Clarence W.

There was a stretch when I was in high school where FIRST KNIGHT was on, like, twice a day all summer, and I watched the hell outta that movie over and over (also dug the Goldsmith score). Another of those was WITH HONORS. Like every day on cable for I dunno how long.

I feel like this would've been a lot easier to answer in my teen years, but prooooooobably:
Back to the Future
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Jurassic Park
Star Treks II, IV, and VI (I'm not one of those "only even numbered" guys, but those are the 3 I find most passively watchable.)

Corn smut - Wikipedia

Anyway, nervous to eat some delicious "corn smut."

Slightly diminish a band: Hatchback Halen

Slightly diminish a band: A Smith

I could never be one of those mushroom foraging people. My wife's growing corn in the backyard, and she was thrilled to discover what appears to be huitlacoche growing on it, so of course, I'm convinced it's actually something different that will kill us all.

Slightly diminish a band: 8 ¼" Nails

Image by @bransonreese.bsky.social‬ parodying the Gadsden flag (coiled snake with the phrase "don't tread on me"). He has drawn a snake coiled up on a yellow background. The snake is wearing sunglasses. Instead of "Don't tread on me," the caption reads, "Don't make me take my diarrhea medicine."

Thanks, Matthew!

Yeah, I was thinking there wouldn’t even be any techs, and the doors would be locked. But that would suck if it’s 90 degrees or raining. But I also think such obnoxiousness is part of the show.

At Town Hall for lunch before a full day of solo Fringing. But they have Jurassic Park on the TV, so I might just stay here and miss the first couple shows. #mnfringe

The next year, I wanted to produce an actual show called "TBD" that would happen entirely in the line outside the venue, people waiting to get in, mistakenly thinking there's a show called "TBD." Cast would be artists from other #MNFringe shows planted in line. Never broke the story, dropped it.

Years before that, there was a #MNFringe show page that stayed "TBD" for ages, an unfilled slot, and some of us started posting audience reviews of the non-show.

Knowing that illusion wouldn't survive past the first performance and word of mouth, but it's still the kind of thing I like to think about.

With Mead Hall, I wanted to truly make it a prank on the audience. I wished the #MNFringe website could show different visitors a different show page, so some people would genuinely think they were buying a ticket to Beowulf & others thought they were going to Road House.

Mead Hall was the last play I did before my daughter was born. My wife directed it while pregnant with her. Now, 9 years later, our daughter's on that same stage with me in Hamluke, playing a jawa and an ewok. #mnfringe

It was born of a joke my friend @onanrulz.bsky.social had made years earlier, that the greatest modern adaptation of Beowulf was Road House. Mead Hall was very silly but also was about the power of storytelling & tried a little to puncture perceived distinction between low-brow & high-brow art.

So a couple minutes into my self-serious 1-man Beowulf, the cast of Road House: The Musical shows up, loudly and obliviously breezing into the theatre to get ready to do their own show. Conflict over the space ensues, we try to share time, eventually discover commonalities, & meld shows by the end.

Mead Hall premise was very #MNFringe specific. 2 stereotypical Fringe shows. Road House: The Musical flaked, missed their tech, so lost their slot, which got offered to me on the wait list, & I was able to jump in last-minute with my ready-made 1-man Beowulf. But RH didn't realize they got booted...

My left hand holding the two versions of our Mead Hall (2016 MN Fringe) postcard, each replicating the Road House (1989) movie poster. Left, the one focusing on my character's 1-man Beowulf show. Right, the one focusing on the fictitious "Road House: The Musical" Fringe show.

9 years ago, I was doing Mead Hall at #MNFringe on the very same stage we're now doing Hamluke. Concept was 2 competing fictitious Fringe shows (Road House: The Musical and me doing a 1-man Beowulf) fight over a slot and end up discovering their common ground.

Screenshot of audience review. Brandon Taitt Rating 4.5/5 kitties I have a great feeling about this I knew this would be a fun show from the buzz of others having seen his staging or previous mountings but I was genuinely surprised at just how deftly the script brought these two stories together (it’s hard enough doing Hamlet in an hour, much less by way of Star Wars). Combined with universally great performances, live music, and some of the best production design and puppetry I’ve seen at the Fringe, I had a goofy smile on my face for the entire run time.

