Show: 23
Category: Comedy / Dance / Original Music / Storytelling
By: Kendra Plant
Created by: the artists
Location: Mixed Blood Theatre
Summary: A variety show including storytelling, Japanese lion dance, singer/songwriter performance, and burlesque ballet.
Highlights: If the Minnesota Fringe Festival is a sampler platter of different kinds of performance, this show is a microcosm of that concept. Kendra Plant (who, full disclosure, is a friend and fellow member of The Twin Cities Theater Bloggers at her blog Artfully Engaging) has constructed a show around the idea of the artistic process itself. A longtime supporter of the arts, Kendra is trying something new as a first-time Fringe producer, stepping on stage for the first time in decades. She's a charming and disarming host as she walks us through her process of creating a show. The three guest artists (the same at every performance) include a little bit of everything, including some art you won't see anywhere else at the Fringe. TAM Edo Bayashi Ensemble performs a lion dance accompanied by drum and flute, really making the lion come to life in a way that may remind you of your favorite pet. Singer/songwriter Emily Boyajian (whose gorgeous and inspiring original opera Transition was a hit at last year's Fringe) sings two beautiful and poignant original songs about transition and being yourself. Last but not least, Jolie Meshbesher performs two dances, the first a more traditional ballet with aerial elements as she hangs off of a free-standing ballet bar, the second more modern and edgy as it turns into a burlesque ballet. If you're looking for a variety of art you won't see anywhere else at the Fringe, this is a great one to see. And it may just inspire you to try something new, get out of your comfort zone, learn a new skill, or collaborate with others to make some good things. We certainly need more of them in this world!
