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To the Fringe in San Francisco with Edna St. Vincent Millay iijSGLee SG Lee writes for Arts Alive actor she and and took San is a North playwright. Francisco Vancouver This September Fringe Festival. her performance art play to the there. This is the story of her journey Lesli Brownlee, photographed by Lien Tran to tell the life s t o r y o f a w o m a n w h o w o n the P u l i t z e r P r i z e , was arrested for p r o t e s t i n g the S a c c o a n d V a n z e t t i e x e c u t i o n s , p e r f o r m e d i n the e a r l y p l a y s o f E u g e n e O ' N e i l l a n d w r o t e poetry w h i c h caused critics to p r o c l a i m her, " t h e l y r i c v o i c e o f the n e w w o m a n . " A few of these events w e r e m e n t i o n e d i n p a s s i n g , w h i l e a c t o r s p o r t r a y i n g the v a r i o u s m e n i n her life (there w e r e q u i t e a f e w - and w o m e n too) lamented h o w d i f f i c u l t their relationships had been. T h e r e w a s even a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h a w o m a n w h o h a d k n o w n her c o m m e n t i n g o n h o w s a d it w a s that she h a d never had c h i l d r e n - i n spite o f M i l l a y ' s repeated statements that she never w a n t e d any. A s it h a p p e n e d , the f i l m c o i n c i d e d w i t h the m i d n i g h t d e a d l i n e to a p p l y to the San F r a n c i s c o Fringe Festival, running September 6-16 at E x i t T h e a t r e . T h e great t h i n g a b o u t a fringe a p p l i c a t i o n is t h a t y o u d o n ' t n e e d a s h o w , just a t i t l e a n d a p a r a g r a p h d e s c r i p t i o n t h a t m a n a g e s to be b o t h interesting T h i s year there were t h i r t y f o u r c o m p a n i e s at the San F r a n c i s c o F r i n g e , i n f i v e v e n u e s i n " t h e T e n d e r l o i n " (SF's d o w n t o w n e a s t s i d e . ) W e b o n d e d w i t h the o t h e r f o u r C a n a d i a n g r o u p s , s a w some fine w o r k (and some disasters) f r o m the A m e r i c a n s , a n d o u r s h o w w a s just a b o u t right by c l o s i n g n i g h t . T h e b o x o f f i c e d i d n ' t c o m e close to p a y i n g e x p e n s e s , but w e C u t to the b e g i n n i n g o f A u g u s t . I h a d a cast o f three - Lesli a l l g o t s t o p p e d o n the street b y p e o p l e w h o w a n t e d t o t e l l us they w e r e m o v e d by o u r w o r k , o r that they w e r e i n s p i r e d to r e a d M i l l a y . destination. November|December O n this p a r t i c u l a r l o n g trip, we reached o u r B r o w n l e e as M i l l a v , D a n de Jaeger a n d myself as everyone else. With, an o u t l i n e a n d a c o u p l e o f p o e m s w e leapt i n t o a n intense creation/rehearsal process. "Falling" www.arts-alive.ca w a s o u r theme, o u r image a n d vague. W h a t better w a y t o fight b a c k o n b e h a l f o f M i l l a y a n d a l l the o t h e r w o m e n a r t i s t s p a s t a n d p r e s e n t w h o f i n d their w o r k d e m e a n e d a n d d i m i n i s h e d because they dare to live u n c o n v e n t i o n a l lives! A t 11:59 p m 1 pressed " s e n d " a n d Falls of Vincent Millay " became a reality. "The L o n g b e f o r e w e w e r e r e a d y w e w e r e i n the v a n . T w e n t y h o u r s o f d r i v i n g is a g r e a t w a y t o l e a r n l i n e s , a n d w e h a d a l o v e l y l i t t l e t h e a t r e w a i t i n g f o r us. F o r those u n f a m i l i a r w i t h F r i n g e l i f e , y o u get a c o u p l e h o u r s o f t e c h n i c a l r e h e a r s a l a n d s o m e w h e r e b e t w e e n 15 a n d 3 0 m i n u t e s i n the t h e a t r e b e f o r e a n d after each p e r f o r m a n c e . P e r f o r m e r s get p a i d the b o x o f f i c e , u s u a l l y r i g h t after each s h o w . A n average F r i n g e r u n is s i x to eight s h o w s o v e r t w o w e e k s . In the e n d w e c r e a t e d a m o v e m e n t / p o e t r y / d r a m a p i e c e , w i t h e n o u g h h u m o u r to m o v e things a l o n g . W e f o u n d ourselves t a l k i n g a b o u t w h a t it means to us to be artists a n d that m a d e its w a y i n t o the piece as a series o f m o n o l o g u e s . W e e x p l o r e d b r e a t h as a w a y o f c o n n e c t i n g to c h a r a c t e r a n d t o a u d i e n c e , a n d that b e c a m e the c o r e w e r e t u r n e d to t i m e a n d a g a i n . F o r t u n a t e l y , I'd listed us as p e r f o r m a n c e art. A nger is great fuel for art. T h i s last J a n u a r y , I got w e l l s t o k e d up w i t h rage w h e n I s a w a n e w d o c u m e n t a r y a b o u t the A m e r i c a n poet, E d n a St. V i n c e n t M i l l a y . T h i s f i l m c l a i m e d o f M i l l a y ' s life a n d d e a t h . T h i s w a s a w o m a n w h o d o v e i n t o her w o r k a n d her l i f e , fell i n love a n d fell a p a r t , a n d u l t i m a t e l y fell to her d e a t h . So L e s l i spent a l o t o f t i m e f a l l i n g .