Creative Loafing's multi-disciplinary performing arts Fringefest, GASP!, is back for its second year, and I will mince no words: This year's lineup is GASP-tacular! (Exclamation points not only necessary, but accurate.)
There is literally something for everyone on tap at GASP!, which is once more being held in and around the Tampa Museum of Art. It's all happening this Friday, Mar. 27, from 6-10 p.m., and my recommendation is to get there early, because there's going to be lots going on from the first moment — even while you're waiting in line.
Consider who's performing in just the first hour, from 6-7:
• The Mobile Itinerant Funk Unit. MIFU's rowdy tribe of roving musicians will kick off the night with a blast of good-time N'awlins funk on the museum plaza. (6 p.m. and ongoing, Gasp!Arilla Plaza)
• Improv Marathon hosted by Post-Dinner Conversation. The first hour of a four-hour marathon of troupes from all over Florida begins with two local teams, the nutritious-sounding Gluten Free Improv and the dangerous-sounding Razing Awareness. (6-7, The Improvatorium)
• Stageworks' Teen Creatives Team: The Bully Plays. Students from Stageworks Theatre's Teen Acting Intensive perform original plays about bullying written by the students themselves, plus selections from The Bully Plays, a powerful collection of 10-minute plays by established playwrights. (6:30-7, The GASP! Room)
• Scott & Patti: The beloved mother-and-son duo (aka Matthew McGee and Scott Daniel) kick off the proceedings with their inimitable musical rivalry. (6-6:30, Plaza & Atriums)
• Avant-Guardian: In this new project from Zachary Hines and Colleen Cherry of Coco & Homo fame, the audience determines which song the duo will sing, the style they'll sing it in, even the costumes they'll wear. They'll be soliciting your votes from 6-7, then rehearsing (with your help) until their big number at 9:30. Vote now at bit.ly/avantguardian.
• Improbable Athenaeum: The always inventive IA crew is literally taking apart an essay by famed playwright Mac Wellman: cutting it up, throwing strips of text into a hat, then asking the audience to pull out the strips and read what the actors have to do. With lines like "only the wicked walk in circles," this should be something to see. (6 p.m. and various times, Gasp!arilla Plaza)
• Ward Hall, King of the Sideshow: The legendary carnival star, a highlight of GASP! 2014, returns with his unique brand of vaudeville showmanship. (6 p.m. and various times, Gasp!arilla Plaza)
• Daniel Funk, The Human Blockhead: The man with the indescribable talents, back by popular demand. (6 p.m. and various times, Gasp!arilla Plaza)
• American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell. TMA's blockbuster Norman Rockwell retrospective is both thought-provoking and nostalgic-inducing, and it's open throughout the evening to GASP! attendees. (6-10 p.m., second floor)
• DIY Art-Making & Photo Booth: Create your own memorable artworks on TMA's easels, or picture a new identity for yourself with the help of Premier Photo Booth of Tampa. (6 p.m. and ongoing, North Atrium)
• Deluxe TV dinners: Deliciously retro creations from Mise en Place and Sono Café. (6 p.m. and ongoing; available for purchase or with VIP admission)
• Liquor tastings by Twisted Sun Rum. Free tastings for the 21-and-over from a local distillery. (6 p.m. and ongoing, Plaza)
From 7-10 p.m., the fun just keeps ramping up, with more theater (Karleigh Chase, Autumn Widdoes), more music (UNRB, Bayfolk, Jon Shea, Noel Rochford, Sparky! aka Marc Sterling), more dance (Moving Current Dance Collective and Collective Soles Dance Co.), more improv (from six more FL troupes), and the much-talked-about project Norman Rockwell Ekphrastic!, in which the teen poets from Heard 'Em Say Youth Arts Collective perform the poems and essays they've composed in reaction to the powerful Civil Rights imagery in the Rockwell exhibit.
For tickets, go to cltampa.xorbia.com/gasp. Ticket prices are as follows:
• General Admission: $25 advance; $30 day of show.
• VIP: $55 advance; $75 day of show. VIP Admission includes a Retro TV Dinner from Mise en Place/Sono, plus four drink tickets and admission to the VIP Lounge.
• Advance sales end Thurs. Mar. 26.
The Tampa Museum of Art is located at 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa. Paid parking is available at the city-operated Poe Garage next door, or at metered spots in the downtown area. For more information, call Gina Moccio at Creative Loafing, 813-739-4856.
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2015.