Know Theatre Announces Lineup For Cincinnati Fringe Fest

Know Theatre Of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Fringe Festival is proud to announce The 2010 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. The 7th annual festival is scheduled to kick-off June 1st with CityBeat's official Fringe Kick-off Party. The festival will continue through June 12th with 29 productions and more than 170 artists.

Each year the Fringe Festival begins with the official CityBeat Fringe Kick-Off Party on June 1st. Festivities begin at the Art Academy of Cincinnati at 6pm for the opening of the Visual Fringe at the Chidlaw Gallery inside the Art Academy of Cincinnati, 1212 Jackson Street. Doors open at 8pm next door at Know Theatre for the continuation of the event with musical entertainment, the launch of the 2010 Channel Fringe Hard-Hitting Action News Update, food, and more! Mixx Ultra Lounge, Washington Platform, and Venice on Vine will provide food and there will also be Christian Moerlein drink specials all night long. It's a great way to meet our Fringe artists, staff, volunteers, and other Fringe audience members! A suggested donation of $5 will get you into both events for the evening.
This year we had a record number of applications beating our previous record by 1. Also, 55% of all applications were from out of town while 13% alone were from Minneapolis. Of accepted applications 30% are local and 70% are out of town. Of the accepted applications, 40% are returning and 60% are new

It wouldn't be Fringe without the Film Fringe and the Visual Fringe. Visual Fringe kicks off at the Art Academy of Cincinnati for the CityBeat Fringe Kick-off Party on June 1st at 6pm. Works will be shown in the Art Academy of Cincinnati's Chidlaw Gallery as well as a special installation at SWITCH (1207 Vine Street and remain up throughout the duration of the festival. Film Fringe selections will have two showings throughout the festival. Please see the included press releases regarding the Visual and Film Fringe as well as cincyfringe.com for more information.

All individual tickets to Fringe Festival shows will continue to be $12 this season. Full Frontal Fringe passes are $200 for all access to the festival and six show passes are on sale for $60 or the price of five. For more information or to purchase passes, check out www.cincyfringe.com or call 513.300.KNOW (5669). During the festival, tickets to all performances can be purchased at the headquarters box office at Know Theatre Of Cincinnati or at individual venues thirty minutes prior to show times. Single tickets for all performances are currently on sale!

After the shows each day, artists, audience members, staff, and volunteers all gather together at the Know Theatre Underground and headquarters for the festival for the exciting Fringe Bar Series. Each evening features a different theme or game such as the Fringe Olympics, Fringe-e-Oke, Fringe Prom, and Night Without Technology. Food will be provided on select nights during the bar series. Please check cincyfringe.com for the full bar series schedule.
Below is a list of performances accepted into the Fringe Festival.

Group Name (if applicable): The Space/Movement Project

New Participant

Name of Project: Safety In Numbers

Genre: Dance

Brief Description: Safety in Numbers is a full-length dance work dedicated to exploring company members' individual ties to the Chicagoland area. As the company identified the differences between members as newcomers or natives to Chicago, they noticed a common desire for comfort and familiarity, whether through the anonymity of a large city or proximity to home. Safety in Numbers became a reflection of these findings. Safety in Numbers premiered in July 2009 in Chicago in its original form, as individual works of company members. After a sold-out, two-week run, the group elected to re-examine Safety in Numbers and tour the revised work locally and regionally. Each moment of the original piece was explored, edited, and recreated by all company members sharing in the choreographic decision-making process. The result is a cohesive intersection of ideas shared and supported by all company members.

Artist/Company Biography: The Space/Movement Project (TS/MP) is a Chicago-based modern dance collective beginning its sixth season. An organization built upon collaboration, the group operates without a single artistic director, but several members who share the post. The company provides a community for artists to create, perform, and further their development while sharing creative and financial resources. Committed to artistic partnership,TS/MP continuously works with visual artists, musicians, actors, and videographers to find exciting, inventive ways to create dance.

Primary Contact Name: Allyson Esposito

From: Chicago, IL

Group Name (if applicable): Twilight Productions

New Participant

Name of Project: Nevermore

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: "Nevermore" begins in the last conscious moments of Edgar Allan Poe as his tortured soul laments to his "still-alive corpse" about the "fever called living that burned in his brain." Fast forward 160 years when a suicidal writer finds herself in the presence of The Raven, who offers insight on writing and madness and how the two are related. This fantasy/drama depicts the troubled rock-star life of America's original literary gem, while examining the terrifying grip that depression held on him and many other fallen American writers.

Artist/Company Biography: Indianapolis-based Twilight Productions is a "hasn't made a profit yet" company. It was founded in 2008 by Amy Pettinella for actors and writers, who are tired of lame mainstream plays and plays that feature women in insipid and vapid roles. Amy has written and produced several plays for Twilight Productions, including Stripped, Con Art, Home, Winter Solstice, Nevermore, and the upcoming Veg-All: A Sort of $@*%ed-Up Brady Bunch. Twilight Productions: Passion. Substance.

