San Diego International Fringe Festival kicks off tonight and here are some recommendations for curating the fringiest Fringe experience.
"It's 11 days of eyeball busting theatrical experiences, which pretty much is actually fairly accurate," said Shaun Davis, festival director of operations. "The Fringe brings in acts from across the city, across the county, across the state, across the nation, across the country and across the world. And it's an opportunity for people in San Diego to get to see theatrical performances that unless you are really well-traveled, you will never get a chance to see. And that's one of the best things about the Fringe, is that we really do bring the world to your doorstep with shows."
A liberating set of restrictions
William Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage." But Fringe says what if that stage is just one meter?
That's the restriction given Daniel Nodder of "Only Bones."
"In restriction, will spark extra creativity," Nodder explained. "'Only Bones' was a format created by Thom Monckton, another New Zealand-born physical theater artist. He created a set of regulations to create minimalist physical theater."
Nodder is the 10th person to take on the "Only Bones" challenge.
So in addition to the restriction of only being able to use about one meter of the stage, Nodder must also abide by these rules: One light, no text, no dialog, no narrative, no set, no props. And you just have to make a show under those stipulations.
"Only Bones" is the epitome of what Fringe is all about. It’s about wacky innovation and serving up shows that you won’t find anywhere else. Nodder takes these limitations and soars with clever physical gags, inspired vocal work, and an amazing pair of kneecaps. I saw "Only Bones" at New Zealand Fringe last year and was dazzled and delighted by Nodder's work. This iteration may be slightly different from what I saw, but I can guarantee that it will be amazing.
Fringe anarchy
While Nodder’s show reflects minimalism in all its Fringe glory, Theater Group Gumbo showcases chaotic maximalism.
Theater Group Gumbo has made multiple trips to San Diego Fringe from Japan, and every visit brings the pure anarchy and delight you can only find at Fringe. The company is high energy, wildly physical and often NSFW. Past performances have included a poop dance, a naked body suit with sagging breasts and birthing babies. This year they promised a sex robot. It is all ridiculous and amazing.
Members of Theater Group Gumbo will be performing in "Forest of Truth" and "Shunga Alert." I highly recommend this insanity because you will only find it at Fringe.
Fringes of the Fringe
And to complete your festival experience you need to venture out to the fringes of the Fringe. Kata Pierce-Morgan has been part of Bring Your Own Venue (BYOV) for years. And her venue is the historic Les Girls Theater.
"Our resident company is Golden Corpse, we're avant-garde, and we present social injustice shows about what happened around Les Girls in San Diego," Pierce-Morgan said. "We’re the story about what happens when society runs amuck."
This year, Pierce-Morgan is presenting "No Regrets," the true story of how strippers were harassed and arrested in a raid by police. But since this is Fringe, you need to be prepared for nontraditional storytelling.
"So we’re going to make a spaceship," Pierce-Morgan explained. "We have an alien that comes spouting out, and in the course of act one she finds the time capsule."
When she opens the time capsule, audio of commercials from the 1960s spill out along with handcuffs.
"This is how I decided we would go from 2024 to 1968, the year of the raid," Pierce-Morgan said. "The time capsule, for me, is symbolic for what we're doing. If you have a time capsule and you have preserved what has happened in the past, then you can open it up and you can discover some light on what you need in order to go from darkness to light, to maintain human compassion and equality and all the things that it's so easy for us to forget."
Pierce-Morgan’s shows are ultimately about not being a silent bystander and about political battles fought from the unlikely stage of a strip club. Her story and the history of Les Girls is part of a six-part video podcast I am making called "Stripper Energy: Fighting Back from the Fringes."
New Venues in Lincoln Park
Pierce-Morgan’s dedication to Fringe takes on a new dimension this year as she provides two venues to add performance space to the fringes of the Fringe.
"In Lincoln Park at a huge complex with stages and just bringing art into an underserved neighborhood," Pierce-Morgan said.
The new venues are exciting because it has helped Fringe expand shows and performances that are approaching what they were pre-pandemic.
"Coming out of COVID we had pretty much stuck to just the two venues in Balboa Park last year." Davis said. "And this year, I wanted us to regain our title of the largest international performing arts festival in San Diego County. And I think we've done that since we've got over 300 performances and 60 groups and eleven venues."
At the new Lincoln Park venues I would recommend "Pirates of Hamlet" (I am always down for stage combat), and I am intrigued by "The Turing Test" as being presented in Russian with subtitles. But show some support for the fringes of the Fringe.
Other recommendations would be: "Anatomica: A Comedy About Meat, Bones, & The Skin You’re In" (because Amica Hunter is simple amazing and she is donating proceeds to Fringe!); "The Best Man" (Mark Vigeant proved highly entertaining last year); "The Kids Might Die" (I'm down to check out any Shakespeare inspired show); and "Rince Panic" (Irish dance by the Michael Prine). And note that Finest City Improv will only be participating in Fringe this Friday through Sunday so go check them out.
San Diego International Fringe Festival brings a rich diversity of art that you can’t find anywhere else. If you want to have the most fringy of Fringe experiences then check out these shows or venture out into completely unknown terrain, which is also a perfect approach.
