FringeNYC Announces 2013 Encore Series Lineup, 9/6-10/20

In 17 days, even the most intrepid theatergoer can only sample a fraction of the nearly 200 offerings at the New York International Fringe Festival. Now in its 9th year, the FringeNYC Encore Series gives theatre lovers another chance at seeing some of the most critically acclaimed and most crowd-pleasing shows from the Festival.

This year, the FringeNYC Encore Series will be divided into two separate mini festivals. Baruch Performing Arts Center will present exclusively solo performances as part of its ongoing "Solo In The City" performance series (which has previously presented works by Sandra Bernhard, Jackie Hoffman and Tovah Feldshuh), while Darren Lee Cole Theatricals will host an array of drama, comedies and musicals at The Players Theater. FringeNYC and The FringeNYC Encore Series are servicemarks and/or trademarks of The Present Theatre, Inc. and are used with permission.

SOLO IN THE CITY: THE FRINGENYC ENCORE SERIES runs September 12 - 27 at Baruch Performing Arts Center, located on the campus of Baruch College in Manhattan on East 25th Street between Lexington & 3rd Aves. Ticket are $18, available online at www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac, by phone at 646-312-5073, or in person at the box office at 55 Lexington Ave. (enter E. 25th St. between Lexington & 3rd Aves.)

Performances are:

Melting in Madras
Overcoat Theater (Boston, MA)
Writer: H.R. Britton / Director: Rajeev Varma
A naive young American travels to India to explore yoga, meditation, and music. After three months, his quest for enlightenment takes a detour when he becomes ill. Storytelling and live music tell the tale of this confusing and beautiful pilgrimage. Thursday 9/12 @ 1 PM & Friday 9/13 @ 8:30 PM.

They Call Me Q!
eyeBLINK (Bronx, NY)
Writer: Qurrat Ann Kadwani / Director: Claudia Gaspar and Obaid Kadwani
Proclaimed "A Theatrical Force" by Orlando Weekly for her uncanny embodiment of 13 characters, award-winning actress Qurrat Ann Kadwani searches for identity in this emotional affecting tour-de-force. Winner Best Play 2013 Maui Fringe Festival. Friday 9/13 @ 7 PM & Sataturday 9/14 @ 1 PM.

En Avant! An Evening with Tennessee Williams
Writer: William Shuman / Director: Ruis Woertendyke (Boynton Beach, FL)
2013 FringeNYC Excellence in Solo Performance Award winner. I'll fix myself a drink then we'll talk. You'll hear about mother, Edwina, who believed she was Amanda, father, Cornelius and dear sister Rose. Then we'll explore some of my work, my loves and my demons. En Avant! Saturday 9/14 @ 8PM & Sunday 9/15 @ 3PM.

What's An Anjan?
Writer: Anjan Biswas (New York, NY & Calcutta, India)
2013 FringeNYC Excellence in Solo Performance Award. Previously performing for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Comedy Central Asia, Anjan draws upon his life as a young brown man in the U.S., Singapore and the U.K. for a hilariously un-PC exploration of sex, racism, drug-ventures, and self. Sunday 9/15 @ 7 PM & Tuesday 9/17 @ 6:15 PM.

Human Fruit Bowl
EREnglish Productions
Writer: Andrea Kuchlewska / Director: Jessi D. Hill
Winner: 2013 FringeNYC Excellence in Solo Performance Award & Best Production at Prague Fringe. A tub, a scarf, a stool and a naked woman. Monologue, mystery, live fine art modeling session; this fast-paced solo work asks: What are the stories we tell about artists and their muses? Thursday 9/19 @ 7 PM & Friday 9/20 @ 8 PM.

The Unfortunates
Vertical Tasting Productions (Hoboken, NJ)
Writer: Aoise Stratford
London, 1888. Mary Jane Kelly, a young prostitute, enters a Whitechapel pub to sell her last possession. Will a mysterious stranger buy her safety for the night? Or turn out to be Jack the Ripper? A provocative, poignant, true story. Saturday 9/21 @ 8 PM & Sunday 9/22 @ 3 PM.

Recipe for Success
Writer: Peter Grosz / Director: Mark Sam Rosenthal (New York, NY)
Wannabe celebrity chef Denardi (former Colbert writer Peter Grosz) shares misguided methods for achieving fulfillment... until this cooking demo gets derailed by demons from his past! Wednesday 9/25 @ 7 PM & Friday 9/ 27 @ 8 PM.

THE FRINGENYC ENCORE SERIES runs September 6 - October 20 at The Players Theater (115 MacDougal Street between Bleecker and Houston Streets). It is produced and curated by Darren Lee Cole. Tickets are $18, available at 212-352-3101 or online at OvationTix HERE.

Performances are:

Peninsula
In Absentia Productions
Writer: Nathan Wright / Director: Nadia Foskolou
Best Ensemble winner at FringeNYC 2013. He escaped the savage streets of Rio de Janeiro, but this placid Lake Michigan summer town has dangers of its own... 1h 45m. Friday 9/6 @ 8PM; Tuesday 9/24 @ 8PM; Saturday 10/05 @ 9PM; Sunday 10/13 @ 7PM.

