Kids enter Boulder's Fringe scene

Boulder's fest gives youth own stage; room for adults, too

By Lisa Bornstein, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 13, 2008 at 6 p.m.

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Photo by Gemma Wilcox

Gemma Wilcox and Sam Elmore will pick a card - any card - in 52 Pick Up at the Boulder International Fringe Festival.

In its fourth year, the Boulder International Fringe Festival is looking to bring in a new, shorter audience. The festival is introducing KidsFringe, featuring performances for and by young people.

"The KidsFringe is traditional in a lot of other places, and being a very kid-friendly community, every year we've put a section in the program that has been a kid-friendly section," says president David Ortolano.

This year, though, they're full members, in an event coordinated by Karen Spies and Kjersti Webb. The bandshell in Central Park has been devoted to children's programming in the mornings and teen programming in the afternoon. Earlier this summer, Spies and Webb became regulars at farmers' markets.

The result may be like that show you put on in your garage every summer - only with an audience. Just like adult performers, the youthful ones entered a lottery for their slots.

"The idea is independence, and it doesn't exclude anyone," Ortolano says.

There is still plenty of adult programming, much of it leaning toward sex and/or politics. There were 109 applicants for 70 slots in this year's festival. Here's a purely subjective look at six shows that piqued our interest.

The Hideous Face of Love

British actor Andy McQuade performs in William Whitehurst's dark comedy about a man with too much adoration. McQuade plays Richard Schenck, star of a long-running American melodrama, prepared to give the performance of a lifetime - only he's not quite in the right frame of mind.

* Details: $7 to $10; 5 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 8 p.m. Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. Aug. 21, 7 p.m. Aug. 22; Dairy Center.

The Three Sisters

Chicagoans Ben Stuber and Taavo Smith take on Chekhov's drama of Russian women. The play goes from four acts to 50 minutes and incorporates Shakespeare, Beckett, Sacher-Masoch, Genet and Hitler, among others. Also, they promise cake, although not whether the audience can eat it.

* Details: $10 to $12; 10:30 p.m. Friday, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. Aug. 22; Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th St.

Pedro and the Captain

Just back from performing in his one-man play Conviction in California, Boulder resident Ami Dayan has adapted and directs this play by Uruguayan Mario Benedetti. Aaron Jennejahn and Mark Read perform in the 1979 psychological study of torture (when the play was written, Uruguay was still in the throes of dictatorship) and its effect on both detainee and interrogator. Any contemporary allusions are purely intentional.

* Details: $10 to $14; 9:30 p.m. Friday, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, 5:30 p.m. Monday, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday; Diary Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder.

The Mother's Bones

Kath Burlinson is an international fringe veteran, co-founder of the British troupe Weird Sisters, and aunt of Boulder performer Gemma Wilcox. In this performance Burlinson works without words. Instead, she uses music, sound and movement to tell the tale of three generations of women.

* Details: $12 to $14; 2 p.m. Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 8 p.m. Monday, 4 p.m. Aug. 21, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 22, 1 p.m. Aug. 23; Dairy Center.

52 Pick Up

Gemma Wilcox has become a Boulder favorite and a fringe festival pro (she's recently been to Toronto and Ottawa festivals) with her original solo work. Now she's found a performance partner and someone else's script as she and Sam Elmore perform a play that changes at each performance. TJ Dawe and Rita Bozi have written a play that consists of 52 scenes about a relationship, each written on a playing card. At the start of the show, the deck is shuffled and tossed in the air - whichever card is picked up determines the next scene.

* Details: $13 to $15; 8 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 22, 4:30 p.m. Aug. 23, 3:30 p.m. Aug. 24; Dairy Center.

A Brief of Intercourse

Talk about laying it all bare. Seattle performer Shana Cordon, working with Jim Walker as her Fairy Godfather, goes on a journey through her sexual history, dotted by "the ghosts of one-night stands past."

* Details: $10 to $12; 5 p.m. Saturday, 9 p.m. Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. Aug. 21, 6 p.m. Aug. 22, 9:30 p.m. Aug. 23, 2 p.m. Aug. 24; Dairy Center.

Fashion on the Fringe

The festival visits Denver for a night of indie fashion. DJs and live music come together with a fashion show, video and live sewing and screen printing.

* Details:$5, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sengers on the Fax, 3014 E. Colfax Ave.

Boulder International Fringe Festival

* When and where: Opens today,and runs through Aug. 25 at 18 venues throughout downtown Boulder

* Cost: Free to $15

* Information: 720-563-9950 or www.boulderfringe.com

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