Carrie Villeneuve

Several themes seemed to reveal themselves after the shows I saw today: sex, religion, and solo performers. Of the four shows I saw, three were solo performances and the fourth was a duo. Just the fate of selection, I guess, but instead of feeling inspired and energized, I felt a bit draggy and singular, not because of the shows themselves per se, but part of the excitement of the Fringe is the experience of communal creativity, which this combination of shows somehow didn't generate for me.

Shoe Horn Comedy, at False Creek Gym. Ugh. A slow 20 minutes passed before my first laugh--and not even a laugh, but a sort of groan-chuckle-snort. Sketch comedy that was physical, but not focussed, and missed its own best jokes.

The Gospel of John, also at False Creek Gym. Not necessarily only for devout Christians, since how many undevout, unChristians have heard the stories of Jesus's miracles in the first place? And probably not that many 'devout' Christians have heard them much before, if at all. Anyway, don't be distracted by the miracles; a story is a story with elements of Truth. And I wasn't bored because Gary Boon is a true performer.

THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES, at Origins Organic Coffee Company. A surprise: a good story not just about Hugh Hefner and big boobs, and well-acted.

pornsTar, PerformanceAnne Wyman holds her own on stage, although her 'mousy' Esther voice is much too squeaky to carry properly in the large venue and I found it annoying rather than endearing.

So the shows today didn't exactly get me jacked up for my next shift at Performance Works, and I was expecting some big houses to deal with--Caberlesque! was on first, then Today Is All Your Birthdays had another showing, although the 10:50 p.m start time might affect numbers somewhat. But after watching the Caberlesque! girls mingle with the crowd around the bar before their performance--a little shimmy-and-shake, some flirty banter, a guess-how-many-jellybeans-in-my-dress game--I felt uplifted and included once again in the House of Fringe.