Screenshot of audience review. Joseph Homrich Rating: 5/5 kitties Amazingly fun Star Wars - Hamlet mashup Every so often, I see a fringe show that isn't just great; It's a wow! This is a wow. Take an amazing, energetic, acrobatic cast, a brilliant and funny script, clever costumes and puppetry and what do you get? You get WOW. The action is fast. The timing is perfect. I think this play shows us the best in what fringe comedy can be.

Screenshot of 2 audience reviews. McIntyre Godwin 5/5 kitties This Shakespeare Guy Was Onto Somethin’. This thing is incredible. I love Star Wars. I love Star Wars so much I almost love it more than Hamlet. I love hamlet so much. This was the best thing I’ve ever seen. Nick Vetter 5/5 kitties Excellent What a clever intertwining of two well-known stories! The performers were crisp, the music and sound effects flawless, the transitions fluid, and the punchlines delivered aptly. Obviously a labor of love, and the better for it.

A representative sample of #MNFringe audience reviews for Hamluke. Final performance Sun 8/10, 8:30pm, Rarig Center.

minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/h...

Thank you!

Screenshot of audience review. Brandon Taitt Rating 4.5/5 kitties I have a great feeling about this I knew this would be a fun show from the buzz of others having seen his staging or previous mountings but I was genuinely surprised at just how deftly the script brought these two stories together (it’s hard enough doing Hamlet in an hour, much less by way of Star Wars). Combined with universally great performances, live music, and some of the best production design and puppetry I’ve seen at the Fringe, I had a goofy smile on my face for the entire run time.

Screenshot of audience review. Joseph Homrich Rating: 5/5 kitties Amazingly fun Star Wars - Hamlet mashup Every so often, I see a fringe show that isn't just great; It's a wow! This is a wow. Take an amazing, energetic, acrobatic cast, a brilliant and funny script, clever costumes and puppetry and what do you get? You get WOW. The action is fast. The timing is perfect. I think this play shows us the best in what fringe comedy can be.

Screenshot of 2 audience reviews. McIntyre Godwin 5/5 kitties This Shakespeare Guy Was Onto Somethin’. This thing is incredible. I love Star Wars. I love Star Wars so much I almost love it more than Hamlet. I love hamlet so much. This was the best thing I’ve ever seen. Nick Vetter 5/5 kitties Excellent What a clever intertwining of two well-known stories! The performers were crisp, the music and sound effects flawless, the transitions fluid, and the punchlines delivered aptly. Obviously a labor of love, and the better for it.

A representative sample of #MNFringe audience reviews for Hamluke. Final performance Sun 8/10, 8:30pm, Rarig Center.

minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/h...

Sunday night’s your last chance to catch Hamluke at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. If you like Hamlet, Star Wars, puppets, gravely straight-faced silliness, & children in adorable Ewok costumes, you know where to go. #mnfringe

minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/h...

the name for Montana leads me to believe it was pulling from a forum full of “yo mama so fat” jokes

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one, and lots of people have seen mine on the Internet.

I see CARNITE.

Dan Norman Photography Dan Norman Photography is a premier theater photographer, covering Theatre, Opera, Event, and Theatrical Press. Based in Saint Paul Minnesota.

Whoops, forgot to include photo credit on that post. Those two shots are from Fringe photographer Dan Norman. danorm.com

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "Hamluke" Day:  5 Show:  16 Title:   Hamluke Category:  Comedy / Drama / Puppetry / Kid friendly / Literary adaptation / Shakespearian elements By:  N...

Wanna say thanks to Twin Cities theatre review site Cherry and Spoon for coming to see Hamluke and publishing this lovely review. #mnfringe

Screenshot of an audience review for Hamluke. Reviewer: Bee Davis. Rating: 4.5 out of 5 kitties. Text: "THE DROID'S THE THING! God i love these droids. Just some class A droids right here. R2-D2 wears an Elizabethan ruff, the jawas are ADORABLE, and the whole production blends Shakespeare and Star Wars in a way that's smart and funny. A fun show, well done. Jar Jar Binks jumpscare."

I think this might be my favorite audience review of Hamluke so far. Jar Jar warning = considerate. #mnfringe