Let's jump right in:

>>>City Paper cover story is more like a cover package: A.D. Amorosi interviews Charlotte Ford about CHICKEN, Mark Cofta on all the Billy Shakes, a piece on all the undead (so many undead), Shaun Brady on Bang on a Can and Release, and more.

>>>Philadelphia magazine's website has a slideshow of 11 of your favorite Festival performers.

>>>Daily News: Jonathan Takiff interviews Joe Blake, former DN reporter turned playwright and writing teacher, about his Philly Fringe show A Separate Sun.

>>>Edge Philadelphia: What's gay at the Festivals? They've got us covered.

>>>Edge redux: Article on the very talented Meg Foley, whose choreography will be featured next week as a part of 8: eight choreographers/eight new works.

>>>TheaterMania: J. Cooper Robb covers the opening of the theater season in Philly, with plugs for the Live Arts production Cankerblossom and the Philly Fringe show The New & Improved Stages of Grief.
>>>First Person Arts shares their picks too, focusing on memoir and documentary, of course. Click on over, and find out how to get an FPA discount to Cedric Andreiux.

--Nicholas Gilewicz

Photo by Jay Dunn.

J. Cooper Robb is on Live Arts and Philly Fringe Festival beat for Philadelphia Weekly, picking 10 don't-miss shows, including, among others, CHICKEN, TAKES, and Festival editor emeritus Josh McIlvain's show Boat Hole. On Josh, Robb writes:

"When Josh McIlvain isn't editing the official Live Arts Festival/Philly Fringe guide (a Herculean task), he's a frequently produced playwright; and 15 of his funniest short plays (each runs between one and 10 minutes) are rounded up in Boat Hole (Sept. 15-18). The briefly met characters involve a pair of ordinary guys who see a career opportunity in terrorism and orcas who bicker over performing tricks for tourists."

Yay, go Josh! We miss you, buddy!

--Nicholas Gilewicz

Image by Lisa Modica

Congrats to Charlotte Ford and Geoff Sobelle, whose Edinburgh production of Flesh And Blood And Fish And Fowl just garnered a killer review from The Mirror:

"There are some that are so damn brilliant that you don't want to write about them because the mere written word somehow reduces that brilliance. Flesh And Blood And Fish And Fowl is that kind of production."

If you need to see more "physical theatre and clowning but in a thoroughly modern way," as The Mirror put it, you should investigate Charlotte Ford's CHICKEN. It involves a submarine and expressionism, and according to our show description, a high probability of violence. Yay!

CHICKEN runs September 3 through 6 at the Live Arts Studio, 919 North 5th Street, Northern Liberties. Times vary, $25-30.

--Nicholas Gilewicz