 Audrey Allen and Alexander Gonzalez in "I and You." Photo Courtesy of Fresno City College. Hey Fools! We're back again, and we're expanding our coverage (LOL, what, like we're a real arts blog or something?). Welcome to FOOLS BY ASSOCIATION, where we spotlight artists who may not be official Fools, but whose work we want to highlight and let y'all know about because....you should be SUPPORTING LOCAL THEATRE.
First up: director Janine Christl sits down with her cast member Alexander Gonzalez to talk about I and You by Lauren Gunderson, currently onstage at Fresno City College. They discuss the production, the process, and why audiences should come check out the Fresno Premiere. Let’s get into it.
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 Paulina D. Marin Contreras in 'Fade.' Photo courtesy of Univeristy Theatre. Can you believe we’re back with another blog post already? Yeah, we’re shocked too. But when our friends over at Fresno State weren’t getting any local media love, we figured it was time for The Fools to do what we do best: show up and hype some good, local theatre. Let’s get into it.
 Bri Villanueva-Hardcastle, Soular, Madeline Wristen, Wade Pierson, and Claudio Laso in The Comeuppance. Photo Courtesy of Fresno City College. Hello...is this blog still on?
It's been a while (almost seven years, but who's counting?) since our lil' blog was active, but when we heard some Fools- we're looking at you Claudio Laso, Madeline Wristen, Wade Pierson, and Toph Ortiz- in Fresno City College Theatre's latest production of The Comeuppance needed some help spreading the word about their show, we thought, "hey, we can help!" So, here we are, the first new post of our old blog...let's get into it.  Meg Clark as Sally Bowles in SAC’s production of “Cabaret”. Photo by Kyle Lowe. Life is a cabaret and this one is full of Fools. 15 to be exact.
The Selma Arts Center is happy to invite you inside the Kit Kat Klub in pre-WWII Germany. Fools Board Members Ryan Gilmore and Nicole Spate recently reached out to fellow Fools Michael C. Flores (Director/Choreographer) and Meg Clark (Sally Bowles) to ask them a few questions about Cabaret. Here is their interview.  GCP Promotional Photo, Facebook Fool Heather Parish is the director of Good Company Players' current production of My Cousin Rachel, which runs at their Second Space venue through mid-October. Heather has been chronicling her directing journey on her "What's My Call Time?" blog , an local arts-centric site she runs to help market and celebrate the work of Fresno-area theater companies and artists.
 SWF production photo: Michael C. Flores gets make-up assistance from Mallory Parker. The original La Cage aux Folles was a French farce written in 1973 by Jean Poiret. It was adapted to a film five years later, then into a musical version five years after that. Many folks who aren't familiar with title might better know the story through the vantage point of the successful 1996 American film remake. The Birdcage (starring such famous names like Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Christine Baranski, and Calista Flockhart), opened at #1 on the US box office charts and stayed there for three weeks before continuing on as a favorite guilty pleasure among video rental houses (r.i.p.) and streaming sites alike.
 Josh Plowman as Michael in SAC's production of "Be More Chill". Photo by Kyle/Brandon Lowe. Our friends at the Selma Arts Center are excited to present the Central Valley premiere of Be More Chill. This new musical follows a high school loser, Jeremy Heere, who swallows a pill-sized super computer to help him become popular. Fool Christy Hathway, who served as assistant director for the production, sat down for a Q&A with actor Josh Plowman. Josh plays the role of Michael (Jeremy’s best friend) in the show. These questions cover Michael's back story as well as Josh's reasons for loving the show. Many other Fools are involved in this production, including founding Fools Dominic Grijalva (projections) and Kyle Lowe (band), some of our favorite performers (Jessica Meredith, Randy Kohlruss, and Teya Juarez), and make-up/hair artist, Logan Cooley. The show was directed by our very own marketing designer/ board member, Miguel "Migs" Gastelum. All pictures on this post are by Kyle and Brandon Lowe, for the art center.  The cast of Hypo-Theatricals production of "The Government Inspector". ***We want to do a better job highlighting the great work our members do out in the community, even when they're not singing or acting or foolin' around with us. As such, we're starting a blog series called "Fools In:" that features commentary, behind the scenes photos, and other inside information, delivered to you straight from Fools participating in upcoming local productions and events.*** Hypo-Theatricals founder and executive director, Dakota Simpson, leads several Fools (including himself) in the upcoming production of The Government Inspector at Cal Arts Severance in the Tower District. Promotional material describes the play as "a wild, farcical romp through dim-witted Russia." Other Fools involved in the show include S'willers Randy Kohlruss and Justin Ray, along with Damen Pardo, who is the world's best Sinnta (that's a Harley Sinn Santa reference, for those of you who missed out on last year's Joyful Noise cabaret). Other cast members include Michael Brandon Fidalgo, Will MacDonald, Scott Champan, Jesse Parr, Hannah Weyant, Brittany Zenz Toschi, Laura Hay, and Alexis Macedo.  We chatted with Simpson about his reason's for picking the play and his experience working with this particular cast and creative team. So, tell us about the plot. The corrupt officials of a small Russian town, headed by the Mayor, react with terror to the news that an incognito inspector will soon be arriving in their town to investigate them. The flurry of activity to cover up their considerable misdeeds is interrupted by the report that a suspicious person has arrived two weeks previously from Saint Petersburg and is staying at the inn. What is/are your role(s) for this production?
