Fringe Today: A diverting online theater fest
There was something different about the 14 days of Fringe this year… oh, right! It all took place on my computer screen instead of in Loch Haven Park.
After canceling its annual live event, Orlando Fringe produced a digital festival called Fringe Today. So was this alternative a success? On the whole, yes. But Fringe Today also illuminated some key issues faced by those trying to take theater online.
I was surprised by how well some things worked, such as “Sinister Circus,” a recorded performance of acrobatics. Even knowing the show had already happened, the stunts still provided thrills. Magician Keith Brown, a Fringe veteran, also delighted with a live performance. Magic is supposed to rely on misdirection, but with a camera pointed straight at him, he pulled off trick after trick, aided by his charming personality.
Other successes could be found in events that required participation. Creating origami versions of mascot Fringezilla was fun, although as my eyes darted between the screen and the paper in my hands, I got lost on one step — and that was it. Luckily, the exercise was repeated and I created something… passable.
A mixology class also entertained as I scrambled to find the ingredients in my quarantine kitchen. Coconut rum and halfand-half can substitute for coconut cream, right? A call for
pineapple juice had me squeezing every last drop out of one of those kids’ plastic cups of pineapple chunks. The cocktails satisfied just fine.
Playing trivia with Opera Del Sol, I patted myself on the back for only missing three of the 17 questions (and one was just a brain freeze. Honest.)
Fringe Today also provided a welcome chance to revisit old favorites: “Josephine,” “Baker’s Dozen,” “Superman Drinks” and “A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and Then Leaves.”
During that last show, which had a memorable and bizarre 2018 performance in Orlando, creator Jon Bennett had me laughing to the point of tears with his comment in the online chat that “This is so much better than when the audience ruins it live.”
But on the downside, technology wasn’t always reliable or helpful. Enjoyment
could depend on the quality of technology that a viewer could afford: The tiny speakers on my laptop hurt some recorded shows such as “Booth’s Ghost,” which I know I would enjoy far more live.
And Internet outages, even brief, could destroy a show’s momentum. During Tim Mooney’s well-crafted “Man Cave,” I missed commandment No. 10 in his eco-warrior list when the screen froze at a crucial moment. Even more egregiously (spoiler ahead), in the highly personal “Superman Drinks,” an Internet hiccup meant I missed hearing performer Chase Padgett relay the death of his father — a critical and climactic piece of information.
I wasn’t alone; even after I got the video restarted, I could see that many viewers didn’t find their way back.
The Fringe could have had a stronger communication plan in place for when things went wrong — there was a lot of blindly refreshing web pages and flipping through tabs to try to find where a show had gone — but through it all, first-year producer Lindsay Taylor remained unflappable and cheerfully inviting.
During the closing ceremony, executive director Alauna Friskics rightly described her as “the heartbeat of Fringe Today.”
Also during the closing event, Orlando Weekly critic Seth Kubersky and I gave our annual Critics’ Choice Award to … ourselves, for our appearance on an interview show with Taylor. It seemed fitting for the light-hearted approach of Fringe Today. As Kubersky said, “When will we ever have this chance again?”
But to carry on another tradition more seriously, the Orlando Sentinel each year lists its Best of the Fest, and two productions I saw completely qualified for that honor.
The Fourth Wall so smartly used the online technology in its “Fruit Flies Like a Banana: Virtual Style” showcase of their musical, physical and comedic talents.
Camera angles let the audience literally look at their show differently — looking down on a vibraphone or up the bell of a trombone. Deft use of audience participation and a sprinkle of recorded numbers perfectly mixed with the live feed made for a phenomenal hour of fun.
Likewise, Theatre Group Gumbo — with a funny assist from Taylor — replicated its brand of zany humor with flair, turning what was billed as an interview into a madcap series of comedy sketches.
The Fringe also gave its own awards: To promising newcomer The Dropout DJ; to the Mind of a Snail theater company for innovation; to Phoenix Tears Productions for its audience-participation programming; to fan Darline Dondl for demonstrating the “spirit of the Fringe” through her enthusiastic viewing; and to DK Reinemer for demonstrating the “Fringe of the Fringe” with his, ahem, unusual offerings.
I must admit: Watching him sing “Closing Time” over and over for an hour was oddly hypnotic.
I also have to agree with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who spoke during the opening ceremony.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our community, figuring out how to do the things that make Orlando Orlando,” he said. “Certainly the Fringe Festival is exactly that.”
“This pandemic may change how we do things, but it’s not going to change who we are,” added Friskics. “Our stories still need to be heard.”
Thanks to the dedication and ingenuity of the Orlando Fringe staff, they were.