Primary Contact Name: Amy Pettinella

From: Indianapolis, IN

Group Name (if applicable): Hunger Warrior Theatre

Returning Participant

Name of Project: Of People and Not Things

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: What if there were an intimate apocalypse? No flesh eating undead or Mayan prophecies. Just a soft goodbye. Like a missed connection with fleeting eye contact and the thought of what might have been. What would you do? Maybe you'd walk through that door. Maybe you'd take a seat in the audience. We think you should. Come be a part of the world that's left.

Artist/Company Biography: Hunger Warrior Theatre was founded in 2005 by two design graduate students at UC CCM. It was founded because they wanted to go to the Edinburgh Fringe. And then they did. And then they decided to maybe keep this theatre going for a while. Since its inception, HWT has performed twice at both the Edinburgh Fringe and CincyFringe. In 2009 we produced a reading series in the short-lived PermaFringe space on Main Street in OtR. We're dedicated to doing new writing. We're always looking for theatrical surprises in unexpected places. We've performed in a stairwell, in a closet, in a fire damaged basement, and in a bar. We've also made fools of ourselves in any number of other locations in the name of marketing. We do theatre that strives to engage the audience that sits with us in these small dark rooms. We hope you'll join us.

Primary Contact Name: Andrew Hungerford

From: Agoura, CA

Group Name (if applicable): Artemis Exchange

Returning Participant

Name of Project: Aberrant Reflections on the Barbarism of You & I

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: Either belonging to or closely related in genetic mapping to the genus/species Encyclopædia theatrum, this production reaches into - and far past - the mainstream to address the secrets, lies, myths, and truths behind eons of humanity's barbarism. We follow the three remaining captives of a nameless, faceless theatrical autocrat as he continues to force them to perform scenes of a seemingly random and sardonic nature. While struggling to find meaning to their captor's scrawlings and escape from their serfdom, they also deal with the unknown fate of disappeared cast-mates as well as their personal relationships with each other. Will they wait in vain for a curtain that never falls or get the chance to take their final bows? God only knows. Or does he, really? Don't miss the shocking conclusion of ABERRANT REFLECTIONS OF THE BARBARISM OF YOU & I!

Artist/Company Biography: Artemis Exchange was founded in 2008 by Christopher Karr and Chris Wesselman through a shared interest to pursue independent theatrical endeavors. Always eager to experiment within a Theatre Of Poverty, which demands a fully realized production through aesthetic invention that rejects the notion that dollars and cents will produce effective theatre, they are excited to return to the fertile soil of the Cincinnati Fringe. Last year's entry, A Perfectly Wonderful Evening, earned audience and critical praise, garnering two Cincinnati Entertainment Award nominations, with a win for Best Alternative Production. This year brings the daunting task of adapting Christopher Karr's NOTES TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE END OF THE WORLD (WHICH IS NOW) OR MASHED POTATOES AND HOW WE GOT FUCKED, a 1,000-page manuscript, for the stage. After months of reading and note-taking, a unique blend of improvisation and scripted material was used to form the scenes that make up the body of each show. They thank (profusely) Know Theatre and the entire Cincinnati audience base; without their ongoing support of theatrical endeavors, big and small, none of this would be possible.

Primary Contact Name: Chris Wesselman

From: Highland Heights, KY

Group Name (if applicable): De Blenniss

New Participant

Name of Project: Just Say Know

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: "Just Say Know" is a stand up comedy presentation about the War on Drugs. Accompanied by his computer program ROBERT De Blenniss talks about the history of drugs and their impact on the United States.

Artist/Company Biography: De Blenniss is a comedian with a background in improv and sketch comedy. He has been performing since the age of sixteen. HIs work has lead him across the country including a brief collaboration with the LA sketch comedy group SPF as well as his own side project "Centurion Films". He currently lives in Louisville, KY.

Primary Contact Name: De Blenniss

From: Louisville, KY

Group Name (if applicable): Annoyance Theater

New Participant

Name of Project: Salem! The Musical

Genre: Theatre, Musical

Brief Description: A campy, streamlined and musicalized retelling of a grisly part of history. Written and performed by an all female cast of five this show is, in fact, a riot. Paranoia, intolerance and male empowerment are played to the hilt here, with the idea that women doing math or reading equals witchcraft. Featuring such hilarious songs as Do the Pee Cake! and Life Sucks performed by a tap-dancing skeleton.

Artist/Company Biography: The Annoyance has created over 100 shows, comprised of improvisation, sketch, full-length plays, cabaret, and full-length musicals. Hundreds of people have performed in Annoyance shows, and you see many of them today on stage, in films, and on television. Salem! The Musical was created through a period of nine months. It began with a lot of research of the time and the people, followed by months of improvising, writing, and re-writing. In the mean time musical director Dan Wessels took what the cast wrote and turned it into comedy musicAl Gold. The cast was kept deliberately small and only women. This allowed the cast to really delve into the characters they were creating while exploring much of the atmosphere. No one was allowed to read The Crucible since this was not supposed to be a re-telling of that story. This was our own story inspired by the true events of the past with our own hilarious interpretations.

