Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

SD Fringe: 146 Point Flame and word-of-mouth last calls

Hasty, vivid reflections that struggle to be heard and a unique set of recommendations for last-call shows.

SD Fringe: The 146 Point Flame

SD Fringe: Nothing With Nobody

SD Fringe Festival: Nightbird

  • RAW Space, 921 First Avenue, downtown
  • $10

SD Fringe: Dog Years

SD Fringe: Doctor Shmoctor

  • RAW Space, 921 First Avenue, downtown
  • $5 - $10

SD Fringe: Burning on the River

Woman in the Mirror, A Dancer's Journey

146 Point Flame

They called a snake in Vietnam “Two-step Charlie.” A rock asp — get bit and you went down in two steps. So you had maybe 10 or 15 seconds to curse or reflect on life — or just to shuffle off.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The 146 victims of the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911) had up to 18 minutes.

On the ninth floor of the Asch Building in Greenwich Village, most of the workers were teenaged girls, immigrants. They spoke little or no English and worked 12 hour days, seven days a week. To make conditions a literal “sweatshop,” management locked the doors so the girls couldn’t take a short break or steal scraps of fabric to make clothes they couldn’t afford otherwise.

On March 25, a fire broke out in a rag bin on the eighth floor (a nearby hose was too rotted to put it out). When firemen arrived, their ladders and hoses only reached the seventh. The garment workers on eight, nine, and ten found themselves encased in an inferno.

Matt Thompson and Julianne Eggold’s 146 Point Flame recreates the tragedy, fully, in 30 minutes. What an amazing piece of writing! Descriptions of the havoc are horrifyingly vivid (one image that got to me: “one hundred bodies wedging toward a window” — to jump: i.e. 9/11 in 1911).

As four immigrant girls rush to find a way out, their lives flash before their eyes. Each has had two: before coming to America (repressed); and in Manhattan, where they can “live free as you couldn’t in your old world” (but the factory treats them like slaves).

They reflect in haste. Some find something that won’t burn.

146 Point Flame has its final performance tonight at 11 p.m. at the Spreckels Fringe Off Broadway. It’s a piece to be seen and heard — and heard better than the one I caught. Even though the actors and the audience are on the stage of the Spreckels, maybe 20 feet apart, max., any actor speaking upstage becomes inaudible, since sounds go straight up.

This wasn’t a problem for Vuccino Teatro’s fiery Nothing With Nobody (performances: Saturday at 9:30 p.m., Sunday, at 6:30 p.m.) or Eddie Yaroch’s Nightbird (Saturday, July 12 at 2:00). These top notch shows belt big feelings. The monologues of 146 are more inward: a voice whispering to itself with only minutes, or just seconds, to speak. They need to be projected straight out so people can hear the poetic, frantic, and deeply felt last words of young women who never had a chance.

Word of Mouth: Last Call

To help me cover the Fringe, I asked several theater people to mention shows they liked. For a different perspective, I asked Brendan MacNeil. He runs the elevator at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center for the Festival and made suggestions based on overheard conversations.

Along with many already mentioned, MacNeil heard persistent praise for:

Dog Years, Tenth Avenue Arts Center, Mainstage, 930 Tenth Avenue, downtown, Friday, July 11 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, July 13 at 5:00 p.m.

Doctor Shmoctor, Spreckels RAW Space, 923 First Avenue, downtown, Thursday, July 10 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, July 13 at 12:30 p.m.

Burning on the River, Tenth Avenue Theatre, Mainstage, Saturday, July 12 at 9:30 p.m.

Woman in the Mirror, A Dancer’s Journey, Tenth Avenue Arts Center, Mainstage, Friday, July 11 at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, July 12 at 8:00 p.m.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

3 Tips for Creating a Cozy and Inviting Living Room in San Diego

Next Article

San Diego beaches not that nice to dogs

Bacteria and seawater itself not that great

SD Fringe: The 146 Point Flame

SD Fringe: Nothing With Nobody

SD Fringe Festival: Nightbird

  • RAW Space, 921 First Avenue, downtown
  • $10

SD Fringe: Dog Years

SD Fringe: Doctor Shmoctor

  • RAW Space, 921 First Avenue, downtown
  • $5 - $10

SD Fringe: Burning on the River

Woman in the Mirror, A Dancer's Journey

146 Point Flame

They called a snake in Vietnam “Two-step Charlie.” A rock asp — get bit and you went down in two steps. So you had maybe 10 or 15 seconds to curse or reflect on life — or just to shuffle off.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The 146 victims of the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911) had up to 18 minutes.

On the ninth floor of the Asch Building in Greenwich Village, most of the workers were teenaged girls, immigrants. They spoke little or no English and worked 12 hour days, seven days a week. To make conditions a literal “sweatshop,” management locked the doors so the girls couldn’t take a short break or steal scraps of fabric to make clothes they couldn’t afford otherwise.

On March 25, a fire broke out in a rag bin on the eighth floor (a nearby hose was too rotted to put it out). When firemen arrived, their ladders and hoses only reached the seventh. The garment workers on eight, nine, and ten found themselves encased in an inferno.

Matt Thompson and Julianne Eggold’s 146 Point Flame recreates the tragedy, fully, in 30 minutes. What an amazing piece of writing! Descriptions of the havoc are horrifyingly vivid (one image that got to me: “one hundred bodies wedging toward a window” — to jump: i.e. 9/11 in 1911).

As four immigrant girls rush to find a way out, their lives flash before their eyes. Each has had two: before coming to America (repressed); and in Manhattan, where they can “live free as you couldn’t in your old world” (but the factory treats them like slaves).

They reflect in haste. Some find something that won’t burn.

146 Point Flame has its final performance tonight at 11 p.m. at the Spreckels Fringe Off Broadway. It’s a piece to be seen and heard — and heard better than the one I caught. Even though the actors and the audience are on the stage of the Spreckels, maybe 20 feet apart, max., any actor speaking upstage becomes inaudible, since sounds go straight up.

This wasn’t a problem for Vuccino Teatro’s fiery Nothing With Nobody (performances: Saturday at 9:30 p.m., Sunday, at 6:30 p.m.) or Eddie Yaroch’s Nightbird (Saturday, July 12 at 2:00). These top notch shows belt big feelings. The monologues of 146 are more inward: a voice whispering to itself with only minutes, or just seconds, to speak. They need to be projected straight out so people can hear the poetic, frantic, and deeply felt last words of young women who never had a chance.

Word of Mouth: Last Call

To help me cover the Fringe, I asked several theater people to mention shows they liked. For a different perspective, I asked Brendan MacNeil. He runs the elevator at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center for the Festival and made suggestions based on overheard conversations.

Along with many already mentioned, MacNeil heard persistent praise for:

Dog Years, Tenth Avenue Arts Center, Mainstage, 930 Tenth Avenue, downtown, Friday, July 11 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, July 13 at 5:00 p.m.

Doctor Shmoctor, Spreckels RAW Space, 923 First Avenue, downtown, Thursday, July 10 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, July 13 at 12:30 p.m.

Burning on the River, Tenth Avenue Theatre, Mainstage, Saturday, July 12 at 9:30 p.m.

Woman in the Mirror, A Dancer’s Journey, Tenth Avenue Arts Center, Mainstage, Friday, July 11 at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, July 12 at 8:00 p.m.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Next Article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader