I try to get in as much as I can about local theater into The Bee (both in our Friday 7 section and online), but when the Rogue Festival rolls around, I get overwhelmed. It's an embarrassment of riches. Instead of having room (and time) to cover each theater production in the Rogue with a separate advance article, we have to lump things together in the print edition.

But I'd like to let people know more about the local theater that will be offered at the Rogue. Directors and/or actors, this is where you can help out. Send me a short roundup of your show. You can include a synopsis, a description of the genre, a list of the actors (sometimes audience members look for familiar names when they're deciding whether to go to a show), an explanation of why you're doing this title, some historical background or anything else that you think might draw people to the show. The more specific you are, the better; nothing turns off a potential showgoer like a vaguely worded program description. Think of this as your chance to write my theater column for me. Email me the info (and a pic or poster if you have one) or comment on this blog item, and I'll fill it in for the following titles:

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Director Will Albritton writes:

The plot is simple: Mr. Marlowe, a high school english teacher, invites three local actors to perform Shakespeare for his class. (The audience members are the students. Get it? Hilarious, we know.) Then things get crazy. And at one point during the play, someone says "Shakespeare is an idiot." We could go into more detail, but we don't want to spoil your fun -- we want you to get the most out of your five bucks. But here's some of what you can expect: a conspiracy theory; the worst Hamlet ever; a scene of violence; an Afro; some language; and a bit with a dog.

The original one-act comedy features Renee Newlove, Samuel Frank, Joshua Tehee and Will Albritton. It was written and directed by the cast, and conceived specifically for this year's Rogue Festival. The show's inspiration came after seeing the Woodward Shakespeare Festival production of "Romeo and Juliet," as well as Calvin Hoffman's 1955 book "The Murder of the Man Who Was Shakespeare." Feel free to come drunk.

"Shakespeare Is an Idot" plays 10 p.m. Saturday 3/1, 2:30 p.m. Sunday 3/2, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday 3/5, 8:30 p.m. Thursday 3/6 and 7 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at Dianna's South, 726 N. Fulton St. Cost: $5.

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Kama Ruby writes:

I will be appearing in Rouge 2008 with shocking, but enduring one woman show titled "The Passing of Corky Brewster." In this show, the audience has an intimate look at a blunt young woman who is debating wether or not she should turn herself in for murder. After all, her fiancee did "die in the saddle" with her.

Written by Jerry Crawford, the play first appeared at the Circle Rep theatre in NY, 1977 starring Sharon Madden. Now, Kama Ruby performs the role of Grace. Kama was a student of the playwright while obtaining her MFA degree in Acting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jerry lit up and said he had the perfect play for her...........she still isn't sure if that was a complement on Jerry's part. The director is a very talented third year MFA: Directing candidate, Sarah Norris.

Kama currently is a lead vocalist in The Jazz Orchestra and has appeared with Chesterfield King and the SUltans of Swing as a lead vocalist. She has opened for grammy winning jazz artist, Tom Scott, and is currently working on a new cd. Kama holds an MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She feels it is only right to produce this show as it was given to her by one of her dearest professors.

"The Passing of Corky Brewster" plays 5:00 p.m. Friday 3/7, 8:45 p.m. Friday 3/7, 6:15 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at Spectrum Gallery, 608 E. Olive Ave. Cost: $3.

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Lynn Ruth Miller writes:

"Farewell to the Tooth Fairy" is Lynn Ruth Miller's one-woman show about everyone's power to create his own destiny. It charts Miller's quest to discover where the enchantment is hidden in the life we live. Her journey of self-discovery is one each of us must take before we accept who we are and begin to enjoy the role we have chosen as our personal destiny. Each story is an inspiration and a chuckle about the immense variety of flavors our life offers.

The stories presented in this production were selected from THOUGHTS WHILE WALKING THE DOG and MORE THOUGHTS WHILE WALKING THE DOG, Miller's acclaimed collection of columns that originally appeared in The Pacifica Tribune. They include THE MELTING POT, a description of the challenges of bridging two cultures at the turn of the century, SAVING THE DOWNTRODDEN, a picture of the unexpected results of idolizing Eleanor Roosevelt, THE NIGHT THE DOG BIT PRINCE CHARMING, unexpected perks from a dog attack and the title story FAREWELL TO THE TOOTH FAIRY, a revelation of how magic happens for us all. The show is 50 minutes of laughter and tears seasoned with an unvarnished dose of reality. It is everyone's story, old as time and new as tomorrow. . . Not to be missed.