Primary Contact Name: Elise Dubois

From: Chicago, IL

Group Name (if applicable): Driscoll Street Salon Theatre

Returning Participant

Name of Project: The Comfort of Anger

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: Dalia Rios, a successful Latina novelist, finds herself engulfed by the ghosts of an old trauma, a violent rape that she thought she had shelved years ago. The memories haunt her dreams, which are visited by two mysterious young men who know her sins. The past threatens her stability, her relationship with a much younger man and her new book, an exploration of racism in America. They also bring to the surface a volcanic anger that has been seething within her. She turns to a therapist whose unorthodox style repels her. The two clash in heated exchanges, but their confrontations lead her to face her darkest secrets. Dalia relies on her storytelling gifts to relive her past and examine her present. "The Comfort of Anger" moves seamlessly between reality and fantasy, delving into uncomfortable territory, from sexuality to racism, from psychotherapy to religion.

Artist/Company Biography: The Driscoll Street Salon Theatre, a creation of playwright Fernando Dovalina, began as an informal play-reading project to develop new plays written by Houston writers. Many of the plays first read at the salon have gone on to other readings, workshops and productions. Dovalina, a member of the Dramatists Guild, has studied with Edward Albee and Stuart Ostrow and has seen several of his plays produced, most notably "The Man in the Trunk" and "American Homefront." His drama, "Meskins/Cycle of Life, Love and Death," won second place in the Nuestras Voces national playwriting competition and was read at Repertorio Espanol in midtown Manhattan. He and J.T. Buck wrote the musical, "The Gospel According to Tammy Faye," which has been seen in Cincinnati, Portland, Ore., Hood River, Ore., and Houston and received an industry reading over three days at the Manhattan Theatre Club creative center in New York.

Primary Contact Name: Fernando Dovalina

From: Houston, TX

Group Name (if applicable): Jimmy Hogg

New Participant

Name of Project: A Brief History of Petty Crime

Genre: Theatre, Solo

Brief Description: Fringe veteran Jimmy Hogg arrives in Cincinnati to discuss his life of petty crime. Physical, fast-paced hilarious storytelling with a car crash and plenty of tangents. "Hold onto the arms of your seat: Hogg will take you spinning." -Orlando Sentinel "His characterizations are spot on, and while the piece jumps from story to story-centering on a traumatic night out that ends with the threat of prison looming over the young narrator's head-Hogg juggles them like a trained master with three chainsaws and a flaming baton in the air." -City Pages, Minneso ta. "Managing to fit so many entertaining characters, hilarious anecdotes, and witty pop-culture references into 60 minutes is a difficult test of endurance, a test Hogg passes with flying colours." ***** (5 out of 5) Eye Magazine, Toronto. " Dickens would love this guy." -Orlando Sentinel. Best of Fringe- Victoria 2009, Toronto 2007, Minnesota 2007 & 2006, San Francisco 2006

Artist/Company Biography: Jimmy Hogg is an actor, writer, director and comedian from England. He has been involved in more than fifty theatre productions and toured a dozen countries. He studied clown, Lecoq and physical theatre in Barcelona, Commedia dell'Arte in France and Drama and Theatre Arts in London. He has spent the last four years touring North America with his outstandingly successful solo shows.

Primary Contact Name: Jimmy Hogg

From: Toronto, Ontario

Group Name (if applicable): Karim Muasher

Returning Participant

Name of Project: A Short Lecture of a Different Time

Genre: Theatre, Solo

Brief Description: Come and hear the story of the OLDVERSE: the universe before this one, long dead and gone. Two lovers meet, and soon discover the truth about their existence: their universe is dying, burning up into flames. Told by the Historian, a mysterious corduroy-clad stranger, this show asks the questions: How do you stop the unstoppable? How do you face the inevitable? A combination of nintendo graphics, gameboy music, and theoretical physics; acclaimed theatre creator Karim Muasher single handedly creates an 8-bit universe of wit and wonder.

Artist/Company Biography: Karim Muasher was born in Amman, Jordan, and immigrated to the United States at an early age. He studied theatre at Ithaca College where he received his BFA in Acting. It was here that Karim began to create original work, incorporating comedy, puppetry, and physical theatre. Karim worked at various theatres across New York State, before heading to London to study for his MFA in Lecoq Based Physical Theatre. While in London, Karim continued to create original work, as well as forming the interNational Theatre company Giant Bird (whose "Empire of Feathers" was seen in last year's fringe). His work has been called "gleefully low budget", "bound for great heights", and "so like life in my head." Back in the US and based in Astoria, NY; Karim continues to create absurd work out the realities around him. For more info, go to karimmuasher.com

Primary Contact Name: Karim Muasher

From: Astoria, NY

Group Name (if applicable): Four Humors Theater

Returning Participant

Name of Project: Harold

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: Two brothers drive their herd deep into the mountain to graze. Isolated from the outside world, they build a scarecrow for their amusement, Harold. They show Harold amazing kindness, they show Harold amazing cruelty... Until Harold starts making decisions for himself. A new horrific comedy from the creators of "Mortem Capiendum" and "April Fools".

