Doubleplusgood World Premiere of "QBF"

Tickets Going Fast for Remaining Shows

The world premiere of The Quick Brown Fox Jumped over the Lazy Dogs was a tremendous success at the Capital Fringe Festival this weekend, with full houses on Saturday and Sunday. The show received an incredibly astute review in the Washington City Paper.

In the 13 varied vignettes that wry writer Michael Merino has alertly assembled ... the uses, misuses, abuses, disabuses, ruses, muses, tenses and tensions of language and its rocky on-again off-again relationship with the truth are explored and exploded for our entertainment and edification.

Brett Abelman
Fringe and Purge - posted July 19, 2009
Digests from the Capital Fringe Festival

Don't miss this thought-provoking political satire on language and communication. The future of democracy and "truthiness" depends upon your participation.

When and Where

- Friday, July 24 @ 9:30 pm
- Saturday, July 25 @ 9:30 pm
- Sunday, July 26 @ Noon

Ticket Information
Redrum @ Fort Fringe
612 L Street NW, Washington, DC

Tickets are $15 can be purchased at www.capitalfringe.org
or by calling 866-811-4111.

Cast and Crew

Carlos Bustamante as Stage Directions

Melissa-Leigh Bustamante as Woman 2

Jason Lott* as Man 1

Brent Lowder as Man 2

Michael Merino as Playwright

Kerri Rambow as Director

Elizabeth M. Richards* as Woman 2

April Whaley as Stage Manager

(*Appearing courtsey of Actors' Equity Association)

Click here for more information about the production.
This production presented as part of the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival.

Five Characters in Search of Meaning at an Absurdist Linguistic Tea Party

The Quick Brown Fox Jumped over the Lazy Dogs will have its world premiere at the Capital Fringe Festival, July 18 - 26.

Written by Michael Merino and directed by Kerri Rambow, this funny, political satire about language and intent explores how we communicate and mis-underestimate each other. Guided by works of Lewis Carroll and Donald Rumsfeld and inspired by messages of fear and hope, the play reveals the “sub” and “con” of “text.”

When:
- Saturday July 18 @ 2:45pm
- Sunday July 19 @ Noon
- Friday July 24 @ 9:30pm
- Saturday July 25 @ 9:30pm
- Sunday July 26 @ Noon

Where:
Redrum - at Fort Fringe
612 L Street NW, Washington DC

Tickets can be purchased at:
607 New York Avenue, Washington, DC
or online at http://www.capfringe.org/fringe-festival.html

This production presented as part of the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival.

"Maybe" at the Lincoln Theatre

The Emerging Playwrights Competition has recently named Maybe, a short play by Michael Merino, as a winner in their inaugural competition. Along with four other works, the play will receive a staged reading at the historic Lincoln Theatre on Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 7PM.

Merino’s play addresses the impossibility of clear and precise communication. The work involves two actors (Man and Woman), whose only words are "yes" and "no," respectively. An additional character called Stage Directions provides guidance regarding inflection and the actors' movements.

The work will be presented along with Line Two is for You by Sharon E. Moore, Bread by Randy Gross, Moral Support by Dean Poynor, and Firefly by Amanda F. Healy. All plays will be directed by theater veteran Eric Ruffin and performed by a cast of professional actors. Ruffin is the founder of The Acting Studio at the Newark School of the Arts, a professional training program in acting, and is the Founder and Artistic Director for the Newark Youth Ensemble, Newark, NJ.

The performance at the Lincoln Theater is free, but reservations through the box office are required by calling 202-328-6000 or via email at rsvp@thelincolntheatre.org.

About the Lincoln Theatre:
The historic Lincoln Theatre is a non profit performing arts venue located in the vibrant U Street district and managed by the U Street Theatre Foundation. Originally a vaudeville theatre and movie house open in the 1920s, the “Jewel on U” has reopened as DC’s National Theatre and a cultural crossroads where diverse and stimulating entertainment programming is offered.

"Seat Yourself" in Oxford

Winner of the Theatre Oxford's 10-Minute Play Contest in 2007, Michael Merino's play, Seat Yourself will be performed October 9 through 12. Performances will be at the Powerhouse Community Arts Center located at 413 S. 14th Street, Oxford, MS.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances will be at 8 pm; a Sunday matinee will be at 2 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.

This work was presented this summer by Est Paris Theater this summer at the Ogresse in Paris, France.

théâtre du jour coming to NOLA Fringe Festival

Performed earlier this year in Paris and Washington, DC, théâtre du jour comprises two comic shorts written and directed by Michael Merino.

The first work, Seat Yourself, explores the frustrations of fine dining and "the euphemism."

The second work, Pompa y Circunstancia, concerns a bizarre commencement ceremony, where two brothers mis-communicate about what to wear, life, and lunch.

The cast includes Perry Leopard, Randy Maggiore, and Claudia Baumgarten. The shows will be performed at The Skull Club located at 1005 N. Spain Street, New Orleans, LA 70117.

Dates and times are:

- Thursday, November 13 at 8:30 pm
- Saturday, November 15 at 7:00 pm
- Sunday, November 16 at 5:30 pm

Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at the door or in advance through TicketWeb.com. For more information about the festival, click the following link: http://www.nofringe.org/index.html.

Three Comic Shorts at Woolly Mammoth

The PlayGround Playwrights will present Three, an evening of comic shorts consisting of two ten-minute plays and a one-act play written by Michael Merino. Directed by Kerri Rambow, the plays will be hosted at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre on Wednesday, March 26, at 7:00 p.m.

The writer purposefully crafted the comic shorts and set them in a world where no one thinks, no one listens, and most importantly, no one dies. The pieces were developed over the last year and a half while playwright’s family members experienced serious illnesses and he himself faced narrowing job opportunities. “Compared to heart disease, cancer, and death, I think being unemployed is a pretty good way to pass the time,” he adds.

The first play, Seat Yourself, centers on a woman and a man who attempt to dine at a restaurant, only to suffer the questioning of the man's existence by an impossible waiter with a silly accent. This work won Theatre Oxford’s 10-Minute Play Contest in 2007. The second play, Pompa y Circunstancia, concerns two brothers who mis-communicate what to wear as a prank at their graduation exercises. This ten-minute play was recently named a semi-finalist in the 2008 Theatre Oxford’s 10-Minute Play contest.

The evening concludes with Porcupine, a one-act play that recounts Sigmund Freud’s visit to America in 1909, where he delivers a series of lectures and searches for his inner porcupine. Along with other turn-of-the-century psychological luminaries, Freud goes to the Adirondacks for a few days of deep thoughts, high silliness, and various mental and physical competitions.

The reading is free and open to the public. Woolly Mammoth Theatre is located at 641 D Street NW in Washington, D.C.