random painted people and tutued person

people arranged to make brilliant composition

The Phoenix Fringe Festival mission statement says PHX:fringe “presents innovative, experimental and provocative theatre by local, national and international artists. PHX:fringe seeks to develop a cutting edge, urban audience by offering an edgy assortment of performance choices in non-traditional downtown spaces. PHX:fringe promotes artistic exploration by supporting the risky, adventurous work of established and emerging artists while also providing accessible, affordable performances to the community.”

PHX:fringe is a nonprofit founded in early 2008 by Phoenix theatre artists and producers. April 2 – 11, 2010 will be their third year of bringing alternative performances to the Valley of the Sun.

All shows are in various venues seating 40 – 125, within walking distance from each other, in downtown Phoenix.  Each show lasts from 30 to 60 minutes. Last year attendence was about 2000 and they hope to build on that this year.

PHX:fringe is now accepting applications for all performance types;  dance, mime, youth theatre, spoken word, etc., are all welcome to apply.  They hope to include international performers in addition to hometown talent.  The application fee is $35 and some scholarships and grants are available.  You can contact info@phxfringe.com with questions.  They are also on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. All you fringe types plan ahead – let’s get some southern Arizona representation!

A little Fringe history:  The oldest and largest fringe theatre festival is in Edinburgh, Scotland, begun in 1947 and today sells over a million tickets. If you Google Fringe festivals you will come up with many stateside and international entries.

At Suite 101.com I read about the Winnipeg festival:

The idea behind fringe festivals has always been to provide a venue for alternative and amateur performances, without artistic constraints from committees or societies. Anyone can apply to perform, and participants include professional actors, amateurs, and everything in between. Classics such as Shakespeare or Ibsen can be part of the festival, as well as children’s plays, juggling acts, comedy, and more. The quality of performances can vary considerably, but each one has its own special character.

The format of fringe festivals is unique. In the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, participants are chosen by a non-juried lottery to stimulate innovation among performers. Ticket prices are substantially lower than at traditional performances, allowing audiences to take in a variety of shows, with some free entertainment available at a central location.

Sister Spit: The Next Generation

Friday October 2, 8:00 PM at Gallagher Theater, University of Arizona, Free and open to the public

Sister Spit: The Next Generation is hitting the road again, with a whole new all-girl lineup of zinesters, fashion plates, novelists, performance artists, slam poets and fancy scribblers. Inspired by the legendary Sister Spit Ramblin’ Roadshow of the 90s, Sister Spit: The Next Generation is hauling a vanload of killer underground female talent across the USA carrying on the tradition of rowdy, raucous literary adventure. Come and meet your new favorite performers!

Beth Lisick, author of the books Monkey Girl, Everybody Into the Pool, and Helping Me Help Myself. Nude performance artiste. Comedienne.

Ariel Schrag, comics artist who documented her queer youth in a series of graphic novels — one of which, Potential, is being made into a movie by Killer Films.

Sara Seinberg, poetic powerhouse. Creator of the multi-city K’Vetch Queer Open Mic. Artistic Director of the past three Homo-A-Go-Go festivals. Photographer extraordinaire.

Kirya Traber, slam poet superhero. Teacher of poetry to the youth. Organizer of performances exploring queerness, race and more.

Ben McCoy, performance artist, novelist-in-progress, force of nature. Whose writings have been made into the short films My Hustler Boyfriend and The Face of God.

Rhiannon Argo, skater, future librarian, present novelist. Author of the queer tour-de-force The Creamsicle, which takes you into the lives of pill-popping, pole-dancing, heart-breaking, gender-fucking young queers

Hosted by Michelle Tea, co-founder of Sister Spit and the muscle behind Sister Spit: The Next Generation. Author of a bunch of books, including the Lambda Award-winning Valencia, and the coming-of-age-on-drugs novel Rose of No Man’s Land.

And special guest Tania Katan.

More info: http://www.myspace.com/sisterspitnextgen,

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Mighty Real with Lynnee Breedlove and Silas Howard

Saturday, October 10, 8 p.m., Dinnerware Artspace 264 E. Congress St. Sliding scale $7 +, all ages show

An evening of dueling solo shows

Lynnee Breedlove is an improv comic. Silas Howard makes 50-Cent videos. Lynnee is funny and ugly. Silas is poignant and handsome. Always disarming, alarming, and keeping you on your rocker boot toes, both use multimedia performance to trace the queer history that made them the men they are today.

Lynnee Breedlove’s all new solo show, Confessions of a Poser is a comic look at the mystery of the purple dick, how to use legacies of cultures not your own, and how to kill things, eat them and still be a Buddhist. He’s been told, “Too many props for standup,” and “Too many punchlines for theater.” Buckets, knives, and body parts are still integral to the show. Although dickless himself, weirdly, his biggest fans are straight bio boys, DWD, Dudes With Dicks, probably due to his constant appropriation of straight non-trans male culture.

