Minnesota Fringe Festival 2008

Paul is having troubles feeling. To save himself, the starry-eyed, bleary-eyed teen must navigate the depths of his own cardboard reality, facing a shadow puppet, a girl with a rhyming name and an apathetic Ph.D.

Depth of a Moment

by Lisa Fay and Jeff Glassman

Venue: Lab Theater

"Dazzling sophistication virtuoso level of characterization." Kyle Gann, Village Voice. Tightly-packed, highly structured movement-based theatre that opens new ground for experimentation and laughter.

Fools for Love

by Hastings High School Drama Club

Venue: Southern Theater

Performed in the style of red-nose European clown, Noah Bremer (Live Action Set) directs this tender, youthful and knee-slapping exploration of the most intense of human emotions: Love.

Karaoke Knights - A One Man Rock Opera

by Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre

Venue: McMahon's Pub

Five guys in a bar compete for the big karaoke competition prize as well as the hearts and minds of the audience (which occasionally participates).

Leaving Normal

by Melissa McNamara

A solo show that interweaves three characters: Eileen, a runaway destined to find a place she fits in. Shirley, a waitress whose reality is rooted in pain. And Bill, a bus driver constantly steering towards hop.

My Hovercraft is Full of Eels!

by Henry Epp

Venue: Intermedia Arts

Journey into the absurd and outrageous world of Monty Python filled with outlandish characters, raucous energy, catchy musical numbers and original animations. It will leave you in hysterics!

One Missed Step

by Bold Theatre Company

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

Dancing for masses, being chased by the papparazzi, dating a star and uncovering secret agendas. Leaving the small town behind, Isabel goes from ballet and books to backup dancing and the red carpet.

Reincarnation: Another Chance at Failure

by Rampleseed

Like life? Try several. See the relentless humiliations and inadvertent triumphs of one soul unimpeded by limits of time, space or logic. A two-man comedy that refuses to die.

Roofies in the Mochaccino

by Empty S Productions

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

Hey, kidsonly six F-bombs! National Poetry Slammer Michael Shaeffer delivers rocked-out odes and turbid tantrums, tackling Transformers, 2Pac, Chewbacca, Elvis Presley, randy mammoths and mmmmmmmmuppet sex!

The Spaceman Chronicles

by Sanguine Theatre

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

Citizen Craig Web attempts the impossible: space travel without all that fire. A comedy concerning the outer limits of human achievement.

The Supercilious Ways of Walter Wading

by SPARK theater + dance

Supercilious meets super-silliness when Walter's usual path through the woods leads him to the most unusual surprise.

The Underpants Show

by Lili's Burlesque

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

No beating around the bush, Lili's Burlesque Revue is thrilled to present The Underpants Show, where you'll delight in the Twin Cities' finest variety performers doing what they do best: hot jazz, bawdy comedy, slapstick, and vintage tease. You'll see London, France, and so much more!

Twisted

by Dana's Boys

Venue: Playwrights' Center

What is the meaning behind a poem called "Jabberwocky"? Find out the curious, demented and savage things that happen when a girl named Alice starts asking too many God damn questions!

Thu., Jul. 31 @ 6:00 p.m.

Red Tide

by The Promethean Theatre

Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl

An intense psychological thriller examining the relationship between two brothers and the woman that comes between them. Tight three-person noir theater piece.

Thu., Jul. 31 @ 7:00 p.m.

59 Minutes 'Til the End

by Steve Anderson

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

A 49-minute show that knows we all die a little every day. Laugh, cry and sing (optional, very optional) to the stories and songs of one man's deaths and rebirths. It's the feel-good funeral of August.

a dash of poe

by Mercury Ninety Productions

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

The genius of Edgar Allan Poeoriginal American poet, master of horror and mystery writeras you have never seen displayed on stage before. "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Purloined Letter" and "The Bells."

An Intimate Evening with Fotis: Part Two

by Mike Fotis

Mike sits in a chair and tells stories. Seriously. That's all he does. You seem skeptical. Trust him. It works and it's funny. Unless you need your performers to stand. Is that what you need? Do you NEED that?

As If In Relief

by Zealots + Mystics

Stories will uncover the face of god, living, peanut butter sandwiches and the freeing power of failure.

