Fringe Comedy Favorites Set To Combat Arts Funding Cuts

Since Ron DeSantis obliterated arts funding for the State of Florida, organizations have been scrambling to fill the gaps while making torturous programming decisions. Artists are non-to-happy about it either.

A recent "Best of Venue" winner at the hugely successful Fringe Fort Myers, local solo performance artist Frank Blocker heard of The Great Slash while performing at the Ottawa Fringe Festival in Ontario. On his way back, his phone alerted him of DeSantis' reasoning for causing this cultural earthquake: "sexualized" Fringe Festivals, "where they do all these things."

Blocker's reply: "What 'things?' I attended 19 Fringe shows while I was in Canada. Two of them had adult material. Fringe Festivals are a big help in the lean summer months and many artists depend on them to make ends meet. It seemed odd for a politician to attack Fringe Fest since they're a big boost to local economies. I needed to do something productive."

Blocker contacted Bill Taylor, Fringe Fort Myers producer. It was time for Fringe "benefits." Taylor has scheduled a performance of each of Blocker's award-winning solo plays in Alliance for the Arts' Foulds Theatre. "it's a start." Says Blocker. Taylor has reached out to other local theatres to extend the offer for possible future performances to benefit different theatres arts organizations in the same manner.

On August 9, SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOVEL performs at 7:30pm. This comedy play that feels like a movie-based on a book that doesn't exist-garnered a New York Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance and has toured the country with more than 200 performances. The play was featured at last year's Fringe Fort Myers and won Blocker the first of two "Best of Venue" awards. The New York Times calls it "Flawlessly executed."

The more adult-oriented STABILIZED NOT CONTROLLED takes the stage on August 30, after enjoying a near-sold out run at this year's Fringe. The play ran for two years at Manhattan's Stage Left Studio. In this character study of New York-types, an evil landlord takes on the tenants of a five-floor walk-up in a fight to the death. The New York Press suggests, "If you have not seen one of his multi-character shows, you should get tickets."

Both plays are an hour in length with no intermission. Both ran for a combined four years off-Broadway. Blocker plays all the characters in each play.

SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOVEL is written and performed by Frank Blocker and directed by Cheryl King of Manhattan's Stage Left Studio. King is the creator of decade-plus-running Forbidden Kiss LIVE! now playing at The Californian in Santa Rosa, California.

STABILIZED NOT CONTOLLED was also created by Blocker and directed by Jeffrey Edward Peters, graphic novelist responsible for the Melvin Moose comics.

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