Tina Brock, writer, actor, founder and producing artistic director of the Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium (IRC) since 2006—Philadelphia’s only absurdist theatre company—holds degrees from the University of Maryland and West Chester University, works as a Standardized Patient Trainer at the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners, and makes the impossible possible, year after year, with some of the most thought provoking and unusual productions.
View More On becoming a RHINOCEROS: Interview with director Tina BrockCategory: Theater
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Nudity or Crudity: a conversation with Mary Tuomanen about THE BODY LAUTREC
I asked Tuomanen, who directed the piece, to talk about The Body Lautrec. On extremely short notice, she agreed (“Aaron called me, said someone was upset about Lautrec and you wanted to ask me some questions.”) We talk about filth, exploitation, agency, and other uplifting stuff.
View More Nudity or Crudity: a conversation with Mary Tuomanen about THE BODY LAUTRECTHE ORGASM CHRONICLES (OneTaste Philly): Fringe Review 59
Dramatic narrators voice acutely detailed stories of sexual exploits, dating disasters/successes, and intimate gatherings.
View More THE ORGASM CHRONICLES (OneTaste Philly): Fringe Review 59Fringe Bike Tour Was Awesome: Three shows, twelve bikes, dinner, and some rides
“Your little ducks,” Leah says, as we look over our shoulders at the line of weaving their way south on 21st, “they’re all in a row.”
View More Fringe Bike Tour Was Awesome: Three shows, twelve bikes, dinner, and some ridesBROKEN WING (Pantea Productions): Fringe Review 29.2
The timely BROKEN WING, offered to the FringeArts festival in an beautifully executed performance by Pantea Productions, tells the story of a brash American photographer (Bob Stineman) who, while traveling in Iran, sleeps with his host’s young wife Arezoo.
View More BROKEN WING (Pantea Productions): Fringe Review 29.2ALTERNATIVE THEATRE FESTIVAL (iNtuitions Experimental Theatre): Fringe Review 57
Playwrights are do not come fully formed. Directors have to start somewhere. And the Philly Fringe Festival is traditionally a great place for artists to take their first artistic steps.
View More ALTERNATIVE THEATRE FESTIVAL (iNtuitions Experimental Theatre): Fringe Review 57FLIM FLAM PHANTOM SHAM (Ombelico Mask Ensemble): Fringe Review 56
Ombelico’s latest al fresco offering, FLIM FLAM PHANTOM SHAM, is a delightful synthesis of traditional Commedia dell’Arte with current Philadelphia references, delivered in Italian and English—or Philly’s local version thereof!—which kept me in stitches throughout the entire all-ages show.
View More FLIM FLAM PHANTOM SHAM (Ombelico Mask Ensemble): Fringe Review 56THE BODY LAUTREC (Aaron Cromie and Mary Tuomanen): Fringe Review 53
THE BODY LAUTREC is not everyone’s cup of tea: a shockingly hard-core depiction of the depravities and debaucheries of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and his art.
View More THE BODY LAUTREC (Aaron Cromie and Mary Tuomanen): Fringe Review 53Anna K (Chris Davis): 2014 Fringe Review 40.2
It would be fun to call ANNA K an irreverent romp through Tolstoy’s 1870s novel, Anna Karenina, but in fact playwright Chris Davis reverences the material in his own way. For all its comedy, and there’s plenty in his South Philly-style version, the play scans the storyline and retains underlying issues.
View More Anna K (Chris Davis): 2014 Fringe Review 40.2UNDERGROUND EPISODES (Run Boy Run Productions): Fringe Review 52
UNDERGROUND EPISODES carries us from Olney to past City Hall and then back again in poems, half-spoken and half-recited, sometimes direct and sometimes inscrutable.
View More UNDERGROUND EPISODES (Run Boy Run Productions): Fringe Review 52BY YOU THAT MADE ME, FRANKENSTEIN (Philadelphia Opera Collective): Fringe Review 51
The compelling two-act opus captures the historic characters, events, and mood with passion and clarity.
View More BY YOU THAT MADE ME, FRANKENSTEIN (Philadelphia Opera Collective): Fringe Review 51NELLIE/NELLIE (Antigravity Theatre Project): Fringe Review 50
NELLIE/NELLIE combines whimsy and imagaination with the true story of American journalist Nellie Bly and her 10 days in a mental institution.
View More NELLIE/NELLIE (Antigravity Theatre Project): Fringe Review 50THE ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, FORGET-ABOUT-IT, LAST NIGHT AT VON DAHM’S SPORTS BAR, WING HUT, AND KARAOKE PALACE (Actors International Theatre): Fringe Review 48
Some Fringe shows display great production values and artistic quality. VON DAHM’s isn’t one of those, but it’s still a joy.
View More THE ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, FORGET-ABOUT-IT, LAST NIGHT AT VON DAHM’S SPORTS BAR, WING HUT, AND KARAOKE PALACE (Actors International Theatre): Fringe Review 48NIGHTMARES IN NEVERLAND (Bri Shaw/Brian Clores/Brey Barrett/Haygen Walker): 2014 Fringe Review 47
Two original one-hour plays inspired by the life and popular children’s book of Scottish author J.M. Barrie
View More NIGHTMARES IN NEVERLAND (Bri Shaw/Brian Clores/Brey Barrett/Haygen Walker): 2014 Fringe Review 479 TO 5: THE MUSICAL (Walnut Street): Performance over plot
Sharp performances keep 9 TO 5 so consistently entertaining it masks a contrived plot and mediocre music and lyrics.
View More 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL (Walnut Street): Performance over plotKIM COLES: OH, BUT WAIT . . . THERE’S MORE! (Kim Coles / Dir. Scotch Ellis Loring): Fringe Review 46
The actor, best known for work on “Living Single,” opens it all up with a solo show that is hilarious, hopeful, and surprisingly heartfelt.
View More KIM COLES: OH, BUT WAIT . . . THERE’S MORE! (Kim Coles / Dir. Scotch Ellis Loring): Fringe Review 46BEN TO THE FUTURE (Salamé Studios): Fringe Review 45
The creative young minds of Salamé Studios have put together a show that anyone willing to try something untrodden will enjoy
View More BEN TO THE FUTURE (Salamé Studios): Fringe Review 45MAD BLOOD AND OTHER BEAUTIES (A Plague On Both Your Houses): Fringe Review 44
This is no mere retelling of Romeo and Juliet. What we get is a conjuring, a blood-letting, a full-throated cry of rage.
View More MAD BLOOD AND OTHER BEAUTIES (A Plague On Both Your Houses): Fringe Review 44BENT (Truth Be Told Productions): Fringe Review 43
Truth Be Told Productions BENT isn’t innovative, but it is a quality production of a culturally significant play.
View More BENT (Truth Be Told Productions): Fringe Review 43THE FOUR SEASONS RESTAURANT (Societas Raffaello Sanzio): Fringe Review 36.2
Romeo Castellucci has poured his personal inspirations and philosophy into this remarkable abstract production, but ultimately viewers must determine its meaning for themselves. To this viewer, the piece is a resounding “NO.”
View More THE FOUR SEASONS RESTAURANT (Societas Raffaello Sanzio): Fringe Review 36.2