elephant shoes, & olive juice; (mis) communication in a modern world
presented by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities
Showtimes
Fri., Aug. 1 @ 8:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 3 @ 12:00 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 6 @ 10:00 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 8 @ 10:00 p.m.
[A] Sat., Aug. 9 @ 4:00 p.m.
KEY:
[S]=ASL interpreted
[A]=Audio described
Show details
Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl
Duration: 75 minutes
For ages 12+
Created by Shannon Forney
Website: www.tctwentypercent.org
Genres: Puppetry, Comedy, Audio described, Drama
Overall rating
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User reviews
A delight
by Brian Watson-Jones Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Someone already took the review title "delightful", but I had to use the word somehow, because it fits the best. Clowning, songs, minor tragedies and triumphs all added up to 75 minutes of wonder and lovely moments. I was smiling the entire time, and not just because the BLB has Ace Pear Cider on tap.
In love
by Abigail Kastrul Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
That's right. I'm completely infatuated with this show. I saw it twice, and enjoyed every second of it both times. The clowning was wonderful, as was the music, acting, and... well, everything. Nicely done!
Clowning & Communication
by dixie treichel Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Three and a half kitties--
A fun show with a cabaret/circus feel with short skits woven together. Lots of creativity and good ideas about communication (or lack of)-with live music on children's toys and quirky found objects. The fun was there but the substance was sometimes too cleverly hidden.
Adorable!
by Rex Winsome Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
This cute show about misunderstandings, anachronistic communication mediums, and linguistic snafus exudes a genuine playfulness and simple unpolished joy of performance. Good times.
Delightful
by Frank N. Stein Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show was just lovely and delightful! Very creative, inspired and well executed. One of the only fringe shows where I enjoyed every moment. Well done cast!
Odd...
by Colleen Smith Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
but fun.
It's like these kids were sitting around in a room having revelations about modern communication techniques and decided to make an off-kilter commentary on it. The performance is a (mostly) plotless collection of "aha!" moments. Most of the ideas were nothing new... We're constantly hearing about how the modernized world is revolutionizing our means of keeping in touch. But the ideas are well-executed. And quite funny.
Highly recommend it!!
An amazing birth!
by Reier Erickson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Okay... so if Pee-Wee's Playhouse and Mr. Bean hooked up and had a baby and The Office and Arrested Development hooked up and had a baby and then those two babies hooked up this would be the amazing performance that would be birthed. It's worth it just for the facial expressions but there's so much more! Music, clowning and humor. Definately the best show I saw at Fringe this year. I at least chuckeled throughout the entire shows and often laughed out loud so loud that I was somewhat embarassed. OMG I was ROFL... WTF?! Go and see this show! NOW!
Brilliant!
by Steven Galatz Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Forney writes and directs a very astute observation inside the social phenomenon of the office environment
and the disfunctional role technology plays in adding to the chaos of miscommunication.
The clowning was very true to breaking social taboos and at the same time, creating sympathy
for the fool that gives us the the most pure observations of life.
I love the "I.T. tech-geek" with the tie with ice-cream scoops. Great!
Incredibly Insightful
by Elizabeth Galatz Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show is hilarious--A great commentary on our modern world!!
A great ensemble cast creatively and insightfully explores the irony in how our modern creations have complicated our lives (and increased our ability to miscommunicate). Forney and her crew hilariously and seamlessly blend pop-culture references from the past and present using unique tools, instruments, tunes (and toys) from across the decades to effectively communicate a funny and poignant commentary on our hi-tech society. The office bit on a lost email and search into the Internet is gut-splitting (anyone who has every worked in a cube, will relate personally)! The mass-media music is also haunting.
Forney shines in her directing and her pivotol role as the 'fool.' A detail that allows the audience to see the the roles we all play in misunderstanding, misinterpreting and miscommunicating in our own lives.
Cute, But Very, Very Slight
by Reid Gagle Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
This bit of fluff has some amusing moments, and the cast does well at silent emoting. But there's just not much here. And there's absolutely no reason for this to be stretched past the 50 minute mark, to play at the Bry Lake Bowl.
LMAO
by Robyn Hendrix Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
loved this so much! Great job. Very playful and great audience participation that was fun and not awkward or forced at all like it often is. I especially liked the parody of the Mac vs. PC tv commercials, using an old Speak and Spell and a TI-84. SO funny. so many great references to current pop culture, such as scrabulous and txt message lingo, it was just a hoot. I highly highly recommend this. Get there early for extra audience participation and to order food or drinks in the theater :)
light
by Jeffrey Mosser Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
For me, this show finally put clowning in the right light. The exchange with the audience was perfect. These performers seem to have fallen into the niche they've been digging for.
