When I worked for the automotive industry (a career for which I prepared myself with a degree in Victorian religious literature), we learned the value of “surprise and delight” features. At the first Minnesota Fringe-for-All tonight, we saw three-minute previews of 30 shows, including the one I am doing with Loren Niemi, The Computer Wore Semiotics. Of course we want you to come and see our show, but here I’d like to mention the twelve that I felt had genuine “surprise and delight” features:

1.  Chorus: Voices After the Silence. Actually, this was, like DoubleMint Gum, two-two-two-shows in one, being an excerpt from Katherine Glover’s Dead Wrong, which is itself a solo show.

2. Not Dead Yet: The Return of Mr. Elk and Mr. Seal – because I’ve never seen anyone self-harmonize.  I’m afraid that if he keeps doing that, he might go blind. And because we have a seal joke in our show.

3. Merblades! presented by Black Market Doctor. Because it has real and fake facts, and when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert go on vacation for two weeks, I really jones for real and fake facts.

4. Ivory Tower Burning presented by Jay Gabler. Because we also believe esoteric academic debates make for high drama.

5. Sin Eater. Tamara Ober is compelling. When she says, watch me, I want to watch.

6. Fear and Trembling.  Because Maximum Verbosity never fails to live up to its name. If the love child of Lewis Carroll and T. S. Eliot wrote a Fringe show, this might be it.

7. The Jesus Chair. This show has fascinated me from the first time I saw it described. But the young woman playing Charity Pittman is extraordinary. I want to see more.

8. Ash Land.  Everything Isabel Nelson does is amazing. To see folk and fairy tale given such powerful embodiment is a rare privilege.

9. The Love Show! Because they love me. They really love me. And they’ll love you too. Wear protection.

10. Curt and Laura Used to Be Good At Gymnastics And Stuff. Because I was  picked last on the kickball team. ‘Nuff said.

11. Portrait of the Artist as a Yo-Yo Man. Because he’ll walk the dog and rock the cradle. That’s relationship material.

12. Comedy, Magic & Neurosis. Well clearly. Because he just described my life.

So did you go to Fringe-For-All #1? Any favorites I didn’t mention? Feel free to do so in the comments field.