Minnesota Fringe Festival 2010

Aniga eya adiga means "me and you" in Somali. This show is a fun and insightful reflection on being African, American and Minnesotan. Created and performed by Bedlam's Cedar Riverside Art Zone for Youth.

User reviews

Perfect
by Laurel Hansen Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I am so glad I saw this show. It was the most moving show I saw (I got a little misty-eyed) in the Fringe. I think what I like the most about it was that it was real. Real people telling real stories about where they've been and what they dream for themselves and their community. Loved it. A perfect Fringe show.

Rough but what the Fringe should be
by Pat Lindgren Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
The performances are not polished, but this way to discover and showcase new talent, while connecting new audiences to the theater, is what the Fringe Festival should be about. These young people are very brave to get up on stage in front of their inappropriately giggling friends in the audience to share their personal stories. You need to see this show and I hope Bedlam will continue to put this show on. I expect it to get better and better every year.

What is your story?
by Niels Strandskov Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
With charm, eloquence, honesty and panache, the cast of "Aniga Adiga" charges onto the stage and creates a community from everything from Somali folktales to movement-based performance to spoken word. Less interested in linear narrative than in imagining a series of connections between real people, "Aniga Adiga" charts a course through the cultural dissonance of the immigrant experience while bringing a sharp eye to the problems of teens.
This is not a clever little Fringe show where professional actors work a tired pun or a cliched pop culture reference to death over the course of an hour. Instead, it's a version of the real lives of its cast, their friends, parents, and neighbors. There's more to laugh and cry at in "Aniga Adiga" than in any 10 regular Fringe shows.

Earnest and Real
by Jane Gleason Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
As an audience member, you are brought into a teenager's world through reflection, ball tossing and short vignettes. The kids were real,honest and unpretentious as they shared their feelings on life in two worlds. I hope these revelations continue to develop into more in-depth stories. There are promising actors in this group!

These kids are inspiring
by Kris Sieg Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I really enjoyed this show for the honesty and energy these young people showed. It is a fun show to watch.

Bridging Cultures
by Peter Fleck Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
This isn't a show to go to for smartass making fun of whatever. Go to this if you want to meet (and learn about) the Somali & Ethiopian kids living in our city. It's funny, touching, and at times, sad.

Fringe Fest needs you every year!
by Miles Moore Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Its great to see the youths power on stage! I was happy, sad, and saw each and everyone of there dreams in front of me. Props to all of you! Wouldn't mind coming again! P.S The Spoken Word was amazing!

Great job!
by Rosemary Fister Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
You all did so good! I'm really excited for the next shows your in! I loved Terrorless, but I like how this show is different (being a different crew of youth and all) and explores new territory. Keep writing your own shows and keep performing!

Incredible Achievement!!
by Crispy Fur Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I have to give credit to these teens for doing something bold and new. This is the only show I know of in the fringe this year that has a huge focus on East African culture (let alone teen East African culture). You can complain all you want about it not being polished, but that is part of the beauty of this show. Some of these youth (they admit during their monologues) have never been onstage and never seen a "proper" theatre show, who are we to tell them they should have done better! Its a great piece of work and what the fringe is supposed to be about. I loved it! If you want to support community, diversity, and taking risks go see this show!

Special
by MEGAN TARDIFF Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
This is a special West Bank show. Keep in mind that it won't be the mindless, carry you away from your hectic life production. It is a deep and freeing show that allows you to see into the minds and hearts of African youth that have happiness, sadness and self-identity stories to share. I love that there is a creative outlet for these teens. Even though it might not be as polished as other Fringe shows, it is real and will hopefully propel the actors to continue to express themselves and move forward in creating art individually and with those around them.

Loved It
by Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
These young people were great. I really enjoyed this show.

Thanks to the performers for sharing their stories, and to C.R.A.Z.Y./Bedlam for sharing this show at the Fringe!

Aniga Adiga - must see
by Paula Beck Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Funny, sad, poignant, silly. Watch as these teenagers navigate their happiness, hopes, sad times and happy times coping with cultural shift. Fresh and honest.

The kids are alright
by SBRK Hart Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
It is great to see a Fringe entry from a group of East African kids and the adults who worked with them on this production. It was not refined, it was not professional, but it was from the heart and inspiring, and hopefully all of those kids will be moved by the accolades and will want to do more. In the part where they each told of what they will be doing in 3, 6, 8 years, many said college. I hope that every one of them makes sure that college is a part of their futures. Great job!
(A few of the boys could raise their voices a little bit, so that the audience can hear what you have to say better, but no big deal!)