Artist/Company Biography: Four Humors believes the epic can be created from the ordinary; that the beauty of theater lies not in expensive sets and costumes, but in the connection between performers and audience. They strive to make the beautiful foolish and the foolish beautiful.

Primary Contact Name: Kristin Campbell

From: Champlin, MN

Group Name (if applicable): Pones Inc.

Returning Participant

Name of Project: That One Show

Genre: Theatre, Dance, Video - Interdisciplinary

Brief Description: Based on interviews from over 100 people, THAT ONE SHOW creates a dialogue about how dance can maintain its relevance, personal significance, and artistry with individuals today. Incorporating movement, theatre, video, and music, THAT ONE SHOW explores a variety of existing relationships to dance and an array of suggestions about how to reshape or progress the art form. Presented as a live documentary, this project re-arranges theatrical conventions in a unique and unusual way asking audiences to expand their perception of traditional dance.

Artist/Company Biography: Pones Inc. Laboratory of Movement is a non-profit, movement based performance art group dedicated to creating original work that blends dance, theatre, music, poetry and more. Founded in 2008 by Northern Kentucky University dance and theatre alumnae Kim Popa and Lindsey Jones, Pones Inc. collaborates with a diverse range of artists. As writers, directors, choreographers, producers, and performers their work typically begins as an autobiographical experience and often incorporates audience participation. Pones Inc. is unique in that it does not hold permanent company members nor a permanent space. Pones Inc.'s, "The Four Food Groups" won 2nd place in the 2008 Cincinnati Director's Competition, and the Cincy Fringe debut of "The Factory" was nominated for a Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Best Alternative Show in 2008.

Primary Contact Name: Lindsey Jones

From: Cincinnati, OH

Group Name (if applicable): The Faux-Real Theatre Company

New Participant

Name of Project: QUEER IN THE U.S.A.

Genre: Theatre, Solo

Brief Description: Johnny, a 14 year-old boy from Freehold, New Jersey, hungers to follow in the footsteps of his hero-Bruce Springsteen. Johnny, however, is made cruelly aware that his high-pitched soprano voice sounds more like Celine Dion or Barbra Streisand. He struggles against homophobia at school, even while his own sense of identity is uncertain. Facing brutal rejection from the Freehold High School Glee Club, Johnny sets off for New York City, where lovers, rockers, and Gypsies challenge him to embrace his queerness. He retraces Springsteen's early career footsteps, hoping to mold himself into the image of his rock god. Does he have what it takes to rock like The Boss?

Artist/Company Biography: Manuel Simons (Playwright/Performer) is an actor/writer with credits that include national tours and productions on New York stages such as The Public Theatre, Living Theatre, and American Place Theatre. His on-screen credits include Watergate conspirator Jeb Magruder in Spike Lee's SHE HATE ME, and appearances on LAW & ORDER, SEX AND THE CITY and THE SOPRANOS. / Chrissy Moore (Director) directed the workshop of QUEER IN THE U.S.A. at New York's American Place Theatre. Other credits include THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, Sophocles' ELECTRA, and Neil Gaiman's STARDUST. Her directorial expertise has served the many actors she coached in the Youth Company of Off-Broadway's MCC Theatre. / The Faux-Real Theatre Company (Associate Producer) melds truth and imagination to create staged visions in which complex texts and challenging ideas are rendered into engaging, accessible productions. Faux-Real was recently named one of TIME OUT's "Top Reasons to Love New York Theatre!"

Primary Contact Name: Manuel Simons

From: New York, NY

Group Name (if applicable): Venzin Althaus Explosion

New Participant

Name of Project: A Night of Well Adjusted Ladies

Genre: Theatre, Interdisciplinary

Brief Description: What do you get when you have a manic, narcoleptic lady from Cave City, KY (.2 miles from the national site of Dinosaur World, USA) and a schizophrenic, alcoholic chick from New England (.2 miles from Clam Chowder, USA)? You get two daughters with a killer sense of humor, and the ability to deal with just about anything. Join Megan, Emily and a giant sketch pad, as they tell childhood stories of sleepy outings, drunken holidays and unconditional love.

Artist/Company Biography: Megan Venzin and Emily Althaus met at Western Kentucky University, shortly after forging a friendship they began performing together (or maybe the frienship came after? Who remembers now?) After graduating and embarking on seperate journies into "the real world" the dinamic duo met up once again, this time in New York City. The Venzin Althaus Explosion was formed in an outer borough, birthed of love, passion, but most of all the need to make people smile.

Primary Contact Name: Megan Venzin

From: Astoria, NY

Group Name (if applicable): paperStrangers Performance Group

New Participant

Name of Project: Medea

Genre: Theatre, Dance, Classical

Brief Description: Euripides' classic drama of a woman betrayed in love, on a quest for vengeance, and her discovery of its price.

