Fuel for the Fire 08/05/2012 12:26am

Editorial
I've gotta write this blog entry quick, before my Tylenol PM kicks in. First up, a suggestion. I want to know what people are eating to fuel themselves through this grueling theatrical marathon. I hereby propose that we try to get #mnfringefood trending on Twitter and Instagram. I kicked it off with a picture of the gorgeous heirloom tomato salad I had at Republic yesterday. Order food, or concoct some kind of horrible meatwich out of the mysterious contents of your fridge. Instagram that shit. Tag it, tweet it, and I'll try to cull some of the prettiest/grossest/weirdest pics and compile them into a blog entry in a few days. Yeah? Go at it. #mnfringefood Next up, here's something I learned this weekend: the Fringe is a terrible time to get a tetanus booster shot at your annual physical. Oh my god. Do you know how sore those things make you? I quite literally cannot lift my left arm without whimpering. And the only thing more common than sudden, forceful hugs at the Fringe Festival is that extra special arm punch/quick repetitive pat that people give you as they whoosh by you to find their place in line. If I encountered you today and all you could see was pain and terror in my eyes as I assumed a defensive stance while you approached me, I apologize. But seriously, no one touch me until Wednesday, OK? So, moving on. I've seen eight shows so far. One of them was achingly bad (but oh so earnestly intended.) One of them was mesmerizing and imbued with such grace, artistry and love that I fully expect it to haunt me forever. The rest were all somewhere in between. A few specific shout-outs: Ash Land is the one I just described that blew me away. (I want to make these show names links to the show pages on the Fringe site, but I'm afraid if I take the time, the Tylenol PM will make me incoherent before I'm done typing. You all know how to search by show name, right?) It was hypnotic, transporting, and simply beautiful. Director Diogo Lopes is a sculptor of human energy, and the cast is one mercurial orb, shape-shifting into fields, wind, rain, water pumps, and dust, and occasionally breaking apart into independent beings before being swept back into the whole. I saw it from the balcony (which will almost definitely be open for the rest of this show's performances), and I highly recommend watching it from above if you can, to more fully appreciate the lovely stage pictures and images. I caught the opening of Joe Dowling's William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (which I mentioned in my first blog post), and was truly impressed at the smartness of Christopher Kehoe's script. It's an examination of Romeo & Juliet from the perspectives of a critic, an understudy, a young fan, a women's studies professor, and a regular guy whose life just happens to have been changed by a production he was dragged to years ago. And all of this happens around (and sometimes on top of) a really, actually well-executed version of a terribly conceptualized abbreviated version of the familiar Shakespeare play. Confused? Just go. It's brilliant. And she's my BFF and I'm admittedly biased, but it simply must be said that Dawn Brodey steals the freaking show. I gotta hurry, getting dozey. More shout-outs! Christian Bardin is hilarious, versatile, and charismatic as hell in Four Humor's Candide. Mega props. Nightmare Without Pants is good, sturdy, reliable Scrimshovian (go with it) Fringe fun, with a great cast, a healthy dose of poignancy, and the clever writing that we've all come to expect from Minnesota's favorite one-man Fringe institution. Ben San Del's Agony of Fools, essentially an hour-long stand-up comedy act, is aces. I belly-laughed the whole time and couldn't believe an hour had gone by at the end (and we all know that's saying something). And now I think I'm ready to venture into more unfamiliar territory and see more shows by people I've never heard of that have been getting good word of mouth. Got any suggestions? (Not for your own show, please). Let me know in the comments section what you've loved so far. Aaaaand...incoherence is setting in. Gotta...go...to...sle9(&*&F9i8mmmmm.....
Headshot of Mo Perry
Mo Perry
Fuel for the Fire: A blog about consumption (not the pulmonary tuberculosis kind). What, where, and how to eat to maximize your Fringe experience.