Tag Archives: Thea Pueschel

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Freedom in Limbo

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: Mozhdeh Rahmanzaei

WHAT: Freedom in Limbo

WHERE: Madnani Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave

WHY: What does freedom mean when you’ve never been allowed to have it? Mozhdeh Rahmanzaei’s world premiere bilingual solo show takes us to the vulnerable space of creative limbo. The show begins before it begins with an authority barking orders at the audience in Persian. Once the authority determines the audience is American, she switches to English and tells us what is at stake: imprisonment or death.

Mozhdeh courageously pursues artistic expression, defies the rules, and acknowledges she can never return home. There is a difference between bravery and safety, and she pushes us through the limbo of defying her home country and securing her American visa. The show is raw and unflinchingly direct.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/12444

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: S-27

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: Sarah Grochala

WHAT: S-27

WHERE: The Hobgoblin Playhouse on Gardner, 1516 N. Gardner St.

WHY: What happens when the cause you fought for to make a more equitable world is as corrupt as the system you abandoned? Processing center photographer May (Chiamaka Ikwuezunma) is about to find out. The organization has demands, and if they are not met, she’ll find herself on the other end of the camera. Her guilt haunts her, and she begins to see the people she is processing as human. Her enforcer, June (Anne Peyton Brothers), constantly questions her commitment to the organization. Sarah Grochala’s ensemble piece moves through vignettes, monologues and a minimalist aesthetic. She has crafted a raw and caustic dystopian tale that could happen anywhere.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13501

Screenshot

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Midnight Cowboy Radio

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: Ally Ibach

WHAT: Midnight Cowboy Radio

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

WHY: What happens when a conservative late-night radio host in an abusive relationship finds herself pregnant? Writer/performer Ally Ibach’s Kentuckian DJ bounces hyperactively between playing the same song in different versions, Instagram selfies with loads of props, and humorously doling out bad advice to callers, all while using off-air breaks to call Planned Parenthood and schedule an illegal abortion. Ibach doesn’t flinch as she pushes the audience further into discomfort with each reveal. The stakes are real and the gap between what her character preaches and what she does is the whole point. This solo show is a mirror of the times.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13720

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Roast Your Chestnuts

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: Tanya Dickson

WHAT: Roast Your Chestnuts

WHERE: The Hobgoblin Playhouse on Gardner, 1516 N. Gardner St.

WHY: Because Mrs. Claus is long overdue for a glow-up and a little recognition. After centuries of domestic servitude, she is done with making cookies and playing second fiddle to the jolly man. She is ready to hit the streets of Hollywood and the beaches of LA and take her piece of the “ticky-tocky” pie as an influencer. Tanya Dickson’s Mrs. Claus is a high-energy, witty, sharp and sexy woman ready to reclaim her time. This world premiere solo show was directed by Ashley Karp and uses props, videos and audience interaction to punctuate the comedy. This is the perfect show if you are feeling a little bit naughty and want to laugh your Christmas socks off. The coal will be worth it!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13490

Screenshot

#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: Perimenoparty

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: Irene Serrano

WHAT: Perimenoparty: The Welcome Party to a Stage of Life You Can’t Escape

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

WHY: Because there’s too much noise around perimenopause and not enough laughs. Irene Serrano has crafted a hilarious, tender Spanglish world premiere solo clown show. It is rooted in the traditional European circus archetypes of Augusto (Irene’s period) and Carablanca (Irene’s wait for menopause). She physically embodies the mischievous nature of menstruation, from the first to the last, so well. Dressed in a red unitard and red nose, Irene moves around a hospital bed pad with the agility of a wayward period. Splatting off to the side upon occasion. She punctuates the humor of her clown work with projections, puppetry and karaoke while dressed in a tea-length party dress. The jokes and physical comedy are emotionally complex and hilarious. You will laugh so hard  that you can skip core work for a week.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/14266

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Confessions of a Groupie

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:  Tuesday Thomas

WHAT: Confessions of a Groupie or How I F’ed Jim Morrison the Night He Died but I Didn’t Kill Him

WHERE: Hudson Theatres (Hudson Guild) 6539 Santa Monica Boulevard

WHY: Because who wouldn’t want to hear from the groupie who slept with Jim Morrison the night he died? Writer/performer Tuesday Thomas has crafted a rapid firing energetic elder with a questionable past and memory. April May June cornflower Blue Johnson, AKA Debi, is ready to spill the tea through misused Gen Z slang, off-tune singing and faulty memories. She’s spent the past 60 years sneaking backstage and into hotel rooms of legendary bands and is ready to be interviewed by her geriatric soft sculpture alter ego. It’s weird, musically unhinged, and a fun solo show.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13186

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Between Two Worlds

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:  TL Forsberg

WHAT: Between Two Worlds

WHERE: Hudson Theatres (Hudson Guild) 6539 Santa Monica Boulevard

WHY: What happens when you are marginalized within a marginalized community? TL Forsberg, the Deaf Lady Gaga, knows. From the ear cleaning that triggered her deaf gain to finding fame as an actress and singer, TL’s rise to fame earns her haters in the d/Deaf community. Some try to cancel her for not being deaf enough. When a school of oralism tells her not to use ASL, TL breaks free from the Deaf and hearing world boxes she has been placed into and finds her purpose. This funny, moving, and deeply relatable solo show is for anyone who has ever been told they do not belong. Who gets to decide who’s d/Deaf enough? TL has her answer.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13808

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Franken’s A.I.

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: Jola Cora

WHAT: Franken’s A.I.

WHERE: McCadden Theatre, 1157 N. McCadden Place

WHY: Because what if AI becomes too moral and quits? Victoria Franken, a socially awkward engineer, invents Franny, the AI equivalent of an educated lady’s companion. Franny’s job? To improve humanity. Playwright/director Jola Cora has crafted a crisply penned, intelligent Gothic two-hander. The chemistry between Victoria/Lord Byron (Jola) and Franny/Mary Shelley, played by Isabel Powell, is pure and palpable. The lighting design transforms each scene and creates a fully immersive experience. Will Franny save us from ourselves?

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13386

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Ghosttown

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: Kellie Pleshinger

WHAT: Ghosttown

WHERE: McCadden Theatre, 1157 N. McCadden Place

WHY: Because why wouldn’t you want to attend your own funeral? Nessa Poole is about to do just that! Her ghost is tied to her fiancé, and she has no choice but to go. Nessa loses her cool when her loved ones argue over her favorite animal. In frustration, she makes the lights flicker and chairs move, drawing the attention of the entity that is hunting her. Nessa is forced to be honest about her death and must accept the way she will be remembered. Writer/Director Kellie Pleshinger’s navigation of the afterlife in Ghosttown is spooky, funny, and heartfelt. This show will haunt you long after you leave.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13386