6.21.12: The Daily FringeMeter

VOICES IN MY HEAD: A LIFE — 100% Sweet

VOICES IN MY HEAD: A LIFE is a darkly comic coming-of-age story in the shadowy world of electronic imagery. Travel the bent roads of a media-mad nation with BILL RATNER – the voice of Flint on G.I. Joe, Robot Chicken & Family Guy; Donnel Udina in Mass Effect, movie trailers, and TV disaster shows.

Speed Merchant (of Venice) — 95% Sweet

A 90-minute version of Shakespeare’s play – drawing on influences from corporate gangsterism and reality television. Directed by Tiger Reel and adapted by Tiger Reel and Jack Young.

LOLPERA — 95% Sweet

LA Weekly’s “Pick of the Week,” LOLPERA, is an absurd multimedia opera with a libretto created only from captions of internet memes. Set in dystopian Catcotopia 2084,LOLPERA is the story of the epik quest for meaning in our modern world …told entirely through stupid cat pictures.

Fierce: Relations — 94% Sweet

From the brilliant minds at Fierce Backbone comes a collection of shorts about people — the good, the bad, and the alternatively minded. WHOLE FOODS and TALK IN 10 by Cailin Harrison, GAYBY’s PLAYDATE by Jan O’Connor, and A FEW GOOD PB&Js by Jeremy Kehoe.

Button Wagon — 94% Sweet

A performance of mixed up proportions and mind bending contortions. With Ember, a button-addict cowboy-boot wearing contortionist; and her quirky-counterpart, Poki, master of balance and object illusion. Button Wagon is sure to tickle your soul, wiggle your toes, and entangle your mind with wonder.

CYCLES — 94% Sweet

50min. drama @ a Boston fitness club by Robert Litz & dir. by Stefan Lysenko:Buzz(30)a real estate broker. Jake (65)real estate player. Buzz grew up in a tenement that burned down, killing his dad. Jake was the building owner. Buzz thinks it was arson and blames Jake.

I Am Not My Mamma — 93% Sweet

“I Am Not My Mamma” Is a One woman serio-comedy. The show is a coming of age story about the trials and tribulations of a Hollywood commercial queen journey to avoid being like her mother!

Queerdo – Setting the Record Straight — 92% Sweet

An auto-biographical one man show, about an anxious, avocado eating, Christmas carol singing, pill popping, sexually repressed twenty-something who farted. Written by Ehrin Marlow. Directed by Bjorn Johnson

Natasha Mail Order Bride Escape to America: The Musical — 92% Sweet

A musical comedy that follows the adventures of Natasha, a citizen of Crapistan, who has come to America, desperate to be a “True American”. Natasha the Mail Order Bride is a cross between Lucille Ball and a female Borat. Produced by David Svengalis. PG-13.

Live Theatre Blog: Milk From Stone — 92% Sweet

Eric Czuleger is a PCV in Albania. LTB is a new media theatre project that tells his stories. Performed by Deven Simonson, Directed by Sara Perry. Live streamed around the world. It’s a microphone, an actor, and an audience. Real stories happening now, experienced live onstage and online.

Feeding Time — 92% Sweet

Two RVs are parked on an empty lot on a street a few blocks from the sea. Living in one is a crusty veteran in search of peace. The other houses an elusive woman. Their attempt at romance is set within the counter-culture life-style of RV dwellers and their reasons to keep ‘rolling.’

Blood Fruit — 92% Sweet

This one-man comedy tells the autobiographical story of Majd Murad as he comes to terms with his homosexuality and finds the courage to come out to his Catholic Iraqi family, despite the fear of being killed for his “choice.” Voted Best of the Hollywood Fringe 2011.

Tape — 92% Sweet

Ten years after their high-school graduation, Jon and Vince find themselves in a Michigan motel room coming face to face with past transgressions. TAPE asks the question: who decides your truth? Featuring: Jason Karasev, Donald Rizzo, and Juliana Long Tyson. Directed by: Elissa Weinzimmer.

I Met Someone — 92% Sweet

A woman’s lifelong search for true love in all the wrong places, with a seemingly endless parade of disappointing dates, sewn together by years of self-help guru’s trying to assist her struggle to find Mr. Right.

4 Clowns presents That Beautiful Laugh — 91% Sweet

“Once upon a time the world forgot to laugh…” That Beautiful Laugh conceived by Orlando Pabotoy joins 2011 Hollywood Fringe Top of the Fringe winners, 4 Clowns and Porter’s Macbeth director, Turner Munch for a show about the pursuit of laughter and what makes it so beautiful.

