Fringe Fest is well underway and we are celebrating Walking Fish Theatre’s third anniversary in style!  This is our most exciting Fringe Fest to date, and there is something for everyone.  Our line-up includes:

Now Showing! In Live-Action 3D by Casaburdan Productions: an uproarious comedy about the staff of a run down movie theatre.  This multimedia “cinema” experience is complete with zany trailers, ridiculous characters and jaw dropping musical numbers.

Thursday 9/9 7pm, Friday 9/10 7pm, Saturday 9/11 7pm, Sunday 9/12 4:30pm, Wednesday 9/15 7pm, Thursday 9/16 7pm,
Friday 9/17 7pm, Saturday 9/18 7pm $15

Caryl Churchill’s Drunk Enough to Say I Love You by Butros and Bels Theatrical Emporium
Guy would do anything for Sam. Sam would just do anything. This is the story of one man’s love affair with his country and how the blindness of love can go horribly wrong. Caryl Churchill’s controversial play receives its Philadelphia premiere.

Friday 9/3 8pm and 10pm, Saturday 9/4 9pm, Sunday 9/5 3pm, Wednesday 9/8 8pm, Thursday 9/9 9pm $15

The Argyle Station by Fresh Meat Theatre
Fresh Meat has returned with a new experiment that takes place at the intersection of spontaneous generation and suspended animation. That’s when HE enters with a story as old as fishing. Here, reality is speculative, meaning is decorative, and being out of your depth can be a good thing.

Sat Sept 4 4:00 PM, Sun Sept 5 6:00 PM, Mon Sept 6 7:00 PM, Tue Sept 7 7:00 PM, Fri Sept 17 11:59 PM, Sat Sept 18 4:00 PM $12

The Search for Samuel’s Love by Ramey and Ramey Productions
Twenty-minute stage play followed by talk-back session. One actor in Philadelphia and three others meet live via internet conferencing for a unique blend of interactive humor seen nowhere else. The story: three women meet to discuss their one true love, too little, too late.

Sunday 9/12 7pm, Monday 9/13 7pm, Tuesday 9/14 7pm $10

Greetings from New Jersey! A comedy about growing up and living in the great “Garden State!” by Second Place Champions
Come see the Second Place Champions take on the state of New Jersey. Guidos, the economy, the mafia—nothing is safe from this sketch and improv comedy troupe. Join us for a night of laughs and in some cases, harsh realities. Just kidding, only laughs this night.

Friday 9/10 9pm, Saturday 9/11, 9pm $10

9mm of Love by 2 Guys and a Duck Theatre
Hopelessness, a hitman, and the human heart. What more could you want in a love story? This absurd, honest tale explores just how far we’re willing to go when true love comes—whether or not the other person feels the same way.

Sunday 9/12 9:30pm, Monday 9/13 9:30pm, Tuesday 9/14 9:30pm, Wednesday 9/15 9:30pm, Thursday 9/16 9:30pm $10

High Dramma/Low Commedy by High Dramma- Walking FishTheatre’s resident sketch-comedy troupe:
High Dramma kicks off its third season of sketch comedy with its Philly Fringe show High Dramma: Low Commedy. We’re all about contrasts in this group, and adding superfluous m’s to the titles of things, so come out to the Walking Fish and enjoy our unique brand of highmminded vulgarity.

Friday 9/17 9pm, Saturday 9/18 9pm, Sunday 9/19 9pm (tickets for 9/19 show available only at walkingfishtheatre.com $15

B. Someday Productions was also nominated for a Barrymore award for their educational outreach program “Of Mythic Proportions.”  Check back soon for  an interview with teacher and facilitator Kathleen Gaynor.

Appearing at The Walking Fish Theatre the fourth weekend of every month, High Dramma is bringing along a gang of friends including Lucky the Dog (and his gigantic balls), a psychotic “cereal killing” Captain Crunch, G-ZUS (the savior turned rapper), Whitcomb P. McCoy (a drunken southern lawyer) AND MUCH, MUCH MORE . . . and they want you to meet them all!

So come on down and check them out! You can be sure to get a laugh . . . or two, because we take comedy so seriously, it’s not even funny.

Join us for High Dramma’s last show of the season!  Shows are Friday & Saturday, June 25 & 26 @ 9pm. Uproariously funny, totally irreverent. Tickets are $10.00 at the door or at www.walkingfishtheatre.com

On Saturday, May 22, family, friends, and neighbors joined as we concluded six weeks of acting classes with our final student performance.  The students couldn’t have been more excited to showcase the characters that they had imagined, costumed, and scripted.  The had put a lot of energy and thought into the way their characters would look, walk, talk, and act, and this was their chance to show off their creativity.
The actors treated the audience to improv games that had us laughing hysterically, and an array of original characters including a mummy, an octopus, and a vampire slayer.  These young actors were enthusiastic about sharing their creativity and unique ideas, and we had a great time watching them come to life.

