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THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL ISSUE NO. 1 Find out where the bunch from FringeCENTRAL are hanging this year... AUGUST 10-26 2007 YEP. THE 2007 NEW YORK FringeCENTRAL is at the former location of the legendary Banana Express market. No wonder we go bananas. If last year’s SoHo location allowed us to bring culture to the fashionistas, now we focus on giving you extra potassium. We’re like we are every year: fresh, delicious and good for you. So may I, your FringeNYC Personal Shopper for the fourth year, give you a taste sample? Dive with me into this finger-licking buffet. We have of everything: something tangy, something sweet and shows about penises. We have shows about love and dramatic shows as crunchy and salty as fried plantain. We have shows so filled with fantasy, so sweet and luxuriously rich, you want to have them both as parfait and flambé. Heck, I’m hungry. Let’s start eating! Being that we are the TMZ.com of the East Coast, we have our share of celebrity-obsessed wares, though slightly older celebrities. There’s MIRIAM who happened to be Moses' sister, or that Southern belle (Whence Came Ye Scarlett O'Hara O'Hanrahan?) We have JOAN OF ARPpO (a Swiss clown fighting the British!) and PIAF. We also have Leni (no, not Bruce – Riefenstahl!). On the political front, there’s HILLARY AGONISTES and Dirt (Hello! My name is Saddam). We have ANDREA / AGAVE (about Andrea Yates who drowned her five children) and our own “Springtime for Hitler,” BUKOWSICAL! We have another “Capote” biopic, this time with Marilyn Monroe (Beautiful Child) as well as BENT TO THE FLAME – A Night with Tennessee Williams. Those in the know, know Theremin (founder of electronic music!) And we have a true FringeNYC celebrity, Susan Louise O’Connor, who finally Gets Some Play (directed by: Moritz von Stuelpnagel! Yeepee!) Name game But do we have some fake celebrities. Are supposed to know them? Well, certainly. We have JOHN GOLDFARB, PLEASE COME HOME!, which includes Middle Eastern dance choreography, and The Consuming Passions of Lydia Pinkham and Rev. Sylvester Graham (culinary curiosities!) Then, there’s Mary Brigit Poppleton is Writing a Memoir (escaping Long Island in a rowboat!) and Mother Hubbard's Cupboard (pest control!). Let us not forget Victor Woo – The Average Asian American Victor Woo – The Average Asian American (written by the two Kevins, who do not come off a average Asian Americans at all!) "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" Hmmm… no Romeo this year, but we do have HAMLET – a stand up, as well as HORATIO and The Winter's Tale Project. And more classics: by Avner Kam Continued on p3 THE PERSONAL SHOPPER GOES BANANAS Above: Featured in the pictures are Soneela Nankani (Caitlin) and Jeff Brown (Ham) of An Air Balloon Crosses Antarctica; Top Right: Naked in a Fishbowl – Featuring: Katharine Heller (short dark hair) , Brenna Palughi (Blonde) Lynne Rosenberg (curly hair) and Lauren Seikaly (long dark hair); Bottom Right: Garret smiles as Taty & Kevin work on internet installation in the background THE SHOPPER EDITION Photo by Dixie Sheridan

Find out where the bunch from FringeCENTRAL are hanging ... · Find out where the bunch from FringeCENTRAL are hanging this year ... SLUGWOMAN FROM URANUS ... Find out where the bunch

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P12

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL • ISSUE NO. 1

Find out where the bunch from FringeCENTRAL are hanging this year...

A U G U S T1 0 - 2 6 2 0 0 7

www.fringenyc.org August 10, 2007

YEP. THE 2007 NEW YORKFringeCENTRAL is at the formerlocation of the legendary BananaExpress market. No wonder wego bananas. If last year’s SoHolocation allowed us to bringculture to the fashionistas, nowwe focus on giving you extrapotassium. We’re like we areevery year: fresh, delicious andgood for you.

So may I, your FringeNYCPersonal Shopper for the fourthyear, give you a taste sample? Divewith me into this finger-lickingbuffet. We have of everything:something tangy, something sweetand shows about penises.

We have shows about love anddramatic shows as crunchy andsalty as fried plantain. We haveshows so filled with fantasy, sosweet and luxuriously rich, youwant to have them both as parfaitand flambé. Heck, I’m hungry.Let’s start eating!

Being that we are the TMZ.comof the East Coast, we have ourshare of celebrity-obsessed wares,though slightly older celebrities.There’s MIRIAM who happenedto be Moses' sister, or that Southernbelle (Whence Came Ye ScarlettO'Hara O'Hanrahan?) We haveJOAN OF ARPpO (a Swiss clownfighting the British!) and PIAF. Wealso have Leni (no, not Bruce –Riefenstahl!).

On the political front, there’sHILLARY AGONISTES and Dirt(Hello! My name is Saddam). Wehave ANDREA / AGAVE (aboutAndrea Yates who drowned herfive children) and our own

“Springtime for Hitler,”BUKOWSICAL! We have another“Capote” biopic, this time withMarilyn Monroe (Beautiful Child)as well as BENT TO THE FLAME– A Night with TennesseeWilliams.

Those in the know, knowTheremin (founder of electronicmusic!) And we have a trueFringeNYC celebrity, Susan LouiseO’Connor, who finally Gets SomePlay (directed by: Moritz vonStuelpnagel! Yeepee!)

Name gameBut do we have some fakecelebrities. Are supposed to knowthem? Well, certainly.

We have JOHN GOLDFARB,PLEASE COME HOME!, whichincludes Middle Eastern dancechoreography, and TheConsuming Passions of LydiaPinkham and Rev. SylvesterGraham (culinary curiosities!)Then, there’s Mary BrigitPoppleton is Writing a Memoir(escaping Long Island in a

rowboat!) and Mother Hubbard'sCupboard (pest control!).

