UPDATED: July 11, 2018
In honor of World Fringe Day, here is the video of the 6th Annual San Diego International Fringe Festival Awards. Celebrate World Fringe Day by seeing what was the best of this year's San Diego Fringe.
UPDATED: 7:00 a.m. July 1, 2018
San Diego International Fringe Festival ended last night with an awards show at the Spreckels Theatre. I managed to see 37 of the 61 shows in 11 days of theater bliss. This year's fest was slightly smaller in terms of the number of artists performing and attendance seemed down, but the quality of shows was equally as high and as diverse as in previous years.
I was happy to see that the show I thought was the best of Fringe this year, "9841/Rukeli," won Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Actor in a Drama for Gianmarco Busetto. It was an inspired production; simple and elegant in execution but every creative choice was designed to intensify the emotional impact. This show was theater of the highest caliber.
For me, the show that best epitomized the spirit of Fringe and served up the most fun was "Cinebra: A History of Horror." It was a hilarious musical valentine to the horror genre and ended with an exorcism ritual that involved everyone singing along to a Julie Andrews video called Exorcise with Julie. The show was wacky and wild and probably couldn’t find a home anywhere outside a Fringe festival. It did not win any of the official awards last night, but when the votes for the Artists Pick were tallied after the awards ceremony last night, Cinebra took that honor home.
It was exciting to see Austin Dean Ashford who was performing at his first Fringe ever win Outstanding Solo Performance for his one-man show "(I)sland T(rap)," and then also take home the Best of Fest award, which includes a trip to the New Zealand Fringe Festival as part of a cultural exchange program.
And from San Diego, the Turning Tydes Theatre Company won outstanding musical ensemble for their pop culture mash-up "Wicked Wizards: A Potter Parody." And the good news is that people will have a second chance to catch the show and in an extended format at the Lyceum Theater during Comic-Con.
Here is a complete list of winners and if you scroll down you can see clips from many of the winning productions.
Outstanding Solo Performance
—“(I)Sland T(Rap)”
Austin Dean Ashford
Audience Favorite
—“The Magic In This Soul”
Blindspot Collective
Outstanding Comedy
—“How I Learned To Hug”
Jon Bennett
Outstanding Actor-Comedy
—“The Eulogy”
Michael Burgos
Outstanding Drama
—“9841/ Rukeli”
Farmacia Zoo:È
Outstanding Actor In A Drama
—“9841/ Rukeli”
Gianmarco Busetto
Outstanding Musical
—“Apron Goldswift's Alien Cabaret”
Ellipsoid Players
Outstanding Ensemble
—“Fatu Na Totō”
Le Moana Limited
Outstanding Dance Performance
—“Blueprint”
Sub
Outstanding Site-Specific
—“I’m Smiling Because I’m Uncomfortable”
Unattended Baggage
Outstanding Physical Arts
—“Terms And Conditions”
Bossy Flyer
Outstanding Music Ensemble
—“Wicked Wizards: A Potter Parody”
Turning Tydes
Outstanding World Premiere
—“The Jap Box”
David Hirata
Outstanding Magic Or Mentalist Performance
—“Mark Toland – Mind Reader”
Mark Toland
Outstanding Multidisciplinary Production
—“Let’s Prank Call Each Other”
Zach Dorn
LGBTQ Award
—“The Gay Uncle Explains It All To You”
Jeffrey Robert
Outstanding Performance
—“The Eulogy”
Michael Burgos
Outstanding Production
—“Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries”
Mojalet Dance Collective
Artists’ Pick
—“A History Of Horror”
Cinebra
Best Of Fest
—“(I)Sland T(Rap)”
Austin Dean Ashford
Cultural Exchange Award Winner To Present In New Zealand Fringe
—Austin Dean Ashford
Cultural Exchange Award Winner To Present At Sydney Fringe (Australia)
—Tyler West
Special Achievement Scholarship Award
—Veronica Tang
Family Fringe Award Winners
—Jam Fusion (Youth Rock Band)
UPDATED June 30, 2018
Penultimate day of Fringe! Check out the daily videos I have been posting to help you decide what to see on the final two days. There are shows featuring dance, burlesque, magic, music, social commentary, and so much more.
UPDATED, June 29, 2018
Heading into the home stretch for Fringe. It's your last chance to catch some great shows.
Tonight you can enjoy Turning Tydes' latest pop culture mash-up "Wicked Wizards: A Potter Parody." They have scored hits in previous years with "Les Midge," "The Phantom of the Empire," and "Into the Walker Woods." "Wicked Wizards" will also be performed in a longer two-act version during Comic-Con.