This was the conclusion of our Fun with Acting Class, a six-week class for students ages 7-12 taught by veteran and teacher Kate McGrath.  Fun with Acting fires up the imagination and boosts self-expression in a fun, collaborative atmosphere.

Using improvisation, storytelling, and theatre games. students learn how to use their bodies and voices to transform into a character, how to create dramatic conflict and reach creative and entertaining solutions.  The class requires no previous experience and will be held again in the fall, so check back later at www.walkingfishtheatre.com for the dates!

Watch these spellbinding tales and then join local artist Michael Carr as he expounds on art as related to the play, our relationships, and wherever else the conversation may lead.  Carr studied in Philadelphia, has had a show in the Daffy’s Window for the Arts, and numerous other galleries including the State Museum of Pennsylvania, the Moore Gallery, the Philadelphia Sketch Club and the Philadelphia Art Alliance.

Special tix offer for Lovers of Art folks: GRAVEDIGGER, Thursday, May 13, 2 for 1 tix with Talkback after the show with artist Michael Carr: How does Art affect our relationships?. Starts at 7pm, Walking Fish Theatre, 2509 Frankford215-427-9255

In “ A Gravedigger’s Tale” you will meet a gravedigger, junkies, crack whores, and gamblers, who all assume they’re going to get healthy tomorrow – until tomorrow comes.  You will see if their compromise of lack of compromise is going to kill them or if they will see another day.  In the “Mutilation of Saint Barbara” you peer into the life of a couple on the verge of ending a six-year relationship and in “Twilight’s Child” you watch the intimate moments between a husband and wife as they wrestle with the death of their child.  As you watch this gritty and gripping show, you will find new ways to explore the relationships between human beings.  The hauntingly truthful dialogue will captivate you as you realize quite distinctive versions of the happy ending.

Mark Borkowski is now living in New York and has garnered numerous awards including a Sterling Award for Best Play for “The Kids are Awake”, a Best Actor award in the 2008 Portugal Film Festival, has been published twice in Anthologies of Best Plays, and has received glowing reviews from coast to coast.  Producing these plays at the Walking Fish Theatre has been a homecoming of sorts for Mark and we hope you can join us for these fiercely original and spellbinding plays!

The production takes place at Walking Fish Theatre, 2509 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, 19125. Tickets are $18, or $12 for students and seniors. For more information call 215-427-9255 or email info@bsomeday.org. Pay-what-you-can preview performances will take place on Thursday, May 5, and Friday, May 6.

You’ve put on your crisp spring semi-formal clothes, but you’re ready to take off your shoes to dance. You’ll enter through ancient gates to a courtyard with a sculpture installation of buoyant dancers. Your senses are piqued as the verdant garden gives way to the open doors of a warehouse-turned-studio, resplendent in colors of hyacinth and bougainvillea. The smell of smoked barbecue from Johnny Brenda’s arouses your appetite,  and the music of New Orleans blues band New Pony gets your heart racing.  Join us as we celebrate another year of great entertainment by Fishtown’s only resident theatre company.

Your host, Eric Herr, is a staple of radio throughout the Delaware Valley, including WHYY, WRTI and KYW. New Pony is known throughout the greater Philadelphia area as practitioners of classic southern blues music. Bid on gifts from area businesses and local artists.  Johnny Brenda’s prides themselves on using fresh ingredients from local farmers and patient cooking.  You’ll taste the difference. All this will take place at The Angler Movement Arts Center. It’s a perfect night to celebrate the return of Spring. All proceeds from this gala benefit the programs of Walking Fish Theatre and B. Someday Productions. This event is made possible through the generous support of Eagle One Federal Credit Union.

Tickets are $60 per individual and $90 per couple.  Dress is semi-formal. You can always purchase tickets for our events at www.walkingfishtheatre.com, or by calling 215-427-WALK. There’s never a handling fee.  Come celebrate with us!

L-R- Actor Kenneth MacGregor, playwright Mark Borkowski, and Board President Marne Castillo.

Marne Castillo, the newly elected Board President for B. Someday Productions, the resident company of Walking Fish Theatre, opened her new home to us for delicious beverages, snacks, mixing and mingling. Monsieur Thujone of The Absinthe Drinkers was our master of ceremonies and bon vivant and Melissa Santangelo of The Oubliette Ensemble provided lovely harp music.  Raffle prizes were provided by El Quetzal, The Music Fountain Cafe, Historic Philadelphia, The Aramingo Diner, The Philadelphia School of Burlesque, and many more.