Let us not forget Victor Woo –The Average Asian AmericanVictor Woo – The Average AsianAmerican (written by the twoKevins, who do not come off aaverage Asian Americans at all!)

"O Romeo, Romeo! Whereforeart thou Romeo?" Hmmm… noRomeo this year, but we do haveHAMLET – a stand up, as well asHORATIO and The Winter's TaleProject. And more classics:

by Avner Kam

Continued on p3

THE PERSONALSHOPPER GOESBANANAS

Above: Featured in the pictures are Soneela Nankani(Caitlin) and Jeff Brown (Ham) of An Air BalloonCrosses Antarctica; Top Right: Naked in a Fishbowl –Featuring: Katharine Heller (short dark hair) , BrennaPalughi (Blonde) Lynne Rosenberg (curly hair) andLauren Seikaly (long dark hair); Bottom Right: Garretsmiles as Taty & Kevin work on internet installation inthe background

THE SHOPPER EDITION

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special place for our youngest audiencemembers, special events listings and flyers,the press wall, the volunteer desk, a place tomake a podcast, and much, much more! Oneof the best things is that it is the place whereour audience and artists come together,which is what FringeNYC is all about!

FringeNYC Propaganda: What all goes on atFringeCENTRAL?

Elena Holy: Well, it’s not only thecentral box office and community center, it’salso our administrative office until the endof August, as well as the home of theproduction staff and tech storage. We’ll haveour daily roll call meetings here, as well asthe Opening Ceremonies and departmentalmeetings. We have a conference room, officespace, public space, venue boxes for boxoffice managers and venue directors to

check and what seems like miles and milesof Ethernet cable!

FringeNYC Propaganda: Who makesFringeCENTRAL happen?

Elena Holy: Kevin Bartlett, our SpecialEvents Director, who is also a really talentedelectrician, contractor, constructor, cleanerand all around wonderful guy.

When we decided that having a bigFringeCENTRAL space was something thatwe wanted to make a priority forFringeNYC, he took on the role ofcoordinating and building the space –dealing with vendors, hiring crew, haulingoff garbage, getting everything out ofstorage and moving our administrativeoffices. I think he is getting pretty tired ofstapling fabric to the ceiling… but what hehas done to make this a home for all of us is amazing. �

P11www.fringenyc.org August 10, 2007 August 10, 2007 www.fringenyc.org

Top Left: Kevin works on removing tile from the exterior; Top Center: Hiram, Taty & Elena practice creative use ofa FringeNYC banner to cover the (also fairly appropriate) "Banana Express"; Top Right: Jill, Garret & Barrie helpan early customer; Above Left: Alexa cleans the patio, but still looks glam; Above Center: The quintessential "before"shot; Above Right: Mid-construction, having removed the old awning; Right: Ian preps the gate for painting; BottomRight: Jill concentrates on "T3", the new TicketWeb service

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Continued from p10

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GALATEA, ELEKTRAFIRE – amodern rock opera, CHEKHOVJAZZ and an interpretation of “TheSeagull” (Days and Nights: page121, lines 11 and 12). There isDressing Miss Julie (adapted fromAugust Strindberg), Elephant inthe Room! (after Ionesco's“Rhinoceros” ) and LOST INHOLLYWOODLAND OR THESLUGWOMAN FROM URANUS(retelling of Faust).

And now that we covered theclassics, can be please get to thesex? Sure thing!

We have SLUT à la carte (She isnot a whore!) and SHE WOLVES:Women in Sex, Death & Rebirth.Pedicure lovers would be happy toknow we have Sodomy &Pedicures! Penis lovers would be

happy to know we offer both Riselike a Penis from the Flames – APhallic Phoenix Story as well asPB&J where the P stands for penis(“soylent green is made of penis!”)

Now on with the peep show:We have All Alone (perversions!)and angel/buddy (alien disdain forsemen!) as well as Chaser (malenudity!)

More nudity disclaimers can be found at DOUBLE VISION,Poppies and Top and Bottom.Consider yourself warned.

Speaking of behaving likeanimals, we do have ANIMALS(featuring unicorns having sex) andElephant in the Room!

We have an eerie comedy aboutFish and CATCH THE FISH, basedon the Vanity Fair article, “Rich,

Jaded and Lost in LA.”)) andNaked in a Fishbowl (starring thefour chicks!).

From BAAAHHH!!! (sheepskinand mayhem) to The Monkey Moo(woman, man and monkey!)through Pigeon Man Apocalypse(he lives on pigeons!) andVampingo... a comedy with bite(killer flamingos – watch out!!)AND The Rat King Rock Opera(hope for humankind!) to Woof,Daddy (Do repeat after me: “Woof,Daddy, woof.””)

I wonder – is there a specialGrace to say while chomping downa Banana? I am only asking becausethe holiness quotient in this festivalis in heaven: we have Action Jesus(closet Christians!) and Jesus Rant:The Religio-Comic Ravings of a

Former Christian (30% soul-searching!)

There is The Life and Times ofMartin Luther (Reformed)(peasant mobs!) on top of Madonnaand Child and Other Divas(Exorcism!) AND The Miracle onMonroe Street (miraculous!) andthen there is The Gospel Accordingto Matthew (ChristianFundamentalist AND gays!) A-men!

