Once again, the spring/summer has flown by, and tomorrow already we’ll be checking out some of the out-of-towners at the Touring Artist Showcase at Mixed Blood Theatre at 7. The touring shows are always a fairly safe bet, because, as someone said recently, who tours a shitty show? And unless the Minnesota Fringe is the first stop on the tour, chances are that these performances will be polished and have their major kinks worked out.
What else to tell you now? If you haven’t yet, check out the new Minnesota Fringe Festival website. New design, even more functionality. First, if you haven’t already, go to the website and sign up for a MyFringe account. Very easy. This will open up amazing doors that will lead you effortlessly through the festival, limiting overwhelm and confusion. Just do it. Once you do that, you can start browsing shows. See something that sounds interesting? Click the heart under the show photo and BOOM, it’s in your queue. One of my favorite features is My Fringe 5. This started last year and has really taken off: anyone with a Fringe profile (like you, for instance) can choose the five shows they’re most excited about, and explain why. This is a really great way to scan for trends in what’s hot and maybe alert you to shows not previously on your radar. Again, as you scroll through shows that other people are excited about, and you get excited, too — hit the heart. And it will magically appear in your queue.
This is where the miracle happens: once you’ve signed up for MyFringe, clicked the hearts on a few shows, you can Find Some Shows and go to the whole schedule and the overwhelming list of all the shows, way too many shows to see, and just looking at the list makes you exhausted BUT before you decide to spend the 11 glorious days of Fringe locked in your house watching Law & Order, check this out. YOU CAN CHOOSE TO DISPLAY ONLY SHOWS IN YOUR QUEUE. Shut up. It’s true. It is the most magical thing since email. It will change your Fringe life, and you won’t believe this but you better start believing because all of this functionality is also on your smart phone.
We are living in the future.
So this is all I have to say for now. Roll through the My Fringe 5 list (note you can opt to display the whole lot of them on one page — link at the bottom of the My Fringe 5 page). Check out the buzz. And for a truly excellent perspective on Fringing, I direct you to The Art of Fringing by my friend and Fringe veteran Alan Berks. Because I couldn’t have said it better myself.
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