Tag Archives: Heather Dowling

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: ROAR!

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF26’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

WHO: Holly Shaw

WHAT: ROAR!

WHERE: Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre 5636 Melrose Ave

WHY: Holly Shaw, a writer, performer and comedian, asks us, “What happens when a loved one dies, but they won’t stop talking?” With that, away we go on a journey that is funny, emotional, spiritual – and, yes, a little bit spooky!  Shaw shares the story of losing her father, who was her biggest fan but also, a real problem. Then she talks about the sudden death of her boyfriend later in life. Yet, another complicated relationship with lots unresolved. But her story suggests that there may be a way to get those much-needed conversations complete – with a very long distance connection.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13398

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Inconceivable

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF26’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

WHO: Alice Cutler

WHAT: Inconceivable

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. 

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13398

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Revolution With Ramón

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF24’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Ruby Marez

WHAT: Revolution With Ramón

WHERE: Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Av

WHY: As you walk into the Zephyr Theatre, you realize immediately that you are in for a very playful ride. You are now on the set of The Ramon Show, hosted by queer, Puerto Rican Drag King Ramón for a live taping of a socially conscious Late Night Comedy Show. There are bubbles, there are dragons, there are prizes… but then, there are powerful – but still playful – conversations with important social impact, right now, for all of us. In the “taping” I attended, there was a revelation about renter’s rights that was a MAJOR contribution for so many in the audience. If social and civics lesson were always this engaging, we’d all be better off.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10982

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Gaslighting

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF24’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Fielding Edlow

WHAT: Gaslighting is My Love Language

WHERE: Hudson Theatres 6539 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: Fielding Edlow is a stand-up comedian, writer, and creator/star of award-winning digital series Bitter Homes and Gardens. The native New Yorker has performed stand-up at Edinburgh, Leicester, Boston Comedy Festival and now she brings her deeply personal and darkly comedic one-person show to the Hollywood Fringe. Gaslighting Is My Love Language is her scorchingly honest examination of her 13-yr marriage to a character actor husband that was held together by gaslighting and a longing to actually connect. She also examines the dysfunctional relationship between her parents and her own complicated relationship with her tween daughter. Meant for mature audiences.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10388

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Daddy Issues

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF24’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Victoria Kelleher 

WHAT: Daddy Issues

WHERE: Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Avenue

WHY: In this hilarious and touching autobiographical comedy, Vikki reveals that she and her sister were, in fact, the first latch-key kids of Gen X. This led to a life of parentified, defiant adventure for Vikki as she raised herself in Minnesota. She went on to build an accomplished career as an actor in film and television in Los Angeles, but then in 2019, a 23 and Me test turned her past upside down, and her future right side up. “How many dads does it take to raise an unapologetically self-reliant woman?” It’s a question wonderfully answered in this surprisingly emotional comedy.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10691

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Dear Auntie B

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF24’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO:  Becca Lustgarten

WHAT: Dear Auntie B

WHERE: Actors Company (The Little Theater) 916 N. Formosa Av

WHY: In this solo, sometimes musical dramedy, Becca Lustgarten plays Auntie B., an Upper West Side advice columnist whose outward expression is elegant, highly refined, almost anachronistic. As a self-proclaimed dating guru, her advice is sharp, hilarious and highly relevant. Over the course of the play, Auntie B. paints a picture of her perfect marriage to the perfect man, but it becomes apparent there’s something she is hiding from us, and herself. The fun begins to unravel as reality interrupts her opining on other’s lives. We find that we, the audience, are in the fact in the midst of her loss and unique expression of grief. Content warning: conversations about suicide.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10714

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Ne-Fairy-Ous

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF24’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO:  Susan Sassi

WHAT: Ne-Fairy-Ous

WHERE: The Hobgoblin Playhouse (Main Space), 6440 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: In this multimedia, solo-musical, writer/comedian Susan Sassi plays a changeling named “Mage Lynn” – an imaginative child who weaves a pretend world of musicals, game shows and a magical guide to move past childhood trauma. On her search for a happy ending, happiness seems determined to elude Mage, but her journey is an entertaining one to watch! The characters that come to life along the way paint a vivid and colorful story. And though her adventures take us to some rough places, the humor, honesty and musicality of Mage’s story has us rooting for her happy ending, and our own.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10593

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: The Queen of Bitcoin…

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF23’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO:  Margaux Avedisian 

WHAT:   The Queen of Bitcoin: The Rise and Fall

WHERE: Asylum @ Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre, 5636 Melrose Ave

WHY: Trust me, you will want to hear about out how Margaux Avedisian managed to crack her way into the “tech bro” world of cryptocurrency, outsmarting and making fun of these arrogant heirs to the patriarchy along the way – only to find herself aptly named, “Queen of Bitcoin.” The journey starts in childhood with the never ordinary Margaux finding her unique voice, and nearly ends with her losing it, stifled in a world of greed. This show is the reclaiming of her voice with the audience playing the (highly entertained) witness. And don’t worry, you don’t need to know anything about crypto. As Margaux says, “It’s not really about the crypto.”

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/9924

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Will the Real Me Please Stand Up?

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF23’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO:  Alexandra Ryan 

WHAT:   Will the Real Me Please Stand Up?

WHERE: Asylum @ Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre, 5636 Melrose Ave

WHY: “Tired of the cliché meme quote, ‘Be yourself; everyone else is already taken?’ Then you will totally appreciate Alexandra Ryan’s very funny, honest and sometimes painful one-person show…”

Click Here for more of Heather’s “Fringe Femmes” Review on Gia On The Move!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/9917

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

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Waking Up to All of Me

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF23’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO:  Amber Susa 

WHAT:   Waking Up to All of Me

WHERE: Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Avenue

WHY: Amber’s one-person show invites us to journey with her through the moments that took her away from the most expressive and shining parts of herself. She instead started to defer to the needs and the dysfunction of others, while trying to protect them, too. It is a story you would not expect from such a powerful, graceful woman and that is what makes the show powerful. This story is a chance to consider that we are not privy to the winding path a person has tread to wake up to all of who they are. These are stories worth hearing.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/9723

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