The ‘Brisk Festival’ at The Broadwater is Underway

The Brisk Theatre Festival is underway at The Broadwater, featuring short plays, in English and in Spanish, up to 10 minutes in length and running through August 11, 2019, with eight programs consisting of six to seven plays each, several of which were created by Hollywood Fringe Festival veteran producers and other participants.

The festival opened on July 11, 2019, and two of the eight programs have been presented with six programs remaining, with several of the shows created by Hollywood Fringe Festival veteran producers and participants.

There were 350 plays submitted for consideration and of those selected for performance, 34 are in English and 20 are in Spanish. Most of the productions are produced by local theatre companies in Los Angeles, but there are also artists heralding from Mexico, Florida, and Australia in this first edition of the festival.

The best plays are to be chosen by a jury of professionals including casting directors, producers, directors, actors, writers, managers, and agents. Those chosen go on to compete in a finals weekend on Saturday, August 10, and Sunday, August 11, 2019. The best play in English and the best play in Spanish are to receive an award of $500 each.

The festival was founded by Christian Rodrigo, a Spanish producer, director, and member of The Actors Gang. Rodrigo and Mexican producer and actor Ramon Valdez will be taking the Brisk Theatre Festival to Mexico, Barcelona, and Madrid later this year and in 2020, partnering with Full Emotion, a production company that has been producing films, television, and theater for more than 12-years.

Here is a list of the remaining performances:

From Salvador Casados’ “Shakespeare Love” at the 2019 Brisk Festival, at The Broadwater, Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of The Brisk Festival.

The Orange Program, with shows in English. from July 18 – 21, 2018:

“Interventions,” written by Greg Lam, and directed by Hollywood Fringe veteran Megan Frances who brought “Hott Line” (2016) to Fringe, tells of a couple on a hike who find that their “special plans” are interrupted by a succession of Time Travelers.

“Grown,” written and directed by Soda Persi, features Corey Lynn Howe and Adam Briggs–all Fringe veterans and of Theatre Unleashed–who together bring to Brisk a piece about the nuances of love.

“People Will Talk,” directed by Todd Felderstein, and written by Scott Mullen–who brought his play “Piñata” (2017) to Fringe–, is about a surprising connection between two people, challenged by life’s obstacles, who meet one night on the ledge of a 12-story office building. A story of “life, the art of listening, and everyday miracles.”

Additional shows are “Anything For My Mother,” “Noir Man,” and “Evidences of a Contemporary Love.”

The Yellow Program, with shows in English, from July 18 – 21, 2018:

“Recess,” written by Cara Emily Krantz, and directed by Roe Moore who co-produced “Buzz’d Out! LIVE” at last year’s Hollywood Fringe, is a tale of two children on a playground who imagine what life would be like as adults, perhaps even together.

“Jill Takes A Leap,” directed by Frida De Lackner and written by Mullen, also features multi-Fringe show veteran Asia Lynn Pitts from “Mouthy Bitch” (2016), “Blackballed: The Rise and Fall of Negro League Baseball,” (2018) and this year’s “Olivia Wilde Does Not Survive the Apocalypse,” and is about a woman trying to figure out if she’s living her best life.

Additional shows are “You me. Me you,” “A Streetcar Derailed,” “The Heart to Heart,” and “Vote for Me.”

The Green Program, with shows in English, from July 25 – 28, 2018:

“To The Roof,” written by Cynthia Faith Arsenault, also directed by Frances, and is about elevator riders who become more than passing strangers.

“Captive Audience,” written and directed by Raymond-Kym Suttle and hot off his Fringe show this year “Yes. No. Maybe” with actress Dee Dee Stevens, together along with actor Kevin Alain bring to Brisk a piece on how “being a stand-up comedian can bring out the worst in some people. So, be careful who you captivate.”

“The Landing,” written and directed by Fringe veteran Prakriti Maduro, who brought “Frida Kahlo: Viva La Vida” from Venezuela to the Hollywood Fringe in 2019, brings to Brisk her show “The Landing.” brings a story about a woman who appears in the middle of an empty plane, midair, and the sudden arrival of her husband.

“RIP I.N.C.,” written and directed by Harim Sanchez–a Sacred Fools member and a four-show Fringe veteran who brought his show “Pagliaccis” to the Hollywood Fringe in 2017–, “follows a world where grim reapers are just cubicle workers sent out to harvest souls, and it’s not as ‘grim’ as one would make it out to be.”

Additional shows are “The Gringos are Coming,” “Creeper Sunrise,” and “Dog Barks, Bodybuilder Slaps.”

From Ken Levine’s “The Hookup,” a finalist at the 2019 Brisk Festival, at The Broadwater, Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of The Brisk Festival.

The Brown Program, with shows in Spanish, from July 25 – 28, 2018:

Shows are “Pastel de Naranja,” “El Asunto del Chocolate,”  “La Razon,” “Somos Super Fans,” “La Gran Familia,” and “Cuatro.”

In the Pink Program, with shows in English, from August 1 – 4, 2019:

“Fandango,”  written by Karissa Montaner, and directed by Guy Picot who brought “Cookie and the Monster” (2015), “Disasteroid!” (2018), and “Earth to Karen” this year to Fringe tells of “two estranged sisters, forced to unite and discuss the fate of their deceased father’s Tapas restaurant, become heels deep in one hell of a flamenco reckoning!”

Additional shows are “Performance Review,” “Dead Man’s Curve,” “The Next Ivan Sharanski,” “Spoiler,” “Doctor’s Orders,” and “The Silent Woman.”

In the Red Program, with shows in Spanish, from August 1 – 4, 2019:

“A Dos Tumbas de Ti,” written by Nancho Novo and directed by Marcel Rasquin, also features Maduro, along with Karla Solarte, about two sisters wake up in their own funeral, having died on the same night but in different accidents. They discover the bizarre circumstances of their untimely death and unveil a secret that might take them straight to the grave for a second time.”

Additional shows are “Sexoral,” “After Life Vacation,” “Crash ¿Quien Tiene La Culpa?” “La Taza que me Mira desde la Meza,” and “Mrs. Fox’ Zoo.”

Monique LeBleu

Monique A. LeBleu/Event Editor and Contributor.

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