Stage Fog: The San Francisco Fringe Festival Edition
Get your running shoes, because it's time for the San Francisco Fringe Festival: 42 theater companies, 12 days and 7 venues.
Started 14 years ago by the Exit Theatre, the San Francisco Fringe Festival, opening Wednesday, is only one of the many Fringes around the world (Edinburgh being the most well-known). Some are juried, but San Francisco is an anything goes kind of town, so the Exit prides itself on not screening any of the entries. Instead, participation is determined by a lottery. Yeah, that means there's going to be some crap, but then, you'll also find some gems. At least all shows are only $9 or less.
How do you Fringe? This is where the running shoes come in. Check out the schedule and pick your shows. Each show is 60 minutes or less, with a half hour between shows. That means you can see something at Exit on Taylor, then run around the corner to the main Exit Theatre and then run up to the Phoenix Theatre. Don't see just one show; that's wimpy. We're going to catch three shows on Friday night--and we'll tell you all about it.
Like we said, anything goes at the Fringe, but after flipping through our program, we've found a few shows that may be worth seeing. At Original Joe's on Taylor (don't ask us why it's at a restaurant) you'll find Chinese Clown Cabaret, featuring a goofy cutesy clown and her real-life mom performing musical numbers and telling amusing family anecdotes. This winner of Best Clown Show in the 2004 SF Fringe was one of our favorite shows last year. And we're so at Lounge-Zilla, featuring The Oops Guys Comedy Troupe from Orlando, Florida performing "really bad lounge acts." OK, we admit it: the "X-rated 3D segment" warning got our attention. One-time Bay Area resident Gillian Chadsey and local Michelle Talgarow present go!. We have no idea what this show is really about, and the program description is no help. (One of these days we're going to teach a class on "press release writing for artists.") But Chadsey is a brilliant performer who had some pretty kick-ass shows when she lived here, so we're hoping this new show is no different. Kym Priess is Coca the Loca in El Camino Loco, playing with her imaginary band and telling stories of homelessness, mental illness and medications. Well, there are 42 shows, so check out the rest yourselves.
The SF Fringe site features audience reviews for those of us who are risk-averse or who want to gush about a show--or who are so pissed they spent $9 (or less) and wasted 60 minutes (or less) of their lives. But stay tuned, because we'll bring you reviews later this week.
Photo: One of The Oops Guys in Lounge-Zilla.