Title effortNow, let’s discuss someobservations about FRINGE NYCtitles. There is rise in the use ofslash separators in show titles:BANG/whimper, angel/buddy;ANDREA / AGAVE and Life/Play:An Experiment in Theatrical

P3www.fringenyc.org August 10, 2007 August 10, 2007 www.fringenyc.org

Continued from p1

IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T HEARD,FringeCENTRAL has moved to itscushy new digs at the formerBanana Express Market (80Carmine St.)

FringeNYC Propagandarecently sat down with FringeNYCartistic director Elena Holy to getthe inside scoop.

FringeNYC Propaganda: How do yougo about finding a location to serve asFringeCENTRAL?

Elena Holy: Well, this year Istarted looking early. Kevin and Iactually did a walkabout all overdowntown in January, looking atspaces that had just become availableper the commercial retail real estatesection of the newspapers. But then,as I was on my way down to theDepartment of Cultural affairs fortheir announcement, I passed ourBanana Express, and knew I had topursue it.

I began to look into who ownedthe space. After I met with DarrenCole, from SoHo Playhouse, I

returned to the office and loggedonto Property Shark to confirm theowner of the space. As it turnedout, the space had changed handsten minutes before I logged on.Literally, the new ownership papershad been filed with the citymoments before.

So I prepped a nice package forthe new owners, and had it on theirdesks the next morning. AdamGever, from The Alrose Group,called me a couple of days later. Ireally couldn’t believe it.

FringeNYC Propaganda: What’s the best thing about this year’sFringeCENTRAL?

Elena Holy: The patio! We haveoutdoor space to do FringeALFRESCO events likeFringeNYTEASERS as well as FortFringeJR. Outdoor space inManhattan is such a delight. OurFringeCENTRAL is actually central,and our venues are all betweenDelancey & 8th St., which is great.FringeCENTRAL is like the

community center of the little townthat we build each year, and as wesay around here, “If you haven’tbeen to FringeCENTRAL, youhaven’t been to FringeNYC”.

FringeNYC Propaganda: What canyou find at FringeCENTRAL?

Elena Holy: Postcards toperuse, participants to schmooze,special events, t-shirts and tanks, aconcierge desk with a helpfulvolunteer with access to theFringeNYC Slice-O-Matic, showslisted by marketing tracks, a placeto sit and peruse the program guideor the most recent issue ofFringeNYC Propaganda,FringeNYTEASERS on the patio, a

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The Cast of Williamsburg! The Musical in the NYFringe Festival

Continued on p5

FringeNYC gets down and dirty in Soho

by Joey Hood

Continued on p11

WILLIAMSBURG! THE MUSICAL SINGS ITS HEART OUT FOR FRINGENYC

One of the best thingsis that it is the placewhere our audienceand artists cometogether

Inherit the FringeNYC!

Elena K Holy and Kevin Bartlett celebratethe new FringeCENTRAL at theFringeNYC opening night party.

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P4 P9www.fringenyc.org August 10, 2007 August 10, 2007 www.fringenyc.org

Grant Aleksander Josh Clayton Jenn Miller Cribbs

Veronica Cruz Laurence Lau Maureen Mueller

Written by Philip Gerson Directed by Michael Lilly

Stage Manager: Carol A. Sullivan

6 Lovers. 6 Secrets. 1 Ghost.Another night in NYC.

An actor and his hypno-therapist bring it onstage

in this comed ic psychological thriller…it’s like

watching an autopsy, except Marvin is ALIVE.

A Provocative Modern Myth

Tickets :www.fringenyc.orgAdditional Information :www.theterriblegirls.com

TheProgram

The Sopranosmove to Wisteria

Lane in this FringeHIGHdark comedy. It poses thequestions such as if youhad to choose betweenyour family andboyfriend, what wouldyou do? Well, it dependson how much money he has.

TheChinese

DeliveryMan Express

A Chinatownbusinessman leaves apromising Wall Streetcareer to serve kungpao chicken to a ragtaggroup of hipsters boredwith their lives andGuided by Voicesdiscography.

Marvelous ShineA transgendered lesbian rabbi

and fundraisers for MothersAgainst Drunk Driving fill this

Three Crows Theater delight.

I Can’t Believe RichardSexton Said That!A feminist drag queen

performs a rock monologueabout her struggles of living with

Steinem ideals in a Queer as Folk world. 1. FRINGENYC 2. FRINGENYC3. FAKE4. FAKE5. FRINGENYC

ANSWERS

FRINGENYC or FAKE?Try to guess whether the following shows are part of FringeNYCor our editor’s imagination

Williamsburg: The MusicalSpeaking of hipsters, thissong-and-dance routineextols the troubles of living

on daddy’s dime and stillnot having enough money for

American Apparel’s half-off summer sale.

An actor and his hypnotherapist bring it onstage in this comedic psychological thriller… it’s like watching an autopsy, except Marvin is ALIVE.

Propaganda_Aug10_07.qxp 8/15/07 11:47 PM Page 4

P8 P5www.fringenyc.org August 10, 2007 August 10, 2007 www.fringenyc.org

Autobiography. Four makes atrend!

There is also a shift towardplayful use of numbers in titles:PN 1923.45 LS01 Volume 2(The Book Play), Days andNights: page 121, lines 11 and12, 36:24:36, 516 (five sixteen),January 1986 and End’s Eve:The Feast of 2012.

Should we warn you ofsimilar titles, which may causesome confusion? Sure!

We have CHEKHOV JAZZand The Jazz Messenger aswell as Jazz Hand: Tales of aOne Armed Woman. We haveAntarctica and An Air BalloonAcross Antarctica.

If you want to play games,choose from The Game orGamers.

For the royal flush, gettickets for Princess Mimi, Or:How I Learned to StopWorrying and Love the Frogand Princess Sunshine’s BitterPill of Truth Funhouse.