I'm the director and I play the The Doctor and Penteleyvy. Why bring this particular show to town? I chose The Government Inspector because, looking around the Valley, people are trying to provoke audiences with fierce drama and fierce family dynamics and fierce fighting of racial prejudice... but there's no fierce farce to be found. One of the oldest forms of theatre that can talk about all these issues in the world, and no one wants to take it on. What's your favorite part of the production? My favorite part of the show is falling in love with how new and fresh it feels every night we perform this piece. What have you learned from this experience? I learned a lot about ensemble theatre and in approaching this I tried to delve deep into movement, tableaux, devised theatre and just building a hive brain within the company. What do you think audiences will enjoy most about the production? I think audiences will appreciate seeing some new faces in town. A lot of these actors perform in college shows or in Selma (and we've brought some out of hiding), so I think it will be nice to see a fresh group of hilarious actors in the community. This show is such a powerful piece to me because not only is it well crafted comedy, but it touches on the deep parts that make us human. It is very much a piece about absolute power and mans' lust for it. The Government Inspector opens tonight (May 23rd) at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $15 General admission, with $5 discounts for students, seniors, and military members. The show runs this weekend for four performances only, and closes on Sunday with an evening show. For more information on purchasing tickets, visit the show's brown paper ticket link, here. The company also accepts cash, Venmo, and Cash app at the door.  Wait Until Dark Promotional Image from SAC (designed by one of our founding Fools, Dominic Grijalva) We want to do a better job highlighting the great work our members do out in the community, even when they're not singing or acting or foolin' around with us. As such, we're starting a blog series called "Fools In:" that features commentary, behind the scenes photos, and other inside information, delivered to you straight from Fools participating in upcoming local productions and events. We're so excited to kick off this series with Wait Until Dark at Selma Arts Center! The show is a slowly-unfolding mystery centered around the life of Suzy, a blind housewife, who must outwit thugs who come to her apartment in search of a very special (spoiler alert: drug-filled) doll her husband unwittingly transported across the boarder from Canada into their home in Greenwich Village, NY. Longtime Fool, Juan Luis Guzmán, directs the piece. He says, "Aside from all the thrills and chills in this production, I think it is also a story that speaks to the strength of a character who must learn to trust in herself at all costs. There are themes of love and friendship in this story, of redemption and empowerment. Themes that teach us these qualities can often light the way for us even in the darkest of situations."
One of our favorite Fools, and cheerleaders-for-the-Fools, and general supporter-of-all-things-and-people-in-the-local-theatre-scene, Cyndle Cee serves as stage manager for the production. "I can't remember the last time I saw a show that scared me," she says. "Rehearsing the finale in the weeks leading up to opening always had me tense up even though I knew how it would end. The commitment the actors have blows me away every night and I am immensely proud of them and all the work they've put in to this show. I cannot wait for audiences to experience that as well."
Coming up soon: The Government Inspector at Hypo-Theatricals, which opens May 23rd and involves Fools Dakota Simpson, Randy Kohlruss, Justin Ray, and Damen Pardo!
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