Mistress Vicky performs a tarot reading for a guest.

Most importantly, excerpts from our upcoming show were read by the cast. The plays in this show- A Gravedigger’s Tale, The Mutilation of Saint Barbara, and Twilight’s Child, were all inspired by things that Borkowski witnessed while growing up in Kensington.

Salon guests enjoy dramatic readings in Ms. Castillo's foyer.

The stories in Gravedigger are not for the faint of heart. They are spellbinding tales with unique characters, and every one has their own exclusive version of a happy ending. Surrounded by the luxury and kindness in Marne’s home, seeing and hearing these excerpts of these gritty, gripping plays was like having a visitation from a ghost.

The plays will come to life in full this May, the 5th through the 23rd, 2010. We’re proud to say that thanks to the help of Marne Castillo, our board members, and all of our supporters, we did make our goal for this fundraiser.  To those of you who helped us, we are grateful for your support of our programs and mission.

If you missed this fantastic party, don’t fret- keep your calendar clear for The Spring Blues Soiree on April 10!

Managing Artistic Director Michelle Pauls and longtime supporter Dr. Bob Wallner.

We’ll have entertainment by New-Orleans-style blues band New Pony, in the garden-cottage setting of the Angler Movement Arts Studio in Fishtown. Wear your best party dress and kick off your shoes to dance! keep your eyes on walkingfishtheatre.com to purchase tickets with no handling fee.

For those of us new to you, what exactly is High Dramma?

HIGH DRAMMA is the most carefully written, precisely structured, comprehensively rehearsed and sublimely acted fart joke you’ve ever seen.

How was the troupe formed?

Johnny and Zac were in another sketch comedy group in Philly who I will not mention but they will with the fiery hatred of ten thousand suns, and felt that it wasn’t up to snuff. They decided to form their own group, and called me about being the head writer. With my only other option at that point being graduate school, I jumped at the chance.

What’s your creative process?

Over the years, I’ve slowly lost the ability to make sense of life outside of a humorous approach, so, at this point, all I have to do is let my mind wander and sketches start coming out.

How has High Dramma changed since you’ve been performing at Walking Fish?

It gives us kind of a home field advantage. It’s a place we’re very much used to and familiar with and that lets us plan out the lighting, staging, entrances, exits, and blocking much more precisely than if we were in a new location each show. Pretty much, it limits the number of things we have to worry about, coming into the theatre for each performance, and makes us more ready to start with the funny.

Chicken or beef?

Make the cow and the hen mate, (Tape that for me too, I know a dude who will pay top dollar for that kind of thing) then take that animal, kill it, and deep fry it. Delicious Beefken. Tastes great, and less filling.

What’s the most memorable moment you’ve ever had as a performer?

Pre-HIGH DRAMMA, it was selling out my 1200 seat high school auditorium for sketch comedy shows my sophomore and senior years, and performing our college sketch show at KCATFs.

During HIGH DRAMMA, probably having about fifteen people from my office, including two of the owners, attend a show and love it. Job security on two fronts. It’s nice.

What do you want audiences to come away with after seeing one of your shows?

I want to them to either love us or hate us. I don’t want anyone to go away thinking, “Meh, they were pretty good, I guess”. I’d prefer an audience with 25% of people who loved us, and 75% who hated us, because that 25% will come back every time.

What are you reading these days?

“Close Range”, a book of short stories by Annie Proulx, an anthology of Galway Kinnell’s poems, and “Apocalypse Culture” by Adam Parfrey, which is a book of essays concerning how art and agriculture are ruining humanity, a defense of necrophilia, poetry by schizophrenics, etc… pretty much the most absurd premises imaginable, argued at length with a totally misplaced passion and elegance.

What’s under your bed?

A smaller bed with a guy who looks exactly like me sleeping in it. I only looked once, however, because it freaked me out when I saw it. That guy makes a mess, though; he doesn’t take care of his lawn and he leaves his Christmas lights up till April. Jerk.

If you could have any three famous people, living or dead, over for lunch, who would you invite and what would you serve?

Groucho, Chico and Harpo Marx. We would go out to the nicest restaurant in Philly, I would buy them as many drinks as they wanted and I would sit back an enjoy what would most certainly happen.

High Dramma performs this coming weekend. The shows start at 9pm on Friday, December 18 and Saturday, December 19. Get your tickets at www.walkingfishtheatre.com, or at the door starting one hour prior to curtain. Bring a friend, bring an enemy, bring cookies!

Clockwise from left: Randi Warhol, Melissa Bang Bang, Annie A-Bomb, Dina Colada and Cubby Altobelli take on the greed and dystopia of the for-profit theatre industry in Revival Burlesque's "A Burlesque Carol."