Artist/Company Biography: paperStrangers was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2010. It is our mission to have our audiences truly feel. Our focus is evocation. We utilize the effectual liveness of performance, provide imaginative and provocative presentation, and remain committed to the investigation of our own humanity in order to most effectively engage and involve our audiences. We are a Theatre Of feeling, an experience, one that resonates deep within each of us.

Primary Contact Name: Michael Burke

From: Indianapolis, IN

Group Name (if applicable): Digital Nada

Returning Participant

Name of Project: The Water Draft

Genre: Multimedia, Theatre

Brief Description: TV on pedestal, projection screen behind. Documentary on Cincinnati's water interrupted live in person by... Who exactly? Madman? Priest? Blake-spouting, butoh-dancing, country-western balladeer or just another gray-suited P&G boy wrapped in a wisteria wreath? "Mommy," he asks, "what ever happened to the largest stained-glass rose window west of the Alleghenies? Who killed King John, Mommy? And why is Fountain Square so 3CDC ugly? Mommy, when Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman? Restraint chairs in jail and cancers in the street? Gee whiz, mommy, ain't enclosures neat?" "What?" you say. "Half-full, half-empty, who cares? Is the water yours or theirs?" For the first time in thirty odd years together, acclaimed documentarist Barbara Wolf ("Degrees of Shame") and CEA Hall of Famer Michael Burnham (Corpus Christi) set out to make a duet of their solos. Turns out they couldn't even begin without their friend Demi Tsasis. Come see.
Artist/Company Biography: Digital Nada is what happens when documentarist Barbara Wolf and collaborator Demi Tsasis join theatre worker Michael Burnham to make a truly portable piece. Barbara makes narrowcast organizing videos - "Degrees of Shame" and others - designed to give public voice to groups and issues concerned with what she thinks is Justice. She believes there's no such thing as objective reporting and does her best to re-tilt tilted scales. Michael makes plays - Corpus Christi and others - that he thinks need to be spoken aloud in his town. Demi's work is driven by emotional influence and meaning. Ms Wolf is happy that as she gets older the video equipment gets lighter. Mr Burnham is happy that as he gets older he can still carry himself. Ms Tsasis isn't old, yet is sometimes happy.

Primary Contact Name: Michael Burnham

From: Cincinnati, OH

Group Name (if applicable): Performance Gallery

Returning Participant

Name of Project: The Council

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: Based on close observation of the workings of city councils around the nation, "the council", toys with the absurd and often genuinely earnest practice of government at its most fundemental level. "the council" discovers that the individual voice can still be heard, but you may want to pay close attention to who is listening.

Artist/Company Biography: The Performance Gallery is a collaborative performance environment existing to produce and promote challenging works of theatre which seldom find a home on mainstream stages. The Performance Gallery produces a varying amount of works per year. Works featured can range in discipline from new plays generated from within the company, actor driven work, director experiments, existing but seldom produced scripts interpreted with an experimental vision, works in progress, or stuff we've just been dying to do.

Primary Contact Name: Regina Pugh

From: Covington, KY

Group Name (if applicable): Piñata Productions

New Participant - Director e.E. Charlton-Trujillo was in Film Fringe in 2009 and won Producers Flick of the Fringe

Name of Project: The Global Lovers

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: A privileged woman living in Kentucky. A sex slave known as Girl on the other side of the world. What could possibly bring them together by the end of The Global Lovers? Inspired in part by the story of Aisha Parveen, a former sex slave in Pakistan, this poetic drama explores sex slavery and its relationship to American consumer culture. It juxtaposes visual imagery, dialogue, monologue, poetry, advertising slogans, chants, and song, and transcends time and space, to bring you to the heart of conflict and hope. Be prepared for transformation. If you enter the performance like Kentucky Woman, you'll leave like Girl. Written with original songs by Rhonda Pettit; directed by award-winning Fringe veteran e.E.Charlton-Trujillo.

Artist/Company Biography: Piñata Productions is a Cincinnati based company helmed by award-winning filmmaker and novelist e.E. Charlton-Trujillo. The indie company collaborates with local, national, and International Artists to develop and produce film, theater, television, web, and print materials. Their most recent endeavor Fallen, a one-hour drama television pitch filmed entirely in Cincinnati, is being shopped in Los Angeles. Rhonda Pettit, whose poetry and scholarship have been widely published, teaches literature and writing at University of Cincinnati Raymond Walters College.

Primary Contact Name: Rhonda Pettit

From: Erlanger, KY

Group Name (if applicable): Pipeline Productions

New Participant

Name of Project: The Long Way Home

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: A homeless veteran of the Iraq war journeys back to the home he lost, carrying sorrows and resentments - and a loaded Colt .380. The people he meets along the way stir memories and fantasies, and prepare him, unknowingly, for his climactic confrontation with the occupants of his former home.