Gentle Passage — 90% Sweet

What happened in Joe’s past that he’s blocked it so completely out? When you open the door to someone’s horrific past, you sometimes have to step through it in order to help.

The Women of Tu-Na House — 89% Sweet

What matters more – the size of the boat, the motion of the ocean or Jeremy Lin? Find out as you’re whisked on a wild visit to an Asian massage parlor in NYC and offered a rare glimpse into a surprising, comical and sometimes sad world generally seen through almond-shaped eyes.

Lost Moon Radio Episode 12 — 88% Sweet

One disc jockey, five actors, and a live band delight audiences with original sketches, songs, and metaphysical ramblings. Named “Best of Comedy” at the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2011.

Watch past shows, listen to sweet tunes, and download podcasts at www.lostmoonradio.com.

Before The Red Trees Come — 88% Sweet

A world premiere, silent play exploring themes of love, religion, consumerism, aging, and the relationship between generations. The play follows one man, named Capire, as he lives out his entire life on stage.

The Drifts Live — 88% Sweet

A middle-aged pregnant housewife, her husband, his lover, a trans-dad and a calf. Thom Vernon (Seinfeld, The Fugitive, etc.) performs his novel as written with a little help from Rob Waller, lead singer of I See Hawks in LA. In your face and raw, Southern Gothic turned inside out.

Leprechauns & Lies — 86% Sweet

From DC in ’90 back to Salt Lake City in ’83 to Honolulu in ’87 to Here & Now, this journey back & forth through the mind & times of a Mormon-raised Hawaiian agnostic explores regions of the universe & soul that might make you question your sanity. ALLSHOWS START EXACTLY ON TIME! 6/10 show is PWYC.

TEXAS LOVES LYLA! — 86% Sweet

The radio call-in queen of south Texas, Lyla KaRug, is moving to the interweb! Join us for her inaugural streaming show as she tackles ignorance, adult bullies, and gay teen suicide in this heartfelt comedy with music.

Crushed — 85% Sweet

“Why is it that the guys you like, never seem to like you back?” If you ever have asked yourself this- and let’s be honest you’re going to a theater festival, so you have- come, sit back, and get ready to laugh at someone else’s crushes, heartbreaks and seriously awkward photos.

Poe and Mathews: a Misadventure in the Middle of Nowhere — 85% Sweet

Poe and Mathews are an unlikely duo. Once shipwrecked on a deserted island they realize the only thing they have in common is getting on each other’s nerves. Will they survive or kill each other trying? Find out in this absurd clown show! “Laurel and Hardy waiting for Godot” – King Rivers Life Mag.

25 Plays Per Hour — 84% Sweet

Theatre Unleashed presents 25 short original plays featuring a handful of the company’s top actors playing over 50 characters…in one hour. Fusing comedy, drama and everything in between, these amazing pieces create a complete theatrical journey in 60 minutes or less. It’s speed theatre at its best!

DOOMSDAY CABARET! A Rock Musical of Apocalyptic Proportions — 84% Sweet

It’s December 21, 2012, the date the Hopi, the Egyptians and Nostradamus and others said the world would to end. An eclectic group of apocalyptic-obsessed freaks and geeks assemble in San Bernardino’s Community Center to rock their theories, hawk books and maybe even get laid before it’s over.

The Divine Madness of Isabella — 84% Sweet

Enter the world of Isabella Andreini, greatest actress of the commedia dell’Arte. Finding herself performing alone on a stage, Isabella is challenged to improvise a new scenario – the story of her life. Award-winning actress Wendy Gough brings to life some 20+ characters at a breakneck pace.

The SECRET of SHERLOCK HOLMES — 84% Sweet

A funny, yet intense, disturbing psychological 2-hander set in an atmospheric Victorian England. Holmes (John Mawson) and Watson (Mario Vernazza) are themselves under the famous magnifying glass. Amir Korangy is an experienced teacher and director. All are classically trained British actors.

I Am Google — 84% Sweet

Get search results from me in any language! Meet my ex-girlfriend, Twitter, her new boyfriend, Facebook and our old pal, Yahoo. Bing is not invited. You must accept cookies! “A well conceived delight.” **** FringeGuru. www.i-am-google.com

Shut Up and Dance — 84% Sweet

How many times do you have to bang your head against the wall until you finally change course? In the fun and funny one woman play, Stella Valente weaves the correlation of Argentine Tango to living life, creating lasting relationships and falling in love.

Leprechauns & Lies — 86% Sweet

From DC in ’90 back to Salt Lake City in ’83 to Honolulu in ’87 to Here & Now, this journey back & forth through the mind & times of a Mormon-raised Hawaiian agnostic explores regions of the universe & soul that might make you question your sanity. ALLSHOWS START EXACTLY ON TIME! 6/10 show is PWYC.