You can find dance shows tonight ranging from the provocative exploration of female sexuality in Krista Kaye's "On All Fours" to the multi-cultural "Nations of San Diego" to BAD Dance Collective's "Till Death."
And if you want something totally wacky that embodies the Fringe personality of not fitting neatly into any genre, check out Zach Dorn's "Let's Prank Call Each Other." And if you are really daring, check out the Fringe Midnight Cabaret where artist perform two-minutes bits not from their own shows and everyone needs to bring a flashlight because the tech crew won't be on hand!
The BYOV (Bring Your Own Venue) shows also have diversity with dance in "Taptastic" (at Tap Fever Studio) and social commentary on display in "The Quote" and "How Are You Being?" (Writers Ink).
UPDATED, June 28, 2018
Fringe has passed the halfway mark and it is your last chance to catch some of the great shows.
In 2016, Le Moana from New Zealand floored audiences with its moving dance piece "1918." The group is back this year with another dance narrative that explores a migration story with equal beauty and compassion as well as exhilarating dance.
Women shine in two one-woman shows "Intrusion" about rape and "Eleanor's Story: Home is the Stranger," a sequel to last year's "Eleanor's Story," a memoir of an American girl growing up in Hitler's Germany.
Provocative dance is featured in "Absquatulate Memories" (companies should keep in mind that at a Fringe fest where word of mouth is key if people can't pronounce the name of your show it makes it harder to recommend it). A couple of the dances especially a dark circus themed one are compelling.
The Italian deliver another visually dynamic show as Grand Guignol de Milan presents "Italian Horror Stories." The piece features three pantomime stories connected by a devilish host. The Pantomimes -- involving the woman in black tale, vampires, and Frankenstein -- are stylishly rendered but the English narration could be a little tighter.
UPDATED, June 27, 2018
You can catch the high energy hip hop dance piece "Blueprint" today at 4:00 pm or over the weekend. The show comes from NZ Fringe and features artists Toa Paranihi and Connor Masseurs.
Plus I am posting a full scene from "9841/Rukeli." That show still haunts me with its emotions and imagery. The scene I selected is from early in the play and depicts one fight that Rukeli had where he faced an Aryan opponent. The scene highlights the charisma of the one man show's star Gianmarco Busetto. But the show also boasts some inspired visual design elements that you need to experience in the theater. There is a show today at 6pm as well as shows this weekend. If you only see one Fringe show, make it "Rukeli." But I hope you don't limit yourself to just one when Fringe offers so much.
Or if you want something lighter to watch tonight that will provide more of an escape from reality, checkout Ellipsoid Players' "Apron Goldswift's Alien Cabaret." The show's creator Jacob Surovsky has grown up at Fringe. He wrote a play at the age of 16 for his second year at Fringe and returns this year with a musical.
UPDATED: June 26, 2018
Today you can enjoy some physical theater at Fringe. You can choose from the physical comedy of A Little Bit Off in "Bad Habits," magic and acrobatics of "Bunny," the burlesque of "Circles and Curves," or multiple dance shows ("The Blame Game," "On All Fours," "Mesa Moves." Plus my pick for the most wickedly entertaining show of Fringe, Cinebra: A History of Horror." And those are just some of your choices for just tonight! So go fringing.
UPDATED: June 25, 2018
Check out the new two-act play "Tabled Manners" that runs tonight at 9:00 pm. One of the plays, "Blind Spot," was written by Michael Mizerany who won the Outstanding achievement in writing award from the 2016 San Diego Fringe.
The Italians are winning Fringe this year, two of the best shows come from Italy: "Il Fetido Stagno" and "9841/Rukeli." "Il Fetido Stagno" has brilliant production design and sound work. It focuses on a man in an insane asylum and is lit with less than a dozen flashlights. The visual darkness reflects the themes and serves up a minimalist, intense journey.
It's only day five so I hesitate to say "Rukeli" is the best of Fringe since there is still so much to see but definitely put it on your must see list. It looks to a gypsy boxer named Rukeli who fought as Hitler was coming to power and ended up in a concentration camp. As with "Il Fetido Stagno," "Rukeli" boast a stunning theatrical sensibility that makes use of simple props and design elements that are put to impactful use.
UPDATED: June 24, 2018
Just added a preview video of "2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded Dick: A Dirk Darrow Investigation" from Tim Motley. Motley was at San Diego Fringe last year with "6 Quick Dick Tricks" and his show was highly entertaining.
