Fringiest of the Fringe: Productions take walk on the wild side
Mainstream Indianapolis theater directors like to think they get wild once in a while, and they do.
But only at the fourth annual Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival can you watch Adolf Hitler get in touch with his feminine side, hear a weird theory about what happened to aviator Amelia Earhart, and meet a ticked-off psychiatric patient, a closet black boyfriend and a diabolical cotton farmer with an Australian accent.
IndyFringe -- which begins today, with a 10-day slate of provocative comedies, political dramas, youth productions and visual art -- is among many worldwide spin-offs from Scotland's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The Edinburgh Fringe got its start in the late 1940s, and the name came from the fact that some acts set up shop on the periphery of town, after being turned away from the city center. Through the years, Fringes have earned a reputation for edginess.
Here, get to know some of the fringiest of the Fringe:
Had your Phil of psychiatrists? Patient Rory Angst has
Rory Angst seems like a perfectly ordinary, angry young man. He hopes to settle down, and seeks professional help to find out what might be causing his relationships to crash and burn.
But before long, Angst -- who dropped out of college when he inherited a lot of money -- finds his therapist's methods questionable. In fact, he suspects the good Dr. Goddard might be after material for his next best-selling book.
Eventually, "Dr. Goddard and Mr. Angst," Larry Manion's comic drama opening Saturday at IndyFringe, turns the institution of psychiatry on its end-- or at least pokes fun at it.
"The irreverence really comes from a worm's eye view of the practice of psychiatry -- and power," said Manion, who wrote and directed the play, and also stars as Goddard.
Manion, 58, said he didn't intend to lampoon "Dr. Phil." But he has had a longstanding interest in writing plays about therapy and psychiatry. In the 1970s, he wrote "Group" (about "group therapy gone mad"), then introduced the character of Goddard and his unorthodox methods in "The Big Shoe," which is set in a mental health facility.
Patrick Koenig, a 24-year-old Indianapolis actor who plays Angst, considers the character an example of "normal anger issues that lie in men that are single and between 25 and 35. He's not really overboard, but ..... a lot of his friends see this as causing problems."
Koenig, who recently played Satan's son at Theatre on the Square, said "Dr. Goddard and Mr. Angst" sets upon a "steady progression. It just starts stepping outside the borders more and more. Even in Goddard's opening monologue, you know you're in for a ride."
Dr. Goddard and Mr. Angst
What: A comic drama about an angry young man and his psychiatrist. Presented by Lankywood Productions of Indianapolis.
When: 10:30 p.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday, 6 p.m. Monday, 9 p.m. Aug. 29, 6 p.m. Aug. 30 and 1:30 p.m. Aug. 31.
Where: Phoenix Theatre, 749 N. Park Ave.
Hitler play shows why it's called acting
It might take a moment to realize that the face behind the Hitler mustache is actually a woman's.
But Zehra Fazal, who will perform the one-person drama "My Friend Hitler" at Indy-Fringe, is "strictly a female female," as Rodgers and Hammerstein once wrote.
Born in West Lafayette and based in northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the 23-year-old Fazal premiered her adaptation of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima's 1960s play at D.C.'s Capital Fringe Festival last year. Her Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival run will be her second outing with the piece.
Fazal won't be the first at IndyFringe to play someone of the opposite sex ..... but a woman of Pakistani heritage playing a German dictator?
"It's really the artistic challenge that drew me to this piece," Fazal said, "and quite frankly, the shock value."
"My Friend Hitler" also won't be Fazal's first attempt at stepping into a role traditionally thought of as male.
When she was a student at the all-female Wellesley College, the 5-foot-8 Fazal was repeatedly cast as men when she tried out for plays. She played El Gallo in "The Fantasticks," for instance, and Herman in "Cabaret."
