RAT One worm turning

[J H <jonoh1@juno.com>]

In this month's American Theatre

"The Battle of the Fringes -

 How many fringe festivals does New York City need? well, this year
Gothamites can count on not one but two separate Fringe attacks.
  The third annual New York International Fringe Festival is slated for
Aug. 18-29 on the Lower East Side. This year, in addition to the usual
mixture of theatre, dance, performance art and other less-definable
forms, there will be music, readings of prose by unpublished writers and
an underground film festival. 'Last year, Richard Foreman said that we
should be more like a European fringe festival,' remarks artistic
director John Clancy, who oversees New York's Present Company during the
rest of the year. 'He said it needed to be a cultural celebration.'
  However, Clancy's getting a little competition this time around - and,
oddly enough, it's coming from an old ally: Aaron Beall, executive
director of the downtown institution Todo Con Nada and one-time
co-artistic director of Fringe NYC. After two summers of fringing, Beall,
who admits that he 'doesn't repeat well,' decided to call it quits. But
rather than doing something sensible like taking a vacation, Beall has
embarked on creating his own festival, dubbed Pure Pop Theater. It will
begin on the very same day as the Fringe, and will continue through
October.
  Whereas Fringe NYC is more of a smorgasbord ('sort of like an
all-you-can-eat salad bar at Sizzler,' says Beall), Pure Pop will focus
more on Beall's personal obsession with popular culture. 'I want it to be
rock-and-roll theatre,' says the downtown impresario, 'along the lines of
Chicago's Annoyance Theatre' CO-ED PRISON SLUTS and CHARLIE MANSON: THE
MUSICAL - stuff that's generally been maligned by the culture at large.'
And why is Beall going head-to-head with the Fringe? 'Hey,', he laughs,
'anything that can rival, challenge and ultimately revitalize the Fringe
is a good thing, isn't it?'
  Clancy disagrees: 'It's a bit sad, actually. For the last two years,
those couple of weeks have always been a celebration. Now I'm afraid it's
going to turn into a competition.' For his part, Beall insists his new
project is not meant to compete with the Fringe, that there are no hard
feelings and that he's still on board at Fringe NYC as a co-artistic
director.
  That's news to Clancy, who insists, 'I'm artistic director of the
Fringe.' As an afterthought, he adds, 'I should definitely give Aaron a
call.' " 
	American Theatre
	Stephen Nunns


Donner...party of two...Donner....party of two.

Self-righteously,
Jonathan Harris
National Fringe Productions
LA


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