And then there is Helmetand Hamlet – a stand up; THEEND and End’s Eve: The Feastof 2012; FARMER SONG theMusical and FARMTRUCKS:A Corporate CoffeeAdventure.

We’ve got Cancer! themusical and Two-mur Humor:He's Malignant; She's Benign.Consider yourself informed!

The award goes to...And now, ladies and gents, ouryearly awards.

The “Save our Forests”award given to the shortest titlein the festival is split betweenseveral four-letter words: Leni,Dirt, Burn and Fish. Unlikeprevious years, no show daredto cross the four-letter barrier.

In a sentenceWhich brings us to the “Like aHorse” award, for those whogo out of their way to addwords to this article.

Some recipients of the “You Soooo Big” honorablemention are The ConsumingPassions of Lydia Pinkhamand Rev. Sylvester Grahamas well as LOST INHOLLYWOODLAND ORTHE SLUGWOMAN FROMURANUS, but also PrincessMimi, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Frog.

The runner up, getting thejust-renamed “Woof, Daddy”award, is THE BOY ON THEOTHER SIDE OF THEWORLD: an absurd fairy talelove quadrangle. Congrats.

Leader of the packBut our ultimate winner, thebig banana, the winner of thecoveted “Like a Horse” awardfor excessive use of ink is:BAUM FOR PEACE or TheTrue Adventures of theSlightly World-RenownedLesbian Playwright Who Ranfor Congress. A lesbian getting the “Like a Horse”award? Yes, FringeNYC is allabout experimentation. You go, girl! �

Continued from p3

ROXYFONT

EVERYONE DESER

by LIZA LENTINIDirected by KATHERINE KOVNER

The Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 CommercCherryLaneTheatre.com · myspace.com

Friday, August 17th @ 5:15pm

Saturday, August 18th @ 2:30pm

Tuesday, August 21st @ 6:45pm

Wednesday, August 22nd @ 9:15pm

Saturday, August 25th @ 7:00pm

TICKET INFO: www.fringenyc.

A READY-MADE FAMILY: Mather Zickel (ESPN's "The Bronx is Burning" with John Turturro), Lauren Cook (the hit web series"Floaters") and newcomer Megan Tusing (seated).

‘Stock Home’ tales…

Propaganda_Aug10_07.qxp 8/15/07 11:47 PM Page 5

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lyricism and realism that I amtrying to create with this play.

As for Beckett, I am in awe ofhim though wouldn’t necessarilyaspire to recreate his style. It takes acertain kind of genius to makenothing happening slowlyfascinating!

FringeNYC Propaganda: Yourplay occurs in a very non-linearpattern. While it starts off as purelyabsurd, upon a second reading, smallerdetails foreshadow what’s to come.From a writing standpoint, how didyou approach An Air Balloon? Didyou plan an overarching narrative orstring together scenes piecemeal?

Darragh Martin: I had adefinite plan when I was workingthrough it - in terms of thegeographic journey the play wouldtake (from calm to storm) and thesimilar emotional one thecharacters make. A lot of the

writing process was about findingthe right balance for the piece andsome of the flashbacks helped keepit afloat and stopped it frombecoming too heavy. But I wanted itto feel a little hazy at the start, alittle like a ‘whiteout’ so that theperspective and the proportion area bit blurred - you’re not sure whythe explorer and the hamster are inthe balloon, or what’s in theurn and it’s only as theballoon and the play travelacross Antarctica that thestory slots together.

FringeNYCPropaganda: What’s thegreatest challenge of bringingAn Air Balloon AcrossAntarctica to Americanaudiences? Do you think thatit will translate well?

Darragh Martin: I thinkthe play translates very

well to America. Because a lot of itis magic realist in style, itsgeography is more emotional thanphysical and I think the pinch-me-I’m-falling-in-love and the I-can’t-breathe-emptiness of grief arepretty similar whether you’re inDarwin or Denver.

Practically, though there were afew edits we had to make so

torches were replaced withflashlights and people rappelinstead of abseiling.

An Air Balloon Across Antarcticaopens Aug. 10. For tickets, go tofringenyc.org �

P7www.fringenyc.org August 10, 2007 August 10, 2007 www.fringenyc.org

book, music & lryics by Steve Adams & Chan Chandler

Skirball Center for the Performing Arts • 566 LaGuardia Place (Washington Square South)

www.slammerthemusical.comEquity Approved Showcase

Monday, 8-20 9:00pm Thursday, 8-23 5:00pmFriday, 8-24 8:30pm Saturday, 8-25 1:00pm

I FIRST MET FringeNYCplaywright Darragh Martin at theConey Island hipster love-in, Nightof Fire. Brandishing a flimsy pair ofcardboard angel wings, he looked like an understudy of a low-rent Tony Kushner fantasia in a sea of Doc Martens andParliament Lights.

He spoke in a burr of Dublincockney. His bedhead hair remindedme of that Billy Elliott kid, too.

Fresh off the boat, Martinenrolled in Columbia University’sgraduate program for theater geeks.He hasn’t looked back since.

His tragicomedy of the absurd,An Air Balloon Across Antarctica, hasalready won raves from the Aussiepress with the Melbourne Ageproclaiming his work to be,“poignant and funny, whimsical and grave.” By the way, the playstars an obese hamster and AmeliaEarhart. It’s a mediation of life and

death and rodents.After further ensuring his

tentative lung cancer, the FringeNYCPropaganda editor Joey Hood took atrip on the ol’ exercise wheel withMartin.

FringeNYC Propaganda: When didyou realize that you wanted to become aplaywright? And were you always acritically lauded genius?

