Tuesday Fringe National Night Out recap

by Kate Hoff • August 6, 2008 • Last night was National Night Out, and I skipped the first two show slots to whip up a batch of the Barefoot Contessa’s Curried CousCous and hang out with my neighbors in the middle of my street.

We tried for the 8:00 showing of FOOL FOR A CLIENT by Mark Whitney at Bryant-Lake Bowl. Sold out! As we come into the home stretch of this year’s Fringe, I’ve mapped out the final days pretty solidly; at this point, if I miss slots, I’m missing shows for good, and that makes kittens cry. This is an example. Last week I had all the time in the world to see Mark’s show…right now, it looks like I won’t see him at all.

Full Frontal Fringe is the blog of Kate Hoff, one of five bloggers covering the Minnesota Fringe Festival for the Daily Planet.

Mourn the loss, and move on. Maybe he’ll have the encore show (the top-selling show in each venue gets a bonus slot Sunday night). With renewed hope, I set out to make an 8:30.

We decided on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War presented by No Refunds Theatre Co. at the U of M Rarig Proscenium. This was my first experience with the No Refunds ninjas. I like the concept a lot, but (I’m about to reveal my indifference toward ninjas) an hour started to feel like a little too much. I look forward to seeing fellow blogger Phillip Low’s review; he was sitting a few rows in front of me, laughing his ass off.

Onward to Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead presented by Walking Shadow Theatre Company at U of M Rarig Thrust. This has been a hugely popular show, but I ended up feeling the same about the zombies as I felt about the ninjas: I can see that it’s clever, I know it doesn’t suck, I’m positive that it will be many people’s favorite show of the Fringe…but it’s not my thing. In this case, the cleverness of the writing is completely lost on me. I’m Arrested Development, not Monty Python…and not Shakespeare. That said, it’s an impressive show, big cast, great costumes…and really awesome zombies.

We were just going to run in to Bedlam for a minute, but then Fringe trivia was about to begin…so of course we had to stay. Because of my board status, I was unable to compete for actual prizes, but joined up with some Fringe staff and formed a team called Already Disqualified. We came in second place! We almost aced the Minnesota Fringe category. One would hope so…

Kate Hoff is a fundraiser, printmaker, and alternative-theater denizen. Her prints were included in the Visible Fringe show in 2004—also the year she began blogging about the festival. A few years, countless blog entries, and a hundred-some Fringe shows later, Kate joined the Fringe board in early 2008. The views expressed here are hers alone and do not represent the official position of the Fringe (unless noted).