The Tanjora Tribal Bellydance troupe will
be dancing in this year's Rogue Performance Festival. Photo:
Larry Mills. |
"Half-Nekkid Thursdays" 5 to 9 p.m. March 2, 9, 10, Rogue Cybergalley, JavaWava, 1940 N. Echo Ave., free Has it come to this? Blogging as an art form? That's the question raised by "Half-Nekkid Thursdays," a world-wide computer forum where bloggers tell stories through online photos of their bodies. The posts run the gamut from sexy to poignant to just plain silly. Rouge will have blogs up for viewing, plus a Web cam, so it'll be all sorts of interactive.
All Too Real Player -- "Junkarella" 4 p.m. March 4, 2:30 p.m. March 5, 5:30 p.m. March 10, 8:30 p.m. March 11, Dianna's Studio, $7. Puppets made out of junk. Sounds strange, yes, but these dumpster-diving puppeteers put on an amazing show anyone can enjoy. You may never look at your trash the same way again. Get there early, last year's shows were sell-outs.
Mallory Moad's Daredevil Kitchen -- "The Wheel of Dada" 6:15 p.m. March 5, 7:30 p.m. March 8, 7:30 p.m. March 10, Vini Vidi Veci, $4. Mallory Moad likes audience interaction. "The Wheel of Dada" is an audience-participation game of chance, with the exact nature the piece determined by a roll of the dice and a spin of the wheel. Each performance will be unique, unscripted and totally made up on the spot. Moad, known for her predictably unpredictable performance art, has been a Rouge performer since year one.
"New Wave Films from the Fresno State Collective" 7:30 p.m. March 3, 7:30 p.m. March 4, 7:30 p.m. March 11, Javawava, $7. Rouge does movies. These short films, each by a different director, offer glimpses into emerging talents in Fresno. This hour-and-15-minute mini-film festival should be far more creative and interesting than the bloated, big-budget Hollywood movies currently in the cineplexes.
Tanjora Tribal Bellydance -- "The Return of Ishtar" 10 p.m. March 3, 5:30 p.m. March 4, 8:30 p.m. March 10, 1 p.m. March 11, Starline, $5. Belly dancing has been around for more than 7,000 years as a form of fertility rite. Forget the Hollywood-versions of bellydancing, Tanjora's dances are earthy and primal. The presentation will feature the troupe performing as priestesses of the fertility goddess Ishtar and promises to transport audiences back to the mysterious era of Arabian Nights.
Tim Ereneta -- "Happy Endings Are Overrated: The Life and Times of Prince Charming" 5 p.m. March 4, 3:45 p.m. March 5, 8:45 p.m. March 10, 2:30 p.m. March 11, Veni Vidi Vici, $4. Storyteller Tim Ereneta's one-man tale of Prince Charming, fairy-tale husband to Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, was a hit at last year's Rogue. Ereneta returns this year to give Fresnans a second chance to see his "charming" presentation.
"Jaguar Bennett: Sanitized for Your Protection" 10 p.m., March 3, 4, 9, Veni, Vidi, Vici, 1116 Fulton St., $4 This show comes with an NC-17 rating, for blasphemy, obscenity and filth, so we're pretty sure Bennett is lying and it hasn't been sanitized at all. Promoted as Fresno's most offensive comedian, someone everyone can hate, Bennett sold out three shows at last year's festival. It'll be worth $4 just to see if he lives up to the hype.
Black Jones -- "The Ill-Advised Solo Show" 8:45 p.m. March 4, 6:15 p.m. March 10, 1:15 p.m. March11, Veni Vidi, Vici, 1116 Fulton St., $3 Normally, Blake Jones makes really great music with his band, the Trike Shop. It's Beach-Boys-inspired pop, with jangly guitars and sweet harmonies. The type of music to ride your Vespa to. Or something. But this is a solo show, which as the name implies, was ill-advised. We'd see it anyway.
"It's Okay to Like Porn!" 7:30 p.m. March 5, 8:45 p.m. March 8, 10 p.m. March 10, Spectrum, 1306 N. Wishon Ave., $4 On name alone, this might be the best show at Rouge. The show chronicles a life in the day of Aaron Bonilla, a student working at the neighborhood Adult Superstore Emporium. The show comes with an NC-17 -- not one for the kiddies -- and a warning: May cause porn-itis. Sounds painful.
"The 24-Hour Shakespeare Experiment" 7 p.m. March 3, 8:30 p.m. March 4, 10 p.m. March 10, 4:30 p.m. March 11, Dianna's Studio, 726 Fulton St., $5 This show seems to have everything a good Rouge-goer would want. It's quality theater -- three 15-minute original plays based on Shakespeare -- doused with hard-core experimentation -- each play is conceived, written, rehearsed and performed within 24 hours. Staged by the Woodward Shakespeare Festival.