TEXAS LOVES LYLA! — 86% Sweet

The radio call-in queen of south Texas, Lyla KaRug, is moving to the interweb! Join us for her inaugural streaming show as she tackles ignorance, adult bullies, and gay teen suicide in this heartfelt comedy with music.

Crushed — 85% Sweet

“Why is it that the guys you like, never seem to like you back?” If you ever have asked yourself this- and let’s be honest you’re going to a theater festival, so you have- come, sit back, and get ready to laugh at someone else’s crushes, heartbreaks and seriously awkward photos.

Poe and Mathews: a Misadventure in the Middle of Nowhere — 85% Sweet

Poe and Mathews are an unlikely duo. Once shipwrecked on a deserted island they realize the only thing they have in common is getting on each other’s nerves. Will they survive or kill each other trying? Find out in this absurd clown show! “Laurel and Hardy waiting for Godot” – King Rivers Life Mag.

25 Plays Per Hour — 84% Sweet

Theatre Unleashed presents 25 short original plays featuring a handful of the company’s top actors playing over 50 characters…in one hour. Fusing comedy, drama and everything in between, these amazing pieces create a complete theatrical journey in 60 minutes or less. It’s speed theatre at its best!

DOOMSDAY CABARET! A Rock Musical of Apocalyptic Proportions — 84% Sweet

It’s December 21, 2012, the date the Hopi, the Egyptians and Nostradamus and others said the world would to end. An eclectic group of apocalyptic-obsessed freaks and geeks assemble in San Bernardino’s Community Center to rock their theories, hawk books and maybe even get laid before it’s over.

The Divine Madness of Isabella — 84% Sweet

Enter the world of Isabella Andreini, greatest actress of the commedia dell’Arte. Finding herself performing alone on a stage, Isabella is challenged to improvise a new scenario – the story of her life. Award-winning actress Wendy Gough brings to life some 20+ characters at a breakneck pace.

The SECRET of SHERLOCK HOLMES — 84% Sweet

A funny, yet intense, disturbing psychological 2-hander set in an atmospheric Victorian England. Holmes (John Mawson) and Watson (Mario Vernazza) are themselves under the famous magnifying glass. Amir Korangy is an experienced teacher and director. All are classically trained British actors.

I Am Google — 84% Sweet

Get search results from me in any language! Meet my ex-girlfriend, Twitter, her new boyfriend, Facebook and our old pal, Yahoo. Bing is not invited. You must accept cookies! “A well conceived delight.” **** FringeGuru. www.i-am-google.com

Shut Up and Dance — 84% Sweet

How many times do you have to bang your head against the wall until you finally change course? In the fun and funny one woman play, Stella Valente weaves the correlation of Argentine Tango to living life, creating lasting relationships and falling in love.

The Lights Are Off — 84% Sweet

Burnt’s roommate, Randy, an uptight Born Again, has just found his stash and is calling the cops. What’s a just-trying-to-make-tuition drug dealer to do? When Randy’s little sister Gwen arrives, Burnt is forced to either bury the truth or bury himself in this bittersweet rush of almost-romance.

Mission To Mate — 83% Sweet

A theatrical triptych sure to tickle your dipstick about the complexities of this dance we call seduction,love,relating, and possibly, human contact. Written and directed by Colin Mitchell(Bitter Lemons),starring Alla Poberesky and Michael Sanchez. One hour. Three plays. Two actors..wanna play?

Flesh Eating Tiger — 83% Sweet

Vicious dark humor chronicles an affair under the influence in this Los Angeles premiere from writer/director Amy Tofte. He struggles with sobriety, She’s dependent on his affection.

Is He Dead? — 83% Sweet

A sparkling comedy written by Mark Twain in 1989, yet undiscovered until 2003. When the brilliantly talented but desperately broke painter Jean-François Millet learns that his art would be more valuable if he were dead, he hatches a scheme to save the day that will hurt your sides with laughter.

Fierce: LA Streets — 82% Sweet

Three original short pieces from the brilliant minds at Fierce Backbone come together to represent writers’ interpretations of the down and dirty LA Street Scene. Includes THEPOOL OF GOLD IN THE SKY and DUSTED by Jan O’Connor, and TRIO by Amy Tofte.

Anaconda — 82% Sweet

Anaconda is a play that takes an honest look at the aftermath of bullying and the search for redemption. Two people have the chance to mend the wounds of the past at the expense of their futures. If you had everything you ever wanted, would you risk it all to be forgiven?

