PerformInk
PerformInk is Chicago's entertainment industry trade publication.
It’s that time of year – the Chicago Fringe Festival and Kids Fringe are about to begin, and PerformInk has all the details. The Chicago Fringe Festival returns to Jefferson Park for its 9th year, August 30 – September 3. It’s an “uncensored” and “no-holds-barred” festival, and the participating shows are selected by a random lottery. The 2018 Fringe Festival is reduced in scale from previous years. This year it will cover one weekend with 24 (instead of 50) performers and companies performing comedies, dramas, dance pieces, musicals, performance art and the unclassifiable.
“By returning to our roots as a one-weekend festival, we will be able to refocus on building our community, to enhance the festival atmosphere, and to explore exciting new ideas that our team has never had the capacity to take on,” said Executive Director Anne Cauley. “We look forward to sharing this new take on a Chicago-style fringe.”
PREVIEW PARTY
Not sure how to decide which of the 24 shows to see? Grab a drink, meet some cool people, and enjoy a sampler platter of the entire Festival line up. Each group will have just three minutes to convince you their show is the one to see!
Tickets, packs, passes, and buttons will be available for sale on site.
This event is FREE and open to the public.
FRINGE AFTER DARK
Grab your flashlight and join us for the second annual FRINGE AFTER DARK – a late night cabaret and fundraiser featuring 2018 ChiFringe artists, volunteers, and staffers. Tickets are one for $20 or two for $30. They include the show and beer. All proceeds benefit the Chicago Fringe Festival.
Hosted by the one and only Ana Lucero, this cabaret is sure to surprise and delight you with previously unseen songs and skits,
lit only by your flashlights! You definitely won’t want to miss this one!
Will contain adult language and content. Audience discretion is advised.
(PRETTY SHINY CAGE) // CONSUME ME
by Lindsey Greer Sikes
from Oakland, CA
Lindsey Greer Sikes makes sexy, fleshy, scandalous, delicious, silly and often grotesque work which challenges the constructs of shame that keep our identities caged. Here she presents her HumAnimal and asks: do we want to break free? Or is it safer inside of society’s cage? Warning: You may never look at a bowl of strawberries the same way again.
Genre: Burlesque, Comedy, Drama, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
Content Warnings: Depictions of violence onstage, Force-feeding and possible contained vomiting, Loud Noises, Partial nudity, Potential audience contact with organic food items
BIG BALLOON SHOW
by Smarty Pants
from Chicago, IL
Smarty Pants presents the Big Balloon Show – an all-ages production featuring magic, comedy, and Smarty’s world-famous giant balloon props. Frequently seen on WGN-TV’s morning news, Smarty Pants and the Big Balloon Show promises hilarious fun with a theatre full of balloons!
Genre: Clown, Comedy, Family Friendly, Kids Fringe Selection, Physical Theatre
DIRTY DITTIES
by BimBamBoom
from Chicago, IL
Dirty Ditties presents 45 minutes of “the dirtiest songs that we know!” Performed on guitar, accordion and drums, these songs promise to be 100% filthy and not for the easily offended! Featuring such songs as “My Girl’s P*ssy”, “Love your V*gina” and “F*ck Her Gently”. Those song titles should give you a good idea whether this is a show for you! Every performance is guaranteed to be 90% dildo-free!!
Genre: Comedy, Musical
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage, Foul language, Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother
GOOD SAMARITANS
by Offbeat Arts
from Chicago, IL
A wayward young woman returns home to find her devoutly Christian family in shambles. Her mother has taken a 19-year-old boy as her sex slave, her brother comes home every day bleeding and covered in bruises, and worst of all, the damn family Crucifix keeps breaking. As the family unit begins to crumble, they all find themselves asking why they believe the things that they do, and why they seek abuse from the ones who are supposed to love them most. Good Samaritans received a staged reading at The Theatre School during its 2017 Wrights of Spring Festival.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Content Warnings: Depictions of smoking onstage, Depictions of violence onstage, Emotional abuse, Loud Noises, Partial nudity, Sexual content
HILDEGARD OF BINGEN MUSICAL
by With a Machete Productions
from Chicago, IL
What would you do if you spent 40 years locked in a windowless room with a schizophrenic, self-flagellating fanatic while experiencing divine visions? Hildegard of Bingen changed the world. Written by Reddyk and Krupp, Directed by Elizabeth Swanson.