Opening for Lynnee is Silas Howard’s one-man-show, Thank you for Being Urgent, tale of a transman in the queer punk world of San Francisco, spilling into the crappy and exalted glitter of Hollywood, searching for true tales of fierce outsiders, re-imagining the mainstream, traversing serendipitous heights and punishing ironies, Thank you for Being Urgent chronicles burlesque dancers with dementia, tranny jazzmen and film executives, using archival photos, film clips, and monologue.

More info: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mighty-Real-Tour

11 Things to do if you are nervous about going onstage

1. Stop thinking about how nervous you are! Remember that almost everyone is nervous almost every time. So what?!

2. Start thinking about something specific that you are going to say that you really want to communicate.

3. Have a conversation with someone else. The bartender, someone in the audience, another person who’s going onstage. This gets you out of your head and into your voice.

4. Do some deep breathing. This is very calming and centering. If you don’t know deep breathing techniques, go to a yoga class pr search it online, or just take a few long slow breathes through your nose

5. If your hands are shaking and you have to hold paper onstage, hold your paper on a stiff notebook or clipboard, which will mask the shaking.

6. Steady yourself by touching yourself (not like that!). Hands in pocket, or on hips etc. This reminds you that you are still in your body – not floating outside it!

7. Look for (or imagine) the friendliest face in the crowd and direct your material to them. Remember that they are really interested in what you want to communicate.

8. Run through the bullet points of your material in your head, remembering that you know what you are saying.

9. Remember that the physical symptoms of excitement are exactly the same as nervousness. Nauseous, lightheaded, tight in the chest, full of adrenaline. Try to convince yourself you are excited not nervous.

10. Focus on your opening line. In the unusual event that you don’t remember your opening line, look at your environment. Maybe you have something to say about the person who’s onstage before you or how hot/cold/dark/light the room is. This remark will bring you and the audience together in the present moment – and that’s what live performance is all about!

11. As soon as you get onstage, hold onto the microphone stand. It literally grounds you – and makes you feel more like a rock star.

Greg and Beth are in LA but they came to Tucson a few years ago and I took a workshop from them, The Comedian’s Way or The Un-Cab Lab, which is a “widely effective page to stage method for writing and performance (and self-discovery)” and it was fabulous! It’s great for anyone who wants to find their inner performer, not just comedians. I hope we can get them back to the Old Pueblo in the near future. Send them an email at uncabaret@earthlink.net if you’d be interested.

This was my reply:

For the last 5 years I’ve been inviting a diverse group of people to tell personal stories to a mostly heterosexual audience at Odyssey Storytelling in Tucson, AZ. Many of the tellers have been lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Some of the stories were specifically about the LGBT experience i.e. the transman who started his story on the theme The Thing About Hair by saying “when I was a little girl I had long hair”. That got the audience’s attention.  Sometimes the teller casually mentioned a same sex partner. And everything in-between. I love that the audience is exposed to everyday people who happen to be LGBT in a very “safe” environment. I’ve never heard an adverse comment. Obviously the tellers feel supported to share.

I’ve done four LGBT themed shows, two at Wingspan, the LGBT Community Center, one at University of Arizona, and one for the Center for Inquiry. These shows were very well received.

I’m very lucky to live in Tucson, the little island of blue in the sea of red Arizona.  LGBT content is just some of the “tough stuff” I’ve exposed the audiences to.  Some of the other “difficult” stories have ranged from child abuse to mental illness to prostitution.  My intention, besides using storytelling as an entertainment, is to give people something to think about.

Maybe some people get offended and don’t come back but at least they’ve had an experience of hearing another persons truth.  Mostly I find that people are being educated and that’s one step on the way to dispel prejudices.

What are the fears that stop people from using LGBT content / references / themes in storytelling and other spoken word events (including theater)?  That they’ll lose their audience?  That they’ll be banned from other shows or festivals?  That they’ll alienate people?

She taught herself the art of self promotion and constantly struggled to keep her name on the front page with strange and difficult escapades, doing things that women just didn’t do in those times.  She needed to pay the bills.

When I switched off the DVD, the TV came on and there was a PBS show on Amelia Earhart in the 1920′s, smiling at the camera, climbing into airplanes in trousers and a leather jacket and generally looking very dashing.  She knew how to use the media to promote her various stunts and achievements and was regularly featured in newsreels and newspapers. The novelty of a woman aviator had captured the imagination of the public.

She needed to keep her image vital so that she could pay the bills.

Seems to be a thread here.  Journalists, adventurers and performers all need an audience to be able to practice their art and they need to produce revenue in order to continue.

Recently there was an article in the NY Times about how performers have used The Moth Storytelling Slams as a jumping off point to further their careers.  Being seen in a popular event is a good way to prop up their reputations.

I Googled self promotion and came up with more than 14 million references.  Networking and blowing your own horn is a legitimate business strategy and face it, artists are in the business of getting  their work out there.   Because, after all, artists have to pay their bills.

Have you ever been to a spoken word or performance art event where there was no jurying and appeared to be no criteria for what constituted an acceptable presentation?  Like an open mic where anyone can have their five minutes of fame or the event formerly known as 7-Up where anyone can volunteer to take the spotlight and present what they are interested in.  They can be pretty exciting!  You never know what to expect and you can make some amazing discoveries.

