By Mary Beth Quillin
The Lake Effect Fringe Festival kicks off its 6th season of bringing new theatre to West Michigan all through the month of February on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. with a performance by No Outlet Improv.
Troupe members Nick Milbratz, Kristen Hirtsch, Sean Francis, Eirann Betka, and T.J. Corbett bring short-form, fast-paced, interactive fun to audiences of all ages. No Outlet is a Grand Rapids original entertainment group that is working throughout West Michigan to promote and perform improvisational theater.
There is a full calendar of events that are guaranteed to have something for everybody scheduled at the Dog Story Theater, 7 Jefferson SE, Grand Rapids throughout the month of February, right into early March. Again this year, Dog Story’s popular Comedy Outlet Mondays will continue throughout the Festival (Feb. 5, 12, 19 & 26) at 7 p.m. each Monday night, for the low price of just $6 Comedy Outlet Mondays (COM) is an experimental comedy hub in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids. From 7-8 p.m., audiences only pay $6 to watch a variety of local artists performing brand new comedy from improv, to sketch, to puppets and music and beyond!
The second hour opens up the stage for those who wish to watch, or participate in, a free open comedy lab. Here, anyone can try new games, network, and may even be inspired to create an act and return as a performer. COM has become an ongoing circuit of performing, playing, producing, and polishing, all leading back to establishing new artists/art forms in Grand Rapids. It is brought to the community by No Outlet Improv Troupe and Dog Story Theater.
This year’s full schedule includes:
Auditions!! – Jan. 30
The 10 Minute Plays and 24-Hour Theatre will be holding auditions at the Dog Story Theater, 7 Jefferson SE, Grand Rapids on January 30 at 7 p.m. More info is available on the Dog Story Theater website; www.dogstorytheater.com
Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company – Feb. 2, 3 at 8 p.m. and 4 at 3 p.m.
The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company will present The Knight of the Burning Pestle, by Francis Beaumont; this play within a play is a 1607 burlesque of citizen drama and chivalric romance. Pigeon Creek’s productions present Shakespeare and his contemporaries’ works in a lively, audience-interactive, and accessible atmosphere that brings the plays to life for modern audiences. This play by one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries blurs the boundaries between audience and actors with absurd comedy. Join us for all of the fun! The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company is Michigan’s only year-round, touring Shakespeare Company.
The Brutal Sea – Feb. 8 & 9 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 11 at 3 p.m.
Local group The Brutal Sea presents Chaos & Entropy, by local playwrights Kimmy Snyder and Declan Maher; a multidisciplinary collage. It involves short plays, sketch and improv comedy, performance art, video content, and poetry. This piece offers the audience a space for emotional exploration, catharsis, laughter, and expressions of hope and forgiveness. It contains strong language and is not suitable for children.
Dog Story Theater – Feb. 10 at 8 p.m.
24-Hour Theatre Local playwrights, directors and actors will work all day and present their completely original works to the audience at 8 p.m. One performance only. (Actors interested in participating should attend auditions for the 10-Minute Plays on January 30 at 7 p.m.)
GEM Theatrics – Feb. 16 & 17 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 18 at 3 p.m.
The husband and wife performance team of Gary E. Mitchell and Mary Beth Quillin return to the LEFF with the Michigan premiere of 2 Across: A Comedy of Crosswords and Romance, by Jerry Mayer. The play first premiered at the Santa Monica Playhouse, in Southern California, in 2004. The Los Angeles Times said of the original Santa Monica production, “2 Across strives to entertain and succeeds admirably. This is a charming, character-driven comedy.” Two strangers, a man and a woman, board a San Francisco BART train at 4:30 am. They’re alone in the car, each is married, and both are doing the New York Times crossword. She’s organized and sensible. He’s a free spirit. She is a crossword pro, he always quits. When he tosses his puzzle away, she snaps, “Crosswords are a metaphor for life; those who finish, succeed, those who don’t, fail.” Boy meets girl, does boy get girl?
10-Minute Play Festival – February 22 & 23 @8:00 pm
Titles of plays will be announced soon! Local directors and local actors will take on scripts submitted by local playwrights for an evening of 10-Minute Plays produced by Hole in the Wall Theatre Company.
ACTORS: auditions will be held on Jan. 30 at Dog Story Theatre at 7 p.m. Directors need to plan to be present for these as well, so you can cast your shows.
Casting will be announced that week. Directors will be responsible to coordinate rehearsal schedules with their cast.
Hole in the Wall Theatre Company – Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.
J. Corbett leads Grand Rapids’ only Commedia Dell’Arte troupe in the original comedy, Yes, We’re Closed. A shopkeeper is suddenly locked out of his store, with the precious money he owes to a vicious loan shark locked inside…the neighborhood gets pulled into the madness, as desperate measures, scandalous revelations, and questionable prescriptions run wild in the streets.
Alternative Acts Theatre Company – Feb. 24 at 3 p.m.
Hole in the Wall presents the premiere production of Alternative Acts Theatre Company, a group of students from Aquinas College. I’m So… is a theatrical exploration of the stigmas and societal noise surrounding mental health issues. One Performance Only.
No Outlet Improv – Mar. 1 at 8 p.m.
No Outlet Improv returns with one more fun evening of interactive improv! Final Festival Improv Event
The University Wits – March 2 & 3 at 8 p.m. and March 4 at 3 p.m.
The University Wits present The Last Five Years; a musical by Jason Robert Brown, directed by J.J. Lindke and starring Emily Diener and Steffan Copenhaver.
The story explores a five-year relationship between Jamie Wellerstein, a rising novelist, and Cathy Hiatt, a struggling actress. The show uses a form of storytelling in which Cathy’s story is told in reverse chronological order (beginning the show at the end of the marriage), and Jamie’s is told in chronological order (starting just after the couple have first met). The characters do not directly interact except for a wedding song in the middle as their timelines intersect.
The Lake Effect Fringe Festival seeks to highlight performer-focused theater in a non-traditional theater space, creating an intimate performance experience for audiences who can expect different seating configurations and differing levels of interaction with the performers at any given performance. Along with the Dog Story Theater, organizing partners include; GEM Theatrics, Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company, and The University Wits. All performances take place in the black box performance space of the Dog Story Theater, 7 Jefferson SE, Grand Rapids. Tickets for all events can be purchased in advance on the Dog Story Theatre’s website: www.dogstorytheater.com, and are $14/adults and $8/students and seniors. Comedy Outlet Mondays are just $6.