Artist/Company Biography: Pipeline Productions is a Cincinnati-based theater company devoted to showcasing the talents of local artists.

Primary Contact Name: Roger Collins

From: Cincinnati, OH

Group Name (if applicable): Ryan Lear and Rachel Petrie

New Participant

Name of Project: The Finkles' Theater Show

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: "Hi there, friend! Come see our first ever theater show! We may be new to this, but we have seen a lot of theater, so we're pretty sure we know what we're doing! We were so excited when we found out that we got accepted into the Cleveland Fringe Festival! We can't wait to meet all of you and show you what we've been working on. There's going to be singing, juggling, tumbling, guest stars, duels, and a gigantic musical number. It's going to be the greatest thing since sliced potato cakes. So bring your friends, your families, your neighbors, and your neighbors' neighbors (that's you silly!), and tell them that the Finkles are in town!" - Sincerely, Carl and Wanda (and Tinkles Sprinkles) Finkles

Artist/Company Biography: Ryan Lear and Rachel Petrie met in 2006 at the University of Minnesota and have been doing theater together ever since. ‘The Finkles' Theater Show' is their first original work and was first presented at the 2009 Minnesota Fringe Festival to enthusiastic reviews. One of them mentioned "barfing a lung from laughing so hard." That is taken as a compliment and not an indication of the show's health hazards.

Primary Contact Name: Ryan Lear

From: St Paul, MN

Group Name (if applicable): Fake Bacon Productions

New Participant

Name of Project: Aftershock! An Event!

Genre: Theatre

Brief Description: A new hotel is built within a faultline but the VIP group at the soft opening cannot avoid impending doom! Aftershock! An Event! is a comedy that originated from three improv sessions and will be performed in Senzurround, which will shake the theater seats to fully immerse the audience in the experience!

Artist/Company Biography: Fake Bacon Productions is the theatrical wing of the Columbus OH improv group Fake Bacon. Fake Bacon performs at venues, events and corporations around the Central OH area. Their first production Vices was performed at the MadLab Theatre

Primary Contact Name: Scott Tobin

From: Columbus, OH

Group Name (if applicable): Serenity Fisher

New Participant

Name of Project: Sophie's Dream

Genre: A play with music

Brief Description: Imaginative, ethereal and insightful, Sophie's Dream is about the profound universal connection between dreaming, waking up, and bringing forth the soul's deepest desires. Sophie is a creative soul, striving to build a bridge between her rich inner reality and the exterior world, yearning to express her deepest passions. Sophie's Dream is a love story unfolding. Sophie encounters Gray, a man whose presence is at once disconcerting, comforting, and exhilarating. The cast of six characters includes three Tree Muses and The Woman at the Piano - all playful visitors who remind Sophie who she was, who she is and who she is meant to become. Set in present day/time, this play-with-a-live-soundtrack is chock-full of truth-telling dialogue and lyrics, haunting melody and harmony, shimmering dream-scapes and transformational discovery.

Artist/Company Biography: Serenity Fisher is... the writer of "Sophie's Dream" and composer of all music therein a singer-songwriter? playwright actress? tree-hugger? poet with a penchant toward the absurd an architect of strange creatures made of ink and paper? an ardent malapropisist? currently without bicycle? interested in experimental, relatable art brimming with innovative, artistic truth As a musician, she has performed her original songs all over the country, most notably at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena at a concert featuring female artists. Her acting credits include "My Perfectly Beautiful Life" (Mindy) at the Clifton Performance Theatre and "Eight Reindeer Monologues" (Dancer) and "Great Gray Poets" (Sugar) with Know Theatre. Her directing credits include "Stop Kiss" by Diana Son at Kent State University. Serenity invites you on a playfully wild journey through the wilderness of imagination, where trees dance, the sun is blue, and the sky is yellow.

Primary Contact Name: Serenity Fisher

From: Cincinnati, OH

Group Name (if applicable): The Bengsons

New Participant

Name of Project: Ain't That Good News

Genre: Musical Cabaret

Brief Description: Abigail Nessen Bengson & Shaun McClain Bengson's Ain't That Good News is a raucous vaudevillian cabaret, full of roaring music and impassioned characters. The Bengson duo evoke the quintessentially American stories of the immigrant and the outcast and play at the heart of the political struggles of our age through a melding of the musical forms of Tin Pan Alley, the Old South, German Weimar and rock and roll. The show is constantly evolving. As the Bengsons travel, they trade songs and drinks for new stories from the personal to the divine, and shift the work to reflect where they've been, and each new community they're in.

Artist/Company Biography: The Bengsons are a Brooklyn-based husband/wife vaudeville rock duo who perform in a variety of mediums. They are Off-Broadway performers whose original musicals, including The Magic Show: The Story of the Barefoot Angels and Ain't That Good News, have been featured at such venues as The Culture Project, The Daryl Roth 2, La MaMa, and the Flynn. They are rock musicians who perform both as the Bengsons and the electronic-infused Zombie Nationalists in rock venues across the nation, including NYC's The Knitting Factory, Arlene's Grocery, and Pianos. They are folk musicians who perform in across the country in festivals and community venues, are a part of the vibrant East Village Anti-Folk scene. The Bengsons are also activists and teachers, who have taught students in NYC's public schools, worked with gang children in El Salvador and Cambodian immigrants in Massachusetts.

