“Died in a Trailer Park Woke Up a Mermaid” at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

“It’s too late!  The Fringe is almost over!”  Nonsense.  There are TWENTY-ONE juicy time slots left in the next four days.  With two performances remaining, Ariel Leaf’s Died in a Trailer Park Woke Up a Mermaid should have one of those slots.  Leaf is a warm and engaging storyteller, sharing six autobiographical stories of how Anne (her given name) became Ariel.  The arc of the show tells a redemptive tale of surviving the worst.  As a child, Leaf traveled to Africa and lived in Communist Yugoslavia.  As a teen, she lived through harrowing, horrifying experiences that no child should suffer.  She tells then tells the humorous tale of how at 19 she gets lost in Wales on her way to Ireland.  After finding her way, the audience is relieved that this resilient young woman has made it safely not only to her destination but to adulthood as well.