We were busy Bees during the opening weekend of the Rogue Festival. So busy in fact, that some of our Rogue Reviews have already slipped into the Beehive archive. Here's a handy guide, so you don't miss anything.
My mini Rogue video series wraps up today with a look at this year's Rogue Muse. It's the work of artist Aileen Imperatrice. You can find both her and the original muse at Ashtree Studios in these finals days of the Rogue. Actually, why don't you make it a point to get over to Ashtree to check out the cool art over there?
As if videos, photos and reviews weren't enough, The Beehive is now adding audio to its Rogue Festival coverage.
Donald, Felicia and myself sat down this afternoon for a podcast that talks about our experiences at this year's Rogue Festival, the shows we loved and what to look forward to in the festival's second weekend.
Rogue Festival performer Barry Smith tells us about his "American Squatter" show.
Another showing of "American Squatter" has been added for 5:30 p.m. Friday, which gives you three more chances to see the show. It's also playing at 10 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday. All shows are at Starline. Cost is $7.
It Might Offend You: Their Lives in the Central Valley
What Rogue Festival show has created the most controversy? Believe it or not, it's the play by three teenage girls about growing up in Fresno and Kerman.
"It Could Be Worse" has its final showing tonight at 8:30 p.m. at Dianna's South. If you check it out, tell us what you think. Are people overreacting? Or is it offensive?
ROGUE REVIEW: The Complete History of America: Abridged
The Rogue catalog picture for this production shows George Washington ala Groucho Marx and for good reason: This frolic through time is irreverent, musical (but not seriously so, of course), funny and anarchic. This was a Rogue standout in 2007, and it's returned for this year's festival, at Milano on the Fulton Mall.
Landon Weiszbrod, Luke Davis and Byron Watkins present the early history of America with the gleeful exuberance of hyper kids at play. It takes a Marx Brothers' confidence and sarcasm to do this material ... at breakneck speed.
The thing I've discovered about the Rogue Festival is that you've got to keep a close eye on its Web site for updates (not everything is in the catalog). Otherwise, I would have missed an excellent production of "Art" by Brandon Petrie, Blake Ellis and James Hume on Sunday at the Severance theater.
The play's trigger is a piece of modern art, a canvas of white just bought by Serge (Ellis) for a steep $40,000. The expensive purchase -- Serge really can't afford this -- pisses off his friend, Marc (Petrie). He thinks the art is a piece of, well, you know what.
But don't be misled. This play by Yasmina Reza -- which won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1998 -- isn't really so much about debating the merits of modern art as it is a searing examination of friendship. Though "Art" is funny, it's also brutal. Marc not only is angry with Serge, but he brings their friend Yvan (Hume) into the fray.
You know how "Saturday Night Live" skits typically have a clever premise but go on waaaaaay too long? The four members of Dynamite Kablammo have solved that problem.
During the quartet's solid hour of rapid-fire sketch comedy at Dianna's Studio of Dance South on Sunday night, I counted 25 songs, monologues, skits and bits of other nonsense. (It's possible I missed a couple. You'd need faster fingers than I own - and a calculator - to keep up.) Do the math: Few of the skits approached three minutes. Most were a lot less.
Just wanted to let you know that due to either popular demand or just sheer coincidence, the oft-hilarious yet mostly mediocre Shakespeare Is an Idiot has been given a fifth performance. It is 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night, March 5, at The Starline (not Dianna’s South). (By the way, we had a sellout Saturday and a near-sellout Sunday.)
The Makeshift Champions, a group of high school kids, put on a great show at the Spectrum Gallery on Sunday. They did several originals, including harmonies and tempo changes which were impressive indeed, and a few cover tunes. At times it was the whole band (2 guitars, drums, and two vocalists) and at other times it was smaller configurations, such as just two guitars, a guitar and one vocalist, etc.... Pretty mature variety for such young kids. They were nervous, and young, and cute... putting themselves out there to do something scary-fun. This is what I love about the Rogue; people taking risks to try participating in a performance. Check them out at their last show, Wednesday at 6pm.
To Agustin Lira, theater isn't just entertainment. It's a teaching tool. This Chicano theater icon, who now runs a Fresno company called Teatro Inmigrante along with collaborator Patricia Wells Solorzano, is heavily influenced by the tradition of the actos -- short sketches that could be performed in the fields -- that played such an important role in Cesar Chavez's farmworker movement in the turbulent 1960s.
For the Rogue Festival, Lira's company presents two of these short plays: Honest Sancha's Used Mexican Lot and The Two Faces of the Boss. They've been updated to reflect present-day issues, but the plays also have the heft of history behind them. Witty and fiercely political, Lira pointedly takes on such issues as racism, ethnic stereotypes and the current war in Iraq. It's well worth a trip down Van Ness Avenue to Arte Americas to experience a type of theater that wants to stretch your mind.
"Pentecostal Wisconsin" takes us inside Paulson's youth growing up in a Pentecostal church in a small Scandinavian town in the cheese-loving state of Wisconsin.
The Beehive wants your Rogue Festival opinions. Did you see a show? Do you have something to say about it? Good? Bad? Leave a comment with your review.
Highway 41 Revisited is a collection of video works that explore the Fresno experience in an especially intriguing, personal, and evocative way. Memories of school hallways, late-night family gatherings, driving the freeway, and the stream of consciousness of everyday life.
Also playing are two short narratives, "Fish", by Teresa Flores and "Huron Blues", by Julia Martinez, the first a whimsical piece in the tradition of "Amelie", and the second a character study of a young
man in the valley, a work that is deep in feeling yet handled with a light touch.
Playing: 9 p.m. Friday 3/7 and 7 p.m. Saturday at Javawava, 1940 E. Echo. Cost: $7.
Please note that because some members of the cast of "Shakespeare Is an Idiot" are employed at The Bee, we didn't have a Beehiver review the show. But, as with all the shows at the Rogue, we're asking readers to submit their own reviews of shows they see, and if they're long enough, we'll give them their own little "Rogue Reader Review" entry. So feel free to write! You can email us your reviews or post on the Reader Review link.
After a busy Rogue schedule Saturday, I was looking forward to starting my Sunday with "The 24-hour Theater Experiment" at Dianna's Studio South. But there was an ominous white sheet of paper taped to the wall, with a brief notice that included the sad word "cancelled."
This was the show, with the Fresno County Public Library connection, in which the creators challenge themselves to conceive, write and rehearse original works 24 hours before the premiere (which was scheduled for 8:30 p.m. last night).
Does anyone know what happened? Will they fulfill their shows slotted for 7 p.m. Wednesday and 5:30 p.m. next Saturday?
The show is one woman’s story of divorce and re-discovery, with a lot of sex jokes and some really touching moments. As good as the high points were, the entire 30 minutes couldn’t hold up.
It’s funny. It’s smart. It’s educational. The songs are catchy. “Sprawzilla vs. Main Street” is simply one of the best shows at this year’s Rogue Festival.
The show delves into the idea of unique local landmarks vs. sprawling urban growth, pitting Kingsburg father-daughter team (musician Blake Jones and 15-year-old Chelsea) against a suit-wearing, grinning, money-dangling developer named Mr. Practical (Todd Severson).
The Beehive's Rogue index page
We were busy Bees during the opening weekend of the Rogue Festival. So busy in fact, that some of our Rogue Reviews have already slipped into the Beehive archive. Here's a handy guide, so you don't miss anything.
What 
The Beehive's Top 10 Rogue picks
