#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: She’s About to POP!

by Constance Jaquay Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Charlene Modeste

WHAT: She’s About to POP!

WHERE: Hudson Theatres (Hudson Guild), 6539 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: Because this story isn’t fiction—it’s lived.

Because Charlene’s voice is as smooth as butter.

Because fibroids are a silent epidemic in Black women’s bodies, and silence has never saved us.

Because Charlene dares to make the invisible visible.

Because reproductive justice isn’t a luxury—it’s a right.

Because navigating a flawed system while in pain is a performance in itself—and she lived it before she ever stepped onstage.

Because we’ve been taught to endure, but not to speak.

Because she speaks anyway.

Because cannabis, healing, and the right to choose have been violently policed when you’re a Black woman.

Because she names what so many carry in secret.

Because her body becomes a battleground, and then a beacon.

Because storytelling is survival.

Because she makes you laugh, ache, and think—sometimes all in the same breath.

Because you’ll carry this one with you, long after the curtain falls.

Because the more we talk about healthcare injustice, the more power we build as a  community.

Because Charlene has the right to receive the medical care she believes in.

Because now is the time to go support this show.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11580

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe!”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Too Much of a Good Thing

by Eloise Coopersmith

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Rachel Redleaf

WHAT: Too Much of a Good Thing

WHERE: Skiptown Playhouse, 655 N. Heliotrope Dr

WHY: …This is a story of personal triumph and self-discovery, resonating with anyone who has struggled with body image or faced body shaming. The audience, men and women alike, were deeply moved by the emotional depth of her narrative, demonstrating the universal power of her experience…

Go Here for more of Eloise’s Review on Gia On The Move!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11883

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Funeral Show

by Eloise Coopersmith

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Elena Martinez

WHAT: Funeral Show

WHERE: The Broadwater (Studio), 1078 Lillian Way

WHY: …Elena Martinez brings a distinctively dry sense of humor to the stage, which may not resonate with everyone, but her interactions with the audience, particularly as she coaches volunteers, bring a playful and interactive energy that remains consistent throughout the show

Go Here for more of Eloise’s Review on Gia On The Move!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11710

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Rag Doll on a Bombsite

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Shelley Cooper

WHAT: Rag Doll on a Bombsite

WHERE: Hudson Theatres (Hudson Guild), 6539 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: It’s a surprising treat, heading to the Fringe and getting a look into history – particularly, at remarkable women in history. Here, writer/perfomer Shelley Cooper (directed by Kelsey Miller) reveals hard truths about Lotte Lenya’s dark and violent upbringing, shedding light on her celebrated portrayal of Jenny Diver in “The Three Penny Opera”… and her need to share it with an audience. We travel backstage, onstage and into the corners of Lotte’s past along with her present romance with composer Kurt Weill in a very personal and affecting way, thanks to Shelley’s considerable chops as a singer and dancer.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/12077

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe!”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: The Injustice of Virginity

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Thea Pueschel

WHAT: The Injustice of Virginity

WHERE: The Hobgoblin Playhouse,  6440 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: It’s always fun to see a collaboration between a smart writer/director and engaging performer, and Dominique Turner is delightful as a self-effacing 20-something who’s determined to leave her hometown in CA’s Central Valley, specifically to get her cherry popped. Her destination? LA’s San Fernando Valley, the porn capital of the world. Thea Pueschel’s tale is an unexpected journey that hits close to home, with earned laughs and hard revelations.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11733

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: This is Water

by Jennifer Ashe

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Rain Perry

WHAT: This is Water

WHERE: The Broadwater (Second Stage), 6320 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: Rain Perry wrote and performs this self-reflective journey with both story and song. Struggling with her white privilege, she dives into her own family history and she asks us to recognize the oppression and racism non-white people have endured through the ages. In this political climate, I was intrigued to see how she saw herself and how she believes we can make a difference.

Karen Hammock on the keyboard and Jeff Turmes on percussion and guitar bring the music to life, rounding out the cast.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11376

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Atypical Grace

by Eloise Coopersmith

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

WHO: Maria Fagan Hassani

WHAT: Atypical Grace

WHERE: Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Av

WHY: ...Maria’s creativity and bravery in sharing this story are evident, and the show’s blend of entertainment and education—what she calls “Edu-tainment”—makes it a truly worthwhile experience, offering an opportunity to open hearts and minds to the experiences of others.

Go Here for more of Eloise’s Review on Gia On The Move!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10815

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe!”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: One Up: The Musical

by Eloise Coopersmith

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

WHO: Mary Bonney & Weslie Lechner

WHAT: One Up: The Musical

WHERE: Actors Company  (Let Live Theater), 916 N. Formosa

WHY: …Fresh, invigorating, and exciting, the cast of One Up [book by Mary Bonney & Weslie Lechner, Music & Lyrics by Matt Dahan] reminds us why we love Hollywood Fringe shows. The press release states, “One Up is a heartfelt celebration of ambition, friendship, and what it takes to make it in the digital frontier.” How would I describe it? Fun!

