Category Archives: Fringe Festival

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Estrawberry Fields Forever

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Verenice Zuniga

WHAT: Estrawberry Fields Forever

WHERE: The Broadwater Black Box 6322 Santa Monica Blvd (+ Live-Stream)

WHY: As soon as Verenice appears upon the stage you know you are in the presence of a truly special artist. Verenice has the rare ability to spin language into poetry, and the way she attacks the stage with her body steals your heart from start to finish of her beautiful solo show. I caught myself holding my breath as Verenice confessed personal truths of family obligations, and stories of facing generational traditions while chasing dreams filled my soul with gentle familiarity. The vulnerability of this young artist makes you feel as if you’re witnessing a sacred rite of passage. After the show, as I got in the car, I sat and sobbed and the only way I could express that overwhelming feeling in my gut was to ask myself, “Have you ever seen a Brown girl fly?” I have no doubt the sensation this show leaves in the body is the spirit of the Fringe. This is what the future looks like in the theatre when artists are uplifted and supported. Go see this beautiful Brown girl manifest her future on her own terms!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7092

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Naturally Tan

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Tanya Thomas

WHAT: Naturally Tan

WHERE: The Broadwater Black Box 6322 Santa Monica Blvd (+ Live-Stream)

WHY: It’s hard to believe as you view Tanya physicalize thirty-five characters onstage – free, beautiful and vulnerable with the lights shining on her – that she was ever uncomfortable in her own skin. Tanya takes us on a global journey into Singapore’s culture as we find a woman battling for her identity, self-acceptance, and self-love… while discovering that colonialism has terrorized, infested and affected beauty standards around the world.

Watching Tanya’s solo show, I was reminded of the magic and necessity of sharing world dialogues onstage. Naturally Tan is a potent testament to how having a variety of bodies – different colors and forms – grace the stage as storytelling vessels expands the scope of American theatre. Multifaceted and multicultural theatre is essentially human and reminds us all of our similarities rather than our differences.

HOW: http://hff21.co/5740

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Black Woman In Deep Water

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Makena Hammond

WHAT: Black Woman In Deep Water

WHERE: Actors Company (LET LIVE THEATER) 916 N. Formosa Av (+ Live-Stream)

WHY: Black Woman In Deep Water was a breath of fresh air. As Makena floated onto the stage I was immediately transported to another time when choices came hard, in harsh conditions, for Black bodies. Makena brings us the powerful and heartbreaking story of Margaret Garner, a woman forced to make a horrific choice between a life of slavery or death.

It was the way Makena took what could be a tragic story but instead made space for love that became a lesson for the heart. It was the way music came from Makena’s voice that turned pain into poetry. It was the way she made room for silence while allowing us to take her in. It was the way she bridged the gap from Africa to America as she began to speak in the mother tongue that stirred old emotions and the everlasting old questions many Black Americans hold in the back of their mind and hearts: Where do I come from? What part of Africa am I birthed from? Ghana? Nigeria? Sudan?

Yet as I watched Makena onstage, the feeling of being lost began to fade. In her performance I found a connection to the past and it was not a reminder, but a memory of my ancestors’ perseverance and the whisper of Dr. Maya Angelou’s words: “I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.”

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7013

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: And The Beat Goes On: A Comedic Cabaret

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Charley Karlotta

WHAT: And The Beat Goes On: A Comedic Cabaret

WHERE: The Broadwater Black Box 6322 Santa Monica Blvd (+ Live-Stream)

WHY:

“First when there’s nothing, But a slow glowing dream, That your fear seems to hide, Deep inside your mind…” What A Feeling, Irene Cara

Well, Charley Karlotta’s passion for performing and love of music is no longer hidden deep inside. What a Feeling is only one of many songs covered, and many personalized, by Charley In her show, accompanied by a 3-piece band. She takes us on the journey of her life, spent largely being denied the opportunity to let her self-expression, her voice, her purpose shine. Charley brings many characters to life in this one-person show who offer moving insights and humor, too.  

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7184

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Tribe

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Chris Farah

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Laila Abdo

WHAT: Tribe

WHERE: The Broadwater Black Box 6322 Santa Monica Blvd (+ Live-Stream)

WHY: A hybrid improv and ensemble comedy influenced by “Pitch Perfect” and starring a uniquely adept cast who all happen to be Arab-American? Y’alla! If you love long-form improv and lebneh, this is the show for you!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7164

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: I Have Too Many Feelings

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Bethany Vee

WHAT: I Have Too Many Feelings

WHERE: The Broadwater Black Box 6322 Santa Monica Blvd (+ Live-Stream)

WHY: In I Have Too Many Feelings, Bethany takes a painfully hilarious look at her very personal journey to achieve balanced mental health – navigating bedwetting, LGBTQ+ matters, ADHD, depression and addiction. But Bethany’s authentic storytelling – aided by her caustic inner critic, Demon-Debby and a host of other characters – allows us to join her journey, cheering for her recovery, and considering our own “too many feelings.” Maybe, they have a purpose for us, after all.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7128

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: REDEEMher

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Tatum Langton

WHAT: REDEEMher

WHERE: The Broadwater Black Box 6322 Santa Monica Blvd (+ Live-Stream)

WHY: If you really believe you’ve committed a sin, second only to murder, how do you go on with your life, your marriage, and even more importantly, your faith? In this dramedy debut solo-performance from Tatum Langton, this question is answered with complete authenticity, courage and even humor.  Get ready to be inspired by the possibility of redemption.

HOW:  https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7156

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Worth It!

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Carla Delaney

WHAT: Worth It!

WHERE: The Broadwater Black Box 6322 Santa Monica Blvd (+ Live-Stream)

WHY: At a time when scarcity mentality in our world became as basic as hoarding toilet paper, award-winning solo performer, Carla Delaney (Voices), decided to share a story about “rebooting” your relationship to abundance. This hysterical music and multimedia packed performance will have you looking at your “credit score” from an entirely new perspective and smiling all the way to the bank.

HOW: http://hff21.co/7193

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Lady LiberTEASE

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Kirsten Laurel Caplan

WHAT: Lady LiberTEASE

WHERE: The Broadwater Black Box 6322 Santa Monica Blvd (+ Live-Stream)

WHY: In this solo performance, protagonist Kirsten is thrilled to have discovered the long forgotten American goddess, Columbia – an inspiring symbol of female empowerment on the heels of the 2016 election. But when Kirsten makes a commitment to anti-racism education, she uncovers truths about her family’s history that connects her to Columbia’s own problematic past. With guidance from many wise mentors, Kirsten and Columbia wrestle with being white and female – of being both oppressed and an oppressor. As a result, the audience is gifted with powerful edu-tainment and, hopefully, a new level of self-awareness.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7159

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: I Heart Maroc

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF21’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Azo Safo

WHAT: I Heart Maroc

WHERE: The Broadwater Black Box 6322 Santa Monica Blvd (+ Live-Stream)

WHY: In this lively solo show, Azo invites us on a vivid, funny and incredibly empathetic journey to Morocco. We get to witness Azo unraveling her life’s purpose, “changing the world one bitlma at a time,” as a Peace Corps volunteer. She has to learn the language, negotiate the currency, survive a Moroccan wedding – and somehow avoid the donkey poop. Will this young, well-meaning Armenian-American find her purpose and save humanity, or will she honor her mother’s wishes and end up married to an Armenian dentist? It’s an ending you will definitely want to discover yourself!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7091

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe”