Why is it that the second installment in a series doesn't live up to the first? I may be treading on dangerous territory by saying this, but Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was the most boring book in the series, ditto the movie version of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers—don't even get me started on New Moon. Whatever your opinion, the sophomore effort—however great the series—can be disappointing, and Wawapalooza, IdRatherBeHere's hilarious series of videos and sketches that have lovingly examined Philly's particular brand of crazy for the last three years at the Philly Fringe, wasn't immune to this effect.

"At a show the second year a sketch just dived," says Eric Balchunas, creator/writer/director of this year's iteration of the Fringe show Wawapalooza 4: Damaged Goods. "There's nothing like sitting backstage and hearing people not laughing when you expect laughs. It hurts."

Eric has a pretty foolproof plan to prevent that from ever happening again. At his job as a financial analyst he takes raw data and makes something with meaning out of it. It may seem like there's nothing funny about that, but creating a comedic show, as it turns out, isn't so different from crunching numbers.

"People need to have at least one drink, they need to be sitting close together, and there needs to be air conditioning," he says of the three essential factors for successful comedy. "That gives the material a head start."

In terms of tracking audience response, IdRatherBeHere uses techniques a lot more sophisticated than the old laugh-o-meter. Eric sets up a focus group to screen the show a month before the festival, with a cross-demographical audience that watches and ranks the material so that he knows what, if anything, to cut. "We try to figure out what's universally funny," he says. They also sent out a survey this year to audience members of the last three paloozas asking for feedback on not just the shows, but venues, too.

There is, of course, the most essential factor—material—but it seems like Eric's got that covered. Click more to read about it

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Did you ever wish you could re-draw the Peanuts cartoon so that Charlie Brown finally kicked the football? Were you ever tempted to pencil in a thought-bubble above the Mona Lisa's head and fill in what she's really thinking? Well cartoonist and puppeteer Beth Nixon's new Make-Your-Own Cankerblossom Comic Book isn't Mona Lisa, but it's way more fun.

Pig Iron Theatre Company has teamed up with Beth to create their new show Cankerblossom. To kindle your imagination until the show premieres at the Live Arts Festival, they've created a do-it-yourself comic book complete with whimsical drawings to color in and empty speech bubbles so that you can invent the action.

Click more to see some of the coolest drawings from the new book and to find out how to get one:

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Chances are if you're reading this, you've heard of Philly Fringe--but did you know that New Orleans has a Fringe Festival too? Well duh, it's New Orleans, the First City of Jazz, and home of the freakiest mass performance art there is! (Mardi Gras) The New Orleans Fringe Festival is taking applications for shows until July 1st.

The three year-old festival, which will taken place November 17&endash;21, is a fantastic opportunity for artists, complete with plush amenities. The people at N.O. Fringe care about the festival so much, that executive director Kristen Evans called me from Peru to talk about it. As she puts it, "We want you to take artistic risks, and we'll take on the financial risks."

That means that they line up and pay for venues, which range from traditional theaters to "a big, old, gorgeous, 150-year-old church that's really deteriorating." There's also a Bring Your Own Venue option for those with site-specific shows, but you cover the costs. N.O. Fringe also generates publicity--including free advertising and posters--funds tech staff, and splits the box office with you 50/50. Did I mention there's no performance fee? Plus, last year they let performers camp out in a warehouse half-filled with pianos under construction for $20/week, and this year they have their fingers crossed for free billeting for all artists.

Here's what they're looking for: cabaret, comedy, dance, drama, improvisational, magic (New Orleans is a voodoo hotspot after all), multimedia, musical theater, performance art, puppetry, storytelling, variety, burlesque, spoken word, street theater . . . phewph! Shows have to be between 30 and 60 minutes long, and they discourage artists from entering shows that will be produced in New Orleans during the four months before the festival. Your show doesn't need to be done by the application deadline, but you should be able to provide a very good description of what you've got in mind. There's an application fee of $25, and if you're selected you must cover your production and travel costs--but after all that free stuff, you can afford Greyhound!

Past works have included an opera, a swamp zombie wedding, and Live Arts and Philly Fringe performer Makoto Hirano's interdisciplinary dance piece Boom Bap Tourism. "It's a wonderful time, there are free parties every night after the shows, and we have this great scrappy parade on Saturday which all the performers get involved in," says Kirsten. "It's a great way to come and see what's really one of the 'fringiest' cities there is."

Get your act together, cause applications, which can be found at http://www.nofringe.org/application.html, are due July 1, 2010. Contact Kristen@nofringe.org with any questions.

--Ellen Freeman

Photos courtesy of New Orleans Fringe Festival.

>>>The hubbub over Love Jerry is still hubbubing. Maiken Scott reports on the musical's treatment of a pedophile and his family for WHYY. For our interview with playwright Megan Gogerty and Nice People Theatre's Miriam White and Nicole Blicher, click here.

