{"id":18091,"date":"2015-05-11T21:39:18","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T04:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=18091"},"modified":"2015-05-11T21:52:19","modified_gmt":"2015-05-12T04:52:19","slug":"fringe-of-marin-one-act-play-festival-celebrates-25-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/fringe-of-marin-one-act-play-festival-celebrates-25-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Fringe of Marin One-Act Play Festival Celebrates 25 Years!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fringe of Marin One-Act Play Festival Celebrates 25 Years!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Fringe of Marin is one of the oldest Fringe Festivals in the country and the oldest in the <\/span>San Francisco Bay Area.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The Fringe of Marin is now celebrating its 25<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup> season with some of the most innovative work of San Francisco Bay Area playwrights, directors, and actors.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Established by Dr. Annette Lust in 1985, who was a professor at Dominican University and who continued to run the festival until her death two years ago in late February.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>At this time, <\/span>Gina Pandiani<\/span><\/strong>, Dominican alum who graduated in 1985, stepped up to the plate as <\/span>Managing Director<\/span><\/strong> to make sure that the show will continue to go on at the Fringe of Marin.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This review is centered on Program B which consists of four plays and one monologue.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Program B was presented on Saturday, May 2, and Friday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 10 at 2:00 p.m. at Angelico Hall at Dominican University.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Program B opened with <\/span>Chill<\/span><\/em><\/strong>, written and directed by <\/span>Nathan Day<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>In <\/span>Chill<\/span><\/em>, a bickering young couple, Suzy (<\/span>Iris Mallgren<\/span><\/strong>) and Bobby (<\/span>Nick Coelius<\/span><\/strong>) are dressed in bathing suits and sitting in beach chairs.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It is supposed to be warm, but they\u2019re <\/span>freezing<\/span><\/span> to death. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>They wrap their beach towels around themselves. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Bobby\u2019s towel is very patriotic \u2013 like the American flag. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Chill<\/span><\/em> was well cast with a good contrast in character.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was well directed with a lot of laughs from the audience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That light satirical play was followed by <\/span>Wii<\/span><\/em><\/strong>, written and directed by <\/span>Gary Green<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Stacey Anderson<\/span><\/strong> plays Sharon, a transgender (who <\/span>was<\/span><\/span> Liam\u2019s father but is <\/span>now<\/span><\/span> Liam\u2019s mother).<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Nico Canivet<\/span><\/strong>, a child actor plays Liam, who was trying to make a difficult adjustment. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Director Gary Green should have moved the important scene on the couch forward toward the audience instead of at the back.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Nico Canivet is wonderful as Liam in a challenging role.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The last play before intermission was <\/span>Alby and Me<\/span><\/em><\/strong>, written, directed, and acted by veteran Fringe favorite, <\/span>Steve North<\/span><\/strong>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Steve North is a real pro, who has performed stand-up comedy at the Marsh in Berkeley.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Steve has a great sense of comic timing, and he had the audience roaring with laughter as an aging actor trying to remember his lines. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>He carries a script as a prop. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAlby,\u201d in the title, comes from the albatross which he drags in at the end from the <\/span>Rime of the Ancient Mariner<\/span><\/em>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Steve North has the skill to keep the audience in the palm of his hand. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The second half of Program B opened with <\/span>Sheroe<\/span><\/em><\/strong> by <\/span>Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko<\/span><\/strong> and directed by <\/span>Sydney Painter<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>In this play, <\/span>Jasmine Williams<\/span><\/strong> plays Cheryl, who is visited by the ghost of her dead Mother, skillfully played by <\/span>Paige L. Mayes<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This play was beautifully acted and directed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The final play of Program B was <\/span>Safe House<\/span><\/em><\/strong> written and directed by Fringe Festival veteran <\/span>Charley Lerrigo<\/span><\/strong>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>In <\/span>Safe House<\/span><\/em>, a hurricane drives the Sheriff John Hurlbut, solidly performed by <\/span>Bruce Carlton<\/span><\/strong> to the safe house of Hattie Peterson, a long-time friend, seductively portrayed by <\/span>Sanna Cook<\/span><\/strong>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>She offers the sheriff something warm to drink and sets about to seduce him.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Program A was performed on Friday, May 1, Saturday, May 2, and Saturday May 9 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday May 2, at 2:00 p.m., at Angelico Hall.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of the Festival program, Gina Pandiani announced the 2015 Fringe of Marin winners. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>All of the winners were from <\/span>Program<\/span><\/em><\/strong> B, except for the Best Ensemble, called <\/span>Pizza Man <\/span><\/em><\/strong>from Program A. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>These are the results: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Best Director: Sidney Painter
\nRunner-Up: Gary Green<\/span><\/p>\n

Best Male Performance: Nico Canivet
\n<\/span>Runner-Up: Nick Coelius<\/span><\/p>\n

Best Female Performance: Jasmine Williams and<\/em> Paige L. Mayes
\n<\/span>Runner-Up: Iris Mallgren <\/span><\/p>\n

Best Ensemble: the cast of Pizza Man<\/em>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Best Play: <\/span>Sheroe
\n<\/span><\/em><\/span>Runner-Up: <\/span>Chill<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What a <\/span>wealth<\/span><\/span> of talent I witnessed in Program B, of directors, actors, and playwrights! <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Congratulations to Gina Pandiani for keeping the show going on! <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Flora Lynn Isaacson<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fringe of Marin One-Act Play Festival Celebrates 25 Years! The Fringe of Marin is one of the oldest Fringe Festivals in the country and the oldest in the San Francisco…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":18095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[489,491,190],"class_list":{"0":"post-18091","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-flora-lynn-isaacson","8":"tag-comedy","9":"tag-drama","10":"tag-marin-fringe-festival"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"