour of Ireland all voices. Call Loren at 612-309-1732.

Okay, gang. As you may or may not have noticed, we’ve been a little slow getting things up lately. It’s Fringe’s fault. After seeing as many shows as we did, you’d need a break, too. So sue us. But now that I’ve had a little time to relax (read the horrible Little House reviews, watch some Olympic coverage), I’m ready to jump right back into the FringeFamous mix.

So the Fringe was great, yes? Shows seemed better than normal, attendance was up, Robin Gillette was working her thang in that little black dress. It was a great theatre festival. But next year, it could even be better. Here’s how:

• Blue Chip Shows — Why not have a few slots reserved for the previous year’s Top 10 most-attended shows? Let’s just say…oh, five. All ten companies (if they apply for a slot) go into the Top Sellers Lottery and compete against fate for those five Fringe slots. If they don’t get it, they go into the General Lottery. This would assure the Fringe of five companies who have at least a tiny amount of a good Fringe track record. Also, it would give the companies another fun reward for having a show that rocked in the previous year.
• Buck the Button — Oh, button…you’ve served us so well. You’ve been our friend when we needed to show our Fringe love. You carried us when we didn’t want to spend those two extra dollars to see that Mixed Blood production. You’ve been a great companion…but now it’s time to get the fuck out. Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome our new BFF…the Fringe Passport. Sure the button might be a little cheaper to produce. But how cool would it be to carry around a little Fringe Passport? You buy a ticket, they plop down that show’s stamp in your Passport. Now when you get the whole “what have you seen” spiel while waiting in line for Scrimshaw’s new Ibsen hip-hop trampoline show, you can simply pull out your Fringe Passport and show the nosy bastards! Plus, it’d be a nice little keepsake forever and ever. Aw.
• Reward the Ultra Pass — $157 or whatever it is to buy an Ultra Pass is crazy! These people are Fringe nut jobs. They’re insane with the Fringe. So why are they still standing in the gigantic lines with all those lame $12 groudlings? They should be eating cake and sipping on gin and tonics while having their backs rubbed by the nearest Fringe volunteer. Or…at least give them their own line. Yes, the Ultra Pass line. Brilliant.
• Watch the BYOV — The Bring Your Own Venue is teetering on the line of being a joke. Companies have stopped using the BYOV for interesting shows that take you around town in a car, or leave you watching actors drown in a pool. Instead, they’re starting to use the BYOV as an easy way to assure themselves a place in the festival. No more. Start combing these applicants for any trace of foul play. Require them to submit a hard-core outline of their show…maybe even a good portion of the script. Be absolutely sure everything’s on the up-and-up. Make them work for that assured slot.
• To Blog or Not to Blog — As a frequent blog-reader, this was a weird year for the Fringe. They seemed to not want any part of blogs, yet they also wanted to have their own. There was a kind of “yes we do, no we don’t” quality to it that became a little confusing. Not only should the Fringe definitely have a blog, but it should be one of the most prominent things on the website. Get that thing front and center. Remind people every day where it is and what’s on it. If it truly is a Staff Blog, include the entire staff. Require them to contribute at certain points during the festival. Give people constant updates on how the festival is selling, what last night’s party was like, and how to get to the FringeFamous blog…what?

Bam! Fringe is now at least 38% better than it was pre-this post. No need to thank me. Just sit back and soak in the awesome.

In a season full of fantastically boring and dust covered shows, (BCT is doing Crazy For You. YAWN. Park Square will be doing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. What in Gaye Hell are they thinking?) Matthew Everett has written an original play (produced by After Dark Theatre Company) that has perked up the Gaye-dar of this Fairy Bored-Mother.  Fresh from the same man that brought one of my Fringe Favorites, “The Bronze Bitch Flies at Noon”, and “Dog Tag” comes, Leave.