>>>In Philadelphia Weekly's summer guide issue this week, J. Cooper Robb rounds up summer theater offerings. It's pretty much your run-of-the-mill picks—Philly Shakes, touring productions of Avenue Q and Second City, and Shakespeare in Clark Park—but I didn't know that John Leguizamo has a new one-man-show, Klass Klown, up for a week at Philadelphia Theater Company starting on June 24. If you only know Leguizamo from his Hollywood work, you've missed out. His solo shows are crazy funny, and crazy good.

>>>Sneak peak of Vijay Iyer's upcoming solo album at NPR Music. The renowned pianist is performing in Release at the Live Arts Festival in September, a collaborative installation at Eastern State Penitentiary with filmmaker Bill Morrison (who's Decasia will also screen at the Festival).

>>>How did I miss Howie Shapiro's glowing profile of Jorge Cousineau in the Inquirer at the end of last month? Quoth Shapiro: "he brings his effects, his video tricks and electronic magic, into a theater and takes your breath away."

--Nicholas Gilewicz

Friday
>>>First Meet the Artist event of the year! As we've been hammering home to you all week long, the fine folks of Elevator Repair Service are coming to our humble home at 919 North 5th Street. Did you watch the awesome videos we've been running all week? You're coming, right? Did you RSVP to robin@livearts-fringe.org? OK good. See you there! 7:00 pm. Don't be tardy.
>>>If you're on the jazz tip, the West Oak Lane Festival kicks off. Especially promising is the Jazz Hang Suite at Relish, which features the absolutely scorching (in the very best way) Jaguar Wright at 6:30 pm, and Kindred the Family Soul at 10:00. Also, if they still serve that two-way banana bread pudding, pick that up—one of the best desserts I've had in Philly, no joke.

Saturday
>>>The Summer Solstice Festival at the Kimmel Center has emerged as one of early summer's most fun events, and is definitely the single Kimmel event that brings together the most diverse crowds in terms of age and race of anything they do. Among other things: 3:00 pm, Philadelphia Zoo on wheels—they bring the animals to you; 6:00 pm, Rennie Harris RHAW; 6:30 pm, Miro Dance Theatre; 9:00 pm, First Person StorySlam; 2:00 am 'til dawn, dancing.
>>> You may know EgoPo from their brilliant 2008 Woyzcek (which is when I fell in love with them) or from their production of Samuel Beckett's Company at last year's Philly Fringe, which was a smash. Saturday night is their Bordello Ball at the American Swedish Historical Museum. 5 pm seems a bit early to hit the bordello, but $50 is a relative steal, and you get to hang with one of the best theater companies in the city. And—is that right?—their production during 2010 Philly Fringe should be sick. I'm gonna call them and make sure they're doing what I think they're doing, and report back to you, sir.

Sunday
>>>You know what? I'm not sure what's gonna be awesome on Sunday, except maybe sleeping off the Summer Solstice thing. Want to come over for barbecue?

--Nicholas Gilewicz

Photo by Alex McKnight

So, we're going to have a table at this weekend's eleventh annual Art for the Cash Poor event! Come say hi at Crane Arts and find out more about this year's Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe.

From what well does this sea of affordable work (all under $200) from about 120 artists spring, you ask? Eleven years ago, it was the first-ever public event from InLiquid.

"25 artists had 10 pieces each, all under $50," says Rachel Zimmerman, InLiquid's executive director. "It was free for artists, free for attendees. It was a great way of making a statement."

A NYU/Tisch-trained photographer, Rachel started InLiquid to help promote Philadelphia's visual artists.

"There's this idea that people don't really buy art in Philadelphia," Rachel says. "We need to change that. A lot of people see New York as a place to go in general when they shop. [Philadelphia's] most high-end boutiques are in King of Prussia, not downtown.

"There are major collectors in the city. A big part is educating people that it's OK to buy locally. It's OK that it's not in New York."

As an arts community, Rachel says, "we talk about visitorship and ticket sales, but we never talk about art sales. How do you reimagine it and get more buy-in? There's not a lot of arts press in Philadelphia. When something gets acknowledged [elsewhere] people take it more seriously."

Art for the Cash Poor has emerged as a social event as well, with visual artists, art buyers, musicians (six bands are performing this year), neighborhood residents, and arts fans from throughout the region catching up over the weekend. Rachel says that the social aspect also lowers perceived barriers to buying art.

"It's not so hard to buy art. It's not that scary." And with prices under $200, Rachel says, "It's not a frightening amount of money."

Part of the motivation for Art for the Cash Poor was Rachel's own experience with the challenge of selling work.

"I was so tired of throwing away photos. I do a lot of palladium and platinum prints. Instead of these things sitting in a box, maybe somebody would want them."

But this isn't an inventory of cast-offs. The likes of fiber artist Amy Orr, Space 1026 member Justin Myer Staller, and glass artist Marina Borker will peddle original works. Rachel wants you to come (and we want you to hang out with us), and also take your involvement in the arts to a new level.

"We want people to buy artwork, put it in their homes, and give it a good place to live."

--Nicholas Gilewicz

Encaustic photo by Leah MacDonald, who will be selling at Art for the Cash Poor.