Darragh Martin: I wrote my firstplay when I was 14. One of thecharacters was called Stem. You canimagine it was pretty awful.

I can’t say there was a bigepiphany moment where I wanted tobecome a writer, but one of theexciting things about theatre is thatyou get to see your words come aliveand watching people in the audiencereact to what you’ve written is awonderful feeling.

FringeNYC Propaganda: An Air

Balloon Across Antarctica has a lot ofcharacteristics of classic theater of theabsurd. Do you feel that this accuratelydescribes your work? Or do you feel thatthis modifier is overused?

Darragh Martin: The play ispretty absurd but what I like about itis the way it balances absurdism andrealism. Yes there is a flying hamsterand a giant air balloon but the wholething is anchored in a prettystandard story about love and grief.

Originally the play started as more ofan absurd exercise - just an explorerand a hamster in a hot air balloonplaying games with each other - butas it evolved more realistic scenescrept their way in and I’m really gladthey did.

Having a hot air balloon and anobese hamster is a good selling pointbut I think what keeps people reallyengaged with the play is the fact thatall the characters, whether it’sAmelia Earhart or a wannabelemming are all rooted in reality.

FringeNYC Propaganda: Who aresome of your favorite theater of theabsurd writers? And being from thesame geographical area, do you feel astrong kinship to Beckett?

Darragh Martin: I’ve beeninfluenced pretty strongly by DylanThomas and Jim Cartwright. I thinkUnder MilkWood and Bed bothcapture the kind of balance between

IRISH PLAYWRIGHTMARTIN BLOWS OFFSOME HOT ‘AIR’

In ‘Air Balloon Across Antarctica,’ this South Pole is anything but Happy Feet

By the way, the playstars an obesehamster and AmeliaEarhart. It’s amediation of life anddeath and rodents.

Above and below: Featured in the picturesare Soneela Nankani (Caitlin) and JeffBrown (Ham) of An Air Balloon CrossesAntarctica

Propaganda_Aug10_07.qxp 8/15/07 11:47 PM Page 6

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lyricism and realism that I amtrying to create with this play.

As for Beckett, I am in awe ofhim though wouldn’t necessarilyaspire to recreate his style. It takes acertain kind of genius to makenothing happening slowlyfascinating!

FringeNYC Propaganda: Yourplay occurs in a very non-linearpattern. While it starts off as purelyabsurd, upon a second reading, smallerdetails foreshadow what’s to come.From a writing standpoint, how didyou approach An Air Balloon? Didyou plan an overarching narrative orstring together scenes piecemeal?

Darragh Martin: I had adefinite plan when I was workingthrough it - in terms of thegeographic journey the play wouldtake (from calm to storm) and thesimilar emotional one thecharacters make. A lot of the

writing process was about findingthe right balance for the piece andsome of the flashbacks helped keepit afloat and stopped it frombecoming too heavy. But I wanted itto feel a little hazy at the start, alittle like a ‘whiteout’ so that theperspective and the proportion area bit blurred - you’re not sure whythe explorer and the hamster are inthe balloon, or what’s in theurn and it’s only as theballoon and the play travelacross Antarctica that thestory slots together.

FringeNYCPropaganda: What’s thegreatest challenge of bringingAn Air Balloon AcrossAntarctica to Americanaudiences? Do you think thatit will translate well?

Darragh Martin: I thinkthe play translates very

well to America. Because a lot of itis magic realist in style, itsgeography is more emotional thanphysical and I think the pinch-me-I’m-falling-in-love and the I-can’t-breathe-emptiness of grief arepretty similar whether you’re inDarwin or Denver.

Practically, though there were afew edits we had to make so

torches were replaced withflashlights and people rappelinstead of abseiling.

An Air Balloon Across Antarcticaopens Aug. 10. For tickets, go tofringenyc.org �

P7www.fringenyc.org August 10, 2007 August 10, 2007 www.fringenyc.org

book, music & lryics by Steve Adams & Chan Chandler

Skirball Center for the Performing Arts • 566 LaGuardia Place (Washington Square South)

www.slammerthemusical.comEquity Approved Showcase

Monday, 8-20 9:00pm Thursday, 8-23 5:00pmFriday, 8-24 8:30pm Saturday, 8-25 1:00pm

I FIRST MET FringeNYCplaywright Darragh Martin at theConey Island hipster love-in, Nightof Fire. Brandishing a flimsy pair ofcardboard angel wings, he looked like an understudy of a low-rent Tony Kushner fantasia in a sea of Doc Martens andParliament Lights.

He spoke in a burr of Dublincockney. His bedhead hair remindedme of that Billy Elliott kid, too.

Fresh off the boat, Martinenrolled in Columbia University’sgraduate program for theater geeks.He hasn’t looked back since.

His tragicomedy of the absurd,An Air Balloon Across Antarctica, hasalready won raves from the Aussiepress with the Melbourne Ageproclaiming his work to be,“poignant and funny, whimsical and grave.” By the way, the playstars an obese hamster and AmeliaEarhart. It’s a mediation of life and

death and rodents.After further ensuring his

tentative lung cancer, the FringeNYCPropaganda editor Joey Hood took atrip on the ol’ exercise wheel withMartin.

FringeNYC Propaganda: When didyou realize that you wanted to become aplaywright? And were you always acritically lauded genius?

Darragh Martin: I wrote my firstplay when I was 14. One of thecharacters was called Stem. You canimagine it was pretty awful.

I can’t say there was a bigepiphany moment where I wanted tobecome a writer, but one of theexciting things about theatre is thatyou get to see your words come aliveand watching people in the audiencereact to what you’ve written is awonderful feeling.