Audish

by The Bakery Theatre Company

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

The strange story of five girls who experience the most absurd audition ever seen by mankind. Anything can happen in this show of unfortunate events filled with humor mystery and a lot of Smartwater.

Delirium for Two

by Theatre Novi Most

Venue: Red Eye Theater

A tragicomedy performed in Russian and English, Delirium for Two is part absurdist slapstick and part object ballet. It centers on a bickering couple who can barely understand each other. He speaks only Russian and she speaks only English. They are hiding out from an unseen armageddon that surrounds them.

First Years

by Tracy Funt

Venue: Playwrights' Center

Drunk teachers, rumors flying rampant and a little bit of lovin'. You know the drill, just a regular day in an average Minnesota school... Well Kinda.

In Rehearsal

by Alison Vodnoy

Venue: Intermedia Arts

Meet both sides of seven affairs in a one-woman fusion of extraordinary physicality. Comedy, modern dance, loneliness and lesbians. Laugh, cry, realize why you keep fucking up relationships.

Lysistrata 2.0

by White Elephant

Venue: Southern Theater

The original battle of the sexes. Revamped. Now with face-stomping action. An ensemble-created piece utilizing physical performance and stage combat to explore how men, women and war are intertwined.

Maggie's Magical Cat & Other Catastrophes

by Saint Peter Area Children's Theater

Maggie and her magical cat playfully engage with audiences to explore the sometimes painful, often comical world of grade-school politics, unconventional families adoption and other "what ifs?" of the universe.

Snip, Snap, Snute

by Alrighty, Then

The trolls let the goats cross the bridge, but capture the farmer. The changelings find the Troll Ma's heart (big chase scene) everyone learns to get along, and unlike Disney, nobody gets blown up! Great fun!

Spring Awakening

by Blue Water Theatre Company

Venue: Lab Theater

Sex, drugs and Wagner run wild in "Spring Awakening," the story of a group of German teenagers who, in 1891, must find their way out of adolescence and enter adult society in a most confusing time in their lives.

The Attack of the Big Angry Booty

by Traveling Kurkendaal Productions

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

Have you ever been on a diet? If you have then you know that dieting isn't easy. Whether it's five pounds or 50 pounds, the weight-loss journey can be a challenging one. Come experience diet rollercoaster.

The Chasm: Two Prevailing Winds of Gabriela Mistral

by Disquietude Theater Company

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

Based on Gabriela Mistral's poetry, this piece explores two sides of a mirror: Kneaded by life and tragedy on one side, tenderness and hope on the other, as the same life force breathes throughout.

Thu., Jul. 31 @ 8:00 p.m.

The Mistress Cycle

by Maddak Productions

Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl

Mistress: A woman who illicitly occupies the place of wife. No male equivalent. Intimate musical tale "The Mistress Cycle" explores choices and consequences of five women, historical and fictional. Engaging, enticing.

Thu., Jul. 31 @ 8:30 p.m.

Bruno Schulz's The Street of Crocodiles

by The Great Heresy Theater Company

Between a young boy approaching maturity and an old man at the edge of madness lies the Street of Crocodileswhere myth meets modernity, madness meets calculating reason, and innocence meets forbidden desires.

Going South

by Commedia dell'farte

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

Tom's strapped for cash and months behind in rent. With time running out, he is on the brink of being evicted. Afraid of his landlord and the ouside world, he and his roommate need to make some money... Fast!

Great American Horror Movie Musical

by LSD Productions

Venue: Lab Theater

A criminal is at large. Seven brave filmmakers promise to hunt him down. Armed only with a camera, this kooky bunch sing and dance their way to making the greatest horror movie ever made, '80s karaoke style!

Homecoming

by Michelle DiMeo and Rosa Morsy

Venue: Southern Theater

Seeking contentment, an intimate dialogue erupts from emotionally charged movement and text in "Homecoming." Added feature: "Shower," a creative exploration of bridal customs and the gender rituals of matrimony.

Love and Video Games

by Rachel Reiva

As Jack struggles with the violence of his brother a a death of a parent, Stacy, a teenage ghost, believes the only was to help Jack is to hook him up with the hot guy next door.

Musical the Musical!

by Urban Samurai Productions

Presenting the greatest moment in the history of the universe, "Musical the Musical" will leave you humming, laughing and talking to yourself while you aimlessly roam the streets rummaging through Dumpsters!

Ophelia

by Studio Zero

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

An investigation into the hidden love story within Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. The piece explores a familiar story from a new perspective in a new work from this talented young company.

Phi Alpha Gamma

by Dan Bernitt

Two years ago, a gay-bashing plagued the fraternity's image. Weighing loyalty and justice, how will the brothers react when a member of their group comes out?

Secrets of the Little Yellow Diary

by Patty Nieman

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

Small-town Ohio, 1977. In her bright yellow bedroom, preteen Patty dreams about an Indian dancing boy scout, a green velvet dress like Scarlett O'Hara's and a fab future in musical theater. Her diary tells all!

small aïda

by Penelope Freeh

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

A dancing two-person re-telling of opera's famous story. From Verdi to Johnny Cash, high-octane movement is born from a low rumble. Tumble into sound, fury, graceful disquiet and limbic pomp.

Stimulate This!

by Mad Munchkin Productions

Venue: Playwrights' Center

Did you get yours yet? Feeling confused? Feverish? Nauseous? We're the ointment for your Economic Stimulus Itch! Prepare for your "check-up"! Get a healthy dose of advice on where to put your economic stimlus.

The Survival Pages

by Malia Burkhart

Venue: Intermedia Arts

Ecological crisis! Global warming! Peak oil! Are you worried yet? Smell the dirt as Malia Burkhart unearths her relationship troubles with the planet through stories, original music, video and butoh dance.

Tipping the Bucket

by Allegra J. Lingo

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Rebelling against politics, proselytizing and puking, rockstar Allegra Lingo surfs the waves of her Baptist past and gay Catholic present to find an island of her own.

Thu., Jul. 31 @ 10:00 p.m.

A Murder At Work

by Traudtrikt Productions

Back to work on a snowy Saturday. Man this sucks! It hasn't stopped snowing for 12 hours. At least my co-workers are here reveling in my misery. I wonder where the boss Kevin is? He should've been here by now.

Advice-a-Versa

by Intertwine

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

Is advice the eighth wonder of the world or the eighth deadly sin? We give it and get itsolicited and unsolicited. Whether it's good or bad, we still can't get enough. If you want, join in. So, what's you advice?

by Maximum Verbosity

Welcome to the real Fringe of American politics! The original masters of doublespeak and weasel words take on the myriad ways language is used to retort, contort and distort in this irreverent sketch comedy.

Dance of the Whisky Faerie

by Sara Stevenson Scrimshaw

Venue: Southern Theater

Uncorked and mischievous, the Whisky Faerie captures a wandering storyteller. Together they dance, soliloquize and spar through bizarre Celtic tales. Will he get his whisky or will she keep her freedom?

Delirium for Two

by Theatre Novi Most

Venue: Red Eye Theater

Dog Man Star

by The Drama Troupe Players

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

Dog Man Star has the dreams of gods and kings. A hit play from Brad Baron dealing with the hoary topics of love, loss, memory and desire in forty minute tragicomic form.

HafenGeist

by Atomic Lotus & Invocatio

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

Violent murder on holy ground gives rise to a possessing spirit of evil. When a brother and sister are trapped in the ruins, can they break the curse? Do they want to? A gothic ballet based on "Hansel and Gretel."

Hue and Cry

by Lex-Ham Community Theater

Venue: Playwrights' Center

US premiere of a play by contemporary Irish playwright Deirdre Kinahan. Cousins Kevin and Damian meet for the funeral of Damian's father. Damian's long absence makes the meeting awkward as the two men try to reconnect and find life again.

If a Tree Falls

by Cloudless Day

Venue: Intermedia Arts

then no more walks in the woods? An end to nature? Or time to reinvent? Two women ponder changing lives and landscapes with an irreverent yet lyrical montage of poetry, parody and storytelling.

I'll Marry You for Health Insurance and other shocking revelations

by Mumble Mumble, Ink Productions

Bursting with life, Allison spits poetry and stories as her childhood notions of being an adult are shattered. Insurance policies, sperm donors, coconuts and corporate jobs have never been so twisted and funny.

SHIFT

by Jonas Goslow

Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl

Culture. Economy. Scientific Thought. We exist amid shifting, self-regulating networks of all kinds, indifferent to the fortune and loss of the individual. This show is about the individual.

The Pumpkin Pie Show

by Horse Trade Theater Group