Genre: Musical
Content Warnings: Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother
I AM TRYING TO THINK OF SOME WAY TO MAKE THE TITLE SHORTER BECAUSE THIS ONE IS WAY TOO LONG I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE
by Lee Archer
from San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Lee Archer’s solo show “I am trying to think of some way to make the title shorter because this one is way too long I think we can all agree” is perfect for anyone who would see a show with that title. And their friends, because usually you have at least one friend you could text saying “hey this sounds interesting, let’s go see this :)” and that friend would say “OK” without needing to know every little detail up front. Lee Archer’s show has been called “Entertaining!” by you, if you have been reading this sentence out loud.
Genre: Comedy, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
Content Warnings: Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother
I KILLED THE COW
by The Herd
from New York, NY
One woman thinks she’s steady. Until Mother Cheetah sweeps in, tipping her off balance. Through cataloging first sexual encounters, rehearsing mortifying phone calls, and tuning in to doctrinal lectures on veganism, she travels back to moments that shaped her.
Her journey catapults into a quest when she must come to terms with her assault. It will take more than just courage and a good pair of cheetah-print pants to confront what has happened. This journey into the lawless world of sexuality asks: When it feels like you’re being devoured alive, how do you make your body your own?
Genre: Comedy, Physical Theatre, Solo Performance
Content Warnings: Sexual Assault
I KNOW IT WAS THE BLOOD: THE TOTALLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF A NEWFANGLED BLACK WOMAN
by Tara Lake
from Cincinnati, OH
Actress, Soprano, and Storyteller Tara Lake takes audiences on a journey into the world of African-American Jersey Girlhood in the 1980s-1990s’ a world steeped in Family Sundays, Church Conventions, and extravagant reunions, weddings, and funerals. In a story of triumph tinged with bits of heartache, a scrappy girl-child navigates a changing world and finds the courage to live life on her own terms. A Chicago Fringe 2018 World Premiere, “I Know It Was the Blood” is an unforgettable performance of soul-rich theatre, storytelling, song, and poetry!
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
Age Recommendation: PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
I’M IN THAT MOOD WHERE I HATE EVERYONE BUT YOU
by Lucy Brooks & Tracie Kunzika
from Chicago, IL
A comedy variety hour, originally performed at the Second City Training Center and the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, this show explores the creative friendship of Lucy Brooks & Tracie Kunzika, directed by Jen Ellison. Featuring original feminist rap music, tuba playing, bubble blowing, spoken word, clowning, and sketch comedy. Come see what happens when friendship and art intersect. There is something for everyone in this show. In a world where it seems like everything is worth hating, this show reminds you that there is always one person you can count on.
Genre: Cabaret, Clown, Comedy, Musical, Sketch, Spoken Word
Content Warnings: Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother
INTANGIBLE NOTIONS ON TOP OF OBJECT
by The Neue DeBris Foundation
from Chicago, IL
Join curators Mike and Kate for this elitist parody that explores the ways in which everyday objects take on art-like qualities simply by adjusting how we view them. For some time, Mike and Kate have been collecting the pieces of detritus we accumulate in our busy, busy urban lives: movie ticket stubs crumpled in pockets, a hotel key card from a trip left in a wallet, the prophecy from a Chinese fortune cookie at the bottom of a backpack. This guided tour crops the lines between theater and exhibition by elevating what is basically trash into precious art-like spectacles.
Genre: Comedy, parody
JUBILEE DEBTORS CLUB
by Elizabeth Wautlet
from Paris, France
As Liza leads you through a journey of self-help seminars and wacky last-ditch solutions in an effort to get out of the red, debt becomes more than dollars and cents. It’s the currency of love and forgiveness. Both heart-wrenching and hilarious, Jubilee Debtors Club is a refreshing, original and darkly comic one-woman show that talks about dad, Deuteronomy, baseball cards, raspberry tart … and asks us to reevaluate what we owe and to whom.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Solo Performance
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage, Depictions of smoking onstage
LYNNE ROBERTS SOLO SKETCH KOOKOOMUNGA
by Lynne Roberts
from Chicago, IL
Lynne Roberts Solo Sketch Kookoomunga is solo sketch at its wackiest! Come and enter the mind of a crazy kookoomunga as she performs multiple sketches designed to make you laugh and look at the world with fish-colored glasses. Fresh from 2018 Chicago Sketch Fest, this show guarantees you’re gonna have a good time!
