Experiencing Fringe - July 3, 2010

Due to the fact I actually have a life - shocking, I know - today's adventure into theatre included only one show - 11:00pm performance of Me, My Stuff and I @ George Ignatieff Theatre.

If you're keeping track, this is the fourth play I've seen at the festival thus far and this now marks the fourth new space I've had the pleasure of being in. All the space's I've been in have been different, but they all have one thing in common - they are all excellent spaces with such possibility. The George Ignatieff Theatre space even has little tables attached to each chair. I assume this is because the space is also used by the university for lectures.

Me, My Stuff and I: A Multimedia Comedy
by Barry Smith

From the Fringe Program:
From the creator of "Jesus in Montana" (5 stars - EYE and NOW) and "American Squatter" (4 stars - EYE and NOW) comes a disturbingly funny multimedia comedy about...stuff. Lots of stuff. Writer/performer Barry Smith began documenting every detail of his existence from an early age. His young passion morphed into a bizarre obsession. And now he wonders, "Who saves this stuff?"

His shit is FUNNY! I laughed so hard I cried...almost the entire time. I was literally wiping away tears. I can't remember the last time I laughed this much during a show.

As you walk into the theatre to find your seat, you notice the very minimal amount on the stage: a stool with a bottle of water beside a microphone in a stand, downstage is a Mac laptop and a projector and upstage is a large screen on which is projected the title of the show you are about to see with numerous graphics of photos and stamps and bits of this and that - stuff.

The entire show is based on this performer's life and is told in such a way that you are doubled over laughing and cry and trying to catch your breath. There are no jump cuts from his live on stage performance to the projected media on the screen - it's all very smooth in its transition with the help of his voice, his storytelling and good lighting operation. The projection screen really becomes like a second performer on stage.

One sentence: Stand up comedy plus wonderfully creative Power Point style presentation equals Me, My Stuff and I.

One word: Hilarious!

If you are reading this you must go and see this show.