The show was presented at The Spindrift Theater in Pacifica January 13 & !4 to an enthusiastic audience and at La Honda House February 24 & April 21. It has been presented at The Off-Market Gallery, 965 Mission, between 5th and 6th on Sundays at 7 p.m. in April and May, 2006 and was part of San Francisco's Footloose Theater's Summer Festival in June-July. It ran with rave reviews the entire month of August at C Venues in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A second collection of stories, AN AUDIENCE WITH LYNN RUTH MILLER was presented at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival at ClubWest and the 2007 Arundel Festival. A shortened version was presented in September, 2007 at the San Francisco Theater Festival.

"Farewell to the Tooth Fairy" plays 2:30 p.m. Saturday 3/1, 5 p.m. Sunday 3/2, 5 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at Spectrum Gallery, 608 E. Olive Ave., and at 1 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at Veni Vidi Vici, 1116 N. Fulton St. Cost: $4.

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THE GREAT NEBULA IN ORION

Kate McKnight writes:

First, an important correction for the Rogue: the play "Safe Landing" has been replaced with "The Great Nebula in Orion."

Venue, dates and time remain the same. Julia Reimer and I were a part of the cast of "Safe Landing," an original play. The production was cancelled less than two months before the Rogue. Julia and I decided to produce and stage a show for ourselves, and got the rights to this little gem by Lanford Wilson.

Wilson wrote this one-act in 1970 for the Stables Theatre Club in Manchester, England to be performed as a companion piece to Ludlow Fair. He sent them a "hurried" draft expecting to do revisions, and was surprised to learn that six months later that they had premiered the play to very kind reviews. (He went on to consider The Great Nebula in Orion not the best matchup to perform with Ludlow Fair because they are too similiar in tone and movement.)

We have set the play in present day; the place is an apartment overlooking Central Park.

As with most of his work, Lanford Wilson explores themes of alienation, loneliness and crumbling illusions. Two college roommates, both approaching 40, last saw each other 10 years ago. They spend an afternoon attempting to reconnect. Envy toward the other quickly disappears as they painfully- and often humorously - reveal their disappointments. Their lives parallel the birth of stars; each had promise and has encompassed all that is mysterious and beautiful.

Carrie (Kate McKnight) loved politics and astronomy, and thought she was going to change the world. Instead she married a wealthy man, had two kids, and is now a Boston socialite. Louise (Julia Reimer) never married, and is a successful fashion designer in New York City. Each woman remembers a lover from the past who figured prominently in their lives.

"The Great Nebula in Orion" plays 2:30 p.m. Saturday 3/1, 8:30 p.m. Saturday 3/1, 7 p.m. Sunday 3/2, 5:30 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at Dianna's North, 826 N. Fulton St. Cost: $6.

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Greg Kaczynski writes:

I'm the AD of Dynamite Kablammo, a kick-ass, fast-paced, mind-melting sketch comedy group from the San Fernando Valley who is coming to play at the Rogue. We'd love to have you come check us out. We'll be performing our Best Of show, which will include 26 sketches: several original songs, sketches about evil clowns, giant ticks, bums collecting cans, blind cops, Romeo & Juliet, a strip debate show... a little bit of everything. We're big on big characters and outlandish situations, the sketches come fast and furiously, so there's no hope of ever being bored, and we got a cute hick on the group too!

Oh yeah, and there's a Spitbaby involved too. I hope you can make it!

"Dynamite Kablammo" plays 5:30 p.m. Saturday 3/1, 7 p.m. Sunday 3/2, 10 p.m. Thursday 3/6, 8:30 p.m. Friday 3/7, 4 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at Dianna's South, 726 N. Fulton St. Cost: $5

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Heather Parish writes:

The Woodward Shakespeare Festival will present the winning entry to its 2007 New Playwright Competition, an original play by Terrance V. Mc Arthur entitled “All’s Red that’ Riding Hood,” for five performances at the 2008 Rogue Performance Festival beginning February 29.