Friday:
>>>Greg Bowers as Ginger Moloko gets all saucy up in Arts Bank as part of Festivale! The 2010 Philadelphia GLBT Arts Festival. Stay tuned for an interview with Greg about drag and identity, coming up later this morning. Ginger goes on at 10:00 pm, but Greg says you should get there early and check out The Women, featuring an all-drag cast, at 8:00.

Saturday:
>>>Art for the Cash Poor. The 11th (!) annual event from InLiquid, prices stay under $200 (steep for impoverished bloggers, but not for you!), and it's a nice day for a print, isn't it?
>>>Across town, check out the Art + Soul Food festival, 25th and Girard and westwards. Cornbread'll be there, yo! No word on whether he's gonna get up on your private jet, though. Also featuring the Megawords Issue 13 release party. If you don't already know Megawords, you should, because it's nice.

Sunday:
>>>It's summer festival season, and Odunde will bring out infinite people to fill the blocks from 21st and South Streets around the corner and down Grays Ferry Avenue. >>>Forecast: 90 degrees and scattered thunderstorms? After Odunde, retire to the sweet womb of air conditioning with some crisp beers. Thanks, weekend!

--Nicholas Gilewicz

Artwork by Justin Myer Staller.

Mother dog! What is up with this awesome weekend?

Friday:
>>>Right now (literally, right now), the Non-Commvention. Triple A radio, the format that gives you XPN, celebrates with a bunch of shows and stuff through tomorrow.
>>>First Friday of course, and Space 1026 looks especially promising this month. Sounds like a good party for the opening of "Some People I Met Rolling Around On The Ground" which includes nearly every artist ever, and affiliated bands. Just kidding. But there are really a lot of folks. It's more like a mob show than a group show.
>>>Swim Pony opens Survive!, as mentioned earlier in the week, and Nice People's Love Jerry opens too (but tonight's sold out!).

Saturday:
>>>In our very own 'hood, the Liberty Lands Spring Music Festival and Flea Market, basically all day. $10 cups, which you then fill with beer. It is excellent.
>>>Since I can't make it, if you're out in Collegeville, you should stop by the Berman Museum of Art for the opening reception for "Smooth Cartographies: Toward a Collective Becoming," a solo show by digital artist and Basekamp member Greg Scranton, who tools around with GPS and RFIDs (those little things in the cards that let you into your office building, track pallets of goods for Wal-Mart, and eventually, you). Give Greg my regards!
>>>As per below, Flashpoint Theatre's fundraiser should be fun. A bunch of people you know, like Brett, Chris Morse (Rep Radio), and Janice Rowland (former Live Arts Fringe colleague and awesome singer/actress hi Janice!) have already RSVP'd. 5:00 pm.
>>>And Roots Picnic, of course. A big reason I'm going is to see Ghostface, Method Man, and Raekwon, which will be the greatest number of Wu Tang members I've seen in one place since 1997 when they couldn't keep their acts together enough to stay on tour with Rage Against the Machine, and later that tour were replaced by The Roots. Whoa! The circle of life.

Sunday:
>>>You know, I heard about something going on on Sunday, but I can't remember what it is. I'm sorry, Sunday! [ten minute break in writing while I try to figure it out] Oh yay, I remembered! It's Feastivale! The 2010 Philadelphia GLBT Arts Festival! It doesn't get going in earnest until Thursday, June 10, but Sunday night is the opening celebration at St. Luke's, 330 South 13th St. We've got an interview with Greg Bowers (pictured here as Ginger Moloko) about drag and identity planned for next week. In the meantime, he made me promise to plug The Women, which, unless I'm mistaken, will feature an all-drag cast. Whatever would Henry have thought!

See you next week, kids!

--Nicholas Gilewicz

Photo courtesy of Greg Bowers

In 2005, did anybody really think Kensington would become home to a popular event where new neighborhood arrivals and longstanding residents and businesses build crazy-pants art bikes and drive them through an urban obstacle course, ending up in a mudpit on Trenton Avenue? No. No they didn't.

But the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby has emerged as one of the city's most fun spring events. Let's review a couple of choice rules:

My second favorite rule: "All participants must be sober while operating their vehicle."

My first favorite rule: "Sculptures must not pose any direct danger to anything near it, no open flame, no pointy things, also the pilot must be able to escape quickly and safely in the event that it's necessary."

See? Go! The Derby kicks off at noon, but the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival goes all day, baby, with two stages of bands and like everybody you know in Kensington and all their friends eating and drinking and selling stuff. Who said Philly doesn't make anything anymore?

The Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby and Trenton Avenue Arts Festival, Trenton Avenue Between Dreer and Dauphin. Tomorrow, 12:00 noon. Free!

--Nicholas Gilewicz

Photo by Dan Murphy

Lucinda Childs will bring her rarely performed signature work DANCE to the 2010 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival this September. In this seminal collaboration featuring music by Philip Glass, dancers seamlessly interact with a film by Sol LeWitt to create a powerful retrospective of the human form in motion and an exploration of musical movement, rhythm, and harmony.

Performances will be held at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theatre.
Tickets and a full schedule will be available at www.livearts-fringe.org beginning in May.

The presentation of Lucinda Childs' DANCE in the 2010 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival is supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through Dance Advance.