Fringe Fever

My reign is over. My run with the San Francisco Fringe Festival is now a thing of the past, and I am filled with all of the usual emotions that follow the run of good show: sadness, relief, pride, joy. This was possibly the greatest journey of my life thus far, and I spent so much time looking forward to it and I'm in shock that it's actually over now. But I don't regret a thing. I met some terrific people, saw some fantastic theatre, visited a city that I've been dying to go to for years, and put on a kick-ass show.

I do wish that I had put forth more effort to see other shows. With 41 productions happening over the course of 11 days and a free pass to see every single one of them, you would think I would have attended more than 5. But between my burlesque shows, social engagements, sleeping, and yes...booty calls, I found myself distracted from the stage when I wasn't on it myself, and for that I am slightly regretful. I did see some fantastic shows though, my personal favorites being "L'extimite" by Andrea Isasi and "My Mobster" by Joy Nash. Wonderful pieces of work that deserve much praise.

The downside of the Fringe experience is that it's all done by lottery. It's a stroke of luck whether you get in or not, so seniority offers you absolutely nothing in terms of future participation. I like to think that I formed some pretty good bonds with the members of the Exit Theatre staff, at least for a two-week period, and would love to work with these people again. But whether or not I left a lasting impression or not, it won't help me either way in the future.

Now that all of my summer projects have come to a close, I'm sure a lot of you are wondering what's next for me. I haven't completely decided yet. I may continue to develop "VGL", trying to make it more current, since a lot of the text is still the same as it was in 2009. I may try to take "Fame Whore" to the next level, although I would like to see how the Glammy Award (or should I say "Glam Award") situation turns out in the next couple of months before I dive into that too deeply. I've also thought about writing a cabaret act, so perhaps now is the time. But all I know is that I now have a fever, and the only cure is more Fringe.

When I first began on this journey, I saw the San Francisco Fringe Festival as the ending goal. But now I realize that this one festival is just another stepping stone in a greater artistic escapade. So I'm marking down deadlines now to get my one-man show(s) into festivals in even more wonderful places. I'm still doing research, but I know for a fact that I've got my sights set on Toronto in 2013...