In All’s Red that’s Riding Hood, a nearly-grown-up Little Red Riding Hood heads to her grandmother’s house alone after a warning by her father, Lord Woodman Hood, of the dangers of the forest, where she encounters the exiled nobleman, DeWolf. As the two continue down their respective paths, the tragic threads of their fates become inextricably entangled. With elements such as an exiled nobleman in the forest, rival families and rash assumptions (and spoken all in blank verse), Mc Arthur has created a fractured fairy-tale with decidedly Shakespearean themes.

The play is directed by Visalian Heather Parish, whose previous directing credits include Enchanted April, Turn of the Screw and The Importance of Being Earnest in Visalia. The cast, entirely from the South Valley, includes James Sherrill (DeWolf), Alicia Buss (Red Riding Hood), Thomas Nance (Lord Woodman Hood), and Randi Saul-Olson (Grandmother Hood). The small company represents talent from the South Valley theatre troupes at The Ice House Theatre, The Fourth Wall Theatre, the Enchanted Playhouse, and the Sequoia Theatre Conservatory at College of the Sequoias.

"All's Red That's Riding Hood" plays 7:30 p.m. Friday 2/29, 6:15 p.m. Saturday 3/1, 2:30 p.m. Sunday 3/2, 7:30 p.m. Friday 3/7, 2:30 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at The Severance Building, 1401 N. Wishon. Cost: $7.

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Chris Campbell writes:

"All in the Timing" is a collection of short comedies by contemporary playwright David Ives. We are presenting four: "Words Words Words" directed by S. Eric Day, "Philadelphia" directed by Julie Ann Keller, "Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread" directed by Michael Peterson and "Variations on the Death of Trotsky" directed by Jennifer Hurd Peterson.

"Words Words Words" is three monkeys in a lab with typewriters who have been told to write Hamlet discussing their situation.

In "Philadelphia," two men in a deli try to deal with various altered realities--each of which is named after a city in the U.S.

In "Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread," when Glass attempts to buy a loaf of bread he, the baker and two women in the shop are drawn into a repetitive overlapping dialog reminiscent of music by Philip Glass.

In "Variations on the Death of Trotsky," Russian Revolutionary Leon Trotsky lived in exile in Mexico after Stalin came to power.There a Spanish anarchist smashed a mountain climber's ax into his skull. Trotsky did not die until the next day. This play is 10 variations of his potential conversations with his wife reflecting about life, the ax and his prospects.

We chose these plays because they address universal themes of dealing with life, death and circumstances beyond our control or understanding in brilliantly written shart comedies that fit well in the festival atmosphere.

"All in the Timing" plays 8:45 p.m. Friday 2/29, 2:30 p.m. Saturday 3/1, 3:45 p.m. Sunday 3/2, 10 p.m. Friday 3/7, 7:30 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at The Severance Building, 1401 N. Wishon Ave. Cost: $7.

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Noel Williams writes:

My show is "Party of One." I will be traveling all the way from Chicago to do five shows in three days at the Diana's South Location at 726 N Fulton .Thanks so much for the opportunity to plug my show a bit. It's always hard gathering press and trying to fill your house when you are an out of towner, and I am still learning the marketing end of having a one woman show.

Party of One" is a one woman Pochinko style clown and bouffon show directed and co-created by Sue Morrison, who directed the critically acclaimed "Absense of Magic" and "Burnt Tongue" which have both aired on BRAVO. Pochinko clown is a style created by Richard Pochinko who used Native American and European techniques to create the form. It is said of the Native American clowning that if you face all directions of yourself at once you can laugh at the sheer beauty of your own ridiculousness. That's what this type of clowning strives to do.This style is has an intimate theatre feel to it, and tends to be more tangential and metaphoric than story motivated. It is a show that happens with the audience. There is no fourth wall. Audiences may find themselves laughing as hard as they are crying.The show also employs the European style of bouffon. This is a unique opportunity to see both forms in one show. Bouffon (pronounced boo-fawn) is much like this clown's most condensed version of her inner monster displayed in physical form, who dares to say the two most dangerous words you can say on stage.