FringeNYC Propaganda: An Air

Balloon Across Antarctica has a lot ofcharacteristics of classic theater of theabsurd. Do you feel that this accuratelydescribes your work? Or do you feel thatthis modifier is overused?

Darragh Martin: The play ispretty absurd but what I like about itis the way it balances absurdism andrealism. Yes there is a flying hamsterand a giant air balloon but the wholething is anchored in a prettystandard story about love and grief.

Originally the play started as more ofan absurd exercise - just an explorerand a hamster in a hot air balloonplaying games with each other - butas it evolved more realistic scenescrept their way in and I’m really gladthey did.

Having a hot air balloon and anobese hamster is a good selling pointbut I think what keeps people reallyengaged with the play is the fact thatall the characters, whether it’sAmelia Earhart or a wannabelemming are all rooted in reality.

FringeNYC Propaganda: Who aresome of your favorite theater of theabsurd writers? And being from thesame geographical area, do you feel astrong kinship to Beckett?

Darragh Martin: I’ve beeninfluenced pretty strongly by DylanThomas and Jim Cartwright. I thinkUnder MilkWood and Bed bothcapture the kind of balance between

IRISH PLAYWRIGHTMARTIN BLOWS OFFSOME HOT ‘AIR’

In ‘Air Balloon Across Antarctica,’ this South Pole is anything but Happy Feet

By the way, the playstars an obesehamster and AmeliaEarhart. It’s amediation of life anddeath and rodents.

Above and below: Featured in the picturesare Soneela Nankani (Caitlin) and JeffBrown (Ham) of An Air Balloon CrossesAntarctica

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Autobiography. Four makes atrend!

There is also a shift towardplayful use of numbers in titles:PN 1923.45 LS01 Volume 2(The Book Play), Days andNights: page 121, lines 11 and12, 36:24:36, 516 (five sixteen),January 1986 and End’s Eve:The Feast of 2012.

Should we warn you ofsimilar titles, which may causesome confusion? Sure!

We have CHEKHOV JAZZand The Jazz Messenger aswell as Jazz Hand: Tales of aOne Armed Woman. We haveAntarctica and An Air BalloonAcross Antarctica.

If you want to play games,choose from The Game orGamers.

For the royal flush, gettickets for Princess Mimi, Or:How I Learned to StopWorrying and Love the Frogand Princess Sunshine’s BitterPill of Truth Funhouse.

And then there is Helmetand Hamlet – a stand up; THEEND and End’s Eve: The Feastof 2012; FARMER SONG theMusical and FARMTRUCKS:A Corporate CoffeeAdventure.

We’ve got Cancer! themusical and Two-mur Humor:He's Malignant; She's Benign.Consider yourself informed!

The award goes to...And now, ladies and gents, ouryearly awards.

The “Save our Forests”award given to the shortest titlein the festival is split betweenseveral four-letter words: Leni,Dirt, Burn and Fish. Unlikeprevious years, no show daredto cross the four-letter barrier.

In a sentenceWhich brings us to the “Like aHorse” award, for those whogo out of their way to addwords to this article.

Some recipients of the “You Soooo Big” honorablemention are The ConsumingPassions of Lydia Pinkhamand Rev. Sylvester Grahamas well as LOST INHOLLYWOODLAND ORTHE SLUGWOMAN FROMURANUS, but also PrincessMimi, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Frog.

The runner up, getting thejust-renamed “Woof, Daddy”award, is THE BOY ON THEOTHER SIDE OF THEWORLD: an absurd fairy talelove quadrangle. Congrats.

Leader of the packBut our ultimate winner, thebig banana, the winner of thecoveted “Like a Horse” awardfor excessive use of ink is:BAUM FOR PEACE or TheTrue Adventures of theSlightly World-RenownedLesbian Playwright Who Ranfor Congress. A lesbian getting the “Like a Horse”award? Yes, FringeNYC is allabout experimentation. You go, girl! �

Continued from p3

ROXYFONT

EVERYONE DESER

by LIZA LENTINIDirected by KATHERINE KOVNER

The Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 CommercCherryLaneTheatre.com · myspace.com

Friday, August 17th @ 5:15pm

Saturday, August 18th @ 2:30pm

Tuesday, August 21st @ 6:45pm

Wednesday, August 22nd @ 9:15pm

Saturday, August 25th @ 7:00pm

TICKET INFO: www.fringenyc.

A READY-MADE FAMILY: Mather Zickel (ESPN's "The Bronx is Burning" with John Turturro), Lauren Cook (the hit web series"Floaters") and newcomer Megan Tusing (seated).

‘Stock Home’ tales…

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Grant Aleksander Josh Clayton Jenn Miller Cribbs

Veronica Cruz Laurence Lau Maureen Mueller

Written by Philip Gerson Directed by Michael Lilly

Stage Manager: Carol A. Sullivan

6 Lovers. 6 Secrets. 1 Ghost.Another night in NYC.

An actor and his hypno-therapist bring it onstage

in this comed ic psychological thriller…it’s like

watching an autopsy, except Marvin is ALIVE.

A Provocative Modern Myth

Tickets :www.fringenyc.orgAdditional Information :www.theterriblegirls.com

TheProgram

The Sopranosmove to Wisteria

Lane in this FringeHIGHdark comedy. It poses thequestions such as if youhad to choose betweenyour family andboyfriend, what wouldyou do? Well, it dependson how much money he has.

TheChinese

DeliveryMan Express

A Chinatownbusinessman leaves apromising Wall Streetcareer to serve kungpao chicken to a ragtaggroup of hipsters boredwith their lives andGuided by Voicesdiscography.

Marvelous ShineA transgendered lesbian rabbi

and fundraisers for MothersAgainst Drunk Driving fill this

Three Crows Theater delight.