Genre: Comedy, Physical Theatre, Sketch
MIMECYCLE
by Henry James Walker
from Seattle, WA
Premiering in Seattle in February 2018 Mimecycle is a (nearly) non-verbal solo show about braving Seattle streets on two wheels and true grit. Heavily inspired by Sylvain Chomet’s Triplets of Belleville and Pixar shorts’ and fueled by clown and mime – Henry James Walker pulls the audience into their imagination and behind the handlebars in a whirlwind physical theatre piece. When traffic rumbles the mantra, the only good cyclist is a dead cyclist, our hero sheds his fight or flight impulse and learns to love the ride.
Genre: Clown, Physical Theatre, Solo Performance
MISTER VIBE: PSYCHIC HYPNOTIST
by Mister Vibe
from Chicago, IL
Experience an immersive, mind-expanding hour with award-winning entertainer Mister Vibe. This unique interactive show combines enlightening psychic readings with hypnosis to take the audience on a fast-paced, funny and fascinating journey of empowering self-discovery. World premiere.
Genre: Comedy, Physical Theatre, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
MRS. WRIGHTS
by Quasimondo Physical Theatre
from Milwaukee, WI
Artist and philosopher Olgivanna has just lost her husband, Frank Lloyd Wright. Grief stricken, she channels the renowned architect and the four colorful women closest to him in a meditation on relationship, independence and immortality. Dance and theater construct untold stories of house and home in this tour de force solo performance. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has lauded Creator/Performer Jenni Reinke’s performances as “always mesmerizing,” “ravishingly beautiful” and “riveting,” and has consistently included her work in its annual “Best Of Wisconsin Theater” review. “Mrs. Wrights” is produced by critically acclaimed, award-winning Quasimondo Physical Theatre, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Genre: Dance, Drama, Physical Theatre, Solo Performance
PEEP SHOW
by BimBamBoom
from Chicago, IL
Peep Show presents an evening of authentic, American striptease, comedy and surprises! This troupe of Chicago artists thrill in the art of the reveal! Each and every burlesque striptease was created, costumed and choreographed by the artist who performs it! PEEP SHOW mixes comedy, music, magic and striptease to give audiences everything they’re looking show at the burly show!
Genre: Burlesque, Comedy, Musical
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage, Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother, Partial nudity
RAINBOW CHILDREN, ANGEL BABIES, AND FRUITLESS FIG TREES
by V. Lash Productions | Veronique LaShell MacRae
from Durham, NC
Inspired by the structural format of “For Colored Girls…” and “Women on Fire,” this piece is an exploration of infertility, loss, and barrenness in support of pregnancy and infant loss awareness. Through a series of monologues, song, and dance, “Rainbow Children, Angel Babies, and Fruitless Fig Trees” expresses the stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) for those who have experienced loss or inability to have children.
Genre: Dance, Drama, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
Content Warnings: Adult content, Depictions of smoking onstage, Loud Noises
ROMEO, JULIET, ET AL.
by The Witches
from Chicago, IL
Twenty-two characters, three actors, one hour.
(Also an audience, maybe some chairs, a couple of swords, at least one dagger, some poison a letter or two, probably a dance, an ancient grudge. a minimum of two households, etc.)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Physical Theatre, Shakespearean
Content Warnings: Depictions of violence onstage
SETTLE THIS THING
by Bick/Antzis
from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
“The audience was eating it up… it would do well at Just for Laughs.” -Keith Heistermann, (9to5.cc)
Tamara Bick & Drew Antzis (comedy writers/directors – Second City, Funny Or Die, Comedy Central, HBO) discuss sex, parenting, and dealing with their in-laws as they share their opinions and scientific-ish conclusions on what makes a marriage work. They also ask audiences to help them settle some hilarious marital disputes.
