the blog

Stand up, and specifically storytelling, allows me to do what I find I can't do with a lot of other acting and performance and that is tell the stories I think matter the most in a speedy manner. I can immediately start addressing an issue that has come up in the news, or in my life without having to go through the trouble of addressing funding bodies, auditions, or relying on anyone else.

I have strong feelings about how comedy shows are categorized at Edinburgh Fringe. There is an abundance of stand-up comedians, which is lovely, and many people are down to see those kinds of shows. But what gets my goat is that all other comedy shows get lumped in the same genre at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. You won’t find any stand-up on this list (in my world, that would be an entirely different post). Here we focus on theatre, clown, and improv.

Q&A with Philadelphia Fringe Artist Donna Oblongata. Donna, you do more than perform; you direct and teach many clowns in Philadelphia. How does this impact your work? I love teaching and teach a really specific pedagogy, called Pochinko Clown, or Clown Through Mask, that comes from Canada. It's different from all the LeCoq and Gaulier stuff most people are familiar with. Teaching clowns is great because every time I'm giving them a lesson, I'm also giving myself one.

We are thrilled to introduce a new series to the blog, Artists Q&A. It is another avenue to provide platforms for artists and celebrate all that is fringe. This week, we are featuring Canadian artist Holly Brinkman, whose newest show is A Woman's Guide to Romance Novels.

From comedy to matchmaking to fringe, Olivia Raine Atwood has learned that each unexpected turn in life and work has been pointing her in the same direction. Olivia is a comedian, writer, matchmaker, fitness instructor, and award-winning fringe performer whose career path could best be described as “a series of accidental perfect fits.”