This Vicious Minute — 82% Sweet

“This Vicious Minute” is the raw, autobiographical account of one man’s battle with self-injury. It is a story about love, addiction and finding the strength to live the only moment we have – this present, this precious, this vicious minute.

Actors Circle Ensemble presents: The Indian Wants the Bronx — 82% Sweet

The Obie winning play opens with an East Indian – who speaks no English – lost at a bus stop in the Bronx. As he attempts to find his way to his son’s Bronx apartment, two young outcasts arrive on the scene.

Watch the trailer:
www.actorscircleensemble.com/ace#!__ace

Red Bastard — 81% Sweet

A Dangerous, Seductive, Comedy Monster with a mission to charm, disarm, shock & seduce. His target: you. After 5-star reviews & sold-out shows across the world, America’s premiere bouffon unleashes a feast of biting wit, mischievous improvisation, & physical prowess in the woods of Holly.

An Evening with “Marie Curie: Rogue Scientist” — 80% Sweet

Don’t miss the performance critics are calling “authentic… a fantastic body of work… full of emotional dynamics”! Madame Marie Curie fought cultural and misogynistic oppression to become a pioneer of radioactivity research and the first female Nobel Laureate. MarieCuriePlay.com

The Annual Meeting For The Society Of Lone Fishermen… — 78% Sweet

The Angler…he will wrestle fish into the boat, tell some salty jokes, play tag with a Coast Guard cutter, and have an unanticipated cathartic experience.

This is not an actor sitting on a stool. This is a solo show in which shit happens.

Grab your life vest and come along.

Richard Parker — 75% Bittersweet

Two men travelling by boat become irrevocably linked at the crossroads of fate and coincidence. They find themselves forced to defend their starkly contrasting world views from attack by the other as the play builds to an unexpected and shattering denouement. “Clever and compelling.”(The Scotsman)

boxWINDOWdoor — 75% Bittersweet

WINDOW debuts the second Act of box Window door at the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival! This original production sets the stage on fire with a live installation performance of movement, music, sculpture, light and language using the transformative power of dreams.

CARPE NOCTEM — 75% Bittersweet

An Evening of Feathers, Cancan & Glitz à la mode de Paris.
Cabaret Versatile’s CARPE NOCTEM invites you on an intimate journey of authentic French Cabaret, where the personalities of five Parisian Cabaret dancers unfold to the sensual music of Max Raabe, Juliette Greco and Enoch Light among others.

Inside the Box — 75% Bittersweet

When a college student receives a package from someone he had almost forgotten, it becomes the focus of his life for a few hours, even if it’s more fun than philosophy for his friends.

Round Rock — 75% Bittersweet

“Round Rock” is the Texas legend of the Sam Bass Gang, a group of notorious outlaws in the late 1800’s best known for committing one of the largest train robberies in U.S. history. A story about love and friendship, this Western epic from Aaron Kozak blends rustic charm with a darkly comic style.

Confessions of the World’s Worst Missionary — 74% Bittersweet

This snarky and heartfelt comedy tells the story of a naïve college girl who goes on a missions trip to Africa to save the world one African at a time, only to discover her faith is no match for the reality of poverty, HIV/AIDS, and myriad crises of the post-apartheid era.

Jennifer Aniston Stole My Life — 73% Bittersweet

Rue Murphy has five maxed out credit cards and an ex-child star daughter who is now “knitting with one needle.” In this grey world of realityTV, chemical cocktails and financial anorexia, Jennifer Aniston glimmers, a beacon of beauty and hope, the emblem of that most glorious creature, The Celebrity

Glennie & Maple Break Up — 72% Bittersweet

Funny, sad, angry, affectionate and poignant, GLENNIE & MAPLE BREAK UP dramatizes the fight(s) two headstrong people must make (or, sometimes, have) just to stay together. Can they have a relationship, even when they aren’t in one?

Cemetery Golf — 72% Bittersweet

Jim Loucks’ live-wire solo show takes you back to the Deep South with preachers shoutin’ from the mountaintops, mamas pickin’ switches, and Hellfire just a heartbeat away. Witty storytelling, quirky characters, down-home Gospel music. Director: Carol Rusoff. “Critic’s Pick”-Cincinnati Citybeat

FIVE — 72% Bittersweet

FIVE courageous dancers went through a deep energy healing process, embodying transformation in their body and dance.
The intimate project tells their touching story.
Unusual, powerful and inspiring!

Mixed Personality Disorders — 71% Bittersweet

Mental illness was never so much fun as in MIXED PERSONALITY DISORDERS, a world premiere solo show by David Michael Taylor. Born into a family of maniacs, raised by the TV, and unprepared for life in the real world, his tale of trauma and triumph makes this the feel-good feel-bad play of the year.

