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?

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