Fringe Festival 2016: "AfterLife"

Day: 3

Show: 12

Title: AfterLife

Category: Drama

By: SunsetGun Productions

Written by: Candy Simmons and Chris Van Strander

Location: Intermedia Arts

Summary: A one-women show about three women in different times and places trying to figure out what they want in life.

Highlights: Candy Simmons fully inhabits three very different characters and makes them seem human and relatable despite their oddities. A woman in Appalachia in the early part of the 20th century wants nothing more than to be a mother, and goes to extreme measures to make it happen. A 1950s housewife feels dissatisfied with her life as a mother, wife, and homemaker, and looks to yoga as a way to find her true self. A modern-day businesswoman in NYC finds that "having it all" isn't as easy, or fulfilling, as it seems. With a change of accessories and accents, and a few images projected to set the time and place, Candy becomes each of these women, their stories tied together around the theme searching for one's identity, as a woman and as a human. Funny, poignant, well-written, beautifully brought to life in a compelling performance. What more can you ask for in a Fringe show?

2016 Minnesota Fringe Festival Must-Sees

Well friends, it's that time of year again. Time to shirk all responsibilities of adulthood, abandon your friends, family, and pets, and binge on theater for 11 days straight. That's right, the Minnesota Fringe Festival, the largest unjuried theater festival in the nation, is upon us. This year's festival includes 168 shows less than an hour in length showcasing the best (and occasionally the worst) that this theater/art/dance/comedy community has to offer. I've steadily been increasing my Fringe consumption every year from a mere ten shows in 2011, my first year of Fringing, to a high of 44 last year. The maximum number of shows that any one person can possibly see, while still obeying the rules of the space-time continuum, is 56. That means seeing a show in every timeslot available. I thought it might be fun to see if I can in fact see 56 shows during the Fringe Festival. Just once, to see if it can be done, and then I'll likely never do it again. And let's face it, I'm not getting any younger, I better do it now while staying up past 11 pm for 11 nights in a row is still (barely) within the realm of possibility. I've run seven marathons, so obviously I like giving myself crazy challenges, just to see if I can do it. And also because it's fun, right? Keep reading for a list of some of the shows I'm hoping to see, and why.

Fringe Festival: "Expiration Date"

Day: 8

Show: 21

Title: Expiration Date

By: SunsetGun Productions

Created by: Candy Simmons

Location: Intermedia Arts

Summary: A one-woman show about a woman diagnosed with terminal cancer who decides not to tell anyone about it until she figures out what it means and what she wants.

Highlights: Candy Simmons, who also wrote the play, gives one of the best performances I saw in the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival. She portrays a range of emotion, from anger and despair to acceptance and determination, with ease and believability. Acting out multiple parts (with multiple accents) in scenes and speaking directly to the audience, she moves around the sparse stage, populated only by a bench, rolling chair, and doctor's office curtain, with grace and purpose. Expiration Date is funny, sharp, moving, and thought-provoking. Where a lot of Fringe shows abound with silliness (which is not necessarily a bad thing), it's nice to see a more serious and contemplative, but still entertaining, piece of theater.

Read more of my fringe fest reflections…

… including my top 5 shows

"How to Cheat" at the Gremlin Theatre

How to Cheat is an interesting little play.  There's a lot going on in the short 75-minute show, some of it weird, some of it funny, some of it intellectual, and all of it entertaining.  The show is playing at the Gremlin Theatre* (which recently produced the thrilling After Miss Julie at the James J. Hill House) and is a joint production with Alan Berks & Company.  The two-person cast includes Randy Reyes, whom I'd watch in pretty much anything because he's always interesting and entertaining, and Candy Simmons, whom I've never seen before but also quite enjoyed.  Alan Berks directs the play and wrote it specifically for Randy; it premiered at the Minnesota Fringe Festival a few years ago and has now been expanded into a full-length play.

How to Cheat is about a man (single) and woman (married) who meet at a fancy party in a huge mansion and steal away together.  They end up in an out-of-the way room furnished with eclectic old pieces and boxes of memories (pretty cool set design by John Bueche, and several of the items are being sold via silent auction).  The room has several levels leading up to a bed.  They both know why they're there but take their time getting there.  Louie and Meri dance and flirt, stumble and run up and down and around the room.  He's a scientist and a bit of a player, she's a journalist who's unhappy in her marriage.  They discuss science and war, they dance, they play a card game that's much more than a card game.  Several different narrative styles are used to tell the story, from normal two-person dialogue, to a dream sequence, to speaking directly to and interacting with the audience.  It's smart and funny, it'll make you think and feel and laugh.  Randy and Candy create two complex and interesting people, and have a believable chemistry.

The play ends with the sounds of explosions coming from outside the room, and the couple decides to face whatever's going on together.  I'm not sure if it really is the end of the world, or if the explosions symbolize the new perspective they have on the world after this connection they've discovered, this shared experience.  The show is only playing for about a week, so act quickly if you're interested.



*I received two complementary tickets to attend the opening night of How to Cheat.