Primary Contact Name: Shaun Bengson

From: Bloomington, IN
Group Name (if applicable): Psophonia Dance Company

Returning Participant

Name of Project: Money Back Guaranteed

Genre: Dance & Theatre

Brief Description: It is everybody's story rolled into a saucy little burlesque but instead of selling sex, we seduce the consumer to buy what he desires. If it feels good do it; get it; buy it. Don't just look- touch, take. Get that house, buy that car, fill your life with stuff. Let us take you away with a little music, song and dancing showgirls! For in the world of credit, you can buy now and pay later and later and later. You may even get Money Back Guarantee. So why not sink into your seat and enjoy a slightly disturbing but highly seductive world of money where nothing is guaranteed.

Artist/Company Biography: Founded in 1998, innovative, imaginative, theatrical and daring, Psophonia Dance Company (PDC) explores a kinetic language of ideas and images that will dazzle audiences of all ages. This Houston based company is recognized for their ability to engage diverse audiences on a truly unique level by utilizing everyday objects, sounds, and technology to re-examine and transform familiar elements and move audiences from the point of recognition to the point of discovery and infinite possibility. Psophonia has produced over 12 full concerts featuring 40 original works for both intimate spaces and grand theaters as well as nurturing collaborations with other arts organizations and independent artists. PDC is supported by the Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Endowment, Inc., Target, corporate grants and individual donors.

Primary Contact Name: Sophia L. Torres

From: Houston, TX
Group Name (if applicable): Devil's Deuce
Returning Participant
Name of Project: Soul Juice
Genre: Interdisciplinary
Brief Description: Josiah Pratt and Ruth Gardener are reporting for duty in God's army. This Christian couple has answered the call to start a Christian ministry called, Soul Juice. Songs, puppetry, mime, and clowning are only some of the talents God gave to this inspirational couple. Mix in some Holy Ghost fire and you've got a cocktail of Soul Juice that will set any sinner on the straight and narrow. Josiah and Ruth come armed with God's word to bring spiritual revival to our morally bankrupt society. Soul Juice's message is simple. Repent! The end is near! God is just itching to smite our nation. But maybe, just maybe, a good clown sketch about Jesus could help detonate a salvation bomb across America!
Artist/Company Biography: Devil's Deuce is the sketch comedy duo of Dylan Shelton and Annie Kalahurka. Performing together for three years, this is their second premiere at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Dylan has an MFA from Ohio University, has written more than a dozen touring children's' shows, and has performed at the Monomoy Theatre On Cape Cod, the LaMirada Theatre in Los Angeles, and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Annie has a BFA from the College of Santa Fe. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Annie moved to Cincinnati in 2006 as a touring actor and puppeteer. Annie has performed locally and in theatres across the country from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Monmouth, Maine.
Primary Contact Name: Dylan Shelton
From: Covington, KY

Group Name (if applicable): Casey Scott Leach
Returning Participant
Name of Project: The End is Near
Genre: Theatre, Dance, Poetry
Brief Description: The End is Near is oNe Young man's poetic exploration of his culture and his generation. As his journey explores the triumphs and pitfalls of the modern world, he investigates our anxiety with endings; the end of our life, of our culture, and our world. Part spoken word poetry, part one man show, watch one man battle against his words while trying to make sense of a rapidly changing world.
Artist/Company Biography: Casey Scott Leach is a recent graduate of CCM Drama and grew up in Columbus, OH. Over three years ago he started the process for what would eventually become The End is Near. Since then, the piece has become the largest creative endeavor he has yet to produce. He debuted The End is Near this summer at the Covington Artisans Enterprise Center with the help of Joshua Steele and the Carniege Visual and Performing Arts Center. In the time that has passed he has reworked the piece and is ready to present it again as apart of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.
Primary Contact Name: Casey Scott Leach
From: Cincinnati, OH

Group Name (if applicable): Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
New Participant
Name of Project: Cyrano
Genre: Theatre
Brief Description: Thrill as Cyrano slays 100 men! Chortle as Christian can't woo to save his life!! Weep as Roxane makes one sad mistake after another!!! A dynamic, hilarious, inspiring, tragic, moving, epic reinvention of the tale of everyone's favorite large-nosed lover and poet with a script by Belgian avant-garde playwright Jo Roets in a production that has been evolving across the country from Seattle to Hawaii to Alaska to Cincinnati.
Artist/Company Biography: Director Mark Lutwak is director of education for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; actors Tim Abrahamsen, Kelly Pekar and Jonathan Self are members of The Playhouse's 2009-10 Bruce E. Coyle intern company. Percussionist Grant Cambridge has been wokring as a composer, drummmer & music producer in Cincinnati forever.
Primary Contact Name: Mark Lutwak
From: Cincinnati, OH