Go Here for more of Eloise’s Review on Gia On The Move!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11981

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe!”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: And Her Children

by Jennifer Ashe

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Hailey McAfee and Rosie Glen Lambert

WHAT: And Her Children

WHERE: The Hobgoblin Playhouse,  6440 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: Performer Hailey McAfee masterly takes us on an 80 minute ride in this piece, co-written with director Rosie Glen-Lambert. (It was inspired by an appearance by Dana Loesch at a town hall after the 2018 Parkland shooting.) As Anna, a spokesperson for the NRA, McAfee speaks directly to us, prejudging us for prejudging her. She doesn’t care. She’s sure of her positions… or is she?

We know exactly who Anna is… until we don’t. In her indigence as she defends gun rights at any cost, her story starts to unfold and then unravel, punctuated by the scratchy sound of the violinist mysteriously at the back of the stage. She tells us everything she has ever done is for her children. She proudly tells us stories she knows we’ll condemn her for but she stands by her choices as a mother. In this political climate, she dares us to find, if not sympathy for her, then an understanding of who she is and how she got here. McAffee’s Anna has a job to do and she does it well.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/12188

Playwriting through PEP

by Alison Minami

For three semesters, I have taught an introductory playwriting class through USC’s chapter of the Prison Education Project (PEP), a volunteer-based organization that offers educational classes to students who are either currently or formerly incarcerated. The first two times I taught over Zoom to a classroom of young males at a juvenile detention center. Having been in numerous Zoom meetings with box after box of up-close faces with carefully curated backgrounds, I was not prepared for teaching to a wide-angle view of a classroom of students. While I’m sure the students likely saw a giant projection of me, I could barely see anyone’s faces let alone learn their names as would be my normal practice. Despite this challenge, I carried on with lessons on character, conflict, and dialogue, having the students freewrite, riff, and generate in each session. I called on students awkwardly, saying “yes?” to a roomful of raised hands without actually knowing who I was calling on. There was always a supervisory person in the room, whose face I never saw but whose voice I occasionally heard demanding students to quiet down or follow instructions. Still, in every class, students volunteered to stand up and read their work—acting out the dialogue with selected partners or classmates—and while I could barely hear their words because of the poor audio quality, what I could hear and see was the audience reaction—the laughter and glee at a relatable situation or a creative twist to a familiar conversation.

This past semester, I finally had the opportunity to teach in-person at Impact LA, a residential drug treatment center that assists clients with re-entry. In this small group setting, I was able to really make connection with the students, and they were able to experience my excitement for teaching and sharing the creative process. In every session, we had time for checking-in and sharing our highs and lows of the week, which set the tone for the class. The students were eager, lively, and trusting. They all had a shared experience, often teaching me the vocabulary of a world that was foreign. They openly supported each other in their recovery journeys and in their resistance or timidity at putting pen to paper. “I know how you feel” or “you could do it” or “just write whatever” were words I often heard when one person “wasn’t feeling it” or was stuck on a blank page. I was moved by the level of intimacy and care that the students had for one another, and it made me think of how important “alternative” forms of education are where students are not confined to raising their hands or keeping every aspect of their inner monologue to themselves—we know–every educator knows–the smaller the class setting, the more intimate the space, the higher the level of investment for all participants. But I digress. You don’t have to teach drama, to a roomful of people who have seen life from the prism of addiction and/or incarceration. Their lived experience has already taken them to the edges of emotional extremity; they know fear, danger, heartbreak, pain, loss. And too, they know joy, camaraderie, wonder, and gratitude. For them, survival is not a metaphor. The question is not what plotline or conflict makes a scene dramatic? But how can we reveal the drama to maximize its effect on the audience?

For each course, comprised of only seven sessions, I culminated by gathering professional actors to read revised student scenes. While this was rewarding for students over Zoom, naturally nothing replaces the magic of live theatre. This past semester, we had a successful last day with scenes that reflected back to the students their own experience. Their words were raw and real, but also clever, funny, and joyful. After the reading, students were given some time to ask questions to the actors, and in one exchange I will never forget, actor Alex Alpharaoh, himself a teaching artist and community activist who founded No Fronts Actors Workshop, shared with students: Some people go to film school and pay thousands of dollars to learn how to tell stories, but you don’t need to; you’ve all lived the story (paraphrased).  He, alongside Blanca Espinoza, actress and founder of Chola Vision Productions and Peter Pasco, actor and playwright of Yoli, Alfredo, y la vida, went on to encourage the students to just create in whatever ways they could—on their phones, on social media, with their pens, etc. The actors, through their acting talent and their wisdom as creatives of color, uplifted the students and showed them that their stories mattered; their voices mattered. One student thanked me afterward, saying “you made us feel important.”

Through my engagement with PEP, I have been thinking a lot about the carceral state and how unjust and dehumanizing our systems of control and punishment are. Creative expression as an outlet and antidote to bigotry or injustice seems to me, now more than ever, a moral imperative. It is liberatory for an individual who gets to imagine the world they’ve lived in and the world they’d like to see, but also, for a collective sense of belonging, affirming, and liberation.