The show stars Noel Williams as Mel, a clown who has been exiled for "loving a little too much." She and her baggage attempt to make some space, which proves to be more difficult than expected. The show is a divine ride through the psyche of Captain Melisande Blue, which features a feisty turnstile, dinner dates with luggage, and a two and half mini version of "Gone with the Wind." Party of One has toured to the 2007 San Francisco Fringe Festival where it was awarded "Best Clown Show," the 2007 Indianapolis Fringe Festival where it was awarded 4.5 stars by NUVO, the 2007 Minnesota Fringe Festival where it made the Star Tribune's Critic's Pick List, and the 2007 Winnipeg Fringe Festival where it was awarded 4 stars by both the CBC and Winnipeg Free Press. See what critics and audiences are saying in the blog section of www.myspace.com/captianmelisande and catch a sneak peek of the show.

"Party of One" plays 7:30 p.m. 3/6, 5:30 p.m. Friday 3/7, 10 p.m. Friday 3/7, 1 p.m. Saturday 3/8 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at Dianna's South, 726 N. Fulton St. Cost: $7.

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Andrea Dezubiria writes:

Without a doubt, BODYSPEAK should be on everyone's "gotta see" list for Rogue 2008. Winner of The Bee's 2004 Top Pick award, local favorite BaBa For Now has produced a fun, funky and thought-provoking multimedia dance theater show. This year's show is inspired by body/mind metaphors like "What a pain in the neck" "Get off my back", "We're knee deep in trouble", etc. Their modern dance is more athletic this year and as usual there's film, (including a spoof on exercise videos and some thoughts on the Freak Dancing phenomenon), soulful spoken word and BaBa's trademark slick costume and set changes. Music is eclectic from alternative rock to avant-garde vocals, modern classical to high energy techno. And if that's not enough enticement, all shows are fundraisers for Fresno youth arts programs at The School of Unlimited Learning and Bullard TALENT project.

"Bodyspeak" plays 5:30 p.m. Saturday 3/1, 4 p.m. Sunday 3/2, 7 p.m. Friday 3/7 and 1 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at Dianna's North, 826 N. Fulton St. Cost: $7.

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J. Nick Dickert writes:

I wrote, directed, and will be premiering it at Rogue 08. My first piece, Good Little Boys, was the genesis of this "response" piece which is part of a trilogy of pieces on "Manhood in America. The piece is a highly physical performance tapestry with some disturbing language and images that give the show an "R" rating.

I have a Ph.D. in theatre from the University of Oregon and have meandered my way back to the east coast with teaching jobs at colleges in Illinois and Oklahoma. I currently live in Blacksburg, home of the Virginia Tech Massacre (which is a tangential connection to the show) with my partner.

This piece, "Myths and Masculinities," explores and answers the question posed to 100 men, "What does it mean to be a man," and weaves their answers along with autobiographical moments and some heart-wrenching stories from queer, HIV positive, abused, neglected, and indifferent Men navigating identity in the 21st century into a thought-provoking piece of theatre.

"Myths and Masculinities" plays 8:45 p.m. Thursday 3/6, 10 p.m. Friday 3/7, 2:30 p.m. Saturday 3/8, 7:30 p.m. Saturday 3/8 at Spectrum Gallery, 608 E. Olive Ave. Cost: $3.

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Landon Weiszbrod writes:

We're back! The Complete History of America: Abridged is back by popular demand delivering our nations entire history in under an hour. The show is playing downtown at Milano on the Fulton Mall.

With more founding fathers and patriotic salutes than you can shake a star-spangled stick at this show is a must see!

"The Complete History of America: Abridged" plays 7 p.m. March 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 at Milano, 1243 Fulton Mall. Cost: $6 (2 for $10). Rating: PG.

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Details still to come for:

THE 24-HOUR THEATER EXPERIMENT:

IT COULD BE WORSE: MY LIFE IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY:

FRESYES THEATERWORKS:

SPRAWLZILLA VS MAINSTREET IN KINGSBURG & FRESNO:

THE ADVENTURES OF ACE STEALHEART:

HONEST SANCHA'S USED MEXICAN LOT:

BRASS RING PRESENTS: A NIGHT OF MUSICAL SCENES

THE WANDERER:

NAKED: