Minnesota Fringe Festival 2008

Five satirical scenes for your inner pot-smoking hippie... or war-loving neocon wingnut. This is humor for 9/12, from a woman paralyzed by fear (as told by Edgar Allen Poe) to "George W. Quixote."

Accidental Dialogue

by Kiro Kopulos

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

Merging dance, movement theater, performance art, soundscapes and music. Sometimes hauntingly beautiful, sometimes humorous, sometimes slow and Butoh-like. Guest choreography by Kerry Parker and Maureen Janson.

American Sexy

by New Theatre Group

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

From the company that created the Fringe hits "How to Cheat" and "Killer Smile" comes a new play about how the online world is changing our definitions of relationships in the flesh.

Conundrum Rehabbed

by Joseph Bingham

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

A kaleidoscopic fusion of well-whipped dance, theater and music spiced with surpise and parody. An eclectic experience that you'll need to see twice! A rehabbed version of the show you loved in 2007.

Kafka's Disgusting Tale of Transformation, A Buffoon's Metamorphosis

by Noah Bremer Presents

Galen Treuer and Noah Bremer of Live Action Set team up with Hopkin's Main Street for the Performing Arts to bring you this outrageous Buffoon clown monstrosity of Kafka's literary "classic".

Meet the MacBeths

by Lauren and Joshua Iley

Venue: Lab Theater

Mac and Betty are a charming "Better Homes and Garden" couple who plot murder plans over pot roast. Shakespeare visits a 1950s suburban utopia to unfold how far an ambitious duo will go for the American Dream.

Modern Muses

by DRP Dance

Venue: Southern Theater

Passion, conflict, hope and knowledge. A fusion of life's desires.

Oens

by Wilson Loria

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

From the age of discovery to today's globalization, Oens portrays an ordinary, disquieting man and his journey to self-realization. Through music, mime and dance, Oens enacts the eternal wish for a better world.

Orange

by Questionable Company Theatre

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

Two job applicants walk in for an interview and find themselves at the site of a nuclear hostage crisis threatening all we hold dear. A no-holds-barred farce about fear, sex, the media and a bit of cannibalism.

Sex, Love & Vomit

by Story Tapestries

Venue: Playwrights' Center

"Kissing you is like having a dead fish shoved down my throat." Spoken word, story, music and dance collide in this hilarious, surprising, intimate, dramatic and sometimes violent adventure.

Suitcase Cabaret

by Claire Simonson

Venue: Intermedia Arts

St. Clare and the Devil Duck are back! A cavalcade of multimedia religio-politico-heliophysical rumination and satire, from the creator of Fringe 2005's "Boob Toob." Big ideas come in small packages

Systems: A Literal Interpretation of the Fourth Wall

by Insurgent Theatre

Two cogs trapped in lives of utter futility behind the fourth wall. As years pass unnoticed, the two endure procrastination, incorrigible teasing and new ways of being in this existential comedy.

You're No Fun

by Bedlam Theatre

Back by popular demand! A modern day hobo returns to town and finds that an ex girlfriend has written a musical about his life. Featuring glamorous back up singers, dinosaur performance art, star crossed lovers and a kickline of primitivists.

Mon., Aug. 4 @ 6:00 p.m.

The Visitor, or From Here to Angina

by Minnesota Shakespeare Company

Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl

Lovely woman visited by suitor from neighboring farm. They talk of land and money while their longing for each other fulminates into angina and rage. Accompanied by a live band.

Mon., Aug. 4 @ 7:00 p.m.

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."

A Wake for Change! Tune In, Turn On, Folk Out

by A-Stage

Venue: Kieran's Irish Pub - Titanic Room

After Elvis but before the Beatles, there existed a small movement that became a precursor to everything the '60s now stand for.

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?

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.

Dying for the Chance

by Sundial Theater Company

Venue: Lab Theater

En route to the Paris Music Festival, zany Miss Bodacious croaks! Desperate for a chaperone and director,her high school students pretend she's alive. Then a bumbling Frenchman falls in love

Get It OFF YOUR CHEST!!!

by Mary Helena

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

Meet entertaining and engaging women who challenge us to view ourselves in our many guises. These women will make you laugh and cry, think and act (?). It's their time to download! Time to get it off their chests!

Herocycle

by FTF Works

Venue: Red Eye Theater

"Herocycle" takes the audience on a death-defying leap across pop culture and fame and into the psyche of Evel Knievel. Actors and aerialists weave an epic tale of a quest for the man behind the action figure.

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.

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.

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).

Love and a Lion

by NihaoHello Theatre Company

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

An opera about love, set in a circus, riddled with danger, intrigue, treachery, romance, tears, forgiveness, laughter and more! "I put it on par with Guns N' Roses." Satisfied audience member

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.

Robin Hood The Musical!

by Top Hat Theatre

A rich love story packed with adventurous fun! Engaging music transports you back to the timeless tales rooted at the Major Oak. Witness this high-energy, sword-clashing musical jaunt through Sherwood Forest!

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.

The Jamal Lullabies

by Emily Conbere and East River Commedia

Venue: Southern Theater

Four young women sing at a memorial to Jamal Slims Hall, a no-account drug dealer and a beautiful, tired-out addict.

The Virginity of Astronauts

by The Electric Telescope Theatre Co.