“…always hilarious, Drew and Tamara’s scientific(ish) ways will make you laugh and then, will make you think.” -Vadim Gran (Mobtreal)
Genre: Comedy
Content Warnings: None reported
SHE MOVED THROUGH THE FAIR
by Polly MacIntyre
from Philadelphia, PA
The romantic life of a contemporary Irishwoman is illuminated in bittersweet, often comic tales of coming of age, illicit love affairs gone wrong, an unforgettable plan for revenge, and its surprising aftermath. Inspired by and freely adapted from the works of Edna O’Brien, She Moved Through the Fair has been performed at Artists of Tomorrow Festival (NYC), the Capital Fringe Festival (DC), Way Off Broadway performance space (Houston) and the Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Solo Performance
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage
SWIPE LEFT: DATING IN THE WINDY CITY BLOWS
by Cox Productions
from Chicago, IL
Emily moved to Chicago to further her career–and her love life as well! But things haven’t been so much a Midwestern version of ‘Sex in the City’ as they have been, well, a DISASTER!! What follows is a comic tale of nerves of steel, embarrassment, delight, horror and wonder at the wide assortment of men out there. Featuring musical numbers by Heidi Joosten, Ryan Scott Oliver, and Drew Gasparini, ‘SWIPE LEFT’ is a musical comedy romp that is sure to delight. Join Emily and Heidi for a recap into one woman’s crazy misadventures in Chicago’s millennial dating scene!
Genre: Cabaret, Comedy, Drama, Musical, Solo Performance
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage, Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother, Sexual content
THREAD AND BONE
by Lisa Egan Woods
from Chicago, IL
Where memory meets a sewing machine… This world premiere original solo-work explores an intimate patchwork of love, family, loss and survival. In less than an hour, one woman and her sewing machine will create something unique from a tangle of memories. Written, performed, and sewn by Chicago actress Lisa Egan Woods – proud member of Actors Equity Association
Genre: Solo Performance
CLOSING NIGHT PARTY Close out #ChiFringe2018 with drinks, speeches, and silly awards sure to make everyone feel appreciated. All are welcome to join the final celebration of 2018.
Tickets
Entrance fees are a one-time button purchase of $5, and then $10 for each individual performance you attend (or $5 for children 12 and under at a Kids Fringe performance – no button required). Passes with a discounted ticket price are available when attending multiple performances: a four-show pass is $36, a ten-show pass is $80 and an unlimited pass is $100. Each venue will have a box office for day-of purchases, and the box office for the entire festival is located at Fringe Central, Weston’s Coffee & Tap Co., 4872 N. Milwaukee Ave. Tickets are available in advance at chicagofringe.org.Kids Fringe
The Chicago Fringe Festival Kids Fringe is for children 5 – 12 years old and includes performances, activities and special events. Performances include: Saturday, Sept. 1 – Monday, Sept. 3 Smarty Pants Presents The Big Balloon Show A one-time button purchase of $5 plus each show ticket admission of $10 for adults; children ages 12 years and younger are $5 for each Kids Fringe performance, no button required. Saturday, Sept. 1 Community Show: Windy City Performs 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. FREE ADMISSION Sunday, Sept. 2 Community Show: ASC Trailblazers 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. FREE ADMISSIONShows
This year’s performers come from Chicagoland as well as Ohio, Indiana, Milwaukee and Canada and France. The event returns 100% of ticket sales to the artists. In their first eight years, the Chicago Fringe Festival has returned almost $240,000 to artists. (Show descriptions from the festival and their artists):
PREVIEW PARTY
Not sure how to decide which of the 24 shows to see? Grab a drink, meet some cool people, and enjoy a sampler platter of the entire Festival line up. Each group will have just three minutes to convince you their show is the one to see!
Tickets, packs, passes, and buttons will be available for sale on site.
This event is FREE and open to the public.
FRINGE AFTER DARK
Grab your flashlight and join us for the second annual FRINGE AFTER DARK – a late night cabaret and fundraiser featuring 2018 ChiFringe artists, volunteers, and staffers. Tickets are one for $20 or two for $30. They include the show and beer. All proceeds benefit the Chicago Fringe Festival.
Hosted by the one and only Ana Lucero, this cabaret is sure to surprise and delight you with previously unseen songs and skits,
lit only by your flashlights! You definitely won’t want to miss this one!
Will contain adult language and content. Audience discretion is advised.
(PRETTY SHINY CAGE) // CONSUME ME
by Lindsey Greer Sikes
from Oakland, CA
Lindsey Greer Sikes makes sexy, fleshy, scandalous, delicious, silly and often grotesque work which challenges the constructs of shame that keep our identities caged. Here she presents her HumAnimal and asks: do we want to break free? Or is it safer inside of society’s cage? Warning: You may never look at a bowl of strawberries the same way again.
