WHERE:Actors Company (The Little Theater), 916 N. Formosa Ave.
WHY: Because being trapped by a threesome is a great way to start a meet-cute and a Fringe show. Comedians Lily Kerrigan and “her straight boyfriend” Matthew Marcus deliver in tandem the hysterical history of their 10-year relationship, starting with a production of A Klingon Christmas Carol, his pining, the besmirching of Gaston’s (from Beauty and the Beast) name and Matt’s evolution beyond vanilla. Together they share stories from the deeply personal anecdote of Matt getting his testicles slapped accidentally by the third in a threesome to his mother’s “closeted” subtle homophobic remarks toward Lily’s bisexuality, a pant-less Pan ruining their scene at a Disney-themed dungeon party and so much more. The raunchy humor is sharp, fearless and honest.
WHERE:Actors Company (Other Space Theater), 916 N. Formosa Ave.
WHY: Because young adulthood is made of chaos, questionable life-choices and hormones. This is a teen comedy with a brain and heart. It navigates consent, trauma and the chaos of young adulthood with compassion, wit and precision. Every character has genuine emotional intelligence and depth, and the cast chemistry is electric. You can see the sparks. This funny, intelligent romp in the woods, directed by Ava Alexiades and penned by Ellen Relac, will take you on an emotional rollercoaster with heartfelt moments and a ton of laughs. A must-see at Fringe this year.
WHERE:Actors Company (Other Space Theater), 916 N. Formosa Ave.
WHY: Actress and Comedian Alice Cutler’s show offers an extraordinarily honest, surprisingly funny and incredibly vulnerable examination of procreation. Anyone who has wanted to have children of their own will not only relate, but they will likely feel seen in the chapters of her story. Offering her perspective from a stand-up comic’s point of view allows for an especially fun ride even with such a serious subject. And she doesn’t shy away from letting us experience the struggle from her husband’s perspective, too. Her one-person show is so relevant, as Infertility affects about 11% of women of childbearing age in the United States.
WHERE:Actors Company (Other Space Theater), 916 N. Formosa Ave.
WHY: Because you are disillusioned with late-stage capitalism and are ready to join the anti-bourgeois revolution. Because “MaMa” is ready to educate you with hostile silences, soft quiet moments, personal roasts, long stares, and ordinary tasks performed with extraordinary emotion and often extremely slowly. Because it is a blend of performance art, collage and assemblage, and audience participation. Because every performance is different and you embrace the random. Because Writer/Director/Performer Jerilyn Paige, with makeup akin to Raoul Hausmann’s The Art Critic will take you on an immersive, high energy chaotic, experimental journey with brutalist soundscapes and existential angst.
WHY: Because if you don’t “chronical your life, the world will immortalize you. Because they do not know you.” Because you cannot control how the world sees you, you can only control how you show up in the world. Because the women of history have been written through the male gaze. Because the journey Coco crafted flips the script and centers on the emotional complexity, empathy, and poetic nature of the previously vilified Lady Macbeth.
Because Lady Macbeth’s motivation is solely to protect her family and her ancestral homelands of Fife and Moray from the Machiavellian Duncan, who killed her brother, her father, and her first husband. While pregnant, she marries Duncan’s former general, Macbeth, who has returned to Moray to claim it for his own. Because sometimes love is found in unexpected places. Because even after decades of peace, misfortune ultimately occurs.
WHERE:Actors Company (Other Space Theater) 916 N. Formosa
WHY: This ambitious project brings a young production team together to sing and share the struggles to find oneself on the brink of adulthood. They explore the fear of the future, the heartbreak of loss and the hope for the life ahead. This is a sung-through musical with some lovely voices and harmonies.
Well, this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival is over… although the energy is still palpable along Theatre Row, what with the great group of shows extended in Encore! performances through July.
And, yeah, there are SO many shows that I missed during #HFF18, which I swore I’d catch if they were extended but… Argh. July was supposed to be saner than June!
But enough of that. (Why are we always obsessed about what we don’t manage to do?)
This year during the Fringe, as in years past, the work and camaraderie of women artists was pretty damn impressive. Those amazing Fringe Femmes wasted no time kicking ass big time. So great seeing LA FPI badges and logos all over the place in June – thank you for all the love!
Also great to be able to give LA FPI’s “Most Wanted Awards” again at the HFF18 Awards Ceremony to venues who staged 50% or more works by women onstage during the Fringe. (Many thanks to fabulous presenters Fiona Lakeland and Katt Balsan, and Olivia Butaine and Lisa K. Wyatt who helped tally to find this year’s figures!)
Fiona Lakeland & Katt Balsan – Thx Matt Kamimura for this super shot!
And now, the numbers.
The “Most Wanted” Awards went to 12 venues this year: 2nd Stage, Actors Company, Art of Acting Studio, Assistance League Playhouse, Lounge Theatre, Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre, Studio C, studio/stage, The Broadwater, The New Collective, Theatre of NOTE and Thymele Arts.
Also pretty pleased that 70% of the community-voted “Fringe Freak” Awards went to works created by women. And 53% of the Sponsored Awards were given to femme-penned projects, including “Fort Huachuca” by Ailema Sousa, receiving The Inkwell Playwright’s Promise Award.
And then there were the overall numbers. This year, 49% of the scripted Fringe shows were written by women.
So a big yay there, considering the year-round #LAThtr average is probably still around 20%.
But I was a bit bummed that we didn’t hit 50%, a bar we’ve reached for the last two years. Hmph. Sure, the percentage is up from 39%, when we started counting. And I don’t know if 49% vs. 50% is statistically significant; last year we did hit 52%. However, as far as I’m concerned, it’s an important reminder: We still have work to do, ladies… and allies!
Right. We, as theatermakers, must make a conscious effort to put more diversity onstage. And we, as artists, must take positive action so that untold stories are heard and celebrated, in all shapes and forms.
Because here’s another number: only 47% of the Producers’ Encore! Awards, with extensions, went shows by female playwrights. Grrr.
So who’s with me? We continue to spread the #FringeFemmes energy & support each other as a community throughout the year so that we get our voices out there, and our plays into the hands of decision-makers!
Aaron Saldana & Kelly Egan at Theatre of NOTE (proudly displaying a “Most Wanted” Award – love it!)
