It’s that time of year again: the time when local theater, dance and art lovers come together for a sixteen-day bacchanalian orgy of self expression. Yep! Its the Live Arts/Philly Fringe Festival. Oh, Philly Fringe … you are so weird. You are so in-our-faces. You are so full of nudity. The scaling-back of the Live Arts part of the festival last year prompted a lot of debate, and this year, they appear to be sticking to the same game plan, with only 16 Live Arts performances scheduled. Accordingly, the raw, unfiltered Fringe Festival is offering a whopping 185 performances across the city. As is their wont, the Fringe people are taking it to the streets – performance locations range from the inside of a former Rite Aid to the Pool at the Gershman Y. With such a gargantuan roster, how can one even begin to figure out which shows they want to attend? The Live-Arts/Fringe website very thoughtfully provides a handy guide to choosing which performances to attend, but we thought that we’d help out as well, hand-picking a few shows that we think look like winners.

Pig Iron Theatre Company: Welcome to Yuba City

Honestly, we really think that the Pig Iron Theatre Company are among the absolute best of the best every year, and this year should be no exception. Welcome to Yuba City, which takes place at a mythical truck stop, promises to be absolutely hysterical and we are genuinely excited to see them once again. Do Not Miss This.
Welcome to Yuba City

Headlong Dance Theater: more.

Personal favorites here at Philebrity, the Headlong Dance Theater has been working on their piece more. for about two years. Billed as their “most intense and gripping work to date,” we can’t wait to see their newest contribution to modern dance and creative movement. This piece is an exploration of bodies and what our bodies become once they have gone away. Yes, that description sounds sort of mind-bending, but we like it.
more.

Xtreme Folk Scene: XFS Philly Song Shuffle

The obviously tongue-in-cheek nature of naming your group “Xtreme Folk” is not lost on us, but this event sounds genuinely fun. It’s basically a giant iTunes shuffle of sorts, with four minute sets by around 50 different bands. We can’t promise that the whole thing will be good, but we can promise it won’t be boring.
XFS Philly Song Shuffle

IdRatherBeHere: Wawapalooza 3: The Dark Roast

To be perfectly honest, we can’t get over the image accompanying this piece (seen at right), but more than that, we are genuinely interested to see this local artists’ short-film and play series on everything from the Mummers to Brian Dawkins to Kmart. Those are the same things that we like to talk about! Bring it on, dude.
Wawapalooza 3: The Dark Roast

Brian Sanders/JUNK: Urban Scuba

For those of you who attended Philly Fringe 2008, you may have caught Brian Sanders’ memorable performance of Flushdance, a “reinterpretation of Flashdance with toilets.” If that hasn’t drawn you in yet, then keep moving, buddy. This year, Sanders, a former principal dancer with Momix, will be performing his newest creation in the pool at the Gershwin Y. The combination of contortionism, modern dance, and a giant swimming pool is just weird enough to have us pretty riveted, to be honest. The first three shows are sold out, but there are still seats available for performances throughout the second week of the Festival.
Urban Scuba

Philly Improv Theater (PHIT): Coach and Fly

From the description, Coach and Fly sounds to us like an improv version of Flight of the Conchords, plus nudity. It has potential to be totally hilarious, and for only $10, its worth a shot.
Coach and Fly

Kate Watson-Wallace/anonymous bodies: STORE

Kate Watson-Wallace is a Philadelphia choreographer and performer, and STORE is her statement on American consumerism and the gritty realities of city life. The idea of watching this performance inside an abandoned Rite Aid is what first drew us in, because seriously how creepy does that sound? But the more we read, the more interested we got – the piece is described as part-dance party, there’s a morphing set of giant piles of clothing, and audience participation. The whole thing sounds chaotic and creative, but we mostly want to go stand inside that empty Rite Aid.
STORE

Neighborhood Bike Works: Bike Part Art Show

Over 100 local artists were involved in the creation of this exhibit, there will be an auction to benefit Bike Works’ Free Youth Cycling Programs, and admission is free! We are so there.
Bike Part Art Show

Linda Dubin Garfield: Crowning Glory: Hair Portraits and Stories

Our second free pick is definitely Crowning Glory by local artist Linda Dubin Garfield. This installation encourages you to include your own hair portrait, hair stories, and if you’re the shy type, you can just walk around the ever-expanding exhibit and enjoy.

If none of these options excite you, or if you demand a personalized guide to Philly Fringe, fine, be that way. The website has its own Match Me To A Show Survey just for you.
The Philadelphia Live Arts/Fringe Festival Runs from September 4th – 19th. For more info go to http://livearts-fringe.org

This entry was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 11:40 am.