Genre: Burlesque, Comedy, Drama, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
Content Warnings: Depictions of violence onstage, Force-feeding and possible contained vomiting, Loud Noises, Partial nudity, Potential audience contact with organic food items
BIG BALLOON SHOW
by Smarty Pants
from Chicago, IL
Smarty Pants presents the Big Balloon Show – an all-ages production featuring magic, comedy, and Smarty’s world-famous giant balloon props. Frequently seen on WGN-TV’s morning news, Smarty Pants and the Big Balloon Show promises hilarious fun with a theatre full of balloons!
Genre: Clown, Comedy, Family Friendly, Kids Fringe Selection, Physical Theatre
DIRTY DITTIES
by BimBamBoom
from Chicago, IL
Dirty Ditties presents 45 minutes of “the dirtiest songs that we know!” Performed on guitar, accordion and drums, these songs promise to be 100% filthy and not for the easily offended! Featuring such songs as “My Girl’s P*ssy”, “Love your V*gina” and “F*ck Her Gently”. Those song titles should give you a good idea whether this is a show for you! Every performance is guaranteed to be 90% dildo-free!!
Genre: Comedy, Musical
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage, Foul language, Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother
GOOD SAMARITANS
by Offbeat Arts
from Chicago, IL
A wayward young woman returns home to find her devoutly Christian family in shambles. Her mother has taken a 19-year-old boy as her sex slave, her brother comes home every day bleeding and covered in bruises, and worst of all, the damn family Crucifix keeps breaking. As the family unit begins to crumble, they all find themselves asking why they believe the things that they do, and why they seek abuse from the ones who are supposed to love them most. Good Samaritans received a staged reading at The Theatre School during its 2017 Wrights of Spring Festival.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Content Warnings: Depictions of smoking onstage, Depictions of violence onstage, Emotional abuse, Loud Noises, Partial nudity, Sexual content
HILDEGARD OF BINGEN MUSICAL
by With a Machete Productions
from Chicago, IL
What would you do if you spent 40 years locked in a windowless room with a schizophrenic, self-flagellating fanatic while experiencing divine visions? Hildegard of Bingen changed the world. Written by Reddyk and Krupp, Directed by Elizabeth Swanson.
Genre: Musical
Content Warnings: Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother
I AM TRYING TO THINK OF SOME WAY TO MAKE THE TITLE SHORTER BECAUSE THIS ONE IS WAY TOO LONG I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE
by Lee Archer
from San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Lee Archer’s solo show “I am trying to think of some way to make the title shorter because this one is way too long I think we can all agree” is perfect for anyone who would see a show with that title. And their friends, because usually you have at least one friend you could text saying “hey this sounds interesting, let’s go see this :)” and that friend would say “OK” without needing to know every little detail up front. Lee Archer’s show has been called “Entertaining!” by you, if you have been reading this sentence out loud.
Genre: Comedy, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
Content Warnings: Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother
I KILLED THE COW
by The Herd
from New York, NY
One woman thinks she’s steady. Until Mother Cheetah sweeps in, tipping her off balance. Through cataloging first sexual encounters, rehearsing mortifying phone calls, and tuning in to doctrinal lectures on veganism, she travels back to moments that shaped her.
Her journey catapults into a quest when she must come to terms with her assault. It will take more than just courage and a good pair of cheetah-print pants to confront what has happened. This journey into the lawless world of sexuality asks: When it feels like you’re being devoured alive, how do you make your body your own?
Genre: Comedy, Physical Theatre, Solo Performance
Content Warnings: Sexual Assault
I KNOW IT WAS THE BLOOD: THE TOTALLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF A NEWFANGLED BLACK WOMAN
by Tara Lake
from Cincinnati, OH
Actress, Soprano, and Storyteller Tara Lake takes audiences on a journey into the world of African-American Jersey Girlhood in the 1980s-1990s’ a world steeped in Family Sundays, Church Conventions, and extravagant reunions, weddings, and funerals. In a story of triumph tinged with bits of heartache, a scrappy girl-child navigates a changing world and finds the courage to live life on her own terms. A Chicago Fringe 2018 World Premiere, “I Know It Was the Blood” is an unforgettable performance of soul-rich theatre, storytelling, song, and poetry!