Future is in Good Hands
by John Prince Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I had the pleasure to witness something really amazing. East African youth, that normally would never get the chance to express themselves bring their raw personal stories to life , to an audience that often would never get any true insight into what goes on in their world. This was a historic moment in Fringe history in my opinion, something that is truly amazing to be apart of. I felt a huge amount of pride discovering that these young people have something beautiful, deep, and meaningful to share. I felt like this show did something few other fringe festival production will ever accomplish... that's include a community that inhabits the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood that is often neglected and ignored. And introduce fresh new voices to theatre, and let us know that theatre is for everybody, and the stories we learn can teach and enlighten us, and ultimately connect us spiritually in ways we've never imagined. Congrats to those young artists and special thanks to Bedlam Theatre for letting these young voices too often ignored to finally be heard.

Great Start to the Fringe!
by Nancy Ruyle Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I was so pleased that I began my 2010 Fringe with Aniga Adiga. This show has a lot going for it. Created by teenagers with the guidance of the good folks at Bedlam Theater, Aniga Adiga explores who we are. What defines us? What are our stories? What do we share? The stories are those of teenagers living in Minnesota who have come here from Africa. They explore what it means to be African, American, and Minnesotan through solo stories, movement, dance, and song.
There are three things that made this a really good experience for me:

1.Community. When I saw the show, the audience consisted of about half regular Fringe-goers and half people from the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood there to see their friends. The interaction of the audience with the performers added a lot for me. While some of the interaction was a bit of heckling, you could also sense the moments of recognition where the audience members said, “Yeah, me too.”

2.Risk. For some of the performers, this was the first time they had ever been onstage. All of the stories were personal accounts of family, school, and other experiences. To get up in front of a group of people and say, “This is who I am,” takes guts. I admire the performers’ willingness to share their stories with me.

3. Humor. In telling their stories, the cast found moments to infuse humor. Without giving away the show, I’ll just say that I really, really like the cow.

There are moments where it’s hard to hear some of the performers. Some of the stories end abruptly. There are some rough edges. But the center of this show is good. I enjoyed it.

World Community
by Anthony Paul Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To my eye the beauty of the Minnesota Fringe is that it brings audiences together with every possible level of talent from professional union performers to those who have never trod the boards. With a few exceptions, Aniga Adiga is an offering of the later variety.

Bedlam Theatre & the associated Cedar Riverside Art Zone for Youth (C.R.A.Z.Y.) have embraced the African community which surrounds the current Bedlam theater location. Aniga Adiga was created within this mission of community art.

Aniga Adiga is a multi-voiced telling of various stories and remembrances of African immigrants now living in Minnesota. During the show at least one of the performers readily admitted to having never been on-stage before; for many others it was clear that this was their condition as well. A few did have more performing experience.

Regardless of performance expertise, I found this show both engaging and heartwarming. The audience was about a 50/50 split between the Fringe crowd and the local community. It was interesting to discover what I (Fringe crowd guy) found funny or touching as opposed to those who are a part of the African immigrant community.

Aniga Adiga did not attempt teach me the history of the various African nations where these teens were born. It instead presented fresh stories from these youngsters who gave me a very personal context to a history with which I am familiar only at an impersonal and political level. Hearing these teenagers’ troubles, successes, and aspirations was an experience I shall not soon forget.

"Me and You" was a perfect way to start out my Fringing!

But this is not your average Fringe show
by Kay Kirscht Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Trainwreck?? Do you realize what was accomplished, here? I'd say kudos to John, Reggie and Jess for lending focus & direction - helping us see into the lives of the people who live here. I enjoyed each tiny story; did not mind the young performers' lack of experience. You want insight, see this show and you will not regret it. Yes, they could've used a LOT more polish, rehearsal, blocking, voice coaching...but I came away with a LOT more than I came in with.

This is what the Fringe is all about
by Scott Pakudaitis Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
This is a show performed by the youth in Bedlam's CRAZY program. I went to this show with high expectations based on the group's 10-minute play in this year's Tenfest. I was disappointed. Most of the show was the group standing on stage telling stories one by one; unfortunately, they are not storytellers. Their stories needed shape and editing; the seeds of good stories were there but need more development. The parts of the show that worked best were the short skits where they enacted fables and stories. Those were very well done and funny. The dance break was cute. This kind of show is what I love about the Fringe festival. We have a group of young actors most of whom are on stage for the first time trying something in front of an audience. With some more polish, this show could be good.

Total Trainwreck
by Kassie Church Follow this reviewer
Rating 1 kitty
Oh dear. It was terrible. The "adults" had to direct the teens while they were on stage. None of the teens seemed to know what was happening. Some teens were so quiet you couldn't hear them, especially over their friends heckling them in the audience. There were stories that made no sense. Worst Fringe show I've seen in multiple years. Got one kitties because one kid did some good spoken word and you could tell the adults were trying.