The Man With a National Fam or: So You Want to Go to Kansas City (Hey Hey Hey Hey)

(pictured: Tim Mooney via Timothy Mooney Reperatory Theatre)

I once asked touring artist Tim Mooney a question while we sat around at Fringe Central years ago. Knowing that he was constantly on tour to be both a performer and a proselytizer for the good words of Shakespeare and Moliere, I wanted to know how many one-man shows he had in his head ready to go at that very moment should the opportunity arise to bring one out.

I think my jaw dropped when he went quiet and started to do internal calculations. He had to count on fingers. And then he ran out of fingers.

“Right now? Eleven,” he said, “but with a day to prep, maybe fourteen.”

This guy’s been everywhere all the time and he’s gone beyond tour-sperienced into tour-mastery. So when I was looking for an artist to tell me about KC Fringe (Kansas City), I know one performer that was guaranteed to have made the rounds there.

Hey there, Tim. How many fringe festivals have you done now?

I’m currently at NINETY-FIVE fringes, and am looking to hit 100 either this year or next. Still waiting on those lottery balls to fall my way!

That’s beyond impressive, dude. Well, let’s start here and see which shows you’ve done here and where MN Fringe audiences might know you from….whoa.

• 2006: Criteria
• 2007: Moliere than Thou
• 2008: Karaoke Knights
• 2010 & 2022: Lot o’ Shakespeare
• 2011: Dancing Nude
• 2012 & 2013: Fringe Orphans (with local producing company Navel Gaze Productions)
• 2012: The Greatest Speech of All Time
• 2014: Shakespeare’s Histories
• 2015: Breakneck Hamlet
• 2019: Man Cave, a One-Man Sci-Fi Climate Change Tragicomedy
• 2020 (virtual, Covid year): Tim’s Paranoid Delusions
• 2021: Breakneck Comedy of Errors
• 2023: Breakneck Midsummer Night’s Dream
• 2024: Breakneck Twelfth Night

Holy balls, Tim.

Phew!

You’ve performed in Minnesota Fringe more years than I’ve worked here. Hell, beyond that, the first time I performed in the festival was 2009, so you’ve got me hella beat across the board. What show have you brought to KC Fringe? Oh wait. It’s you. What SHOWS. Plural.

Well, I’ve ALSO done most of the shows that I did in Minnesota at the KC Fringe, but last year (the year that I got pulled for the Midwest Trifecta) I brought my 6-person Breakneck Midsummer Night’s Dream to KC. Midsummer had its World Premiere at MN Fringe, but with 6 people to manage, I don’t want to do that one more than once a year. It won Best Ensemble at the KC Fringe and I’m hoping to bring it to Indy this year!

Congrats on those wins!!! Color me not surprised. Well done, friend. So KC Fringe is just as much a home for you as Minnesota it seems.

By now, I feel like I sometimes LIVE in Kansas City. I’ve got a very reliable billet who I’ve been friends with for almost 20 years, and I always drop in on them when I’m passing through town, whether or not the fringe is on.

Love a good billet. That’s something that our festivals have in common—some really warm folks. What can you tell me about the vibe at KC as far as what plays popular there?

I’ve observed the KC Fringe personality shift over the years: In my first year there, 2009, I would have described it as very “family oriented,” which is not to say that they did G- rated shows (my first show there was Dancing Nude), but that the leadership of the festival was largely made up of several members of a particular sweet and very kind family. At that time, the “Fringe Nightlife” was minimal: 3 or 4 of us out-of-towners were the only ones at the late night parties. Some of my favorite memories include partying with [Minnesota artists] Phillip Low and Katherine Glover at KC from back in the day when we were the only ones hanging out at the late-night venues. Over the years, it’s evolved and grown, to the point that now I’M the one most likely to “call it a night” while the rest of the gang parties on.

Yeah, but you need rest if you’re gonna go go go and show show show like you do. I’ve seen you at other festivals organizing groups of touring artists for hangouts and sight-seeing. I admire you for making Fringe a good time for yourself and others like you do. Speaking of enthusiasm, what were your house sizes like at KC over the years?  What might touring artists expect?

House sizes have never been enormous for me at the KC Fringe. I think local acts or acts with a cast of more than ONE do better. But the enthusiasm has always been generous and kind. I’ve always gotten at least a little bit of coverage from the local press, and in recent years, they’ve expanded their audience opportunity for online response, so that I always walk away from the festival with some nice quotable quotes. Since this fringe is very locally oriented with more local acts than visitors, I enjoy a certain cachet from being the “nationally known performer.” I’m too modest to assert anything close to “national star,”—

Tim. Dude. Own it, you legend.

--but I think I may have fooled some people into believing that. That does NOT necessarily translate into ticket sales.

Sure. Smaller house sizes for one-person shows and touring artists are pretty much the norm for most festivals, and that’s always something to be aware of when you’re gonna get out of your own community. I know the same is true here at MN Fringe, which is why we do our best to encourage folks to support our visiting artists who commit a lot of time and money to come to us. We may have a beloved community, but we also have a community that is rabid to learn and be inspired by new-to-us work. Any advice you’d give to artists touring to KC…or for artists coming to MN when it comes to boosting your numbers?

I guess I’d say this for any fringe, but… bring your best minute or two-minute preview and engage people with your postcard after the event and every chance you get.

Fantastic advice, no notes. Final thoughts on the festival and city itself? And are you applying to KC again this year?

Yes. Speaking from my own perspective, I feel at home and, to some degree, adopted by the folks in Kansas City. It’s not perfect, and I totally WISH there was more money to be made there, but they’re family now, and you hang in there with your family. The venues are very nice, and varyingly nice, and each space, producer, technician and festival have their own fingerprint. It can be a sprawling city, with venues scattered through a half-dozen neighborhoods. It’s easy to navigate with your own transportation, but I wouldn’t want to walk it.

Sounds very much like home. Main difference?

If you like barbecue, Kansas City is your town.

They 100% have us beat there. AND! Bonus, I know you’re also a fan of another of our Midwest Trifecta festival friends over at Indy Fringe! Their applications are closing the same day as ours on February 15th and I assume you’re gonna be going for that festival as well! Let’s get you to that 100!

Yes. The folks at the Indy Fringe have likewise adopted me as one of their own. Moreover, I made a huge career leap forward from performing at that festival. It was one of those one-in-a-million opportunities that ended up with a very generous grant from a major foundation--a foundation that has, since, closed their doors in the wake of the passing of their founder--but it’s an ongoing shining example of showing up and doing the best work you can, no matter how small the audience, or how late the performance.

Wow, that’s amazing. And again, deserved. A huge thanks on your behalf to Indy for that leg up, and a huge thanks to you, Tim, for all the great touring advice, now and always. I look forward to the next time I see your face in our office, whether you’re part of our festival or just passing through to your next great adventure.

And if you get a chance to meet Tim at MN Fringe or another festival, don’t be afraid to stop and say hello or ask him about his life on the road. You’ll find him warm and welcoming and always ready to help and hang and chat. Go see his shows for a masterclass on clean, travel-light, one-man productions done by a performer with deep knowledge that loves the subject matter.

And if you’re hankering to tour to a welcoming fringe and some dang good BBQ, Kansas City, here you come. Lottery applications are open through February 17!

Indy Fringe lottery applications close February 15.

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS TO APPLY TO MINNESOTA FRINGE: all lottery applications and Festival Artist Grant applications close February 15th !