Tag Archives: Fringe Femmes

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Catharsis

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF19’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Megh Gwinn

WHAT: CATHARSIS

WHERE: Actors Company, 916 N.Formosa Ave

WHY: CATHARSIS is a meditation on the (de) stabilizing effects of adoption. With paint, a canvas, a hammer and a wood board, CATHARSIS captures the spirit of the Fringe!  Megh will steal your heart with her carefree dancing and the way her voice crawls up behind your neck as she sings, like a secret you’ve been hiding. The time she takes within the space – no rushing, using pauses as action – will stir your soul. And when she begins to break the comfortable use of language while reading a letter from her birth mother, you, too, will never quite understand why she Meg was given up for adoption. But you do see a magical, beautiful artist who will thrive and who wasn’t afraid to say aloud in a room full of strangers, “Why me?”

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6235 (Fringe performances have ended. One can only hope Megh Gwinn extends this show then expands this show!)

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Drought

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF19’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Kate Radford

WHAT: DROUGHT

WHERE:  Asylum @ Studio C, 6448 Santa Monica Blvd.

WHY: Kate will take you on a spiritual journey, using mythological narrative to examine violence women have suffered and will suffer at the hands of men. It is not an attack but a look at old truths rooted in ancient and modern day storytelling. Even Kate’s use of her foot to control the electronic music becomes its own form of poetry as her voice soars and roars through the dark space. Watching footage of old ruins swell the tiny theatre, DROUGHT became a new religion. You have one more chance to this regal being. GO!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6025

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Clementine

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Eloise Coopersmith

Quick peeks at #HFF19’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO:  April Wish

WHAT: Clementine

WHERE: Lounge Theatre  6201 Santa Monica Blvd. LA, CA 90038

WHY: A touching exploration of motherhood. The playwright/actress invites the audience to share moments of humor and tenderness, highlighting truisms about millennial parenting, such as “your heart lives outside your body.” Developed with & directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson, the production highlights an appreciation for the challenges of being a parent in an entertaining and engaging way. This one woman show demonstrates the actress’s ability to provide richness to multiple characters.

HOW:   https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5725

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Sugarfree Foster Care Cognitive Dissonance

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF19’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Shari Walker

WHAT: Sugarfree: Foster Care Cognitive Dissonance

WHERE: studio/stage 520 N. Western Ave

WHY:

Shari’s story will sneak up on you and blow your heart away. You’ll find her ability to smile and persevere – through obstacles that no child should face – to be more than inspirational. It will cause you to take action.

I love that Shari is not only an actress but an activist who has something that needs to be said in a theatre. As you go on this journey with her, you’ll see how she gained such a contagiously bright laugh, despite her trials and tribulations. You’ll find that pain can be used as fuel, that what makes us angry can also be released through love and support, that anything is possible if you give yourself a chance to thrive. Shari has done just that and has become a resource and beacon of light for the foster care community, using her voice to create change on a Federal level. Go support this persistent young lady!!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5839

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Hide Your Fires

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , , ,

by Kate Motzenbacker

Quick peeks at #HFF19’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Yokko (Choreography, Concept and Performance) Text by Sean Michael Welch & William Shakespeare

WHAT: Hide Your Fires: Butoh Lady Macbeth

WHERE: Lounge Theatre (Lounge 1) 6201 Santa Monica Boulevard

WHY:

Yokko’s work onstage is nothing short of riveting. She’s created a spare, text-light piece that follows the events of Macbeth in a way that’s both highly physical and mostly focused on Lady Macbeth’s interior life. Honestly, it’s chilling. I’ve seen more than my fair share of Macbeths, and I still couldn’t look away. If Butoh excites you, go see it. If Macbeth turns you off, consider going to see it anyway. 