Here’s a synopsis:

Seth is a young Marine serving during wartime. Nicholas is his civilian longtime companion who waits back home. In addition to the strain on their relationship caused by distance and absence, they must hide their love for one another behind code words and secret identities because of the don’t ask, don’t tell policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the United States military. Seth’s mother Anne assists them by providing the cover of a woman’s handwriting for Nicholas’ daily letters, but Nicholas and Seth’s resolve is starting to weaken. Jonas, another young gay Marine in Seth’s unit just coming to terms with his identity, forms an intense bond with Seth overseas. Tyson, a former Army soldier who got fed up with “don’t ask, don’t tell” and didn’t reenlist, now works alongside Nicholas, providing temptation as well as a reality check. When Seth returns home for an unexpected leave, with Jonas at his side, and post-traumatic stress following him from the battlefield, old relationships are tested, and new ones bloom. In the end, the realities of war call on one man to make the ultimate sacrifice.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to see this show. But I’ll try. I’m about as excited as a gay hooker during the Republican National Convention! Not only is Matthew Everett a fantastic writer, but he is taking the gay genre to a respectable level. The characters he writes aren’t gay clowns. They are real people. And it’s about damn time. With this new show, it seems Everett is raising his own bar…and my bar as well. He’s taking on the military. This show has the promise of good looking men, emotional insight, and provocation written all over it. Three things that can also describe my bedroom on Tuesday night. I am definitely going to see this show and you should too!

Thank you Matthew Everett, once again, for being totally Gaye…in a good way!

September 5th and 6th at 7pm at the Black Box Theatre in Morris, MN

or…

September 11th and 25th at 7pm at the Bryant Lake Bowl

What are you doing next weekend?  If the answer is “seeing the coolest show in town before it closes”, then you’ll be interested in reading this week’s FringeFamous Five, which features the author of said show.  Brian Kelly was able to chat with us about The Temp, the current show at the Music Box Theater that closes this coming Sunday.  Enjoy!

Give us some quick background on The Temp. Where did it come from?

BRIAN KELLY:  Years ago, I worked as a temp. It’s not the most glamorous work. You’re something of a loner, strolling into an established work environment. No one gets too invested in you, because soon you’ll be gone. And when you go…there’s no card. There’s no cake.

One night I was watching the movie “Shane” on late night TV. I thought: Here’s a drifter who strolls into town, helps out those around him, touches their lives, and then rides off.

It occurred to me…a temp does much the same thing. Why not the temp as a hero?

Are there any differences between the 1998 production and the one currently running at the Music Box?

BK:  This was the first show I’d ever written & directed and it was a very DIY affair. It was at the Bryant Lake Bowl, so there was not a lot of space for an 8-person cast to move, let alone dance. The technology of 10 years ago also presented limitations…I mean, you couldn’t even burn a CD then.

This time around, we had a set designer, lighting and sound design, we re-orhestrated all of the music, upped the ante on the choreography, I did a lot of re-writes on jokes that maybe didn’t land as well as they could have. In general it’s a richer, tighter, funnier production.

What was behind the decision to bring it back?

BK:  It was two-fold. For one thing, I had been performing with Triple Espresso for 6 years, and the show was ending. I’d always thought The Temp would be a nice fit at the Music Box Theater, and suddenly it was available. Plus, this is the 10 year anniversary of the original production of “The Temp”, which seemed like a really appropriate time to bring it back.

Also, Michael Ritchie and Tom Winner from the original show were available. Tom is one of the funniest people I know, and Michael…well, I can’t imagine doing the show without Michael. Though I play the title character, he is the star of the show. He plays the part of the villain like he’s in a Hammer horror picture…only intentionally funny. It’s just a fantastic performance.

The show enjoyed great success in 1998. Were you worried at all that this run might not live up to the first one?

BK:  To be honest, ten years is a long time and I didn’t expect that anyone would remember the original. So realistically, I didn’t feel like we could rely on any of the past success. I had to view it as starting from scratch. The only way that this version and the old version are really in ‘competition’ with each other is artistically. I’d like to think that ten years on I’d be able to make a better show.

That said, it’s been amazing how many people have come up to me and said “We saw the show 10 years ago” and the general attitude has been that it’s the show they remember only better. So I feel we’ve achieved our goal.

What’s next? Got any new shows in the works?

BK: This fall I will be performing in Triple Espresso in various cities. The next show I’d like to mount is a version of Jesus Christ Superstar as performed by the Muppets. There may be some legal issues surrounding that. I’ll have my legal team look into it and keep you posted.