I Can’t Believe RichardSexton Said That!A feminist drag queen

performs a rock monologueabout her struggles of living with

Steinem ideals in a Queer as Folk world. 1. FRINGENYC 2. FRINGENYC3. FAKE4. FAKE5. FRINGENYC

ANSWERS

FRINGENYC or FAKE?Try to guess whether the following shows are part of FringeNYCor our editor’s imagination

Williamsburg: The MusicalSpeaking of hipsters, thissong-and-dance routineextols the troubles of living

on daddy’s dime and stillnot having enough money for

American Apparel’s half-off summer sale.

An actor and his hypnotherapist bring it onstage in this comedic psychological thriller… it’s like watching an autopsy, except Marvin is ALIVE.

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GALATEA, ELEKTRAFIRE – amodern rock opera, CHEKHOVJAZZ and an interpretation of “TheSeagull” (Days and Nights: page121, lines 11 and 12). There isDressing Miss Julie (adapted fromAugust Strindberg), Elephant inthe Room! (after Ionesco's“Rhinoceros” ) and LOST INHOLLYWOODLAND OR THESLUGWOMAN FROM URANUS(retelling of Faust).

And now that we covered theclassics, can be please get to thesex? Sure thing!

We have SLUT à la carte (She isnot a whore!) and SHE WOLVES:Women in Sex, Death & Rebirth.Pedicure lovers would be happy toknow we have Sodomy &Pedicures! Penis lovers would be

happy to know we offer both Riselike a Penis from the Flames – APhallic Phoenix Story as well asPB&J where the P stands for penis(“soylent green is made of penis!”)

Now on with the peep show:We have All Alone (perversions!)and angel/buddy (alien disdain forsemen!) as well as Chaser (malenudity!)

More nudity disclaimers can be found at DOUBLE VISION,Poppies and Top and Bottom.Consider yourself warned.

Speaking of behaving likeanimals, we do have ANIMALS(featuring unicorns having sex) andElephant in the Room!

We have an eerie comedy aboutFish and CATCH THE FISH, basedon the Vanity Fair article, “Rich,

Jaded and Lost in LA.”)) andNaked in a Fishbowl (starring thefour chicks!).

From BAAAHHH!!! (sheepskinand mayhem) to The Monkey Moo(woman, man and monkey!)through Pigeon Man Apocalypse(he lives on pigeons!) andVampingo... a comedy with bite(killer flamingos – watch out!!)AND The Rat King Rock Opera(hope for humankind!) to Woof,Daddy (Do repeat after me: “Woof,Daddy, woof.””)

I wonder – is there a specialGrace to say while chomping downa Banana? I am only asking becausethe holiness quotient in this festivalis in heaven: we have Action Jesus(closet Christians!) and Jesus Rant:The Religio-Comic Ravings of a

Former Christian (30% soul-searching!)

There is The Life and Times ofMartin Luther (Reformed)(peasant mobs!) on top of Madonnaand Child and Other Divas(Exorcism!) AND The Miracle onMonroe Street (miraculous!) andthen there is The Gospel Accordingto Matthew (ChristianFundamentalist AND gays!) A-men!

Title effortNow, let’s discuss someobservations about FRINGE NYCtitles. There is rise in the use ofslash separators in show titles:BANG/whimper, angel/buddy;ANDREA / AGAVE and Life/Play:An Experiment in Theatrical

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Continued from p1

IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T HEARD,FringeCENTRAL has moved to itscushy new digs at the formerBanana Express Market (80Carmine St.)

FringeNYC Propagandarecently sat down with FringeNYCartistic director Elena Holy to getthe inside scoop.

FringeNYC Propaganda: How do yougo about finding a location to serve asFringeCENTRAL?

Elena Holy: Well, this year Istarted looking early. Kevin and Iactually did a walkabout all overdowntown in January, looking atspaces that had just become availableper the commercial retail real estatesection of the newspapers. But then,as I was on my way down to theDepartment of Cultural affairs fortheir announcement, I passed ourBanana Express, and knew I had topursue it.

I began to look into who ownedthe space. After I met with DarrenCole, from SoHo Playhouse, I

returned to the office and loggedonto Property Shark to confirm theowner of the space. As it turnedout, the space had changed handsten minutes before I logged on.Literally, the new ownership papershad been filed with the citymoments before.

So I prepped a nice package forthe new owners, and had it on theirdesks the next morning. AdamGever, from The Alrose Group,called me a couple of days later. Ireally couldn’t believe it.

FringeNYC Propaganda: What’s the best thing about this year’sFringeCENTRAL?

Elena Holy: The patio! We haveoutdoor space to do FringeALFRESCO events likeFringeNYTEASERS as well as FortFringeJR. Outdoor space inManhattan is such a delight. OurFringeCENTRAL is actually central,and our venues are all betweenDelancey & 8th St., which is great.FringeCENTRAL is like the

community center of the little townthat we build each year, and as wesay around here, “If you haven’tbeen to FringeCENTRAL, youhaven’t been to FringeNYC”.

FringeNYC Propaganda: What canyou find at FringeCENTRAL?

Elena Holy: Postcards toperuse, participants to schmooze,special events, t-shirts and tanks, aconcierge desk with a helpfulvolunteer with access to theFringeNYC Slice-O-Matic, showslisted by marketing tracks, a placeto sit and peruse the program guideor the most recent issue ofFringeNYC Propaganda,FringeNYTEASERS on the patio, a

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The Cast of Williamsburg! The Musical in the NYFringe Festival

Continued on p5

FringeNYC gets down and dirty in Soho

by Joey Hood

Continued on p11

WILLIAMSBURG! THE MUSICAL SINGS ITS HEART OUT FOR FRINGENYC

One of the best thingsis that it is the placewhere our audienceand artists cometogether

Inherit the FringeNYC!

