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Marianne Combs

Art Hounds: 167 shows in 11 days means it's time for the Fringe Festival

Skins
'Skins,' by Collective Unconscious Performance, is one of the 167 different shows that make up the 2017 Minnesota Fringe Festival.
Courtesy of Minnesota Fringe Festival

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This week on Art Hounds: The Minnesota Fringe Festival.

For the next 11 days, more than 1,000 artists will perform in the Minnesota Fringe Festival on stages across Minneapolis.

Photographer and director Scott Pakudaitis is what some refer to as a "Fringe binger;" he'll often see between 40 and 50 shows during the festival.

Pakudaitis said that what he loves most about the Fringe is that it's not curated; you might see raw young talent perform on the same stage as some seasoned veterans. And you can see all types of performance, from theater and dance to spoken word and comedy. Pakudaitis says he's particularly excited to see "Skins," a sordid re-imagining of Cinderella, and "Odd Man Out," a family drama.

Storyteller Loren Niemi has performed in 16 different Minnesota Fringe Festivals over the years. This year, he recommends you check out "Clutter, Chaos, Creativity and the Collyer Brothers," a one-woman show about hoarding.

And then there's "Good Friday: Round One," a show that imagines what if Jesus was a boxer who was debating whether to get in the ring?

For more religious-themed intrigue, Niemi recommends "Pope Joan," which posits that a ninth-century girl was the first transgender pope.

Writer and editor Sara Dovre Wudali said there's only one show that is entirely created and performed by high school students, and that's "Get Hooked: A Pirate Musical." Wudali said she'll be seeing this show because a) pirates! and b) she's watched this batch of young performers grow up and is blown away by the music and theater skills they've developed over the years.

Interested in checking out a show or two — or 30? You can peruse the other 161 offerings at fringefestival.org.