Stripes: The Mystery Circus at FringeNYC

Come and see Sarah Hayward in the final performance of her solo show, Stripes: the Mystery Circus at FringeNYC. It's this Saturday at 7:15pm at Studio at Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce St., West Village.

In Stripes: the Mystery Circus, people-pleasing Pollyhymnia, who will do anything to get into the circus. She brazenly re-invents eight iconic circus acts including: The Escape Artist, The High Wired Act and The Bittersweet Bearded Lady. Secret theories, mysteries and Leonard Cohen are just a few of Pollyhymnia’s passions. In this metaphysical musical, Pollyhymnia finds her way through song, memories and sheer determination.

"Stripes: The Mystery Circus benefits from an engaging performer and a unique premise…What ensues is a series of songs, stories, and comic bits that aim to show that life is a circus, and we're all performers in striped costumes…."    Meredith Lee, Theatermania

Check out more about Sarah and her NYC adventures in Sarah's blog or on her website!

http://stripestheworldtourbegins.blogspot.com/

www.sarahhayward.ca/

Behind the Scenes of Picking Palin! FringeNYC Stage Manager Jessica Pollack Reviews

As a stage manager, I'm usually one of the last people hired on a show.  The cast is already in place, the first time I see the script is a few days before rehearsal starts, and the first time I hear any of the words on the page out loud is at the first rehearsal after design presentations.  Not so with Picking Palin, written and directed by Stephen Padilla and debuting as part of this year's New York Fringe Festival at the Connelly Theater.  I was fortunate enough to come on board Palin during the casting process as a casting assistant, which has made my experience with the show a unique one.    

While Picking Palin explores the truth behind how and why Sarah Palin came to be the Republican Vice Presidential pick in 2008, it became clear during auditions that at just the mention of Sarah Palin's name, many people expected the play to be a send-up and a parody of Sarah Palin (some even expected a musical) rather than what it is -- a fly-on-the wall experience that lets audience members into a hotel room with four top Republican strategists as they come to a fascinating decision on John McCain's running mate days before the pick must be announced. 

Beginning with finding a cast that can transport the audience into that room, it's been an exciting journey watching them bring the words in the script to life to open a window on a story that audiences have never before seen.  If you're looking for an experience far more captivating and moving than a "Springtime for Sarah" send-up, and one that will stay with you long after you've left the theater, check out the website at http://www.pickingpalin.com/Home.html.

Playing @ Connelly Theatre: Sat 21 @ 9:45  Wed 25 @ 9:30  Sat 28 @ NOON  

Buy Tickets at fringenyc.com.   

Opening Tonight!!! ***Take a Spiritual and Wacky Ride with “Omarys Concepcion Lopez Perez Goes to Israel (to Speak to God at the Wailing Wall)."

Written and Performed by Leila Arias

Catch the New York Premiere at The New York International Fringe Festival – FringeNYC August 13th - 29^th, 2010

Creator/Performer Leila Arias returns to the New York International Fringe Festival with the New York premiere of her multi-character solo comedy show, “Omarys Concepcion Lopez Perez Goes to Israel (to Speak to God at the Wailing Wall).”Omarys is a Persian/Puerto Rican Catholic girl from the Bronx who desperately needs to speak with God. When her father grants her the birthday present of her dreams, a pilgrimage to Israel, she never imagines that her spiritual journey will start with a lie. Forced to pretend a handicap so they can fly first class proves only the beginning, as Omarys wades through a cast of characters who both help and hinder her progress towards a conversation with God at the Wailing Wall.Although actress Leila Arias has been traveling the world since the age of 5, it was her trip to Israel that would transform her life. Inspired by Jerusalem and the people she met there, Leila wanted to create a one-woman play to capture and share her experience with others. The result is a passionate and heartfelt comedy show that offers a unique global perspective wrapped into a neat 40 minute bow. “Omarys Concepcion Lopez Perez Goes to Israel (to Speak to God at the Wailing Wall)” marks Leila’s second appearance at FringeNYC.

For more info, excerpts from the show and tickets, please go to; www.leilaarias.com

Six performances; Friday 8/13 @ 5 p.m., Sunday 8/15 @ 1 p.m., Monday 8/16 @ 9 p.m., Friday 8/20 @ 10:30 p.m., Sunday 8/22 @ 7:30 p.m., Sunday 8/29 @ 3 p.m.!!!! The Players Loft Theatre -- 115 MacDougal St., 3rd Fl. @ West 3rd NYC 10012.  

FringeNYC Feels Good

By 
Stephen
 W 
Baldwin,
 playwright
 “My
 Name
 is
 Ruth”


Heat 
making
 you 
drag? 

Fret 
not
 theatergoer.

  Help
 is 
on
 the 
way!
 
A
 quirky 
half‐pint
 heroine
 is
 dowsing 
the 
city
 with 
a
 big, cool 
bucket 
of 
happy
 over
 at
 the 
Connelly
 Theater 
on
 East
 4th
 Street.


 She’s 
bold,
 she’s 
adorable, 
and
 she’s
 the 
essence
 of 
FringeNYC.  

Meet
 “My 
Name 
is
 Ruth.”


It’s
 1950’s
 Minnesota,
 don’tcha 
know?  

A
 young 
widow 
moves
 to
 the 
big 
city
 and
 lands
 a
 job 
at
 a
 department
 store.

  But
 can
 a 
bashful 
businessman
 save 
both 
her
 home
 and 
her 
heart?  


Gosh-o‐willickers,
 we 
hope 
so!


Isn’t 
fringe 
great?

