EXPERIENCE THE WONDER & INGENUITY OF AMERICAN CORPORATE CULTURE AT THE HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL

Space Company

Making its world premiere at this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival is a new corporate satire, Space Company, written and performed by Emma Irene Olson (Astro Cabaret), directed by Maura Mannle (Extraterrestrial Kink), and developed in Playing Yourself, The Elysian Theater’s solo show devising workshop, led by Artistic Director Jacquelyn Landgraf.

Space Company is an immersive solo show about a massive fictional corporation that doesn’t consider itself to be just a company, but also a family that is determined to be “The Best In The Universe”. Emma Irene plays “Mom”, a middle manager at Space Company welcoming the audience, now cast as the latest cohort of new hires (“Babygirls”), on their first day. Together, Mom and her Babygirls will attempt to answer the Canonical Question (CQ): “What do we do after we destroy that?”

Emma Irene spent nearly a decade working at large corporations, leaving their career after experiencing what they later learned were temporal lobe seizures, and in 2025 they were diagnosed epileptic. “Over time, I noticed my seizures happened more often when I was in unhealthy situations, so now I try to view them as messages to redirect my life.” In Space Company, Mom experiences “auras” not unlike how Emma Irene experiences temporal lobe seizures, but Mom pushes through them because she cannot consider the possibility that she is not on the right path. She has to believe that hard work will pay off.

Emma Irene Olson is a queer multidisciplinary performance artist. Their approach is multi-faceted, with written text, original music, improvisation, clown, audience interaction, and wearable art, and their work explores ego, authority, and consciousness while rooted in love. She has self-produced three solo shows: Astro Cabaret (directed and co-devised by Natasha Mercado), The Faults In My Stars (directed by Justin Gilbert), and Universal and Absolute (directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert).

Maura Mannle is a performance artist, clown, writer, educator, and movement theatre human. She believes in the power of creating your own work, most recently devising her award-winning solo show Extraterrestrial Kink. She has trained with American Conservatory Theatre, Second City, Frantic Assembly, and in the legacy of clown.

“I was genuinely moved, transported, transfixed, and delighted by this beautiful show.” – Jess Fee (Dog Moms)

“I work in corporate, and I was triggered.” – Loretta U. (audience member)

Venue: The Activist Kitchen

Preview: June 5, 2026 at 8:00PM ($15)
Performances:
June 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM (PWYC)
June 15, 2026 at 8:30 PM ($15)
June 19, 2026 at 4:30 PM ($15) includes ASL, requires masks, and is sensory friendly
June 23, 2026 at 8:30 PM ($15)

Website: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13197
Purchase Tickets: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13197?tab=tickets

For further information, additional images, or to request a media ticket, please contact Emma Irene Olson at [email protected] or 612-554-8597
Instagram: @spacecompanyplay / @emma.irene
Image Folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cuTBVccZ3iT0AJsoR_Pc_KrMqjHRopYI?usp=sharing