FronteraFest Short Fringe Week One
Hyde Park Theatre, Jan. 19
Running Time: 2 hrs, 25 min
The 2008 FronteraFest Short Fringe kicked off last week with a sold-out show for Saturday’s Best of the Week compilation. A large group of waiting-list hopefuls milled about in the Hyde Park Theatre foyer to see if they could catch the five pieces deigned the cream of the first week’s crop.
“Brain Big” tells the tale of Big, a woman reading a doomed woman’s hospital chart when it slowly dawns on her that she’s looking at her own body at death’s door. Big then proceeds to narrate her journey to her deathbed: She started out a rail-thin, “heroin-chic” model before gaining too much weight for the camera. “Brain Big” has been abridged for FronteraFest, and you can feel the script’s pages rushing by you – Big’s descent into obesity happens at breakneck speed, with jobs, husbands, and friends coming and going quickly. It’s a bit strange that a cautionary tale of obesity is delivered by an actor who still has a model-esque frame at the end of the production, but the nature of the festival perhaps prevented more extreme measures than representational water jugs as added weight.
“The Weiner Chronicles” is a gay man’s take on The Vagina Monologues. In six vignettes, Alex Garza portrays six different men concerned with – you guessed it – weiners. Garza delves into the formative experiences of homosexuality with a comic eye, bashfully explaining the pain of a gay man losing his virginity and describing how sex with a girl on her period helped complete his conversion. Garza also has one serious contemplation: an exploration of a gay man’s remorse at not having a son. Full of energy and humorous insight, “The Weiner Chronicles” leaves no inch of the weiner unexamined.
The first director I ever had told me this important adage: “Never go onstage with an animal or a baby – you’ll always be upstaged.” ColdTowne’s Arthur Simone, however, has thrown such caution to the wind with his improv show Buddy Daddy, featuring just a man and his dog. Luckily, Simone knows how to handle both an audience and Robin Goodfellow, his adorable beagle/dachshund mix. Armed with only the suggestions “beach” and “Doublemint gum,” Simone created scenes for himself and his pooch that varied from vacationing honeymooners to soldiers in battle to a nail salon. Robin, whose disposition changes from mild discontent only when he’s offered a dog treat, can slay an audience just by sitting on his bed. It’s nice to have an easy escape button in Robin’s precious puppy eyes, but Simone’s considerable comedic talent made Buddy Daddy a hilarious hit.
Continuing the canine theme, Hank Schwemmer’s “Ballet for Dog and Red-Haired Girl” tells the story of self-proclaimed “jigsaw puzzle oracle” Marlys, 15, and her dog, Dale, born on the very same day. This aged pooch, however, is played by David Yeakle (replete with a definitively doggy bandana). The play is set at 4:33 on the day John Cage died, and something of Cage’s esoteric, avant-garde style certainly dwells in this piece: “Ballet” reveals itself in strange, sharp pieces, with the narration bouncing between the philosophizing, Chinese-speaking scientist of a dog and the precocious puzzle teen. Though at times a bit too philosophical, “Ballet” captivates because it has something at stake. There’s conflict, something to be lost, something urgent, and its climax didn’t disappoint.
Kelli Bland’s “A Genuine Plea to My Insides” capped off the night with a cute, wonderful look at irritable bowel syndrome. Bland is irrepressibly bubbly onstage, with a “gee-shucks” demeanor even when talking about the pains that ravage her bowels (e.g., mucus in her stool). Bland proffered lots of lists about her struggle with IBS – the pros and cons of Zoloft, what it’s like being off Zoloft, what she’s tried to relieve her pains, etc. – then journeyed inside herself for a conversation with said irritable bowel. Her white clothes bathed with blotchy pinks and reds, Bland naively asked her guts questions like, “Insides, why do you hurt so much?” Bland’s truth, subtle humor, and demeanor made “Insides” a perfect balance of comedy and genuine – at times painful – exploration.
The first week of Short Fringe brought packed houses, captivating shows, and the promise that the rest of the fest will be just as magical. Reserve your seats in advance, because it’s a hot ticket to some hot shows.
This article appears in January 25 • 2008.