The Guide, Part Two: How to Pick Shows

THE GUIDE, PART TWO – Show-Picking Methodology

There are many, many things to consider when trying to decide what to see at Fringe.

If you’re lucky, you have some of your decisions made for you. If you have friends in a show – go see it. If a friend of yours raves to you about a show – go see it. If you are only free on Sunday afternoons – your choices will be narrowed down a lot. And if you decide to volunteer (http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2int2b4fuojhzyy/start) you can see shows for free, so money will no longer be a limiting factor.

The key to Fringegoing is your attitude towards seeing shows. I see three approaches: one, you adopt a see-as-much-as-possible, money-no-object approach; two, you pick a number of shows ahead of time, and find the best ones to fill that number; three, you sit on the sidelines and wait and see if the Post gives something a dazzling write-up.



If you’re taking the third approach, you don’t need to be reading this in the first place.

If you’re taking the second (perhaps the sanest) approach, then obviously your first step is to pick the number. Then, go to the third section of this guide for some recommended “packages,” or pick a Fringe category and grab the right number of interesting-sounding shows from it. For example, if you want six shows and want the down and dirty Fringe experience, grab six Fringearrifics; or if you’re a novice who wants only the highest quality, fill your bag with Provens and Ringers.

For those of you going whole hog, so to speak, congratulations. I’m with you. I’ll tell you how I go about Fringeing-without-end:

1) Clear as much of your calendar as possible. Saturdays are by far the best Fringe days, with performances morning through night. I more than once have caught 3-4 shows in a single Saturday – and sometimes was still able to go hang out with friends like a normal person afterwards. Be aware that Friday and Sunday, too, both feature daytime shows, and sometimes even during the week there are late-night performances.

2) Start off by selecting a handful of “definite” shows that you know you want to see in advance. For me, I pick the ones my friends are in; you might go for the shows with buzz or Provens. Get these tickets in advance, get friends to join you, and build the rest of your Fringegoing around these anchors. It helps if you schedule these shows at off-peak times (at Fringe as everywhere else, early evenings on the weekends are peak) so there will be more options for your open slots.

3) Go with the Fringe flow. Whenever you hear something good about a show or see it’s selling out, grab a ticket. With Fringe, following the crowd isn’t a bad thing – it’s part of the thrill to go where the people are going and experience the hot item then and there. (That’s why my categorization system is based almost entirely on reputation.) Go down to Fort Fringe during peak hours and buy a drink, then see what’s playing under the tent, or ask the ticket sellers what they can sell you a ticket to see right now. Go see a show in a Fringe venue, and then stick around and catch the show that follows it in the same venue. It’s up to you how random or how discerning your unplanned choices are; either way, keep an open mind.

4) Take a loose approach to going with friends. It takes a lot of commitment and cellphone minutes to coordinate attending shows with friends on the fly. Head out on your own, let your friends know, and if they can meet you there, great. Or, if you’ve got those right kinds of friends, just head down to Fringe en masse and pick something together then and there.

5) Note: the downside to this approach is the ticket prices. You get discounts on purchases of four, six or ten tickets at a time. Purchasing all singlets gives you the versatility to make choices on the fly, but costs more; purchasing the packages locks you in to seeing a certain number, which could end up costing you more in the end if your eyes were bigger than your stomach or you ran out of time. It’s up to you. Of course, there’s always the $300 all-access pass – which pays for itself if you see twenty plays.

Capital Fringe is still in its childhood. Major Fringes like Edinburgh are more akin to a theatrical Burning Man or Woodstock than anything else (from what I gather), whereas in DC it really is a good-ol’ festival, not much different than the Folklife Festival or the hundreds of others our city plays host to each year. Everything is close-knit and close together geographically, which means the anonymity is reduced to almost nil. Word gets round like wildfire, and it’s quite possible that the two or three truly standout shows at Capital Fringe could sell out before you make up your mind. (I regret not making it to the Hidden Gem
Air Heart two years back.) Hang around the Fringe bar long enough and you’ll get to know the folks who run the event. Large Fringe festivals are dispersive; Capital Fringe is inclusive.

Onward, friend, to part three/
Where I suggest some shows to see!