Happy Earth Day! How about some amazing live theatre performed by some astonishingly talented artists who are putting their hearts and souls into giving us things to think, cry, and LAUGH about? The Ithaca Fringe Festival opened on Thursday evening with a sneak preview community party, which ROCKED Fringe Central (Visitors Center at 171 The Commons), and all the shows debuted last night to rave audience reviews. I’m not exaggerating, This is a rare chance to see new live theatre from places as far as Scotland!
Kids and adults loved the delightful The World Will Stop If We Make a Mistake, with puppets, time-lapse film, and live-action sequences. “It was a breath of fresh air,” said one audience member. (It’s playing at 5:30 p.m. today and 11:30 a.m. tomorrow — recommended for kids under 13 and adults over 21.) “Whew, just beautiful,” said groups of people exiting the Scotland-based company doing Kara Sevda at Circus Culture. “She is the most astonishing performer,” raved everyone who saw Spy in the House of Men writer/actor Penny Sterling. “Gotta love a juggler-magician who never stops moving, despite his social life,” said about Doug Stafford’s “My Lack of Social Life.” Mississippi Smiles, a powerful drama by new playwright Kamillah Abdul-Malik and performed by an from Philadelphia, hit nerves and sparked deep conversation at Fringe Central afterward. “He just blew the house down,” said festival goer after festival goer about Delirium solo performer Martin Dockery, of Brooklyn. Local playwrights shine, too: James Comfort II’s feminist drama The Lightning Gap and David Guaspari’s comedic collection Important Nonsense. We could all use more beauty and art in our lives as well as science and activism! I strongly recommend all these shows, based on audience reports. Stop in at Fringe Central (Visitors Center on the Commons off Center Ithaca) for music, food, and camaraderie throughout the evening tonight, and from 10:00 to 5:00 tomorrow. Or get your tickets at the door(s). Venues all around town. See more about each show here<http://georgesapio.wixsite.com/ithacafringe/performers> and the schedule here<http://georgesapio.wixsite.com/ithacafringe/schedule> (note you can hit “Print Schedule” too). Maura Maura Stephens msteph...@ithaca.edu<mailto:msteph...@ithaca.edu> Independent<http://www.maurastephens.com> journalist, educator, researcher, writer, theatre artist, etc. 607-589-7302 office/voice 607-351-3766 mobile/text For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.