UPDATED: June 23, 2018
New videos posted today from "The Eulogy," "Cinebra: A History of Horror," "(I)sland (T)rap," "Xylem and Phloem" from San Diego Circus Collective and "Hookers Do It Standing Up" at the BYOV (Bring Your Own Venue) location of Les Girls and featuring Lady Grew, a sex worker with a mission and a wicked skills as a singer and dancer.
UPDATED, June 22, 2018:
Starting today I will be adding quick preview videos from the press preview night of San Diego International Fringe. I will also start posting some interviews. The goal is to get as many videos up of shows as possible so you can get an idea of which of the dozens of shows might be worth checking out. First up is a clip of the one man show all about 007, "One Man Bond," and a clip and artist interview from "I'm Smiling Because I'm Uncomfortable."
Beth's Fringe Recommendations
“2 Ruby Knockers, 1 Jaded Dick: A Dirk Darrow Investigation” (Tim Motley)
“9841/Rukeli” (Farmacia Zooe)
“A History of Horror” (Cinebra)
“Abeyance” (Tyler West)
“Apron Goldswift’s Alien Cabaret” (Ellipsod Players)
“Bad Habits” (A Little Bit Off)
“Blueprint” (NZ Fringe)
“Calluses” (Sakhisizwe Edutainment Productions)
“Circles and Curves” (The Vaudeville Vixens and Hoop Unit)
“Eleanor’s Story” (GLAM)
“Fatu Na Toto” (Le Moana Limited)
“Hookers Do It Standing Up” (Lady Grew)
“I’m Smiling Because I’m Uncomfortable” (Unattended Baggage)
“Il Fetido Stagno” (Teatro della Girandola/Compagnia Pagliacci Clandestini)
“Immersive Igloo” (Tom Montagliano)
“(I)sland (T)Rap: the Epic Remixology of the Odyssey” (Austin Dean Ashford)
“Italian Horror Stories” (Grand Guignol de Milan)
“Mesa Moves” (San Diego Mesa Dance)
“One Man Bond” (Lonesome Whistle Productions)
“Tabled Manners” (Compulsion Dance and Theatre)
“Taking Heat” (Tim X Lee)
“The Blame Game” (Shannon Mueller)
“The Eulogy” (Michael Burgos)
“The Magic in This Soul” (Blindspot Collective)
“There and Home Again: More Stories From the Sun Café” (Asian Story Theatre)
“Wicked Wizards: A Potter Parody” (Turning Tydes)
“Xylem and Phloem (San Diego Circus Collective)
Read original story.
San Diego International Fringe kicks off its sixth year of what it describes as “eyeball busting shows” running June 21 through July 1 at multiple locations.
Each year Fringe grows and adapts. This year one of the changes is a more concentrated official Fringe downtown, using the multiple venues of the Spreckels, Lyceum, and Bristol Hotel all within a couple blocks of each other. But that does not mean Fringe has a smaller footprint. It can still claim to be the only bi-national Fringe, with performances across the border in Tijuana. Plus this year there are multiple BYOV (Bring Your Own Venue) locations, like Les Girls for "Hookers Do It Standing Up" and an Air BnB on Fifth, where the actress of "I'm Smiling Because I'm Uncomfortable" can talk about eating disorders while cooking in a real kitchen.
On Tuesday, Fringe held a preview for press where artists got to perform a two-minute scenes from their shows. That provided some insights into what shows might be great and which might be cringeworthy, because that is the rollercoaster ride of Fringe; it can be either extreme.
As I enter my sixth year of San Diego Fringe, I can say that I have seen far more good than bad, and some of the best theatrical experiences I have ever had have been here at San Diego Fringe.
The Fringe has its roots in Scotland. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe was established in 1947 as an alternative to the city’s mainstream theater festival. The nearly month-long event is like sensory overload, with hundreds of actors staging thousands of performances at multiple venues. Fringe is distinguished by the fact that it is unjuried and uncensored, so it allows artists of all kinds, all levels of experience, and all types of performances to be on equal footing.
That means someone like Austin Dean Ashford, who is performing "(I)sland (T)rap," can enjoy his very first Fringe along side San Diego veteran (not in years of age but years at Fringe) performers like Jordan Hall Campbell, Summer Blinco, and Jacob Surovsky, who have been coming for years and have grown up in the festival before our eyes.
Fringe also welcomes performers from around the globe such as Nelson Mallè Ndoye from Italy, Toa Paranihi and Connor Masseurs from New Zealand, and Lady Grew from Scotland.