Brian Kelly most recently did 1,300 shows with Triple Espresso, everywhere from Des Moines, Iowa to Dublin, Ireland. It’s hard for him to remember much of anything before that, but the IRS tells him that he’s performed with ComedySportz, Mystery Café, Tony & Tina’s Wedding, and We Gotta Bingo and written a couple of jokes for Miss Richfield, 1981. He’s also done a number of commercials, at least 4 of which feature him in bed asleep.

Entertainment Staff

Nickelodeon Universe and Mall of America have many exciting opportunities to be a part of during our annual Halloween event “Nick or Treat”. Responsibilities include interacting with guests and handing out treats while costumed as different Nickelodeon characters. Previous performance/interactive experience a plus.

Must be able to work all Fridays and Saturdays from 4:00pm-10:00pm through the month of October. Costumed characters need to be 4′11″-5′7″ slim to medium build. Pay is $9.71/hr.

Auditions will be August 27th at 7pm and September 7th at 6pm at Mall of America. Please cal (952)883-8540 to sign up for auditions.

Children’s Theatre Company

Ramona Quimby, directed by Clinton Turner Davis

We are looking for boys and girls to be in our spring production of Ramona Quimby. First rehearsal 3/17/09. Opening 4/24/09, Closing 6/7/09.

AGE RANGE: 7-17 years. You must be able to read and cannot be older than a senior in high school. PREPARE: No preparation is neccessary. We will do cold reading from the script. Dress for movement. AUDITIONS: Thursday, 9/4/08 @ 3:30-9:00 pm. CALLBACKS: Saturday, 9/6/08 @ 9:00 am - 1:00 pm.

Youth of all ethnicities are strongly encouraged to audition! Please call 612-872-5395 to schedule your audition appointment. EOE/AA

Guthrie Corporation

Try classes @ the Guthrie Acting, singing, voice, speech, writing, intro-advanced including a class for prof. actors taught by Raye Burke. Call 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org.

Theatre Classes

Chanhassen Retirement Home’s next Performance Training class begins on 9/8. Sessions run 8wks. Taught by Chanhassen professionals! Register now 952-934-1525 or more info at chanhassendt.com under Education.

Dance Instructor

needed for established Bloomington Studio. Adv tap/jazz Wed nights. Musical Theatre K-5 Fri 5:15. Please email dance6713@yahoo.com or call 952-212-4456.

Actors

Looking for new talent for TV + Film. Call 763-746-3695, caryninternational.com.

South Metro Chorale

Auditions for new season and June tour of Ireland all voices. Call Loren at 612-309-1732.

Entertainers Wanted Deja Vu Night Club

Immediate start. no contests. no dance exp nec. Indep contractor status. FT/PT. Must be 18yrs. 315 Washington Ave N. Mpls. Call 612-333-6333.

Now that all that Fringe nonsense is behind us, we can get back to the real world. It’s time for another FringeFamous Five. This time we snagged a Lauren Anderson and Bobby Gardner — two cast members of the current Brave New Workshop review The Lion, the Witch, and the War Hero or Is McCain Able?. Enjoy!

What’s the most difficult part of putting together a new review?

Lauren Anderson: The most difficult part of putting up a new show is taking sketches and editing them as we go. Sometimes in an effort to make things even funnier, we will block the first act, and then end up having to re-block the entire thing 2 hours before we have to perform it for an audience to work in an excellent new bit we discovered. It’s envigorating, but it is a challenge.

Bobby, although this is your second mainstage show, you’re the newest member of this cast. What’s the most challenging thing about being the BNW new kid?

Bobby Gardner: The schedule definitely takes some getting used to. It’s not like a normal production where you get the script at the first read through, and then rehearse the same text for a month or so before you open. The script is changing a lot before we get to opening night. We have a weekend of previews to see what works with an audience. In that week, sketches get cut, the show order gets moved around, and there are many internal edits made. So that “being ready for anything” aspect of live theatre is really personified in this proccess. I guess I would say that’s the biggest adjustment I had to make. Also, this is a very tight knit group, so it took a little time to find my niche. There was a period of time where I thought “man, I’m not as funny as I thought I was.” But it just took a little time to sort out what my “funny” in the group was. I’m still trying to find it.

How do you classify improvisers? Are they actors, performers, just improvisers, a kind of hybrid of everything? What?

