Folks from the Minnesota Fringe festival made an appearance at Drinking Liberally last night. The Fringe is celebrating its 15th year, and despite my background with local arts organizations and theater, I've never made it to a show.
Part of the reason is a summer schedule (July 31-August 10 this year) that coincided with travel plans, but more often, it's because the festival presents so many shows, I'd put off until too late deciding what to see.
This year organizers offer a number of ways to help you navigate all the choices — which range from monologues to more elaborate but minimally staged shows. You can see video previews of all shows, check out staff plugs for individual shows, or browse the schedule by date, venue, title, etc. You can also view show summaries and buy tickets for individual shows, or add them to your master schedule.
The Fringe also suggests picking a block of shows within one neighborhood, exploring local shops and eateries as well. There are 16 venues grouped roughly in Loring Park/Warehouse District, South Minneapolis, the West Bank and Northeast.
Once performances start, audience members are invited to post their own reviews.
We'll see if I do any better this year. Meanwhile, here's a sample.