Check back to this page for daily video highlights of shows and interviews with artists to help you decide what to see at Fringe this year. If you want to see all the videos from last years, including some from performers returning this year, go to the playlist at the KPBS YouTube Channel.
>>> You are listening to KPBS Midday Edition . I am Allison St. John and for Maureen Cavanaugh. There is a six-year kickoff of eyeball busting shows coming up. We have spoken with Artis of San Diego and around the globe to and decided to let them introduce themselves and talk about their shows to give you the taste of the diversity of the French -- fringe. >> My name is Austin D Ashford. I have a show called Ilan Trap the -- Ilan trap. The epic remix homage. What I love about island trap is it takes the idea of the island and it takes that piece of the serenity that everybody loves and everybody wants. It talks about the trueness and chaos of society now. We live in a lot of violence which people called the trap and it meshes them together in the irony of the island trap. A lot of people don't know the narratives of young black males and how we are not considered fragile at times and bring that mix together with historical text. I think it is a bit of something for San Diego to experience. I am honored to be here because this is my first fringe ever. I am honored to be here and share island trap. There's a reason why there is parentheses around the I and wrap. I don't think a lot of people no. A lot of people know what rhythm and blues is. A lot of it will do not know that the acronym for Wrap is rhythm and poetry. With island wrap is a lot of rhythm and poetic. Is somebody want to see Hamilton in a raw form from one person in an island, then you can get and what island trap. Or I can play something else that other people like. Either way, I hope that people have the time to come to the Bristol and hang out with me . >> I am Jordan Hall Campbell and summer -- we are the cofounders of Summer tights tourney company. Our show this year is called wicked wizards. Is a mashup of all seven Harry powder -- Potter book with the score wicked. We started doing this in 2014. Edits when we debuted this show called the Medusa's tale a radio show brought to the stage a last-minute idea with us in a group of friends. We love to the community that fringe fostered around the Artis a lot of artists coming together showing different types of art, news on life, and we loved expensing that. We keep trying to come up with new and interesting things and coming up every year . >> my name is Nelson, I am a member of the grand -- in Milan. But we are presenting here at the San Diego fringe Festival. Is the San Diego stories. To the show we will show how we link some of the most notorious Gothic literature monsters to the Italian paths. So the -- is a -- that was born in France at the very beginning of the last century. Everything that was violent, grotesque, it was put on stage as to exercise the fear of the population. We use this theater to bring out the inner evil of all the people. We know that all the people they are mean. They are just suffocating their mean. They are being mean because of social norms. We let them cut loose during the show. We let them free to screen for instance we involve them and speak to them during the show. We do not limit themselves. There is no narrative between the public and performer. What we do is peculiar. We don't have a specific type of festival except for the fringe that allows us to go a bit beyond the common way of doing theater. So the fringe allows us to be a little bit more open and who express ourselves at our best. >> Hello my name is Sophie. I am Meghan. And we do -- we are here for San Diego fringe. We do what is called -- the history of horror and a history of horror movies and stuff. We thought why not organize a super educational seminar to show everyone just how much we love horror movies. Not just horror movies, we love all movies. >> We wanted to touch on Hollywood Park because of the political climate . >> yes the revolt Warren QUESTIONABLE -- as well as political unrest and global display are's -- despairs and the denying of the greenhouse effect. We wanted to show that although the world is a scary place, we as human beings would like to exploit the irrational extensional fears by watching a group get defeated by something so terrible and horrifying to satisfy the need for survival. We made a lovely keynote presentation for you all. Features all of the fun facts of our spooky stories as well as some songs that we roped together. >> And maybe even a scare or two . >> you can catch us at the -- theater starting on the 23rd. And some other dates as well. >> See you there . >> my name is David Zebrowski. I am the producer for ellipsoid players. And our show this year is alien cabaret and intergalactic musical review in which aliens and robots and humans bringing -- beaming down. This is my fifth year performing or creating performance for the fringe festival. I started in 2014 with we three a performance group and then I went into performing place. -- Per -- producing play. I started plays when I was 16. A start of that was sort of idolized to in that circuit. Unlike the kid who ran into a boxcar and learned how to juggle and swallowing swords. I got that expense inadvertently. >> Hello we are thawed. We came from the fringe festival. We came to the San Diego fringe festival. The show is pretty much an animated version of to artist making a piece of art. There are ups and downs of creativity. This is going to be good. This is really cool, no this is horrible. It is just the whole creative process. >>> San Diego international fringe against today at 4 PM and continues through July 1 at multiple locations. Go to our website KPBS.org for more information. You are listening to KPBS Midday Edition .