This was the best 20% show I've ever seen.
Much Fun!
by Tim Voss Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Here's an odd and delightful production about communicating. Or not communicating. The cast is engaging and quite good. Lots of creative and quirky sketches and clever juxtapositions between old and new ways of "getting the word out." The show could easily fit into sixty minutes, and would benefit greatly from the editing. That done, this would be a terrific show. I hope to see more from these folks.
Pass The Olive Juice
by Kris Man About Fringe Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I want a second helping! Quite funny show with good humor and the acting does not dissapoint at any time. Well worth your Fringe dollar!
elephant shoes & olive juice; mis commun
by Donna Carter Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
One of the best shows of the Fringe!! An absoulte must see!! I found this production very engaging!
"To be great is to be misunderstood"
by Dave Romm Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Very Fringy. The young actors explore methods of communication, or lack thereof. Not all of it works, but the performances are affecting and you might hear the world a little differently afterwards. The sustained laughs come from a long sketch wherein a secretary desperately needs to unsend an e-mail. A Shockwave Radio Theater Review.
Kooky Fun
by Heather Stone Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
This is a fun piece! Good humor and many laughs to show our (mis)communication in this world. Particularly loved the rip off of the PC/Mac ads and the going in to retrieve an email that you had wished that you hadn't sent. Good acting all around with a couple stand outs. The audience letters at the end -- a hoot -- do more!Thanks for a good afternoon!
SPLENDID!!!!
by Marie Odle Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
For a show about mis-communication, this show communicated the foibles of (mis)understandings astonishingly well. It was the perfect balance of movement, comedy, vignette, and when needed, silence. We've all been the on the wrong end of a poorly worded email, or mistakenly think the hunk at the other bar is making eyes at you and not your friend. To see those stories told so well and so humorously was comforting and hilarious all at the same time. A must see!!!
Refreshing, delectable, and brillian!
by Celeste Black Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Tired of some of the pretentious garbage that can sometimes clutter a Fringe stage? Come to this show.
This is a breath of fresh air. Forney and her band of merry minstrels create a delightful atmosphere in which it's almost impossible not to get the giggles. They very definition of a fun Fringe show for all!
DO NOT MISS ELEPHANT SHOES & OLIVE JUICE
by t. barnett Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
this show is brilliantly fashioned with daft retro references, modernly classic clowning, painfully amusing communication breakdowns, sharp.witted pokes at pop culture, and a live mainline hodgepodge of dulcet musical ventures administered skillfully with a sampler and various oddball low.tech instruments including a toy piano, kazoo and cigarbox guitar.
the collaborating cast of six is harmonious, crafty, and hilarious! they have constructed a seriously funny and clever show that envelopes routine failed transmissions/communications that exist perfectly in a space somewhere between yesteryear and latter-day.
Clever and fun--See this Show!
by Joe Fuemmeler Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
"Elephant Shoes" is what the Fringe is all about--creative and inventive play that makes you laugh.
The cast put together some great skits and interludes, all exploring the rich field of comedic miscommunication. Actor Katie Kaufmann's "journey to the center of the Internet" was hilarious!
Hats off to the talented cast for a wonderful show!
i SAW and SAY its Fantastic!
by B. Davis Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
See the show to understand my review title reference. This show is a true example of excellent collaboration. Each performer plays an equal part in making this show thoughtful, witty, and timely. Each original vignette holds its own special surprise, intertwining literal and figurative instruments of technology and music from yesterday and today. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the show, plus what is better than seeing a show while you get to eat and drink at BLB? GO SEE IT!
Great Fringe Show!
by paul herwig Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Go see this show before it sells out!
There's a lot of stuff in this show, and its fun and funny!
A series of vignettes with the connecting theme of communication, smartly and comically pairing up modern electronics with toys and gadgets from the past.
It's all played with a wonderfully light touch, which isn't easy to do. Given some editing, this show could easily re-mount.
Those who know theatrical clowning as a style will recognize the mechanizations of the playing, and it's all done without forcing, imposing, or ingulgence - just as it should be. A great goofy, and slightly dangerous air-headedness pervades, which is what this style is so great at creating.
While played with a uniformly good cast, Katie Kaufmann is in her element here, having developed a clown that could easily walk into her own show. A generous and giving performer.
Perfect for the BLB, perfect for the Fringe!
PH: Off-Leash Area
Funny!
by little rascal Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
If you only go to one Fringe Festival show, this is the one you NEED to see.
You will not be disappointed and you will not leave without laughing your arse off!
