Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "Campsite"

Day: 5

Show: 13

Performance Type: In Person

Location: Boom Island Park (outdoors)

Length: 40 minutes

Title: Campsite

By: Lady Z Productions

Summary: Four friends, old and new, go on a camping trip.

Highlights: Boom Island Park is a gorgeous location that's perfectly fitting for this story that takes place in a campsite in a park. They perform in a shelter with a fireplace in the middle (unlit, because summer heat), and it's easy to imagine that this is the place where lifelong BFFs Terry (Colin Healey) and Jimmy (Maureen L. Bourgeois, who also created and directed the piece) are camping with their friend Allison (Leah Indrelie) and new friend/set-up Debby (Sarah Catcher). Not a whole lot happens in the show, there's a lot of talk about setting up campsites, tomorrow's plans, and what a great guy Terry is. Turns out Jimmy and Allison are conspiring to set their almost-40 friend up with Debby, which makes for a lot of awkwardly sweet moments. The storytelling feels very casual and naturalistic, almost improvised at times, with multiple conversations occasionally going on at once. It's a sweet little inconsequential story about friends, and the free snacks are great!

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.