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
Age Recommendation: PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
I’M IN THAT MOOD WHERE I HATE EVERYONE BUT YOU
by Lucy Brooks & Tracie Kunzika
from Chicago, IL
A comedy variety hour, originally performed at the Second City Training Center and the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, this show explores the creative friendship of Lucy Brooks & Tracie Kunzika, directed by Jen Ellison. Featuring original feminist rap music, tuba playing, bubble blowing, spoken word, clowning, and sketch comedy. Come see what happens when friendship and art intersect. There is something for everyone in this show. In a world where it seems like everything is worth hating, this show reminds you that there is always one person you can count on.
Genre: Cabaret, Clown, Comedy, Musical, Sketch, Spoken Word
Content Warnings: Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother
INTANGIBLE NOTIONS ON TOP OF OBJECT
by The Neue DeBris Foundation
from Chicago, IL
Join curators Mike and Kate for this elitist parody that explores the ways in which everyday objects take on art-like qualities simply by adjusting how we view them. For some time, Mike and Kate have been collecting the pieces of detritus we accumulate in our busy, busy urban lives: movie ticket stubs crumpled in pockets, a hotel key card from a trip left in a wallet, the prophecy from a Chinese fortune cookie at the bottom of a backpack. This guided tour crops the lines between theater and exhibition by elevating what is basically trash into precious art-like spectacles.
Genre: Comedy, parody
JUBILEE DEBTORS CLUB
by Elizabeth Wautlet
from Paris, France
As Liza leads you through a journey of self-help seminars and wacky last-ditch solutions in an effort to get out of the red, debt becomes more than dollars and cents. It’s the currency of love and forgiveness. Both heart-wrenching and hilarious, Jubilee Debtors Club is a refreshing, original and darkly comic one-woman show that talks about dad, Deuteronomy, baseball cards, raspberry tart … and asks us to reevaluate what we owe and to whom.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Solo Performance
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage, Depictions of smoking onstage
LYNNE ROBERTS SOLO SKETCH KOOKOOMUNGA
by Lynne Roberts
from Chicago, IL
Lynne Roberts Solo Sketch Kookoomunga is solo sketch at its wackiest! Come and enter the mind of a crazy kookoomunga as she performs multiple sketches designed to make you laugh and look at the world with fish-colored glasses. Fresh from 2018 Chicago Sketch Fest, this show guarantees you’re gonna have a good time!
Genre: Comedy, Physical Theatre, Sketch
MIMECYCLE
by Henry James Walker
from Seattle, WA
Premiering in Seattle in February 2018 Mimecycle is a (nearly) non-verbal solo show about braving Seattle streets on two wheels and true grit. Heavily inspired by Sylvain Chomet’s Triplets of Belleville and Pixar shorts’ and fueled by clown and mime – Henry James Walker pulls the audience into their imagination and behind the handlebars in a whirlwind physical theatre piece. When traffic rumbles the mantra, the only good cyclist is a dead cyclist, our hero sheds his fight or flight impulse and learns to love the ride.
Genre: Clown, Physical Theatre, Solo Performance
MISTER VIBE: PSYCHIC HYPNOTIST
by Mister Vibe
from Chicago, IL
Experience an immersive, mind-expanding hour with award-winning entertainer Mister Vibe. This unique interactive show combines enlightening psychic readings with hypnosis to take the audience on a fast-paced, funny and fascinating journey of empowering self-discovery. World premiere.
Genre: Comedy, Physical Theatre, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
MRS. WRIGHTS
by Quasimondo Physical Theatre
from Milwaukee, WI
Artist and philosopher Olgivanna has just lost her husband, Frank Lloyd Wright. Grief stricken, she channels the renowned architect and the four colorful women closest to him in a meditation on relationship, independence and immortality. Dance and theater construct untold stories of house and home in this tour de force solo performance. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has lauded Creator/Performer Jenni Reinke’s performances as “always mesmerizing,” “ravishingly beautiful” and “riveting,” and has consistently included her work in its annual “Best Of Wisconsin Theater” review. “Mrs. Wrights” is produced by critically acclaimed, award-winning Quasimondo Physical Theatre, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Genre: Dance, Drama, Physical Theatre, Solo Performance
PEEP SHOW
by BimBamBoom
from Chicago, IL
Peep Show presents an evening of authentic, American striptease, comedy and surprises! This troupe of Chicago artists thrill in the art of the reveal! Each and every burlesque striptease was created, costumed and choreographed by the artist who performs it! PEEP SHOW mixes comedy, music, magic and striptease to give audiences everything they’re looking show at the burly show!
