Photo Credit: Brian Feldman
Photo Credit: Brian FeldmanThank God I was in the audience today for the 11:30am performance of Jeremy Seghers' "The Amazing Adventures of Normal People in 3D" at the Orlando Fringe Festival. It's a performance art piece done in the genre of theatre. The audience becomes the performer because the real performers (in this performance, they were the Fringe Festival's Producer Beth Marshall and actual performance artist Brian Feldman) die. What does an audience do when the performers die and are not allowed to leave until they pay a ten dollar fee? They become the show. And boy did this audience do just that.
But before I get to that, it should be noted for lovers of The Feldman, during the show Beth Marshall agreed to Brian's proposal for a site-specific show for the 2010 Orlando Fringe. The site? An elevator at the Shakespeare building. Audience size? One. And as Brian said, "No pregnant women allowed."
But back to the show...
Some dude hopped over me in my row, his flip flops flailing in my face, and climbed up to the tech booth via what appeared to be a fire escape staircase. Our attention went back to the stage and then we heard "Lime in the Coconut" playing from the speakers. That dude reappeared on stage cradling... a fire extinguisher.
Did I mention the Fringe Festival PRODUCER was there?
The dude pulls the pin from the extinguisher and shoots the white stuff all over the stage. It's a white powder that looks like smoke and falls to the floor like baking flour. He puts the extinguisher behind a floor fan pointed at the audience and, yes, the white stuff shot everywhere. Breathing became difficult. Doors were opened. Producers walked out. Techs climbed down from the tech booth. The show was stopped. Brooms came out. Sweeping began.
And I laaaaaaaughed! FRINGE!