Elena K Holy and Kevin Bartlett celebratethe new FringeCENTRAL at theFringeNYC opening night party.

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special place for our youngest audiencemembers, special events listings and flyers,the press wall, the volunteer desk, a place tomake a podcast, and much, much more! Oneof the best things is that it is the place whereour audience and artists come together,which is what FringeNYC is all about!

FringeNYC Propaganda: What all goes on atFringeCENTRAL?

Elena Holy: Well, it’s not only thecentral box office and community center, it’salso our administrative office until the endof August, as well as the home of theproduction staff and tech storage. We’ll haveour daily roll call meetings here, as well asthe Opening Ceremonies and departmentalmeetings. We have a conference room, officespace, public space, venue boxes for boxoffice managers and venue directors to

check and what seems like miles and milesof Ethernet cable!

FringeNYC Propaganda: Who makesFringeCENTRAL happen?

Elena Holy: Kevin Bartlett, our SpecialEvents Director, who is also a really talentedelectrician, contractor, constructor, cleanerand all around wonderful guy.

When we decided that having a bigFringeCENTRAL space was something thatwe wanted to make a priority forFringeNYC, he took on the role ofcoordinating and building the space –dealing with vendors, hiring crew, haulingoff garbage, getting everything out ofstorage and moving our administrativeoffices. I think he is getting pretty tired ofstapling fabric to the ceiling… but what hehas done to make this a home for all of us is amazing. �

P11www.fringenyc.org August 10, 2007 August 10, 2007 www.fringenyc.org

Top Left: Kevin works on removing tile from the exterior; Top Center: Hiram, Taty & Elena practice creative use ofa FringeNYC banner to cover the (also fairly appropriate) "Banana Express"; Top Right: Jill, Garret & Barrie helpan early customer; Above Left: Alexa cleans the patio, but still looks glam; Above Center: The quintessential "before"shot; Above Right: Mid-construction, having removed the old awning; Right: Ian preps the gate for painting; BottomRight: Jill concentrates on "T3", the new TicketWeb service

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THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL • ISSUE NO. 1

Find out where the bunch from FringeCENTRAL are hanging this year...

A U G U S T1 0 - 2 6 2 0 0 7

www.fringenyc.org August 10, 2007

YEP. THE 2007 NEW YORKFringeCENTRAL is at the formerlocation of the legendary BananaExpress market. No wonder wego bananas. If last year’s SoHolocation allowed us to bringculture to the fashionistas, nowwe focus on giving you extrapotassium. We’re like we areevery year: fresh, delicious andgood for you.

So may I, your FringeNYCPersonal Shopper for the fourthyear, give you a taste sample? Divewith me into this finger-lickingbuffet. We have of everything:something tangy, something sweetand shows about penises.

We have shows about love anddramatic shows as crunchy andsalty as fried plantain. We haveshows so filled with fantasy, sosweet and luxuriously rich, youwant to have them both as parfaitand flambé. Heck, I’m hungry.Let’s start eating!

Being that we are the TMZ.comof the East Coast, we have ourshare of celebrity-obsessed wares,though slightly older celebrities.There’s MIRIAM who happenedto be Moses' sister, or that Southernbelle (Whence Came Ye ScarlettO'Hara O'Hanrahan?) We haveJOAN OF ARPpO (a Swiss clownfighting the British!) and PIAF. Wealso have Leni (no, not Bruce –Riefenstahl!).

On the political front, there’sHILLARY AGONISTES and Dirt(Hello! My name is Saddam). Wehave ANDREA / AGAVE (aboutAndrea Yates who drowned herfive children) and our own

“Springtime for Hitler,”BUKOWSICAL! We have another“Capote” biopic, this time withMarilyn Monroe (Beautiful Child)as well as BENT TO THE FLAME– A Night with TennesseeWilliams.

Those in the know, knowTheremin (founder of electronicmusic!) And we have a trueFringeNYC celebrity, Susan LouiseO’Connor, who finally Gets SomePlay (directed by: Moritz vonStuelpnagel! Yeepee!)

Name gameBut do we have some fakecelebrities. Are supposed to knowthem? Well, certainly.

We have JOHN GOLDFARB,PLEASE COME HOME!, whichincludes Middle Eastern dancechoreography, and TheConsuming Passions of LydiaPinkham and Rev. SylvesterGraham (culinary curiosities!)Then, there’s Mary BrigitPoppleton is Writing a Memoir(escaping Long Island in a

rowboat!) and Mother Hubbard'sCupboard (pest control!).

Let us not forget Victor Woo –The Average Asian AmericanVictor Woo – The Average AsianAmerican (written by the twoKevins, who do not come off aaverage Asian Americans at all!)

"O Romeo, Romeo! Whereforeart thou Romeo?" Hmmm… noRomeo this year, but we do haveHAMLET – a stand up, as well asHORATIO and The Winter's TaleProject. And more classics:

by Avner Kam

Continued on p3

THE PERSONALSHOPPER GOESBANANAS

Above: Featured in the pictures are Soneela Nankani(Caitlin) and Jeff Brown (Ham) of An Air BalloonCrosses Antarctica; Top Right: Naked in a Fishbowl –Featuring: Katharine Heller (short dark hair) , BrennaPalughi (Blonde) Lynne Rosenberg (curly hair) andLauren Seikaly (long dark hair); Bottom Right: Garretsmiles as Taty & Kevin work on internet installation inthe background

THE SHOPPER EDITION

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