On the other hand, it’s possible to sit through some pretty painful performances so a measure of control seems to make the audience’s experience smoother.

There’s a philosophical difference in these two approaches that seems to divide spoken word into two camps.  I’ve recently had an email discussion with Traci Moore, the editor of Monsoon Voices, the Live Literary Magazine.  Her method is to have people submit their stories just as they would with a print or online magazine.  She edits just as an editor would and that give her some assurance that the end product – the performance – will be up her standards.  As she says, “the selections we make are based on the quality of the writing/music and whether the content fits with our guidelines/mission.”

I was on the other side of the debate (well not entirely because we do have a theme and a rehearsal for Odyssey Storytelling.) My idea is to get as many diverse people on stage as possible and let the audience possibly suffer through a not-very-good story in exchange for hearing some spectacular ones. At the very least, they are learning about other peoples life experiences that may be very different than their own.

It always amazes me that when I do my informal poll at the end of a show on “which story and storyteller did you like the best / didn’t like at all”, I get a different answer from everyone.  The ones I thought were questionable always have a defender – someone who the story touched.   The ones I thought were clever and well done always have their detractors.  That’s what keeps it interesting to me.  I can never predict the impact of the event.

Do you like to be surprised or do you like to know that there will be a predictable level of skill and talent?

The circumstances were less than ideal.  The outdoor courtyard where Glenda Bonin was to tell her story at the grand opening of the UA Poetry Center had no mic nor stage.  She gamely climbed on top of a large rock in her long skirt and silver concho belt and mesmerized her audience with a tale of early settlers in the west.

Glenda was introduced to storytelling many years ago when her children where young and she volunteered to tell stories at her local library.  She had learned magic and was working part-time as a clown but didn’t consider it a serious career so she took a “real job”.  After she was downsized and was helping her ill father she had the opportunity to review her life and asked herself the question, “when was I the most happy in my life?”  The answer turned out to be when she was telling stories.

She immersed herself in learning the craft by attending workshops and festivals and read everything she could get her hands on.  She began by offering her services for free in order to get experience and to build a customer base and after two years she felt confident that she was ready to turn pro.  She still will do an occasional benefit for a worthy cause but now she’s able to support herself with her art.

Glenda specializes in stories for kids and families although she loves working with special populations such as college classes, special needs folks and seniors.  In addition to plying her trade in Tucson and Phoenix her work takes her all over the country.  She travels  to rural areas in an RV, sometimes for month long residencies.  She also offers workshops and digital storytelling; visit her website, Story Works Group to learn more.

Some of the stories that Glenda tells are original and some are re-creations of traditional stories with her personal stamp on them.  She puts a lot of time into learning and rehearsing them both with a tape recorder and with her peer group of other storytellers. She’s working on a book collection of the stories that she tells.

Glenda is also deep into a research project that revolves around her grandmother, a fascinating woman named Vera Martin.  She is creating a Chautauqua, a performance where one takes on the persona of another person and tells the story from their point of view. Some of you might remember Hal Holbrook becoming Mark Twain on stage, that’s a Chautauqua.

When I asked her the hardest part of the life of a professional storyteller she answered, “not making enough to put money into savings,” a common dilemma of creative self-employed people who are practicing their art.

Ignite Tucson, the event that David Aguirre of Dinnerware Artspace started a year ago will be at the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress, and down the street at the Club Congress, 311 E. Congress, you can catch Odyssey Storytelling (disclaimer, I’m the producer).  Both events start at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30.  Don’t forget, parking is free on the street after 5 p.m.

IGNITE Tucson

Around 15 people will grace the stage in front of a projected Powerpoint presentation of 20 images, each on the screen for 15 seconds.  The speaker has five minutes to talk about a topic they are passionate about.

You’ll see Karen Falkenstrom, Kathleen Williamson, Joanna Frueh, Janet K. Miller, Jodi Netzer, Shipherd Reed, Danielle from Tucson Life Cache, and more.  There is a $5 donation at the door for everyone, including the presenters.

This is the 4th IGNITE, and, according to David, “all of them have been really, really fun, informative, a great way to get your message out, and a good way to network. IGNITE Tucson shows us creative and innovative projects and talent happening in Tucson.”

Odyssey Storytelling

Six invited storytellers have ten minutes to tell their personal stories on the theme ILLEGAL.  The stories are not read or memorized, they are told from the life experiences and creativity of the teller.

This month’s storytellers are writer, Tom Clark; author, Juliana Piccillo; fundraiser, Edna Meza Aguirre; private investigator, Lorna Soroko; retired warden, Duane Vild; and No More Death’s activist, Jim Marx.  Tickets are $7 at the door or can be purchased online at the Odyssey website.

Odyssey Storytelling has been entertaining and edifying audiences for over 5 years.  Because the storytellers are uncensored and from diverse communities the stories may be fun, amazing, messy, enlightening, disturbing, and entertaining . . . and more.