  Where
 else 
can
 you
 see
 a 
modern
 romantic‐comedy
 based 
on 
the
 Biblical
 story
 of 
Ruth?  

Or 
what 
about 
a
 show
 with 
two 
boxing 
dancers?

 Or
 a
 singing
 Dracula? 
(the 
last
 two 
are
 at
 the
 Connelly 
as 
well,
 by 
the 
way)
 
A
 cool
 breath
 of
 fresh
 arts 
blows 
through
 each 
August
 and
 relieves 
the 
city 
of
 the
 summer
 doldrums.

  It’s
 a
 chance
 for 
every 
off beat 
playwright,
 cabaret
 act,
 and
 dancing 
duo 
to 
think
 WAY 
outside
 the 
box
 and 
be
 heard.


With
 us,
 we
 like 
to 
tell 
people 
we’re 
a
 theater
 company 
that 
won’t
 depress 
you.

  This
 adaptation,
 its
 adorable 
leading
 lady,
 and 
content
—
they 
are
 completely
 sentimental
 and 
heart‐warming.  

Sincere 
to 
its
 fullest.

 
We 
think
 you 
just
 don’t
get 
to
 see
 that
 very
 often
—
sincerity
 seems
 to
 live 
on 
the
 outskirts 
of 
theatre 
these 
days, 
on 
the
 fringe
 of
 society, 
if
 you
 will.  
But
 right 
now,
 that’s
 where
 I 
want 
to 
be.  

It 
feels 
good 
to 
cool 
off 
every 
once
 in
 a
 while
 with
 the 
rest
 of
 the
 optimistic
 avant‐garde.


Feeling
 good
 never
 felt
 so 
edgy!




“My
 Name 
is 
Ruth” 
is
 produced
 by
 34west
 Theater 
and
 plays 
at 
the
 Connelly
 Aug
15-25.

  Dates 
and
 details 
are 
available 
at
 www.34west.org/ruth­nyc­fringe.


Strange Love's Journey Across the Galaxy

By Jorge J. Rodríguez
Producer, The Contasia Players

On the planet Contasia, the evil worm Dr. Roswald Tuscanunin has kidnapped the alien princess
Splontusia to use her as a test subject for his diabolical “mean” serum. As she plots her revenge,
a strange love begins to brew in the beakers of Dr. T's mad science laboratory! But before they
can slither off into the sunset, their love is challenged by past romances that come back to haunt
them...

Strange Love in Outer Space is a new sci-fi musical traumedy by 12-year-old playwright Janyia
Antrum. Currently a seventh-grader at New Haven’s Wexler-Grant Community School, Janyia
wrote the first part of Strange Love during the 2009 Dwight/Edgewood Project (D/EP), an after-
school playwriting program at Yale Repertory Theatre/Yale School of Drama that’s modeled
after the 52nd Street Project. She created the characters and crafted the world of the play over the
D/EP camping retreat. In just two days, she had imagined a whole new universe! When she got
home, she realized that her story wasn’t over yet and that same night, she wrote a sequel. A few
months later, Yale Cabaret commissioned her to write part three, and the trilogy premiered as
part of the their 42nd season, playing to sold-out audiences.

The Contasia Players, a group of students and graduates from Yale School of Drama, are now
proud to present the New York City premiere of Strange Love in Outer Space at FringeNYC!

If you enjoy zany musicals, sci-fi epics or romantic comedies (or all!), join us at The Cherry Pit
for a performance of Strange Love (Venue #14, 155 Bank Street). Five performances only—
8/14 at 2:15pm, 8/17 at 10:30pm, 8/19 at 8pm, 8/21 at 5:30pm, and 8/23 at 4pm. For more
information and tickets, visit: www.StrangeLoveinOuterSpace.com

3boys: Dogs Take a Bite Out of the Fringe

The Fringe Festival is touching down on 4th Street this August.  We at FAB thought it'd be cool to get some of the shows talking about what they're doing.  They'll be posting guest blogs right here on the FAB Feed throughout the Fringe Festival!  Check it out and be sure to get your Fringe Tickets Fast!

-Laurel

By Katie Chambers, Producer of 3boys

Ever wonder if your dog feels degraded by the name “Fifi”?  Do you think he really likes wearing that pink poofy sweater to the park every day?  These are the kinds of questions that ran through playwright Becca Schlossberg’s head as she stared at her dog and wondered whether, in reality, he was less of a family member and more of a slave.  Take those philosophical musings, add a dash of social commentary and a whole lot of darkness and you have 3boys­, the riveting and blackly humorous drama premiering at FringeNYC on August 13.

In 3boys, two older dogs teach a young pup the ropes of the human world and how they must obey the whacky rules set by man in order to survive.  Sure, it’s a play about talking dogs, but it’s no Saturday morning cartoon.  The dogs’ relationships with one another crumble under the weight of the limitations humans have set upon them—society literally beats their natural animal desires right out of them, forcing them into an image of domesticated “perfection.”  Sound familiar?  3boys is a modern Aesop’s fable about masculininty and gay rights, and how a society’s ideals of right and wrong can often do more harm than good.

3boys is created, produced, designed, and performed by a group of Drew University alums who are dedicated to telling stories that matter and who are taking New York by storm.  It’s not just a bunch of 20-somethings dressing as puppies—they hired a fight choreographer who wrestled an attack dog for research.  They mean business.

If you like your theatre short, dark, weird, violent, profane, and meaningful, come downtown to the 4^th Street Theatre between August 13^th and 28^th to play with the 3boys—we’ll try not to bite.   Dates and tickets are at www.3boysNYC.com.