Tag Archives: The Broadwater

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Inside the Box

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Thea Pueschel

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: Clara Rodriguez

WHAT: Inside the Box

WHERE: The Broadwater (Studio), 1078 Lillian Way

WHY: Because there comes a point where each of us questions our life choices. What do a mouse, a mature woman named Alice (Clara Rodriguez), an aged mother-in-law (Seemah Wilder Idelson) and a clueless husband (John Combs) have in common? A release-seeking a road trip. Writer/director/performer Clara Rodriguez has crafted a hilarious feel-bad comedy that pokes at the soft, sensitive underbelly of aging and the human desire for purpose. Alice feels trapped after attending her high school reunion and running into her former best-friend-turned-meteorologist. She questions her 50-year career as “just a receptionist” and 43-year marriage. This three-hander is expertly crafted and performed. Find out if Alice finds the freedom she craves.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13481

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: In Search of Black People

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by BK Wong

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: Roz Browne

WHAT: In Search of Black People

WHERE: The Broadwater (Studio), 1078 Lillian Way

WHY: In this captivating piece of true storytelling, Roz Browne takes you from her childhood beginnings in Boston to a church group trip to Africa, always “In Search of Black People.”

Roz tells her story with such detail, humor and thoughtful reflection that the audience is left feeling like they have not just been told about the characters in the story, but actually introduced to them. First, in anecdotes from her early life, we meet her family as they move from one Boston neighborhood to another. Aided by real video footage, we then see the moment decades later when family members open the results of their DNA kits to find answers about their roots.

Inspired to travel to Africa, Roz, her sister and her mother do so as part of a church group. Here we are treated to the drama between church members and the daily proverbs of the tour guide as the group experiences the sights, sounds and tastes of the land. The payoff for this journey is an understanding and appreciation for family, community and a sense of belonging.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13094

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Doom Girls

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

by Thea Pueschel

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: Jenni Chiaramonte

WHAT: Doom Girls

WHERE: The Broadwater (Black Box), 6322 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: Because the earth needs to be saved by intergalactic beings from podcast bros. A girl rock trio (Delia/Jenni Chiaramonte, Cassi/Alex Sarno, Lyra/Nina Rancel) of extraterrestrial ex-secret agents are called back to duty to save the universe from the most villainous podcast bro, “Guy Douche” (played by Tim Will). They must travel to Earth to find the crystal he stole that holds the universe together. Earth isn’t great. Humans are stupid and they don’t want to go. But their boss, Pandora/Tamika Katon-Donegal, promises that if they complete the mission, they’ll never have to go on assignment again. With the help of Anais/Cynthia Dane, a hippy living off the grid, they are able to eat marshmallows, find Guy, and save the universe. Jenni Chiaramonte has created a silly, light-hearted sci-fi alien comedy that reminds us that humans aren’t all bad. Jump into your spaceship for a fun night of ensemble theater.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/14087

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Strange Beings

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Jennifer Ashe

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: Nicole Knudsen

WHAT: Strange Beings

WHERE:  The Broadwater (Black Box), 6322 Santa Monica Blvd

WHY: Nicole Knudsen does a masterful job as writer/director as she asks us to explore what it means to be human. Two space travelers facing impending disaster finally find their voices to declare responsibility in their painful relationship from years earlier. Little do they know their shared pain could save or destroy mankind.

The direction creates urgency, intimacy and in true Fringe fashion, PVC pipe and mimed control panels work to make the audience believe these two are trapped in space with only minutes to live. Victoria Gluchoski and Joshua Verges are wonderful as they take us through the nuances of love, pain, fear that comes with giving yourself to another person. Trying to find understanding, forgiveness or simply closure for a life that might have been. How many ways can we hurt one another? Love one another? See for yourself.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13389

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Dead Man

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Eloise Coopersmith

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: Ann Noble

WHAT: Dead Man

WHERE:  The Broadwater (Black Box), 6322 Santa Monica Blvd

WHY: This play is brilliant.  Ann Noble embraces the classic elements of film noir: a detective searching for answers, unreliable appearances, a world filled with secrets and characters trapped by circumstances they don’t fully understand. Like the best noir stories, Dead Man keeps audiences slightly off balance, drawing us forward even when we’re not entirely sure where the journey is leading.