BG: There’s not really a good classification for improvisers. It’s kind of a melting pot of different kinds of people. Some are actors looking to improve their craft. Some are comedians who are trying to spark something that can go into their act. A lot of people who go through the Brave New Institute are just everyday 9-5 Joes and Janes who are just looking for something fun and social to do on a week night. The main stage cast is made up mostly of actor/comedians who have had training in improv from BNW, Improv Olympics, Second City or a combination of a few of those schools. I feel like a base in acting or performing can definitely give you a head start in improv. But honestly, I’ve seen people who have no background in performing get up on that stage and just blow it out of the box in an improv set.

Lauren, your educational background is in theatre. Then you morphed into an improv super hero. Artistically speaking, what’s the biggest difference between fresh-out-of-college Lauren Anderson and current-day Lauren Anderson?

LA: The biggest difference is confidence…and experience. Taking improv classes taught me to trust myself on stage, so I no longer am afraid if I go up on a line or we find ourselves straying from the script. In fact, sometimes that’s the fun part. It’s incredibly liberating to feel confident on stage. When we are doing shows it just feels like fun. That is the biggest difference. I used to have to “work” a lot harder on stage, which made for terrible acting. Now I trust my insticts and the director, and have a blast. It helps to work with brilliant people too

Which do you find more fun — performing in a BNW main stage review, or performing in the post-show improv set that follows?

BG: They are each fun in their own way. At the beginning of a run of a new show, even the scripted parts feel improvised because I have just memorized them. Previews are a treat because there are times when it feels like “The Actor’s Nightmare.” You know, the whole “I’m on stage in front of an audience but I have no idea what comes next.” It’s really exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Once the show has been running for a while I do tend to look forward to the improv set following. It’s a chance for us to let loose and play. Not that we don’t play in the show — we most certainly do. But after two or three months of the same general script, it sometimes takes some improv to reconnect the group and force some energy back into our systems.

Bobby Gardner and Lauren Anderson probably have awesome bios…but in all the Fringe Festival fury, I neglected to get them. However, you can see both Bobby’s and Lauren’s bio by going to their show and reading the program! The Lion, the Witch, and the War Hero is playing NOW!…probably as you’re reading this! GO!!

I just had the pleasure of reading this fascinating piece by Strib writer Graydon Royce about Chanhassen Retirement Home’s upcoming production of Swing.

In the article, the show’s director Sean Cercone (also artistic director of the Carousel Dinner Theatre in Akron, Ohio) wanted to make one thing clear…

“We think of ourselves as a theater, not a dinner theater.”

So I guess it’s true — you are what you think you are.

To learn more about Cercone and his theatre, feel free to visit their website at www.CarouselDinnerTheatre.com.

Interesting.

It seems the infestation of one-person shows at this year’s MN Fringe Festival wasn’t just a local phenomenon.

Over at The Guardian UK, Paul Arendt spits out his take on the solo show. I can’t say I disagree, although I saw some pretty fun solo stuff at this year’s festival (Fotis, SHIFT, and Boom come to mind). But more than once, I did find myself asking “What the hell is up with all the one-person shows”??

Maybe next year someone will produce One-Person Show the Musical! and we can all just call it a day.

Hey, y’all.

Remember when we announced the Fringie nominations and said “It’s likely we missed an awesome show or individual performance”? The following is an example.

It was Sunday afternoon and the Minnesota Rarig Festiv…er, the Minnesota Fringe Festival was coming to a close. I took one last look at my schedule and decided to check out a little something called The Nosdrahcir Sisters. I really had no reason to see the show, outside of the fact that I was already in close proximity to the venue. But what the hell, right? The festival’s almost over.

Wow. It was great. I’m not going to review the show because the festival is over and I hate reviewing goddamn shows. But wow. It was great. Both Sara and Kimberly Richardson were great. It was great.

Fringie fuck-up number one.

And speaking of Fringie fuck-ups…don’t forget that if you were the proud winner of a coveted Fringie, you’re entitled to a FREE “I won a Fringie” tee! You read that correctly. IT’S FREE! You can wear it proudly whenever you want to answer the question “what the hell is a Fringie” all day long. Email author@fringefamous.com if you’re interested.

All good things most come to my end…an end.