"My Friend Hitler" chronicles the longtime friendship and working relationship between Hitler and Ernest Roehm, who once commanded Nazi storm troopers, but eventually was executed. Hitler's gradual distrust of Roehm parallels the dictator's disdain for anyone who might stand in his way.
When Fazal came up with the idea of adapting Yukio Mishima's play for a one-person theater piece, she wanted to avoid a "caricature" of Hitler. She did base the early part of the play on images of him speaking publicly, complete with "his charisma and harsh movement." Gradually, she moved into a more intimate portrait.
"What drew me to this play was Mishima's attempt to capture Hitler at a very interesting time," she said, "while he still had something human in him."
My Friend Hitler
What: A solo performance by Zehra Fazal, inspired by a 1960s Yukio Mishima play.
When: 6.p.m. today, 7:30.p.m. Sunday, 9.p.m. Tuesday, 7:30.p.m. Thursday, 9.p.m. Aug. 30 and 3.p.m. Aug. 31.
Where: Theatre on the Square Stage 2, 627 Massachusetts Ave.
Meet-the-parents incident inspires play
Meeting your other half's family can be a nightmare. But it also makes for good comedy.
Les Kurkendaal describes his real-life adventure meeting his partner's parents as "frightening and amusing, all at the same time." But the 32-year-old writer, actor and standup comedian never expected to turn the tale into a one-man show.
Kurkendaal calls his show "Christmas in Bakersfield," because that's where it happened. But he thinks of his show as "Brokeback Mountain" meets "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," even though it isn't a gay-cowboy story or a 1960s drama starring Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier
Kurkendaal describes his first meeting with the parents of his partner, Michael Newman, as "one of those tense situations, where, as I went in to meet my boyfriend's parents, the stuff they were saying was so outrageous.
"Let me put it this way: His mother asked me if I tap danced. His parents are very conservative Caucasians who had never dealt with African-Americans before."
And did he feel like a latter-day Poitier?
"Oh, yes, I did, and I went back and looked at the movie. It was actually kind of shocking to me. This was 40 years after 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,' and here we were in 2006, still dealing with this stuff."
"Christmas in Bakersfield" has played in Washington, D.C., and other places in the United States, but Kurkendaal said he realized the show "truly had legs" when he took it to an international theater festival in Dundalk, Ireland.
"It went well," Kurkendaal said, "so I decided that, whether you're gay, straight or whatever, everybody has to meet the family at some point. It's a fish-out-of-water story that everybody can relate to."
"Christmas in Bakersfield" is one of several scripts by Kurkendaal. Another, which he recently performed in Minnesota, draws on his experience working at a weight-loss clinic. It's called "Attack of the Big Angry Booty."
Christmas in Bakersfield
What: A one-man show by Traveling Kurkendaal Productions.
When: 6 p.m. Saturday, 9 p.m. Sunday, 6 p.m. Monday, 9 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 29 and 4:30 p.m. Aug. 31.
Where: Theatre on the Square Stage 2, 627 Massachusetts Ave.
Fourth annual Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival
When: 270 shows by 53 acts. Various times, today through Aug. 31.
Location: Six venues on or around Massachusetts Avenue: Phoenix Theatre, ComedySportz Theatre and two stages each at American Cabaret Theatre and Theatre on the Square.
Tickets: $10 for adults, $7 students, $5 age 11 and younger. One-time $3 "Backer Button" required.
Info: (317) 223-8585, www.indyfringe.org
Posted in groups: IndyFringe
Fringe Festival, indy theatre, indianapolis art scene, indy culture, indianapolis culture, indianapolis theatre
For the Fringiest of the Fringiest of the Fringe, see "Peace on Terror," by Bloomington-based Theatre of the People, now showing:
Theatre on the Square - Stage 2 Saturday, August 23 @ 9pm Sunday, August 24 @ 1:30pm Wednesday, August 27 @ 7:30pm Saturday, August 30 @ 7:30pm Sunday, August 31 @ 6pm
"Peace on Terror," a War Story in Nine Chapters, is a realistic view of humanity's struggle to overcome perpetual cycles of violence. This nonspecific representation of neighborhood turmoil and neighbor-to-neighbor peacemaking crisscrosses all geopolitical boundaries and persuasions, while addressing basic human fears and the universal human desire for peace.