What makes the play extraordinary is what happens when we finally arrive. In a single moment, the mystery gives way to revelation, and what seemed like a clever noir comedy suddenly becomes something much more profound. The realization lands intellectually, emotionally and spiritually all at once. We don’t simply understand the answer; we feel it. That rare ability to engage the head, the heart and the soul simultaneously is what makes Dead Man feel less like a mystery and more like a theatrical act of magic.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13562

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: She’s So Special

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Aditi Pradhan

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: Meg Cheng

WHAT: She’s So Special

WHERE: The Broadwater (Studio), 1078 Lillian Way

WHY: Meg Cheng’s She’s So Special is the story of a young girl who leaves her hometown. In true clown fashion, Cheng takes a heartfelt journey of growth and injects it with tons of humor. Donned in a pink strawberry dress, Cheng embodies multiple different characters with ease. Her audience interaction was also fun and kept us on our toes. It was impressive how Cheng was able to incorporate the audience’s specific answers to questions and reactions into the work. This play, which was directed by Manny Rodriguez, is both unpredictable and yet satisfying. The show truly flies by! Catch She’s So Special at The Broadwater Studio. 

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11697

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: What Survives

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Thea Pueschel

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: Rachael Meyers

WHAT: What Survives

WHERE: The Broadwater (Second Stage), 6302 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: In the demographic mosaic of Los Angeles, ICE’s tendency to grab first and verify later has created fissures. This socio-political one-act drama centers on a community’s struggle to come to terms with the disappearance of 10-year-old Isabella from school, under her principal’s watch. Told through a series of vignettes that move as seamlessly as the props between scenes. It is an exploration of contemporary culture, accountability, and denialism through the interactions of an ensemble of 10. Writer/director Rachael Meyers has crafted a thoughtful narrative with stunning performances.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/14386

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Bless This Jess

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Shannon Corbeil

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: Jessica Erin Martin 

WHAT: Bless This Jess

WHERE: The Broadwater (Black Box), 6322 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: This is a charming, funny, and deeply fascinating one-woman show that weaves together the true story of Joan of Arc with the writer’s own journey through mental health and wellness. Jessica Erin Martin is mesmerizing and moving; she delivers historical context and condemnation with no small amount of sass, then triumphantly concludes with what feels like a clarion call to listen to our own higher angels. This show is for history buffs, feminists, and tender hearts — a very funny and enjoyable evening of theater!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13684

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: πr2

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

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: Pia Nicoletti

WHAT: πr2

WHERE: The Broadwater Mainstage,  1078 Lillian Way

WHY: Because what I witnessed was more than a performance—it was a full-body experience. Because the creative use of craft projections, natural elements like water and plants, and layered shadows turned the space into something mystical, something not of this world.

Because the projections by Catalina Nicoletti didn’t just illuminate—they conjured. Creating a world of memory and myth that danced across each of the four acts. Because the choreography of hands, light, water, and space was nothing short of divine.

Because watching Pia suspended in the air, fighting through space, felt radical—especially now, in a time of active global struggle. Because it wasn’t just movement; it was resistance, and it was survival.

Because the sculpture onstage—a magnificent Time Machine or cluster of clocks—was more than set design, it was a portal. It sits onstage like a relic or oracle, vibrating through your solar plexus with a quiet power that doesn’t fade.

Because Pia is utterly in command of her body, using it as an instrument to express a storm of emotions, questions, and longings. Because her performance felt ancient—tribal, ancestral—like something passed down through breath and bone.

Because she gave us a story told not through words, but through presence. Through embodied language. Through silence that spoke volumes. Because this is an amazing artist family that travels around the world to perform.

Because this international gem is in Los Angeles for a short time. Because this is ritual theatre. Because this is the kind of piece that swells through your whole body. Because this show reminds you: not everything about being human can—or should—be spoken.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11833

photo by Annie Lesser

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Napolean’s Wh*re Sister

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , , ,

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: Shannon Corbeil

WHAT: Napolean’s Wh*re Sister

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

WHY: Shannon Corbeil has written an all-female romp taking us back to the very beginning of Napoleon’s rule, a time in which his sister, Pauline, is not behaving. Set at a party where the audience doubles as the guests, this broad and raunchy comedy uses improv, audience participation and just straight up silliness to shout out the inequity of the sexes and how society demands perfection from women… and punishes them if they dare to revel in their own sexuality.

The cast – Shannon Corbeil, Deborah Lee Smith, Sarah J. Eagen and Shelley Regner – is clearly having a blast. You will learn a bit of history and celebrate a woman who says, “I am who I am and I don’t give a damn!”

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11772