1PM, August 1, 2009.

Theatre in the parking lot at Bedlam!

The amazon queen and the skipper.

In the background is a lightrail station. You know, someone should figure out a way of charging all those people for the two seconds of theatrical experience they get as they shoot by. They're getting cultured for FREE!

I can imagine only good things happening in this building. Things involving fairies, elves, wood sprites and wax lips!

I only took this photo to frighten these two away... I didn't know they were part of the show.

The funny thing is that this is actually a cleaner space than the back of most theaters.

Must... bite... lip!

Teenagers up to no good! The clothing might change, but teens' proclivity for raucous loitering will never go away.

"Dude, I'm tired of loitering standing up..."

I still can't be completely sure if this guy was in the show or not. And the biker? Cast member, or passive aggressive Hell's Angel?

A rejected costume from Jim Carrey's "The Grinch."

This is why the hard of hearing and the good of hearing should never mix!

9AM, August 1, 2009.

Audiences funnel in for The Terry Hempleman Show (not actual title).

Still funneling... This isn't a very interesting photo, but just wait until the next one!

Sasha Andreev and Terry Hempleman. Hempleman's alien character discusses his people's obsession with the human rectum. See, despite our different backgrounds, we all share the same filthy perversions.

The cast of "Strong" takes a bow. Everyone in this play was wonderful, with particularly nuanced creepiness from Andreev and Hempleman. Emily Gunyou Halaas (far right), was a fantastic blend of strength and vulnerability. Wow, first caption with no jokes. Unless that counts as one.

The beastly Fringe communications director Matthew Foster takes a swing at my camera. That's what happens when one gets too close to his habitat.

10:53, July 31, 2009.

Gotta get to the fringe!

Eager audiences wait patiently in line at the entrance to Fringe City.
10:45, July 31, 2009.

The benefits of being an arts critic include a sped-up road to morbid obesity.

8:20PM, July 30, 2009.

My espresso cup handle broke! Now how am I supposed to stay awake through these shows?
Oh yeah, good acting and an engaging script...

Cast gets set for Fearsome Critters on stage. The backstage staircase at Bryant Lake Bowl was the steepest set of stairs I've ever descended. Is that interesting to read about? It's hard to tell with your own blog. Comment on my blog to validate me.

My journalistic instincts were right and I confirmed it with this actor: those socks are from the Gap.

Sometimes, one gets so mad, one simply must put a hole through something. Better a wall of sheet rock than, say, a human face.

The only known picture of Fringe communications director Matthew Foster (seen on right). Rumor holds that there's some grainy 8mm footage of him in a forest thicket.

Whew! People actually showed! Or maybe they just think this is where you order your food.

When people standing around just isn't good enough for a photo blog... Get them to jump kick!

The cast of Full Frontal Improv goes airborne. And the weird thing is that they just kept going up into the air, screaming in fear as the laws of gravity gave them a brief exemption before slamming them cruelly back down to earth. Don't screw with Mother Nature!

10:43AM, July 30, 2009.

BLB, as dark clouds portend a disastrous run for all who perform. Or, the glimmer of sun could be interpreted as a happy sign! I guess we won't know until tonight.

As this gentleman was walking out of Intermedia, I couldn't help but laughing at the ridiculous contrast between his costume and the graffiti on Lyndale Ave. I then realized that my fly was open, putting me in an infinitely more embarrassing position than him.

Fly still open at this point... Desperately taking pictures to distract any passerby from my jeans.

Call me indulgent, but don't you just love a good Travis Anderson photo? If I look mad in this photo, see comments above regarding self-exposure.

"Thiiiiis big!" Warm-ups for tech rehearsal at the Theatre Garage.

I told this keyboardist that I could make or break her show with my blog. She didn't think that was funny at all. I wouldn't recommend seeing this show.

It's an audio gearhead's version of masturbation. Wait! Stop! Don't picture it!!

Wonder how the techs make it through the shows that really drag? Here's a small clue. Is it more cool or more pathetic that there wasn't even an effort made to conceal it.?

I think this show was called "The Importance of Being Symmetrically Earnest."

I'm sorry, but when did kids start wearing such short shorts? Not in my day, I say! Why, back when I was a kid, we used to tuck our pant cuffs into our socks in order that no one ever saw our naked flesh. Imagine the scandal! Seeing our bodies as God made them... the thought is too hideous to bare! Give me a pair of Zubaz any day.

These two seemed like very nice people.

No actual human would ever gesture like this unless they were breaking into song. Short-Shorts pays no attention.

Come join the theatre! Action, excitement, adventure!

Tape being placed for chair setting. I later tripped on this tape and broke my neck in three different places. Thankfully, years ago I underwent a secret government initiative to give me supreme healing powers and I'm fine now. I'm thinking about doing a graphic novel about it. Or not... that superhero crap never sells.