NERDS CREATE A NEW THEATRE

Nerd Anarchy

First they took over the internet. Next it was film. Then networks television. Now: the Fringe. There have always been theatre dorks, musical theatre queens and brecht’s bitches, but now, mainstream nerdness has taken center stage center. Apparently thespian nerds have something to say as proven by the abundance of nerd themed plays at The Hollywood Fringe Festival.

For many the fringe is a place for self-expression and exploration. But to tell their stories many artists must include the fantasy worlds that have molded them. Their desire to be Gandalf may have had a greater impact on their lives than any father/mother figure ever could. What if “dysfunctional family” and the solo works examining personal abuse are re-framed by “Daddy as Donkey Kong” or “The Princess Elf in a Dwarf Kingdom?”

Perhaps they are looking for a simpler world where good people are good and bad people are really bad. In our ever growing-global society we are all learning that the gray areas are what truly bind us and the black and whites of old are outdated and down right wrong. How does one explore their own reality when it is changing so quickly? Where is it safe when the very fabric of what you were taught, frays, and values fail at every turn? In the imagination we can play, examine, fight in a world where faeries and elves are creating new societies with, occasionally, clearer objectives and truths.

David LeBarron’s Nerd Anarchy, a fantastical new musical, takes a whimsical look at five role-playing gamers who deal with their day to lives while seated at a table playing Faerie Land Frolic. In a fantastical flip they are magickally transported into Faerie Land for real. It is in this magickal world where they, as faeries, elves, bards and barbarians realize, gain perspective and grow as human beings.

If art reflects life can it also reflect fantasy? What if that fantasy is not more real but more relevant to the artist? Where but The Hollywood Fringe Festival would Los Angeles thespian/nerds feel safe revealing that what they have to say as an artist might be dressed as Wonder Woman fighting Smurfs in Middle Earth for a spaceship? Perhaps that is why Fringe exists in this reality?

Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Star Trek, Drizzit, Zelda, Dr. Who, Buffy, Firefly, X-Men… know these names? Then you might just get Nerd Anarchy.

It begins as 4 friends meet geekly-weekly to play Faerie Land Frolic, a role playing dice board game like D&D. Through songs like: This is How We Roll and I Wanna F*k A Unicorn (but not in a weird way) we get to know the gang and the game. They break up, make up, pout, scream and have a blast…when suddenly they roll badly and a portal opens up in the living room! They are swept away to Faerie Land for real! Where we hear such awesome songs as: Why Dost I Speak so Stupideth? Meanwhile an evil sorcerer is planning on destroying Earth! Will humanity be turned into action figures? Can our heroes storm his castle and sneak past dragons? Can they level up fast enough to be defeat an army of Orcs? Will nerds win the day?

Playing the Hollywood Fringe Festival!
Tuesday 6/9 8pm (preview)
Sunday 6/14 4pm
Tuesday 6/16 6pm
Wednesday 6/24 6pm
Thursday 6/25 11:55 (midnight)