Whether you’re a seasoned Fringe-nerd, a dabbler in the arts, or a cherry neophyte, the annual perf arts festival can be an overwhelming affair. Take five with us each day during the fest, and we’ll brief you on all of the dance collectives and puppet shows that you can visually handle. If you’re aiming to make it through every single act, all the best, but if your schedule or budget will only allow first-rate options, we’re here to level with you. Take your Fringe naps now, tonight is a live one. And for all of your Fringeified needs, do knock at the 2007 Philadelphia Live Arts Fringe Festival website for a full schedule and ticket information, as well as PHILEBRITY.COM/PAFRINGE for our daily pics and posts!

Friday, 8.31

• MAP ME: So intense it’s in capital letters, MAP ME is a duet from Belgian choreographer Charlotte Vanden Eynde. Described as a “collage of physical bodies”, video and live performances will include full frontal male and female nudity, and what they have to do with who you are, not just how much sex you have. 6pm, $15, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street
• Java Drama: Who doesn’t have a little java drama in their life? Even if the drama has less to do with the tension between you and that scruffy bean monkey and more about getting your fix. These one-act plays will explore relationships that revolve around caffeine and even darker secrets. 8pm, $10, Double Shots Espresso Bar, 211 Chestnut Street
• An·’tis·a·lon: Oddly enough, I’m reading Antigone right now for class. You should revisit it anyway for another touch of class. This version of the Greek tragedy, which will be performed in a hair salon, sounds like a much livelier version than the text in front of me. Divine wills and sacrifice? Book me now. 9pm, $20, Signatures Salon, 116 S. 19th Street
• Wawapalooza: Everybody’s squawking about this Wawa parody, and we can’t wait to find out why. Plus we’re totally sneaking in our kicked-up Wawa iced tea to get in the spirit. It’s way sold out, though, so try and catch it Sunday if you don’t have tix. 7pm, $10, The Red Room at Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. 8th Street
• Flaming/Winnebago: Top o’ the hype for this show, too, a theatrical road trip that visits themes of global warming and the oil crisis, and even has some 3-D scenes to really trip you up. 9:30pm, $20, Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street

Saturday, 9.1

• Gatz: The Great Gatsby goes low-rent in this take on the high school required reading tome. They’re calling it a reading rather than a play, but we bet it’s worth hearing again coming from the Elevator Repair Service Theater. Please note that this is a long one, but fully worth finishing. 4pm, parts 1 & 2: $35 • 7.5 hours with intermissions • includes dinner, Arts Bank at The University of the Arts, 601 S. Broad Street
• The Man Without Any Will: A man wanders around City Hall with a Magic 8-Ball. Even your life is not that cool. Are you curious or cheap? Look into this. 9am, free, Starts at City Hall, Broad & Market Streets
• BATCH: This “American Bachelor/ette Party Spectacle” will probably fare a lot better than the one you threw your cousin where everyone ended up vomiting in the parking lot of the Cave. New Paradise Laboratories brings you a dark romp with gender-play, profanity, and all of that good stuff that you love about dark comedy. 6:30pm or 9:30pm, $20, Mandell Theater at Drexel University, 3300 Chestnut Street
• CONFESS/CONFUSE, Four Micro-Music-Theatre-Works: Musical drama in Greece? They’re calling it sexy, but as long as award-winning team Trinkley and Charnesky promise to confess and confuse us, we’re turned on. 1:30pm or 9pm, $10, 2nd Stage @ The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street
• Fatboy: We don’t know about you, but bacon, money, and blood are all supremely passionate topics, and if this show isn’t all of the comedic American excess that one can expect from the description, at least you’re at Johnny Brenda’s, where you always end up anyway. 7:30pm, $15, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Avenue

Sunday, 9.2

• Autoplant: a Poetic Monologue: Does assemby-line dismemberment mean anything to you? It means everything in wild ballads to us. Find out what happens with shopmates go on strike. 4pm, $10, Black Lodge 1508 Brandywine Street
• States of Gravity & Light #2: We’re assuming award-winning choreographer Merián Soto experiment with organic rhythms inspired by Wissahickon Valley Park develops naturally in this powerful dance performance. 7pm, $15, Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American Street
• BEAST: Follow up States of Gravity with a dance duet that also takes its cue from nature. You’ll find yourself on the other side of the cage at the zoo, where the wild things are. 9:30pm, $15, Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American Street
• Muralista: Can a wall refuse to be painted? As a wall rights activist, I wonder. 7pm, $20, The Arts Garage, 1516 Parrish Street
• I Killed My Baby’s Daddy: We picked this one because by the sound of things, we figure most Philadelphians can somehow relate. Single parents everywhere, this one’s for you. 8pm,$15, L’Etage, 625 Bainbridge Street

This entry was posted on Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 1:06 pm.