BrokeAss Fringe 08/15/2011 1:54am

The arc of my Saturday journey was pretty much the arc of this Fringe Festival for me. I started with the closing performance of my one-woman storytelling piece Tales of the Perilously Grounded. Next, I wanted to go see the super-successful Super Spectacular!, but took an impulsive left turn into Blow Up!, a lesser known, low-budget, nerdy two-woman show. Then I hopped on my trusty steed, Blue Trek, and raced to see two shows based on their media and word-of-mouth success: Cat at the Lab, and 7x1 Samurai at Rarig Thrust. Finally, I ended my adventures at a show of my friend Levi Morris, Son of a _____!, and got to end the day with some really good art. Though I haven’t been chatting it up, I feel safe to say now that the most important thing for me this fringe was doing my own show. If I’m going to make art, it’s my responsibility to make it good. And during this week I rehearsed the show, revised sections, and added new text, sometimes in the performance itself. I didn’t mean to use the Fringe as a workshop, but I did. And by the end of the week, I really felt that my show for an audience of twelve, including my cousin, was a total success for me. In the guides sent out by the Fringe to producers, they ask you to ask yourself: “What’s my goal for doing a Fringe show?” A) Just to see if you can! Maybe you’ve never done it before and you want to see what it’s like, or you’ve had an idea for a script in your head and now’s the time to breathe life into it. B) Get involved in the local performance scene Network and cross pollinate, scour the website for shows you’re into, go hang out at Fringe Central and meet people. C) Make a bunch of money There’s gold in them thar hills! The average Fringe show brings in $1,500. There’s a slew of marketing to be done, but it can pay off big. I realize that while writing BrokeAss Fringe, being broke is something I’ve hardly written about. Instead, I’ve really been digging into what makes a show worth it or not. And GUESS WHAT? In the same way that as an artist, you have to think about what a “success” is for you, as an audience member you have to know WHY you are going to see shows in the first place. Audience, Artists, and Friends: That one question is perhaps the most important thing to ask yourself when parcelling out your paltry resources: “What the F*#ck is my goal at the Fringe?” A) To See as Much as I Can There are people who budget for ultra passes, host out-of-town artists, tech, perform, or volunteer like mad fiends so they can consume as many shows as possible. Fringe is a great way to expand your definition of performance, and to get to know what kind of work is available to you all year round in the underground. Plus it is a blast getting your theater fix for the year. B) To See the Best of the Fringe There are some AWESOME shows to see at Fringe, and it is exhilarating to figure out what the cream of the crop will be each year. I think the best way to know what the best shows are is simply to TALK to people. House managers, volunteers, people in line- the guy in the Ice Cream Truck. I found my best resources to be my unofficial “Fringe Buddies”, Jon Kirchhofer and Byron Gunsch, two wonderful technicians about town who both go to see EVERY POSSIBLE SLOT. Because they consumed it all, they had a wonderful perspective on what was worth my time and measly bucks. If you don’t have pals in the theater community or aren’t into talking with strangers, the reviewers are, in fact, your friend. Just look at the NUMBER of people reviewing a show. Some hot items this year were definitely Cat, Red Resurrected, Minnesota Middle Finger, and You Only Live Forever Once. Reading about a show description CAN give you a clue, and for smaller shows those are all you have to go off. However, word of mouth (or word of print) can paint a better picture of a show than most marketing material will. C) To See the Best Art for Me A much more delicate task. Yesterday, I did EVERYTHING to secure a spot in Super Spectacular- The Opera Show!. Not because these gentlemen have worked their butts off to market this, (by singing outside exiting shows at Rarig, in full costume on Hot Hot August days), but ACTUALLY because I’d see them in the green room at Augsburg, a full hour before their own show. Getting ready. I realized that, what ever it is they’re doing, they are pouring their hearts into it. So, even if they make what looks like a crowd-pleasing show and are here for the bucks, they care a tremendous amount. And I value that. But you know what this girl