San Diego’s Fringe Fest is back with cross-border footprint

nternational Fringe Festival returns for the next two weeks with shows from artists from around the world The different performances scheduled are a lower number than in the past but producer Shaun Davis disclosed in particular techniques the festival has a bigger footprint than ever In addition to seven venues in San Diego from Logan Heights to Liberty Station live performers are heading to Mexico to three venues for the binational plan Instead of just Tijuana artists can also be exposed in Ensenada Plus performers will head to Eunime Orphanage to deliver non-perishable food donated during the festival and entertain the HIV children living there New this year the School for Creative Careers in Old Town and The Chrysalis Monarch School s arts center in Barrio Logan are hosting multiple shows Balboa Park s Centro Cultural de la Raza and the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater are two of the main locations again There will also be four days of Family Fringe on May and from a m to p m where kids can be entertained with high-energy performances and hands-on art making Each date has a different location starting with City Heights Performance Annex then Liberty Station s central promenade then Lincoln Park at Logan Ave and a final day at North Park Recreation Center For the first time SDSU film students held an Emerging Filmmakers Showcase on Thursday May As inevitably it is an open access event with no curation so the distinctive to the risque can take part The infrastructure can be helpful for individuals putting on solo shows where they do not need to find a venue and do all the marketing themselves Local improv troupes and dance companies can also take advantage of the Fringe to showcase their skills for the public While each show has a rating so the audience will not be surprised there are not rules on content Irreverent and political themes emerge alongside raunchy confessionals I view the numerous solo performers as a litmus test on what issues in the zeitgeist are troubling artists and not being depicted enough on main stages Stand-up comedian Clayton Smith will share stories of his AR- heavy Yuma childhood with Guns for Jesus while writer-actor Kathleen Burke ruminates on Philadelphia s gentrification in Queen of Fishtown There were plenty of a multitude of more shows touching on gender and Catholicism in their two minute previews during a moment when America is again embracing traditional gender roles Holy O and Holy Water Tequila managed to hit both hot topics Beyond content the acceptance of any type of performing arts lets artists who might have trouble finding backing from a staid theater show off skills like clowning magic tricks or tap dancing that are less popular now than years ago One of this year s genre-celebrating performances will be Australian mime actor Marcel Cole s Smile The Story of Charlie Chaplin which won an award to have Cole s trip to San Diego sponsored Its affordability is a boon as theater tickets along with everything else rise with inflation After purchasing a tag to endorsement the festival every show costs with all proceeds going to the artists Each show takes less than an hour and are scheduled back to back so multiple can be seen in an evening For an up-to-date schedule visit sdfringe org Critic s picks After attending the preview show on Tuesday May where each performer got two minutes to intrigue the audience here are several I am thinking of adding to my schedule It is demanding to predict which minute-long preview will impact in a well-constructed hour-long show but these are the ones that greater part interested me in order of first show Nighttime Julianne by Lani Gobaleza Filipina American San Diegan Lani Gobaleza premiers the solo show she wrote and performs about ruminating on her life on the eve of her th birthday May at p m May at pm May at p m May at p m and May at p m at New Destiny Logan Ave Suite sdfringe org events nighttime-julianne Pretty Beast by Kazu Kusano Japanese American stand-up comedian Kazu Kusano has won awards at other Fringe festivals as she uses humor to combat a traumatic childhood of being raised in Japan by a schizophrenic mom and alcoholic dad May at p m May at p m May at p m May at p m and May at p m at Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theatre sdfringe org events pretty-beast All the Boys I Blocked by Chanel the Circus Los Angeles singer and accordianist Chanel Samson delighted the audience by improvising songs about bad break ups based on their suggestions The set felt utterly Fringe May at p m May at p m May at p m May at p m May at p m at No Limits Logan Ave sdfringe org events all-the-boys-i-blocked Holy Water Tequila by Cat Alvarado Alvarado straddles heartbreak and hilarity in this one-woman show about questioning faith while tradwives abound May at p m May at p m and May at p m at No Limits Logan Ave sdfringe org events holy-water-tequila I Killed Iphigenia by Party Favor Productions In line with the focus on gender multiple shows delve into the experiences of transgender people This abstract long-form drag show from four trans-masculine artists was something I at once started organizing a friend group to attend together before the night ended May at p m May at p m May at p m and p m and May at p m at Centro Cultural de la Raza sdfringe org events i-killed-iphigenia Alteration by Circo ala Moda This flashy acrobatics show explores self expression through fashion as characters dance and fly with fabric May at p m and p m May at p m and p m and May at p m at Centro Cultural de la Raza sdfringe org events alteration