Boulder Fringe Fest Runs August 14 - 25; Hefner Among the Participants

In just over a month, the Boulder International Fringe Festival gets underway, featuring 70 artists performing in some 14 venues over the course of 20 days.

One of the "big" names in this year's Festival - which will run August 14-25, is John Hefner, estranged cousin to a someone described in press materials as "certain international icon." In John Hefner's The Hefner Monologues, he grapples with the question of "how one makes a name for oneself when someone else already has?" In this piece, that debuted at the 2nd Annual Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C., this hefner shares stories about love, loss, public nudity, traffic court, and finding an identity in a world where "Hef" is a household name.

Not all of the other participants have names as easily recognizable, but there are some fascinating choices in the theater lineup at the Boulder Fringe, including God(s), created by The Octopus League, which hails from Naropa University and LISPA’s Lecoq based physical theater program. The group explores a whole body approach to theatrical storytelling, and in God(s), their 6th original work, the company has created an epic tale of ancient and modern Greek myth in Zeus and Hermes walk the earth, bringing tidings of hospitality and destruction.

From the U.K., will come Jimmy Hogg, who scored a success in Boulder in 2006 with Curriculum Vitae, For his 2008 appearance, Hogg offers A Brief History of Petty Crime, in which he exposes his life of petty crime while detouring on plenty of tangents. Hogg's work has been honored with Best of Fringe awards in Toronto (2007), Minnesota (2007, 2006), and San Francisco (2006).

The other theater pieces in the Boulder Fringe this year ranges from shows like In Mocking Disregard: The Burlesque Extravaganza, which promises to be an evening of titillation and delight; to Pedro and the Captain, which is described as "a chilling psychological study of torture and its effects on both detainee and interrogator."

For further information about the Festival, visit www.boulderfringe.com