"Peace on Terror is sure to entertain folks who enjoy stimulating subject matter, meaningful spectacle and thought-provoking artistry," says Director and TOP Co-Artistic Director Hannah Moss. "This cathartic and charring presentation is unlike anything you have seen before. And for a very low ticket price, audiences will see the loving labor of fellow community members as we all explore the confusing world in which we live."
The artistic quest of declaring "Peace!" on "Terror" encourages audiences to acknowledge and reflect upon the present challenges of combating worldwide terrorism through peacemaking efforts beginning within ourselves in our own backyard. TOP's Peace on Terror is a tongue-in-cheek blend of theatrical storytelling, conceptual art, and satirical cartoon that utilizes universal and humanitarian themes to explore very real human suffering wrought from community conflict that continues to plague humanity.
"Rather than drawing large, sweeping conclusions or pointing fingers, Peace on Terror asks questions like 'what is Terror?', 'who is terrible?', 'why are we all so afraid?,' 'what are we afraid of?' And at some point, audiences are asked the biggest question of all: 'If it is necessary to declare 'War on Terror,' might we someday demand "Peace!" on Terror instead?'" says Moss, an IU Theatre & Drama Alumna. "Rather than alienate audiences, this project and these artists are attempting to bring the community together to share those fears, to discuss them, and to question their validity. Better than an hour with a good therapist, this play asks, 'why do we feel the way we do, and how do we overcome our fears?'"
Inspirational, cathartic, and controversial, Peace on Terror makes no direct mention of any known persons, nations, events, or political causes to further promote the artists' intention to create a "safe place" that encourages a community exchange of critical thought and the promotion of personal healing within a global environment of continual fear.
"I believe Peace on Terror gives a provocative and humanist view into politically controversial topics that may be more human and universal than they initially appear," says Peace on Terror actor and IU student Katie Golonka. "Instead of attempting to target specific issues, I feel that the show broadens the focus to encompass all of humanity, and the play seeks to draw parallels to all people. I hope audiences leave having seen little difference between themselves and their fellow citizens of the world."
"I hope audiences will leave the show willing to have a dialogue with their neighbors about what they have just seen. I hope they realize that the world isn't black and white, but a thousand shades of grey all coming at us at once," says Peace on Terror actor Emily Bedwell. "It's not about right and wrong, good and evil - it's about humanity and what we do to each other. No one likes to ask the hard questions or take a stand for issues that are so political and polarizing, but Peace on Terror tries to be unbiased and honest about what is happening, even though some people will still read whatever they want into it. It's scary. It's dark. It's real."
"Peace on Terror's" War Story in Nine Chapters includes a wide variety of current and modern phenomenon, from terror to torture, from citizen sacrifice to suicide bombing, from peacekeeping to peacemaking. Due to the show's sensitive and shocking material, no one 15 and under will be admitted without parent or adult guardian. Parents are strongly encouraged to keep their children at home.
"Don't walk into this show with preconceived ideas. That can be hard in a place like Bloomington because everyone assumes someone always has an agenda. I've learned that even I don't know where I stand on some of the issues." says Bedwell. "Go to this show with open eyes and be prepared for anything. Expect to be shocked and probably a little offended. It'll be an emotional experience that is sometimes terrifying, sometimes exhilarating. But certainly worth your time."
"The playwright is very brave to show us the tortured and the torturer, the public speaker and the masses being spoken to, the terror and the terrorists," says Moss. "Through the very concept of declaring Peace! On Terror, humans are able to take the very tool being used against them and render it impotent. All the playwright is saying is, what role can peace play during war?"
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