Philly Fringe Festival!
Published by Becky S August 31st, 2004 in arts, philadelphia
Actually, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival is now under a larger umbrella called the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival. Trust me, this is the most wonderful time of the year. For two weeks, beginning this Friday, September 3 (daily schedule), the city will be overrun with characters galore.
During the Festival, the boundaries between artists, performers, students, eccentrics, gloom chicks, and run-of-the-mill crazies dissolves, creating a bizarre and fun atmosphere. Favorite moments from past Festivals:
- Playing a game show on the El.
- King Lear on a miniature golf course and The Tempest in a kiddie pool—both were one-man shows.
- Sock puppet guy. He hangs around Old City on First Friday and wears a doggie sock puppet on his right hand. If he sees you staring, he’ll march over, shove the puppet in your face, growl “WOOF,” and walk away.
- The love story of a woman and the ever-growing lint creature who lives in her laundromat’s trash can.
Hey, how come everyone wants to talk about celebrity look-alikes and no one wants to talk about Fringe-y goodness?
Phhht.
Sounds like sock puppet guy needs to take his meds.
I was wondering why it was called the “Fringe” Festival and I found a few explanations on dictionary.com
1. A marginal, peripheral, or secondary part: “They like to hang out on the geographical fringes, the seedy outposts” (James Atlas).
2. Those members of a group or political party holding extreme views: the lunatic fringe.
3. a part of the city far removed from the center.
4. Subcomponent of GE-255 GECOM system.
And I wish I was on that game show El train. Everyone in the trolley I was in this morning, looked like the world would end in a few hours.
#4 on Sam’s list is genius. The definition goes on to say “Sorting and merging of data, reports and file maintenance.”
Maybe boss-across-the-hall can be convinced that Fringe is a work-related activity.
Huh. Another road trip? Maybe.
Theresa–totally worth the trip. Even if you pick bad shows, the people watching is good stuff.