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Ya Basta

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

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF19’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Jeanette Godoy

WHAT: YA BASTA: TIME’S BEEN UP

WHERE: Assistance League Theatre 1367 N. St. Andrews Place

WHY:

As soon as you walk in the theatre you feel a contagious energy – you are bearing witness to a special performance where actors and non-actors share the stage to honor the promotoras who’ve fought for their community, the safety of their bodies, better working conditions and have built a union connecting janitors across the state of California. Written and directed by Jeanette Godoy, this play is powerful and full of urgency as it gives insight into the battles endured by immigrant janitors who fought to protect women working late night janitorial shifts. This fight for women, led by women, redefined how immigrant women were seen in the workplace. It is a testament to the power of coming together and sacrificing by any means necessary. Go see this show – by the end of the show you’ll be shouting YA BASTA, Sí Se Puede!

HOW: htttps://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5731

(Email, call, or show up in person to hold state representatives accountable and guarantee their support for AB 547.)

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Alive-ish

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF19’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Anabella Funk

WHAT: Alive-ish

WHERE: The Broadwater (Studio) 1078 Lillian Way

WHY:

A great gift is to be reminded of the power of stillness. The show opens with a live cellist, violinist and pianist while Anabella stands looking at the audience. This brave moment seems to last an eternity; you begin to feel uncomfortable and immediately know that this show will not spare your heart. Through her use of ballet en pointe, song, multiple characters (all performed by Anabella) and modern dance, Anabella captures the heart of the audience with her penetrating eyes and daring ability to share painful truths with intense intimacy. She has a keen sense of humor, and takes us on a journey of youthful innocence, trauma and survival. Tackling issues that many don’t come back from, Anabella shows us that art is a constant saviour; it will always give us new breath, a new life on our own terms. Go see this show and hope you can get in!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5875

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Jessie’s Messy Mind

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF19’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Jessie Knowles

WHAT: Jessie’s Messy Mind

WHERE: Studio/Stage  120 N. Western Av, Los Angeles 90004

WHY:

We are living in times when – now, more than ever – it is vital that we share experiences that can save lives. For too long, mental health has carried a negative stigma and a stamp of shame, discussed behind closed doors. Jessie refuses to live this kind of life and brings the audience into her personal experience of living with bipolar and schizophrenia hallucinations. Her fearless humor and directness draws the audience in, not through pity but hope. The original songs brought to life with Jessie’s beautiful voice, and her dancing, are gifts to the audience as she reveals how she’s been able to thrive and live her best life! GO! This is a celebration of the mind, body and heart. A yummy example of how much you can bear even when you think you can’t keep going. Keep going!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6004

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: A Bit Much

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Eloise Coopersmith

Quick peeks at #HFF19’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO:  Stacy Dymalski

WHAT: A Bit Much

WHERE: Lounge Theatre  6201 Santa Monica Blvd. LA, CA 90038

WHY: This lovely one woman show explores in an articulate, humorous and entertaining performance the inner workings of Stacy Dymalksi’s mind and heart when it comes to self identity and relationships. Although definitely female focused there were men in attendance laughing and acknowledging that finding ones true self in a relationship is hard – but satisfying.

Also – they gave out these cool shot glasses!

HOW:  https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5898

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Being Martin Shkreli

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , ,

by Kate Motzenbacker

Quick peeks at the work of #HFF16 female playwrights, “Women on the Fringe,” by Fringe Femmes who’re behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins.

Fringe Femmes


WHO: Sarah Rosenberg

WHAT: Being Martin Shkreli

WHERE: Ruby Theatre at The Complex

WHY:

You guys. Martin Shkreli is not just abhorrent. He’s also completely weird. After pulling a volunteer from the audience and handing them a list of questions to ask her, Sarah Rosenberg swaggers and smirks her way through half an hour of bravado, threats, and claims of artistic genius, straight from the mouth of the worst dude of our time. I laughed, I made disbelieving faces that I probably couldn’t recreate if I tried, and I had a great time. This show has all the pleasure of sharing a really nutty article, except that the article is happening right in front of you.

HOW: http://hff16.org/3840

Being Shkreli