Ready or not, the 2014 Capital Fringe Festival kicks off tonight, running through July 27 with 140 shows performed at New York Avenue NW’s Fort Fringe and 14 venues across the city. New this year is a site-specific performance series with six productions taking place at non-traditional locations like a barbershop, the National Mall, and Dupont Circle. There’s more dance than ever before. According to CEO Julianne Brienza, twists on ancient Greek plays are up, Shakespeare productions are down.
There’s perhaps a double meaning in the “Move Me DC” slogan attached to this, the ninth annual festival. It sort of comes off as a reasonable challenge to the performing groups, about 30 percent of whom are local entrants, to produce art that makes it feel something. Entry into the unjuried festival is by definition first-come, first-served. That can mean, sometimes more often than not, that you leave a show feeling more like you’ve blown 45 minutes and $17 than moved.
But after the final bows are taken and awards handed out on July 27, the whole operation is quite literally moving. Moving from their centrally located bohemia, which will soon be developed into luxury condos—to Trinidad. Last month, Fringe announced the purchase of property at 1358 and 1360 Florida Avenue NE, a former auto body shop turned into the Connersmith Gallery that they will turn into a space with three black box theaters, a scene shop, and gallery. The permanent space will allow Fringe to expand their imprint year on D.C.’s cultural landscape year round.
As always, our DCist team will get out to review as much as we can to share a taste of the festival you and our constructive two cents with the artists. We wish we could get to everything, though we’ll only make it to a small fraction of the lineup.
A Tuesday preview night offered glimpses of a handful of this year’s shows. Peering back out from the Baldachino Gypsy Tent to that evening’s double rainbow was a pleasant diversion from several vignettes that didn’t exactly Move Me DC. That was until…
•The pants-less male full frontal, bondage, mutual regurgitation fetishism of Persephone snapped theatergoers back to attention. Julianne did say to look out for the Greek stuff! Aether Art Projects says each of their five shows is created with a different artist for a varying interpretation. So you won’t know what you’re going to get, but it will probably include a lot more nudity.
•Baby dolls were bashed against each other with ketchup squeezed all over them in Medea’s Got Some Issues. The unhinged tirade of actress Lisa Hodsoll was a bit uncomfortable and left the place smelling like Heinz 57. Really Fringe-y. Plus it’s directed by Joshua Morgan, one half of the team that brought the hilarious Assembly Required shows to the festival a few years ago.
•A husband and wife team—stage names Dr. Dour and Peach—really shined through a sort of loud and tough crowd with their stage presence, musical storytelling, and playful Monster Songs.
•I thought that Brick Penguin Tries Its Best was a comedy that would be funny for Unitarians — hey, why should Jews have all the fun when it comes to insider religious jokes? Turns out Unitarian Mingle was just a part of their collection of irreverent sketch comedy.
•James Judd showed the audience that he is a funny stand-up guy, though I’m not entirely sure what Killer Quack is all about.
•Not in the previews, but Pinky Swear Productions and Ron Littman have continuing track records for guaranteed good times.
And that doesn’t begin to cover it. Take a recommendation. Check out ours or other reputable reviews. Scroll through all the shows, pick one based on where or when you’re free to see one, click the website’s random show button.
No matter how promising or piddling a ticket to any show is a flat $17 plus a one-time button purchase of $7. Savings are available by purchasing multi-show passes. Have fun out there and have a great festival as Fringe reaches the end of an era.
See you next year on the H Street streetcar?
