FRIGID Fringe Festival 2023 (Part 7)
The 17th Annual FRIGID Fringe Festival is underway in New York City. This three week event is an open and uncensored downtown theater festival that gives artists an opportunity to let their ingenuity thrive in a venue that values freedom of expression and artistic determination. Many of this year’s performances are livestreamed so there are ample opportunities to see some Indie theater works and support the artists who develop and perform them.
Thank u, ex
“Society tells little girls if a boy is mean to you he likes you”. In Kelly Taylor and Melly Magrath’s acutely conceived show, relationship histories will be explored. Advice will be proffered. Wrapping it all into a 90’s confection allows Thank u, ex the opportunity to present familiar material in a creative and engaging way.
A video accompanies this show and lessons will be taught including the five rules to get over a breakup. (Ice cream night is number two.) The real fun happens onstage. Beginning with a third grade crush, the various chapters of a young girl’s love life are examined and commented on for comedic effect. While the primary purpose might be entertainment there is clear conveyance of sisterly counseling. People say “follow your heart” which is “terrible advice”.
As a youngster the dream is Prince Charming. A magazine ad for engagement rings prompts the confession “I stare at it for four hours”. The show will get more adult but not before early crushes are analyzed. “He had a limited edition Pikachu!” One day he asks to borrow her lip balm and eats it. This event becomes the catalyst for a lifetime of trust issues.
Thank u, ex covers the newly moved in boy next door, kissing practice with a pillow up through intimacy experiences. The lighthearted touch is always in evidence despite the angst (and whiskey) swilling around her developing persona. Excelling at video games was one tactic to impress. “I was throwing those shells and banana peels like the only one I was interested in was Yoshi”.
Another boy stuck his tongue in her mouth. That was “before consent culture”. Zingers appear frequently and could benefit with longer pauses to allow for appreciative laughter (“Nightmare on Teen Street”). That said, there are many quotable lines to savor in this show.
An important North Star provides guidance and light. “The only toxic thing we should have in our lives” is the Britney Spears hit single Toxic. Indeed sound advice lovingly encased in a bubbly rant which should have extra appeal to those with similar coming of age misadventures.
The GynoKid
Have you ever told a story about your childhood to your friends?” asks Claire Ayoub. You thought it funny; the friends did not. Her therapist points out that not everyone had your weird upbringing. The GynoKid is the confidently performed memoir of growing up the daughter of a gynecologist and a nurse midwife in a small town.
Would she naturally become a “child prodigy in the gynecological arts?” “Vaginas paid my way to a historic women’s college”. Work talk at the dinner table was atypical. Instead of “oh the fax machine was broken” she heard “oh another outbreak of gonorrhea”. These impressionable memories are delightful.
Ms. Ayoub’s mom had a stint teaching health in middle school. Her brother is told “your mom’s the period lady”. At a Catholic Church a woman exclaims “Doctor Ayoub it’s so nice to see you with my clothes on”. What might be mortifying to a child is assuredly recounted with loving fondness, winning humor, polished staging and effortless clarity.
Personal revelations are shared which should remain a surprise. I cannot help fixating on the fact that she and her siblings each watched a live birth as children. That visual should be shown to all teens so “they’ll never have sex”. Experiencing the GynoKid’s amusing examination can definitely be recommended despite the “mild discomfort and slight pressure” so familiar to many.
Performances at the Frigid Fringe Festival are running through March 5, 2023. Two dozen shows are performed multiple times at either the Kraine Theater or UNDER St Mark’s. Tickets can also be purchased for many shows via livestreaming as well.