Making Love Over There — 71% Bittersweet

In our closets hang a thousand costumes and faces; we love to throw them on in the name of Love. This is an attempt to rediscover Love and its lexicon. A thematic series of snapshots, with original music and the mad joy of dress-up, dozens of characters are trying to remember what Love looks like.

RISE — 70% Bittersweet

“The past lies like a nightmare upon the present.” A young, popular, LA based preacher is confronted by a woman from his past rock’n’ roll lifestyle who carries a secret that has the power to destroy him. WORLD PREMIERE.

eggshell — 70% Bittersweet

Gold, Frank, and Murf invite you on a mishap laden journey through a world of gibberish! Armed with goggles, a plunger, tape, a helmet, a box fan, flippers, and imagination, these friends will sacrifice their use of language to save their one common tie: a giant eggshell.

Three Tables — 68% Bittersweet

Ever sat in a crowded restaurant and asked yourself, “what’s their story”? Are they married? On a first date? Celebrating an anniversary? Three Tables by Dan Remmes gives us a glimpse into the complicated, funny and poignant lives of three couples exploring love, loss and possibility.

D is for Dog — 63% Bittersweet

For the Roger’s family life is just like a 1950s sitcom—or is it, as they confront their history and identity before it is too late. Mixing puppetry, original music and video projection, taking you from the absurd to the terrifying, and everywhere in-between. Winner Ovation Award Puppet Design.

Fierce: Interventions — 62% Bittersweet

From the brilliant minds at Fierce Backbone comes a collection of three hilarious short pieces all about when it’s time to tell the harsh truths. BANANA INTERVENTION by Jeremy Kehoe, THE END OF THE LINE by Mona Deutsch Miller, and CLOUDS REST by Nancy Beverly.

Diary of a Sociopathic Freakazoid — 60% Bittersweet

Diary of a Sociopathic Freakazoid is an experimental theatrical experience where we dive into the black heart and mind of a New York sociopath using theatrical, musical and installation elements.Written and Directed by Richard Crawford and starring Zoe Rosario, Ruthie Stephens and Bertrand Roy.

The Nina Variations — 59% Bittersweet

This funny, fast-paced, heartbreaking play takes two of Chekov’s iconic characters, locks them in a room, and doesn’t let them out. In 42 variations on their infamous final scene, Nina and Treplev pit their unmatched wit and fierce passions against one another in this masterful work by Steven Dietz.

The God Particle Complex — 59% Bittersweet

A tragic one-act science farce about high energy particle physics, time travel, and the abrupt end of our universe.

Written by Chris Bell & Josh Zeller.
Directed by Debbie McMahon

The Last Five Years — 56% Bittersweet

“The Last Five Years” is a award winning musical. Written by Tony award winning composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown. The story is an intensely personal look at the relationship between a writer and an actress told from both points of view.

Altarcations — 49% Bitter

“A bishop. A priest. A woman. A boy.”

Snatched from today’s headlines, “Altarcations” examines lust, absolution, accepting apologies, and whether any place is safe.

“Altarcations” is a project of the Pasadena Arts Council’s EMERGE Fiscal Sponsorship Program.

Ghost Light — 43% Bitter

On Halloween night, four college students meet in a purportedly haunted theatre for some holiday fun. Are the ghost stories about the place just urban legends that lend themselves to pranks… or could they actually be true? The theatre itself becomes a character in this spooky environmental play.

pool (no water) by Mark Ravenhill — 42% Bitter

A famous photographer suffers a horrific accident. As a group of her less successful friends rally around her in the hospital, an almost unthinkable plan starts to take shape: Could she be their next art project?
Warning: Contains nudity, adult language and sexual situations.

Clowns, Goddesses & Tough Guys — 42% Bitter

Original bluesy pop songs connect the true story of how a boy rebuilds himself from devastating loss by collecting souvenirs and stories of his celluloid heroes, while visiting L.A., in 1977. How? By walking to their actual houses, knocking on their doors, and asking them in person, of course.

Nostalgium — 38% Bitter

When a young poet ventures into the home of his eclectic neighbor, he’ll discover a world you never imagined could be right next-door. Inspired by true events, and presented as one continuous scene, this two-person drama will keep you on the edge of your seat, guessing until the bitter end.

Virginia City — 31% Bitter

Virginia City is a new musical about finding your voice. A young drifter named Sam Clemens lands a job as a reporter in an old west mining town. Inspired by a visit from scandalous showgirl Adah Isaacs Menken, Sam finds his voice and becomes Mark Twain.