Venue: Intermedia Arts

A science-fiction adaptation of Euripedes play "Ion." A persistent knock on a spaceship's door near Mars... Who's there? Two astronauts face a powerful being's plan to control the universe in this updated Greek drama.

Mon., Aug. 4 @ 8:00 p.m.

Brilliant Traces

by TMJ Productions & Theatre Unbound

Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl

The wilds of Alaska. Fate, a runaway bride and a cynical recluse converge in a match of wills to echo the raging blizzard outside. A kooky exploration of love, loss and the unlikely places we find sanctuary.

Mon., Aug. 4 @ 8:30 p.m.

(life seed)

by Nic Hager

Venue: Lab Theater

"Please wake me from this dream, I wish to sleep now." An exploration in which a woman attempts multiple methods of re-creation in order to evolve.

A ROYAL BIRTHDAY MESS

by Teatro da Bexiga

Today's the Royal Birthday Party and the wacky servants must frantically get the ancient monarch ready! The clowns do the dressing, teach table manners and impersonate each of the guests. This party is a mess!

adjective

by Megan Dowd

Venue: Playwrights' Center

Madison went looking for someone. Maybe someone to love. Maybe someone to screw. She found someone, stumbled across him, who she didn't expect. Who she stumbled upon, however, means everything to everyone.

Alone and Testifying

by Loren Niemi & Howard Lieberman

Venue: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

There are wondrous tales to be told the ubiquitous Loren Niemi is joined by storyteller-performance artist, Howard Lieberman, for a fast ride true or not - through the world of wonders. Each performance is unique and drawn from their storied lives.

Department of Angels

by Schave & Reilly

The Department summons all angels to work. Please punch in, sign out armor, put on halos and report to your cloud. Lateness, practical jokes and raucous laughter are not tolerated and may lead to dismissal.

EMISSARY'S N.O.W

by EMISSARY

Venue: Intermedia Arts

EMISSARY is the fusion of sound design, original spoken narrative as word design, live piano performance and body movement. EMISSARY embraces the collective social, political, psycho-emotional, scientific, and spiritual realities as culture.

Hey, I'm Talking Murder Here!

by Rhino Productions

Three twisted tales of revenge and murder set in an unexpected future and featuring a bewildered clone, homicidal robot and a couple of talking dogs. Rod Serling, eat you heart out!

How Does a Drug Deal Become a Decent 3rd Date?

by Green with Envy Productions

Meet a girl who keeps meeting the wrong guy, until she figures out that dating isn't about perfecting the art of what doesn't workit's about figuring out what does.

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.

One Night Only with Mike Mahony

by Perpetual Motion Theatre Company

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Rock has-been Mike Mahony thought his life couldn't get any worse, until he met his two biggest fans.

PieRats: The Crusade for Peaches Cobbler

by People Sittin Around Doin Theatre

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

A pie maker's swashbuckling, slapstick adventure with Captain Schleptoba and Clueless Willie, who help save his love Peaches Cobbler from the villainous paws of Blind Bart and evil pocket dog Jolly Rodger-Rita.

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!

We Live Like This

by Bombastic Productions

Venue: Theatre de la Jeune Lune

Kaleena Miller and Ned Sturgis come together to create a one-of-a-kind collaboration. Offering a look into what inspires them and what makes them tick, they offer the simple explanation, "We Live Like This."

Mon., Aug. 4 @ 10:00 p.m.

Antigone...A Riff on Sophocles

by Metropolitan State University's Theater Underground

Venue: U of M Rarig Center Arena

No droning Greek choruses draped in bed sheets! Forget the stately columns and enter a world of rap music and rebellion! A tale of intransigent leaders and the need to resist them, no matter the cost.

As If In Relief

by Zealots + Mystics

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

Catfight!

by John Ervin

Venue: Ritz Theater Proscenium

Dedicated to Michele Bachmann, Ted Haggard and Larry Craig. Two rival teams of documentary filmmakers, following two opposing congressional campaigns, affect the election thanks to one swingin' higher power!

Dipped In Love

by Mu Performing Arts

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

Three women from diverse backgrounds share stories of friendship, loss and discovery in choosing to "walk the edge of the sword" rather than accepting the status quo.

Dying in Public Places: a darkly comic new musical

by Ambrosiatic Productions

Lust. Terror. Violence. Outbursts of song. All of these can happen when stuck in an invisible box... Cannibilism, too.

Herocycle

by FTF Works

Venue: Red Eye Theater

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!

Paul Bunyan Runs for President

by Vanderpan Enterprises

Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl

Lower Taxes, Bigger Axes. That's the message Paul Bunyan approves when America's biggest lumberjack runs for the country's highest office.

Pizza, Amore & Fantasy

by Singing Beach Productions

Venue: Southern Theater

The host of a mythical Italian tavern entertains his "customers" with live music and stories, including a quick how-to of Italy's two most popular dishes.

Skunkape Sexkult

by Mother/Destroyer

Venue: Lab Theater

In a world gone mad, where the bonobo chimp holds the cure for societys ills, a primatologists passion for a brighter future is pitted against a psychosomatic paraplegics lust for revenge. And a skunkape.

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 Butterfly Kisses Effect or A Post-Nuptial Log Flume towards Consensus

by Cuddle Pony and Firebush