‘Come see us be goofy,’ says Minnesota Fringe Fest performer

CATHY WURZER: It's that time of the year again. Minnesota Fringe Fest is taking over local theaters in the Twin Cities. Here's a little history for you. Fringe fests like this one started in Edinburgh, back in 1947, when several theater groups who had not been invited to the Edinburgh International Festival set up shop on the fringe and performed anyway.

The idea of celebrating fringe groups has persisted and grown. Although nowadays, the theaters are expecting them. We're joined right now by Tim Kelly, the co-founder of Melancholics Anonymous, a local theater group putting on a show for Fringe Fest. Hey, Tim, how are you?

TIM KELLY: Hey, I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me.

CATHY WURZER: And thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it. So you've been busy over the weekend. And I understand you had your first two performances?

TIM KELLY: Correct.

CATHY WURZER: And how'd did they go?

TIM KELLY: Audiences were fantastic. We sold out our first one, which was remarkable. And for our 10 o'clock PM Sunday show, which no one wants to be out at a 10:00 PM on a Sunday, we had an audience of about 50 or 60. So it was fantastic to see folks turning out.

CATHY WURZER: This is not your first Fringe Fest rodeo.

TIM KELLY: Correct. No, this is our sixth, in fact, sixth sequential.

CATHY WURZER: OK. So for folks completely unfamiliar with the concept of Fringe Festival, how do you explain how you try to get your performances, your small performances, included in the umbrella?

TIM KELLY: Yeah, absolutely. So what makes our festival so special is that we are the largest non-juried theater festival in North America. So what that means is that it's a fully randomized lottery system. So all you need is a small application fee, and perhaps a title, and a company name. And that's enough to get your ball drawn into the lottery ball drawing system. And when you are drawn, you get a slot. And it's that simple. So then at that point, the onus is on you to create the show.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, my gosh. That's a lot of pressure. Now, the premise of your show, talk about it.

TIM KELLY: Yes. Yeah. So our show is called Beanie Baby Divorce Play. It's inspired by an actual divorce case from 1999, in which a divorcing couple-- I want to say in Colorado, Nevada, Nevada. Their names were the mountains. They were ordered by a judge to split up their Beanie Baby collection, in this contentious thing on the floor of the courtroom. And they went one by one, picking out their Beanie Babies until they were all done.

And this followed a sort of contentious custody battle for the children as well. And so we, A, thought this was a hilarious circumstance to put in a play. But B, we thought it was incredibly tragic. And we don't actually know what happened to the mountains. But we hope that they're doing well and that their kids are doing well.

So we said, what would happen if we told this from the perspective of the children? And we also enjoy some magical realism and some horror elements. So there might also be an anthropomorphic Beanie Baby monster involved as well.

CATHY WURZER: All right. We're going to listen to a clip.

ACTOR 1: Do you remember that pretty purple bear that mom and dad were fighting over?

ACTOR 2: You mean Princess the Bear, the tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales?

ACTOR 1: The brave adventurers realized that if they wanted their parents to notice them and to become the princesses of Beany Land, they'd need to steal the most valuable bear.

ACTOR 2: I wish I were princess of the whales and dolphins.

[LAUGHTER]

CATHY WURZER: You were a co-writer on this, right? But you were involved with other elements too.

TIM KELLY: Correct, yeah. So this year, I'm performing as well. I'm puppeting a couple of Beanie Baby abominations, we've been calling them. One of our company members is a fantastic puppet maker. And she took some Beanie Babies and inserted mouths into their stomachs. So I'm puppeting a couple of those this year. And I've also been involved in the production side as well. Minnesota Fringe is one of my favorite things in the world. So any time I can get a chance to work with the staff or do some publicity for it, I am very down.

CATHY WURZER: Well, you have an opportunity to be wildly creative, obviously. So what's the toughest part about getting ready for Fringe?

TIM KELLY: Great question. Contrary to a lot of other processes, especially if you're an established theater, with a building, a resident space in the area, oftentimes you get a number of performance, or of rehearsals, excuse me, in the space, before you perform.