All in all, I think this year’s Fringe Festival was the best one in years. The level of talent was off the charts. The amount of amazing shows to see was unbelievable. And the number of shirtless guys on stage was inspiring. Which brings me to the first of my last Fringe reviews:

“The Bronze Bitch Flies at Noon” and “Dog Tag”, presented by Magicword Theater. “FINALLY!!!” That was the first word came to my head after seeing this show. Finally a play (two, technically) that includes gay characters, yet the show isn’t necessarily about “being gay.” And it’s done well! The actors knew exactly what they were doing. It wasn’t cheesy. I cared about the characters. Nobody was a whore, or a drug addict, or had AIDS, or a lisp, or any other quality/circumstance that most people seem to think comes with the gay territory. They were just people (and one dog), in the same situations that any straight person could be in. “YUMMY!!!” That was the first word that came to my head during the show. All three actors are not only talented, but they are also deliciously good looking. I wanted to give them all a good Gaye tongue bath. The three of them, (Joe Bombard, Sasha Andreev, and Buddy Haardt) work together so well, that it’s nearly impossible to say any one of them stood out from the others. They balanced each other perfectly. If forced to make out with/choose one of them as my favorite I would have to choose Haardt. He has an endearing earnestness about him. I couldn’t help but compare him to T.R. Knight, in both appearance, and demeanor. The one complaint I had about this show, is that I wanted more. Running at about 40 minutes, I was confused why the two pieces, (especially Dog Tag) were so short. I guess two well done short pieces is better than one really long piece of shit show. I give this show Two Legs Way up and Over My Head, and 5 Gaye golden stars.

Next up was The Spaceman Chronicles, presented by Sanguine Theatre. I originally wasn’t going to review this show after seeing it. There didn’t seem to be a point. It was just bad. I understand that this was a last-minute fill-in show. But these are seemingly smart artists. It was a good idea for a show. And most of the actors have proven to be talented in other productions (Mortem Capiendum, anyone). I expected more. Or at least something…good. Here’s my theory. A group of talented artists got together for a circle jerk. They showed the circle jerk to their friends, and instead of saying, “Gross,” their friends went down on the artists. And it needs to stop. Bad work needs to be called out, just as often as good work does. There comes a time in every artist’s life when they need the help of their friends to say, “it’s really not that good,” or, “I’d rather lick a sheep’s anus than see your show again.” I actually overhead (at Fringe Central) a conversation between a few of the actors from the show and one of their friends. She said to them, “I really liked it. I laughed my ass off.” I wanted to light her pants on fire. Don’t lie to your friends. It isn’t helpful. It only perpetuates the advancement of bad theater. If you actually saw this show and liked it, I have two things to say to you: 1.) Please tell me what it is that you liked. and 2.) You’re wrong. Sorry Spaceman Chronicles, but I will not be putting my legs in the air for you. I will give you 2 Gaye golden stars. 1 for the idea of the show (even though it fell short and was poorly/painfully executed). And 1 for the neat puppets.

And now for my last Fringe Festival review of the year. Phi Alpha Gamma, presented by Dan Bernitt. Bernitt is someone you should keep on your gaydar. His writing is so well crafted for such a seemingly young artist. He took the audience on a journey of a gay bashing and a coming out story, from the perspective of a group of fraternity brothers. While his acting is still a little green, it’s forgivable due to the quality of his writing. If anyone is attempting to write something with gay content that will in fact be dealing with “gay issues and themes,” then please refer to Bernitt’s work. His writing is edgy, well constructed, and personal, without ever being self-indulgent. While I’m not a huge fan of watching a writer read from his script on stage at the Fringe Festival, I wasn’t at all annoyed this time. I do however think this piece could have worked a little better had there been a different actor or reader for each character. It would have taken some of the pressure off of Bernitt, allowing this story to make a bigger impact. Well done Dan Bernitt’s Phi Alpha Gamma for being really Gaye, in a good way. Two Legs in the Air and 5 Gaye golden stars.

Though I didn’t get any Fringe tail this year, I did meet a lot of great artists, and made a few friends. And I certainly drank a lot of cheap beer and wine. I’m sorry if I threw up on any of you. Congratulations to all the shows that got the encore performance, and congratulations to the winners of this year’s Fringies. You are officially Fringe Famous. And you are all really, really Gaye…in a good way.