For those of us who might have been living under a rock for the past 150 years, what is burlesque and how does it differ from other performance art forms?

Many people still don’t know what burlesque is, or they think it is classic strip tease. It is classic strip tease, but traditionally it includes satire and other types of short acts and skits, from magicians to musical acts. If you wiki or google the word you’ll find that the definition is “making fun of high culture”, so it is a populist form of theater, often a cheap ticket, and a show satirizing the high brow entertainments of the day. There was big time and small time theater back before film became the entertainment of the day, there were big and small burlesque stars. Burlesque doesn’t take itself too seriously, and has always had defend itself from critics. People who say it is smut or has no place in the arts probably don’t know what it is, or are people with a repressed sense of fun.

What was your path to burlesque?

I studied anthropology and fashion design in college, and graduated from FIT and Temple. I came to burlesque in the late 1990′s when was an aspiring costume designer, and a retro head into all kinds of vintage stuff. I grew up watching old films and I knew what vaudeville and burelsque was from an early age.

This isn’t your only recurring burlesque gig. How does Revival Burlesque differ from Cabaret Red Light?

I like to describe Revival as like “Kids in the Hall with boobs”, or “SNL with boobs”. We make pop culture references and we run the gamate stylistically show by show. And Cabaret Red Light is run by bunch of commies who want to start a revolution. Cabaret Red Light has live, original music by the Blazing Cherries. CRL’s the Seven Deadly Sins takes place in hell and features various guest host “devils”.

You’re also the headmistress of The Philadelphia School of Burlesque. What’s the best benefit you get from that endeavor?

I get to meet a lot of women who are real characters. For some reason ladies interested in burlesque are creative and awesome! And I’m able to build the burlesque community in Philadelphia.

What’s the most memorable moment you’ve had as a performer?

Either performing at the Union League in the hall were the President of the United States dines when he comes to Philly (I think they said that all of them have dined there!) He wasn’t there, it was a private Christmas Party. OR Riding with the Axis of Eve girls during the 2004 presidential election when they came to Philly to get out the vote. We were “Fairies for Kerry”!

A Christmas Carol has had every possible permutation of revision, adaptation and satire since its original publication in 1843. Why do you think its popularity has endured for so long?

I think A Christmas Carol is timeless because there will always be miserable, greedy people. We fantasize about how they could just, “wake up one morning and see the light”.  The Scrooge character does this, so we think, “Why not Rush Limbaugh?”

What do you want audiences to come away with after seeing one of your shows?

You’ll have to ask them.

What are you reading these days?

E.T.A Hoffman short stories which are for a upcoming project, Sexus by Henry Miller, and I’m always reading books about how to make stuff. Puppets and knitting are often the subject of these how -to books lately.

What’s under your bed?

Summer clothes, bed sheets, and my cats.

If you could have any three famous people, living or dead, over for lunch, who would you invite and what would you serve?

Sean Penn, George W. Bush, and Fidel Castro. If Fidel isn’t alive switch to Susan Sarandon instead.

Revival Burlesque’s next show, A Burlesque Carol, will warm your heart and tickle your funny bone. It’s playing this weekend, Friday, December 11, Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13.  All performances start at 8pm. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit our website at www.walkingfishtheatre.com. Thanks!

For those of us who might have been living under a rock for the past 30 years, what is The Neighborhood Parenting Program of By My Side?We are a great organization comprised of mostly local families with young children. We offer Playgroups, groups for ages 4 & up & are currently working to also begin a program to support pregnant/parenting teens. By My Side is the last vestage of 13 pilot projects that began over 25 years ago to help prevent child abuse by helping parents learn about early childhood development. When parents understand what are normal stages in a child’s development and can get tips on how to deal both from the staff and other parents, expectations are more realistic and parents are less stressed. Our biggest value, as I see it, is connecting people and creating community.

What was your path to The Neighborhood Parenting Program of By My Side?

Early literacy is so important! Michelle, Stan & their daughter, Astrid were part of NPP beginning when Astid was 6 weeks old. Way before The Walking Fish was a reality, Michelle and I had partnered to do a public literacy event to fulfill a grant obligation. She & Stan had already been toying with the idea of taking some of Astrid’s favorite stories & adding a performance flavor to them. Out of that was born 2 productions of “Frog & Toad” which were highly received. When The Walking Fish was being born, we revisited the idea of doing this on a regular basis….hence, The Family Theatre Series. It’s another way to get my folks out into the community and expose the children to theatre & books early on.

The Family Theatre Series is a literature-based performance, using classic children’s books. What were some of your favorite books when you were growing up?