>>> You are listening to KPBS Midday Edition . I am Allison St. John and for Maureen Cavanaugh. There is a six-year kickoff of eyeball busting shows coming up. We have spoken with Artis of San Diego and around the globe to and decided to let them introduce themselves and talk about their shows to give you the taste of the diversity of the French -- fringe. >> My name is Austin D Ashford. I have a show called Ilan Trap the -- Ilan trap. The epic remix homage. What I love about island trap is it takes the idea of the island and it takes that piece of the serenity that everybody loves and everybody wants. It talks about the trueness and chaos of society now. We live in a lot of violence which people called the trap and it meshes them together in the irony of the island trap. A lot of people don't know the narratives of young black males and how we are not considered fragile at times and bring that mix together with historical text. I think it is a bit of something for San Diego to experience. I am honored to be here because this is my first fringe ever. I am honored to be here and share island trap. There's a reason why there is parentheses around the I and wrap. I don't think a lot of people no. A lot of people know what rhythm and blues is. A lot of it will do not know that the acronym for Wrap is rhythm and poetry. With island wrap is a lot of rhythm and poetic. Is somebody want to see Hamilton in a raw form from one person in an island, then you can get and what island trap. Or I can play something else that other people like. Either way, I hope that people have the time to come to the Bristol and hang out with me . >> I am Jordan Hall Campbell and summer -- we are the cofounders of Summer tights tourney company. Our show this year is called wicked wizards. Is a mashup of all seven Harry powder -- Potter book with the score wicked. We started doing this in 2014. Edits when we debuted this show called the Medusa's tale a radio show brought to the stage a last-minute idea with us in a group of friends. We love to the community that fringe fostered around the Artis a lot of artists coming together showing different types of art, news on life, and we loved expensing that. We keep trying to come up with new and interesting things and coming up every year . >> my name is Nelson, I am a member of the grand -- in Milan. But we are presenting here at the San Diego fringe Festival. Is the San Diego stories. To the show we will show how we link some of the most notorious Gothic literature monsters to the Italian paths. So the -- is a -- that was born in France at the very beginning of the last century. Everything that was violent, grotesque, it was put on stage as to exercise the fear of the population. We use this theater to bring out the inner evil of all the people. We know that all the people they are mean. They are just suffocating their mean. They are being mean because of social norms. We let them cut loose during the show. We let them free to screen for instance we involve them and speak to them during the show. We do not limit themselves. There is no narrative between the public and performer. What we do is peculiar. We don't have a specific type of festival except for the fringe that allows us to go a bit beyond the common way of doing theater. So the fringe allows us to be a little bit more open and who express ourselves at our best. >> Hello my name is Sophie. I am Meghan. And we do -- we are here for San Diego fringe. We do what is called -- the history of horror and a history of horror movies and stuff. We thought why not organize a super educational seminar to show everyone just how much we love horror movies. Not just horror movies, we love all movies. >> We wanted to touch on Hollywood Park because of the political climate . >> yes the revolt Warren QUESTIONABLE -- as well as political unrest and global display are's -- despairs and the denying of the greenhouse effect. We wanted to show that although the world is a scary place, we as human beings would like to exploit the irrational extensional fears by watching a group get defeated by something so terrible and horrifying to satisfy the need for survival. We made a lovely keynote presentation for you all. Features all of the fun facts of our spooky stories as well as some songs that we roped together. >> And maybe even a scare or two . >> you can catch us at the -- theater starting on the 23rd. And some other dates as well. >> See you there . >> my name is David Zebrowski. I am the producer for ellipsoid players. And our show this year is alien cabaret and intergalactic musical review in which aliens and robots and humans bringing -- beaming down. This is my fifth year performing or creating performance for the fringe festival. I started in 2014 with we three a performance group and then I went into performing place. -- Per -- producing play. I started plays when I was 16. A start of that was sort of idolized to in that circuit. Unlike the kid who ran into a boxcar and learned how to juggle and swallowing swords. I got that expense inadvertently. >> Hello we are thawed. We came from the fringe festival. We came to the San Diego fringe festival. The show is pretty much an animated version of to artist making a piece of art. There are ups and downs of creativity. This is going to be good. This is really cool, no this is horrible. It is just the whole creative process. >>> San Diego international fringe against today at 4 PM and continues through July 1 at multiple locations. Go to our website KPBS.org for more information. You are listening to KPBS Midday Edition .
