Coming up in Philly theater: Fringe in fresh spaces

Fringe season is the Philly theater holidays, with all the excitement and all the exhaustion. Lots of attention is given to visiting artists and curated shows, but insiders know that the best things about Fringe are the many small surprises for the audience and the risks that local artists take. The festival is full of opportunities to see truly unique work. In many ways, Fringe has been influenced by the SoLow festival — including using nontraditional spaces to overcome the financial burden of producing.

Bok and a basement bear

Multidisciplinary performance artist Magda presents Feral Wild Girl Child ($15) in the cavernous space at BOK, a former vocational high school. “With the goal of abandon and mortal arrival,” Magda tells the story of a child who is allowed to paint on the walls in a space that allows the artist to do the same. Bok’s long-disused rooms feel haunted and create a disjointed atmosphere that’s perfect for Magda’s exploration of what it means to live without restriction. She warns that patrons may be splattered with paint, so dress down. It runs September 5 through 30.

Director/playwright team Maura Krause and Doug Williams, formerly of the innovative Orbiter 3, have transformed the basement of a West Philly rowhome into a remote forest cabin for their imagining of how musician Bon Iver wrote his first album. Bon Iver Fights a Bear ($15) is a silly-serious feminist take on obsession, genius, and artmaking, and stars Chickabiddy frontwoman Emily Schuman. The unusual venue means the show offers very limited seating and a singular experience. It runs September 7 through 17.

Let’s do your place

A New Kind of Whole, a new play by Paige Zubel, is another show in an intimate space: apartment 2R in a residential building on Pine Street. It’s about sexuality and mental health, and it’s a lucky chance to catch a rising star on her way up: director Claris Park created the incredible, immersive DJZ for PAPA this spring (here’s my review). New Kind of Whole tickets are $15 and it runs September 18 through 22. For another home-turned-theater experience, game-makers and performers Jeffrey Evans, Nick Jonczak, and Devin Preston’s new work combines both their passions in Skills & Scars ($20), a game-based performance whose venue is listed simply as “Nick’s House.” It runs September 12 through 16.

In the Forest in the Rotunda

Finally, the reliably thrilling Tangle Movement Arts takes to one of the few spaces in the city big enough to hold its immersive circus-theater performances — the Rotunda. The crumbling dome of the former Christian Science gathering hall is worth a visit on its own, and it’s a great match for Tangle’s Fringe offering In the Forest ($14 to $20). The space will be filled with artist Jenna Reece’s set, which includes thousands of yards of donated yarn and fabric. It runs September 12 through 15.

Philly’s traditional theaters are open for most of the year, but during the Fringe Festival, performance bursts out of every available space. It’s the perfect time to be adventurous and try a show in an unusual venue, so have fun exploring!