Group Name (if applicable): Ensemble Theatre Of Cincinnati
Returning Participant
Name of Project: Truth
Genre: Theatre
Brief Description: Written by Steven Dietz. A contemporary dramatic comedy set against a backdrop of the rock music scene. In a world ruled by love, lust and lying, a spiral unwinds. Cody is a rising star musician. Becca is his fiancèe. Gretchen is a dressmaker, fitting Becca for her wedding dress. Leah is a rock star past her prime who Cody meets while on the road. Roy is a public radio announcer smitten with the young bohemian, Holly. As the lives and loves of these people continue to intersect, attraction gives way to seduction- secrecy holds sway over truth. Becca and Cody's marriage-to-be grows as rocky as Roy increases his hilariously futile attempts to charm Holly. Gretchen and Leah's past is unearthed, brought on by Gretchen's attraction to Becca. As the final concert of Cody's tour concludes, new bonds have been formed, old wounds remain; friends looking for answers, lovers looking for that elusive word: trust.Artist/Company Biography: Kim Rogers as Gretchen
Christine Fallon as Becca
Christopher Pitts as Cody
Leah Strasser as Leah
Lauren Shmalo as Holly
Stephen Geering as Roy
Primary Contact Name: Brian Mehring
From: Cincinnati, OH

Group Name (if applicable): Finite Number of Monkeys Productions
Returning Participant
Name of Project: Tantric Acting at the Holiday Inn
Genre: Theatre
Brief Description: Cliff and Bethany Robbins would like you to join them in the Wilbur Room of the Dayton Airport Holiday Inn. Together, you will all explore their new and tantric-focused approaches to the theatre arts, and how to manifest that sensual energy into exciting opportunities on stage and beyond. By the end of the session, their backed-up tantric energy, a Bollywood movie actor, and visions of reinventing a classic American musical come together to reveal so much more than their inner light in this new comedy.
Artist/Company Biography: Finite Number of Monkeys Productions was founded on the principle that - while we can't guarantee masterpieces of theatre, literature and music - there's at least a pretty good chance that if we all work on it, the results will be not too shabby. Eventually. Maybe. Hopefully. FNOM is run by Michael Comstock and George Alexander - writer and/or actor types who, between the two of them, have a fair amount of fancy pants advertising awards under their respective belts. In 2009, they produced The Success Show for the Cincy Fringe Festival, which went on to a sold-out encore run later in the year.
Primary Contact Name: Michael Comstock
From: Cincinnati, OH

Group Name (if applicable): Bridge Productions
New Participant
Name of Project: Blue Collar Diaries
Genre: Theatre
Brief Description: Playwright, performer, and one-woman virtuoso Michelle Myers Berg spins tales of her working class childhood in St. Paul's Merriam Park, circa 1960's. Sometimes hysterical, sometimes heartbreaking, Michelle illuminates the overlooked lives of twenty-some different characters in a richly detailed narrative. Meet a colorful array of characters, from radio show host Sister Melba Toast to street-wise cheerleaders, from a rhythm-driven black musician to a beer-swilling neighborhood pool shark named Heine. None of the characters, however, are as intimately drawn as that of Berg's own father, a Korean War veteran who keeps his painful past hidden away from his family. Blue Collar Diaries gives touching insights toward the timeless bonds of community and family, depicting shared history as a unifying roadmap to where we've been and where we're going.
Producer Biography: Bridge Productions, founded in 2007, is devoted to supporting and developing playwrights and their spirited new work, with and for our community. Each new play crafted through Bridge Productions represents a unique vision, a message of hope, and a model of positive action. We create beautifully crafted, resonant new plays in a nurturing environment. Each play brought about through Bridge is the result of a thoughtful collaborative process. Bridge Productions is based in St. Paul, MN and can be found at www.bridgeproductions.info
Artist Biography: The fifth of eight children, Michelle grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a classically trained actress with a BFA from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and graduate work at The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, California. She has appeared on stage at the Cricket Theatre, Frank Theatre, Theatre in the Round, History Theatre, Actors' Theatre Of Minnesota, Theatre Unbound and others. Michelle has twenty five years of professional voiceover experience in radio and television with clients that range from General Mills and Medtronic to Target and the Liquor Barrel. Some of her voice over work has also included narration for PBS documentaries and character based live industrials (Event Labs, JDR Productions, Design Group and Metro Connections) as well as hosting awards events such as the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. She has spent time as a Tour Guide, performed at the Bryant Lake Bowl as a part of the Women Stand-Up series and is in the process of writing a new script for Bridge Productions. Michelle reads to some seven classrooms a week as part of the Screen Actor's Guild's literacy program BookPALS.
Primary Contact Name: Michelle Storm
From: Minneapolis, MNm

Know Theatre Of Cincinnati creates explosive and evocative live entertainment.
Know Theatre Of Cincinnati envisions a world awakened to its collective possibility.

 

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