Genre: Burlesque, Comedy, Musical
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage, Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother, Partial nudity
RAINBOW CHILDREN, ANGEL BABIES, AND FRUITLESS FIG TREES
by V. Lash Productions | Veronique LaShell MacRae
from Durham, NC
Inspired by the structural format of “For Colored Girls…” and “Women on Fire,” this piece is an exploration of infertility, loss, and barrenness in support of pregnancy and infant loss awareness. Through a series of monologues, song, and dance, “Rainbow Children, Angel Babies, and Fruitless Fig Trees” expresses the stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) for those who have experienced loss or inability to have children.
Genre: Dance, Drama, Solo Performance, Spoken Word
Content Warnings: Adult content, Depictions of smoking onstage, Loud Noises
ROMEO, JULIET, ET AL.
by The Witches
from Chicago, IL
Twenty-two characters, three actors, one hour.
(Also an audience, maybe some chairs, a couple of swords, at least one dagger, some poison a letter or two, probably a dance, an ancient grudge. a minimum of two households, etc.)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Physical Theatre, Shakespearean
Content Warnings: Depictions of violence onstage
SETTLE THIS THING
by Bick/Antzis
from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
“The audience was eating it up… it would do well at Just for Laughs.” -Keith Heistermann, (9to5.cc)
Tamara Bick & Drew Antzis (comedy writers/directors – Second City, Funny Or Die, Comedy Central, HBO) discuss sex, parenting, and dealing with their in-laws as they share their opinions and scientific-ish conclusions on what makes a marriage work. They also ask audiences to help them settle some hilarious marital disputes.
“…always hilarious, Drew and Tamara’s scientific(ish) ways will make you laugh and then, will make you think.” -Vadim Gran (Mobtreal)
Genre: Comedy
Content Warnings: None reported
SHE MOVED THROUGH THE FAIR
by Polly MacIntyre
from Philadelphia, PA
The romantic life of a contemporary Irishwoman is illuminated in bittersweet, often comic tales of coming of age, illicit love affairs gone wrong, an unforgettable plan for revenge, and its surprising aftermath. Inspired by and freely adapted from the works of Edna O’Brien, She Moved Through the Fair has been performed at Artists of Tomorrow Festival (NYC), the Capital Fringe Festival (DC), Way Off Broadway performance space (Houston) and the Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Solo Performance
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage
SWIPE LEFT: DATING IN THE WINDY CITY BLOWS
by Cox Productions
from Chicago, IL
Emily moved to Chicago to further her career–and her love life as well! But things haven’t been so much a Midwestern version of ‘Sex in the City’ as they have been, well, a DISASTER!! What follows is a comic tale of nerves of steel, embarrassment, delight, horror and wonder at the wide assortment of men out there. Featuring musical numbers by Heidi Joosten, Ryan Scott Oliver, and Drew Gasparini, ‘SWIPE LEFT’ is a musical comedy romp that is sure to delight. Join Emily and Heidi for a recap into one woman’s crazy misadventures in Chicago’s millennial dating scene!
Genre: Cabaret, Comedy, Drama, Musical, Solo Performance
Content Warnings: Depictions of drinking onstage, Language I wouldn’t use in front of my mother, Sexual content
THREAD AND BONE
by Lisa Egan Woods
from Chicago, IL
Where memory meets a sewing machine… This world premiere original solo-work explores an intimate patchwork of love, family, loss and survival. In less than an hour, one woman and her sewing machine will create something unique from a tangle of memories. Written, performed, and sewn by Chicago actress Lisa Egan Woods – proud member of Actors Equity Association
Genre: Solo Performance
CLOSING NIGHT PARTY Close out #ChiFringe2018 with drinks, speeches, and silly awards sure to make everyone feel appreciated. All are welcome to join the final celebration of 2018.
