Open Wardrobes

Over the past week or so I've participated in several Fringe previews, mostly library showcases, which have been a great way to start getting Schrödinger's Cat Must Die! before an audience. Tonight is my last preview, as part of this year's second Fringe-For-All at the Ritz Theatre in Minneapolis. Thirty different companies will each perform a 3-minute segment of their show. The Fringe-For-Alls have become a very popular way for people to get a sneak peek of a lot of different shows, enough that this year they held two, and so it's an excellent way to start building the pre-Festival buzz. I finally settled last night on what piece from my own show to do which I hope will grab people's attention and make then want to see more.

I've also enjoyed doing the previews as a way to meet other people doing Fringe shows this year. I've met a number of artists I hadn't known before, people doing some really interesting shows. That's the thing about Fringe. There are always shows that don't necessarily jump out at you based on the title or description, but once you see a piece of it really grab the attention. As we get a little closer I'll post some links to a few of the other ones that have caught my eye and I plan to make every effort to see. The unfortunate side of doing 10 performances is that it greatly curtails my ability to see other shows, but I plan to squeeze in as many as I can!

Last week, as rehearsals continued, I also did my first few runthroughs of the full show which is always an exciting moment. All the various pieces finally start to come together and you can see a coherent, final shape begin to emerge. The show is running a little long, and so will need to be trimmed down a bit, but that's always a better problem than running too short (which was my fear while writing the script). Other than that, it's now a matter of smoothing out the rough spots and tightening the show up to move at a good pace.

So we're into the final stretch now - just 10 days until Fringe and 11 days until opening night! Have you bought your tickets yet?