did? I was standing in line, ticket in hand, ready to see a successful, sold out, and artistically interesting show. When I wandered straight into my friend Byron, who was heading to see Blow Up by Buffalo Buffalo. I’ve had a nerdy, artistic crush on this female comic duo since I first read their show description weeks ago. And here was my LAST CHANCE to see this show. Possibly ever. So you know what my foolish, impetuous broke ass did? Gave the ticket to a group of three who were minus one ticket, and then used my artist pass to get into Blow Up. Was that financially sound? No. Was that a good use of my resources - time and money? Probably not. Was I rewarded by seeing the most stunning display of “giddy, nerdy, quirky comedy...about Science?” as promised. Kind of. The show was a series of sketches, improv, and stand-up by Chicago-based improvers Mary Cait Walthall and Lisa Burton. There were moments of hilarious physical brilliance, including a cartoon-like, car-chase, dream-sequence dance. The volume and bouncing-off-the-walls energy level was a bit high, even for me. Overall, though, I am 100% glad I saw two scrappy, smart ladies doing their thing. Doing my own show made me think a lot about what’s worth an audience member’s time and money. My show was me at a music stand, mostly reading the stories I’d written about my life. It was a straight-up, linear progression of tales about me travelling and searching for home. As an artist, the fringe was worth its weight in gold because it gave me a venue to take a risk, and push myself back into writing and performing. I didn’t try to rope in a large audience, because for the average audience member, there were a lot of better shows with more artistry and time and care and CRAFT put into them. I’m not sure I made a $12 dollar show. But I did make something honest, and it had a lot of my heart, and I sure as hell tried to connect with each person I could see sitting in a chair. But to the one civilian friend I made—a young man from Eagan who’d purchased a 5 Pass—after hearing him talk about what shows HE loved seeing, I stopped trying to sell him on MY show. My stories probably wouldn’t be the best use of his money. But I DID tell him to check out Mike Fotis’ Comedy = Tragedy + Someone Else; storytelling plus dangerous juggling would be a good use of this guy’s money AND an artistic adventure. Sometimes it’s about knowing what your goals are. So friends, I never told you the best place to get cheap eats. Though it is definitely the Afro Deli & Coffee cafe across the street from Rarig (NOTHING beats their $5 steak sandwich!!!) Or that the Nice Ride’s $30 season subscription (the Early-Bird Spring Fee) is the best way to have a bike for travelling fringe if you are car bound. Parking further away for free and Nice Riding between venues, which are rarely more than 30 minutes apart, is FREE. Or that I’d recommend packing picnic style food to keep meal costs down: Lunch: PB& J Banana Sandwiches Snack: Buy a bulk box of granola bars at the Cub, and carry them in your bag for long days. Dinner: Can of Jyoti Indian Food + Rice - $3 bucks at the Seward Coop, and can feed two people a hearty dinner. Easy to throw in any round Tupperware. ‘Cause those are the kind of broke tips I should have been feeding you all along. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to know why you’re coming to the Fringe. To see well-crafted entertainment? To see the off-beat, underground emerge and take center stage? To laugh your pants off?(Thanks Kevin J. Thornton!) To see some motherf*#king ART? Today, I finally give into the treat of Fletcher and Zenobia by Live Action Set. It was a confection I’ve held off on because I knew it’d kick ass. And I thought it was all both. Art and Well-Crafted Entertainment. Then for the encore slot, I FINALLY got in line, paid for, and saw Super Spectacular, because I was so curious about this show now, and I would have cried if I didn’t see these boys sing. And it was a HILARIOUS, charming, and a very imaginative show. Filled with opera, and pop references, and comic timing I could set my watch to. Way to go, guys. And, dancing at the closing night party at the Varsity was free. So, hey Fringe. Total, I paid: $30 for shows $21 on eating out $10 I owe my friend for a bike light (transportation) = $61 TOTAL spent for Fringe 2011 That's not bad, all in all. We won’t talk about the cash I put in to produce fees. But that’s another blog. Until next fringe, keep checking out BrokeAss MPLS for cheap, fun things to do all year. And thanks for reading!