Performance Schedule:
| Event | Venue | Address | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Body of a Woman as as Battlefield in the Bosnian War | CCJP - Gym | 5320 W Giddings St | 01 Sep Sat | 4:00 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 2:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 8:30 PM | |||
| Dirty Ditties | CCJP - Gym | 5320 W Giddings St | 31 Aug Fri | 8:30 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 7:00 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 8:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 1:00 PM | |||
| Peep Show | CCJP - Gym | 5320 W Giddings St | 31 Aug Fri | 10:00 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 5:30 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 7:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 7:00 PM | |||
| Mimecycle | CCJP - Gym | 5320 W Giddings St | 31 Aug Fri | 7:00 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 2:30 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 1:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 4:00 PM | |||
| Mrs. Wrights | CCJP - Gym | 5320 W Giddings St | 01 Sep Sat | 1:00 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 5:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 2:30 PM | |||
| Hildegard of Bingen Musical | CCJP - Gym | 5320 W Giddings St | 01 Sep Sat | 8:30 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 4:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 5:30 PM | |||
| Swipe Left: Dating in the Windy City Blows | CCJP - Meeting Hall | 5320 W Giddings St | 01 Sep Sat | 2:30 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 7:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 5:30 PM | |||
| (pretty shiny cage) // CONSUME ME | CCJP - Meeting Hall | 5320 W Giddings St | 01 Sep Sat | 7:00 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 2:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 8:30 PM | |||
| Mister Vibe: Psychic Hypnotist | CCJP - Meeting Hall | 5320 W Giddings St | 31 Aug Fri | 10:00 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 8:30 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 1:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 7:00 PM | |||
| Settle This Thing | CCJP - Meeting Hall | 5320 W Giddings St | 31 Aug Fri | 8:30 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 4:00 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 8:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 4:00 PM | |||
| Do You See What I Hear? | CCJP - Meeting Hall | 5320 W Giddings St | 01 Sep Sat | 5:30 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 5:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 2:30 PM | |||
| I Know It Was the Blood: The Totally True Adventures of a Newfangled Black Woman | CCJP - Meeting Hall | 5320 W Giddings St | 31 Aug Fri | 7:00 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 1:00 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 4:00 PM | |||
| Jubilee Debtors Club | Gift Theatre | 4802 N Milwaukee Ave | 01 Sep Sat | 1:00 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 4:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 7:00 PM | |||
| I'm In That Mood Where I Hate Everyone But You | Gift Theatre | 4802 N Milwaukee Ave | 01 Sep Sat | 7:00 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 2:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 4:00 PM | |||
| Lynne Roberts Solo Sketch Kookoomunga | Gift Theatre | 4802 N Milwaukee Ave | 01 Sep Sat | 5:30 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 8:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 1:00 PM | |||
| She Moved Through the Fair | Gift Theatre | 4802 N Milwaukee Ave | 01 Sep Sat | 8:30 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 1:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 5:30 PM | |||
| Romeo, Juliet, et al. | Gift Theatre | 4802 N Milwaukee Ave | 31 Aug Fri | 8:30 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 4:00 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 7:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 2:30 PM | |||
| Rainbow Children, Angel Babies and Fruitless Fig Trees | Gift Theatre | 4802 N Milwaukee Ave | 31 Aug Fri | 7:00 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 2:30 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 5:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 8:30 PM | |||
| "I am trying to think of some way to make the title shorter because this one is way too long I think we can all agree" | The Playhouse at Jefferson Park - Home of Windy City Performs | 4766 N Milwaukee Ave | 01 Sep Sat | 7:00 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 8:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 5:30 PM | |||
| Thread and Bone | The Playhouse at Jefferson Park - Home of Windy City Performs | 4766 N Milwaukee Ave | 31 Aug Fri | 10:00 PM |
| 03 Sep Mon | 2:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 7:00 PM | |||
| Intangible Notions on Top of Object | The Playhouse at Jefferson Park - Home of Windy City Performs | 4766 N Milwaukee Ave | 31 Aug Fri | 8:30 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 4:00 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 7:00 PM | |||
| Good Samaritans | The Playhouse at Jefferson Park - Home of Windy City Performs | 4766 N Milwaukee Ave | 31 Aug Fri | 7:00 PM |
| 01 Sep Sat | 8:30 PM | |||
| 02 Sep Sun | 5:30 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 4:00 PM | |||
| Big Balloon Show | The Playhouse at Jefferson Park - Home of Windy City Performs | 4766 N Milwaukee Ave | 01 Sep Sat | 1:00 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 1:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 1:00 PM | |||
| I Killed the Cow | The Playhouse at Jefferson Park - Home of Windy City Performs | 4766 N Milwaukee Ave | 01 Sep Sat | 5:30 PM |
| 02 Sep Sun | 4:00 PM | |||
| 03 Sep Mon | 8:30 PM |