With Minnesota Fringe, you get one three-hour technical rehearsal in your space. And then it's-- you're off. Yes. So there's a lot of guesswork involved. We get dimensions for our theaters. So we rehearsed in my backyard this year. We spray painted out the dimensions of the theater and said, here's hoping this actually fits in the space.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, my gosh. And what if you're wrong?

TIM KELLY: You adjust.

CATHY WURZER: Of course. Of course you would. Of course you would. Yes. So help us out here. Beyond your production, what other types of shows are available at Fringe Fest?

TIM KELLY: Oh, my goodness, so many excellent shows. So there have already been about 20 performance slots. And I've managed to make it to 16 shows already. And I am delighted by everything that I have seen. Not a single stinker in the group. There's a lot of solo performance that I've seen this year, a couple of really fantastic touring storytellers who have just absolutely remarkable shows.

Some parody works are always big at the Minnesota Fringe. I saw a piece called The Peter Pan Cometh this year, that mashed up Peter Pan with Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. Absolutely hilarious work by Clever Name Theater. There's truly something for everyone. Dance shows of the wazoo, comedy improv, there's everything.

CATHY WURZER: And I bet being a creative and a professional, you learn from your colleagues. I mean, that's why I'm sure you're sampling all these programs, right?

TIM KELLY: Absolutely. Every year, we've received inspiration for our next piece, from a piece that we've seen in that year's festival. It's remarkable to see. It's just a hotspot for creativity, for 11 days in Minneapolis. It's beautiful.

CATHY WURZER: Do other members of, say, more established repertory theater, are they a part of this too, say, actors from the Guthrie, as an example?

TIM KELLY: Yeah. So it's a little tricky when it comes to Actors' Equity, the actors union. It just requires special payment, special conditions. So it becomes a little bit difficult for some of the larger named actors. But there are individuals who are certainly established actors in the area, who do produce their own shows, direct their own shows.

And sometimes, you will see a very familiar face from the Guthrie or Penumbra appearing on a stage with the Fringe Festival, as well as some recent college graduates or even child performers. So you get everyone.

CATHY WURZER: Do you happen to know offhand, Tim, have there been productions that have gone, started at Fringe and have gone on to greater fame and fortune?

TIM KELLY: Absolutely, there have. So I don't know the full-- we're in our 31st year with Minnesota Fringe. I only joined six years ago. So there were a good 25 years prior to my involvement. But I've definitely heard of some shows getting some sort of cabaret-esque residencies at theaters in the area. Other shows go on to tour nationally or to Edinburgh Fringe, which you mentioned as the first Fringe Festival. So this can definitely be a springboard for some very big things.

CATHY WURZER: That's exciting. OK, so there are a bunch of people listening right now. And you are an actor, you are a creative. So give us your pitch. Why should folks come to Fringe Fest performances?

TIM KELLY: That is a fantastic question. Like I said, it's just a hotspot for creativity. There's such a low barrier to entry, that you get everything. And you get to hear some voices that you might not get to hear otherwise. And you get to see some things that people might be a little bit scared to produce otherwise.

Since it's low cost, the return on investment is less of a concern. So you can do some very kooky things. We can put Beanie Baby abominations on the stage and say, hey, come watch us be goofy. And then you'll also always find just so much heart involved in these performances as well. People are telling the stories that they want to tell. And they're special to them.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Well done. Well done, Tim.

TIM KELLY: Thank you.

CATHY WURZER: Thank you. Thank you so much for joining us. And happy Fringe.

TIM KELLY: Happy Fringe. Thank you so much.

CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. That's Tim Kelly, co-founder of Melancholics Anonymous, a theater group based in the Twin Cities. You can see Beanie Baby Divorce Play at Open Eye Theatre, in Minneapolis this week. We'll have more information at mprnews.org.

So I had one eye on the screen here, and I see, and I'm going to have to check this out. Joseph Fahnbulleh of Hopkins just completed his race. He just ran in the 200 meters. He's representing Liberia, his mom's homeland. He, of course, is a former Minnesota State champion, an NCAA champion in the 200 meters. And he ran like the wind. And I believe, yes, I think he won his race. Yes, he did. So good for you, Joseph. Good for you. I love watching the Olympics.

Thank you for listening to Minnesota Now, here on MPR News. If you missed anything, we've got that podcast. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts. And have a good day.