The Great iii Am
Writer: Matt Graham
Matt Graham ("a funnier Spalding Gray" - USA Today) is back on his soapbox with a Scrabble tutorial from on high. Or is it a theology class on a Scrabble board? Check it out. You have nothing to lose but your soul. 1h 15m. Saturday 9/7 @ 8PM; Saturday 9/14 @ 8PM; Saturday 9/21 @ 8PM; Saturday 9/28 @ 8PM; Saturday 10/5 @ 8PM

The Rufus Equation
Rufus Productions (New York, NY)
Writer: Ted Cubbin / Director: Tom Ridgely
2013 FringeNYC Excellence in Playwrighting Award winner. Nerd + Math = Sex. What's love got to do with quantum physics? Professor Bert Rufus is awkward with women - especially with the alluring physicist Alys Smith. Bert invents a secret device that will shock the world...and might even get him laid.Sunday 9/8 @ 3PM & 7:30PM; Tuesday 9/10 @ 8PM; Sunday 9/15 @ 3PM & 7:30PM

Cowboys Don't Sing
Figure It Out Later Productions
Writer: Dennis Flynn, Music by Johnny Kelley, additional score by T.J. Alcalá / Director: Dennis Flynn
2013 FringeNYC Excellence Award winner. The lone cowboy rides into a singing town on his trusty steed. He meets danger, romance, Western archetypes, and way too many musical numbers, including "The Racist Song." Will he abandon his cowboy ways and sing? Well yeah, but still. Thursday 9/12 @ 7PM;Sunday 9/15 @ 7PM; Wednesday 9/25 at 7PM; Thursday 9/26 at 9PM.

Waiting For Waiting For Godot
Hansburg Productions, in association with The Collective NY (New York, NY)
Writer: Dave Hanson / Director: Alex Harvey
Best Overall Play award winner at FringeNYC 2013. Two understudies occupy their time backstage trying to understand art, life, and their absurd existence. Turns out, the only people who truly understand waiting for Godot are the two actors who are Waiting for Waiting for Godot. Saturday 9/14 at 5PM & 10PM;Sunday 9/15 @ 5PM; Monday 9/16 @ 7PM.

Ndebele Funeral
Smoke & Mirrors Collaborative (Brooklyn, NY)
Writer: Zoey Martinson / Director: Awoye Timpo
Best Overall Play award winner at FringeNYC 2013. Come see South African story telling at its finest! This play explores the aspirations of three diverse characters whose lives intersect in a Soweto shantytown. Darkly funny and poignant, Ndebele Funeral features original music and gumboot dancing from the mines of Jo'burg. Thursday, 9/19 at 8PM; Friday, 9/20 at 7PM; Sunday 9/22 at 3PM; Friday 9/27 at 8PM; Sunday 9/29 at 3PM.

Slut
The Arts Effect (New York, NY)
Writer: Katie Cappiello / Director: Katie Cappiello & Meg McInerney
Sixteen. Pre-gaming. Empty Absolut bottle. Back of a cab. Ripped underwear. Hands everywhere. No! Through the eyes of NYC teen girls, face the choices and experience the fallout from one life-altering Friday night. Saturday 9/14 at 7PM; Sunday 9/15 at 2PM; Thursday 9/26 at 7PM; Sunday 9/29 at 5PM.

Perfectly Normel People
The Footlight Players (Charleston, SC)
Writer/ Director: Thomas and Judy Heath
TheaterMania Audience Favorite award winner atFringeNYC 2013. What happens when an NYU freshman from Kansas moves in with a dysfunctional Italian family from Queens? It's 1981. The Ramones rule the Village, Reagan rules the country and the only rule in the Normellino household is, whoever shouts loudest, gets heard. Wednesday 9/25 at 9PM; Friday 9/27 at 10PM; Sunday, 9/29 at 7:30PM.

Why You Beasting?
NewYorkRep (New York, NY)
Writer: David Don Miller / Director: Markus Potter
Take a darkly comic ride into an urban high school where undisciplined students and a bewildered faculty confront upheaval and strife while attempting to navigate a backwards bureaucracy. 2h 15m. Sunday 9/29 @ 2PM; Tuesday 10/1 @ 8PM; Sunday 10/6 @ 7PM; Friday 10/11 @ 9PM; Tuesday 10/15 @ 8PM

Slaughterhouse-Five
True False Theatre Company
Writer: Daria Tavana / Director: Jenny Beth Snyder
Billy Pilgrim escapes death in WWII then wakes up with a pornstar on the planet Tralfamadore. After aliens show him the meaning of life, Billy returns home to NY and preaches their philosophy. Based on the novel by Kurt Vonnegut. October 10, 7pm October 11, 7pm October 12, 8pm October 12, 10pm Oct 13, 9pm

Past FringeNYC Encore Series have served as a launching platform for many commercial and regional runs including Silence! The Musical, Krapp 39, Triassic Parq, 5 Lesbian Eating A Quiche, Jamaica Farewell, Piaf and many more.

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