Liesl Garner Rogue Performer

I've been Fresno Famous'd

Oh my gosh! I was just reading through the preview and there I was - one of the shows they're looking forward to seeing!

I think I may be levitating at the moment I am so excited! Having trouble catching my breath.

Feel like a big nerd - but oh how much fun is this?

One More Week until Rogue 2008

I can barely contain myself. Last night I was up late looking through the Rogue website, checking out shows I want to see - and of course, I got to speak to Mia Paschal in the middle of the night. My voice has been checking out for whole days at a time lately, so I'm really scratchy and hoarse - I don't know if Mia heard me very well, but I certainly heard her - and she's excited about Rogue as well. Her new show sounds amazing. I can't wait to see it.

This morning, my baby woke up at 4am for a feeding - so while I rocked him back to sleep, I read through my show again. All of a sudden I came up with a poem that had been floating around in my head for weeks. I'd written a line out on a piece of scratch paper a while back - just a line that sounded cool but I had no idea why or what I was supposed to do with it. This morning it just took shape right before my eyes. I couldn't believe it. I love it when it flows like that! And voila - it fit perfectly in front of another poem that had needed something to soften its tone. I believe my show is complete at this point. All that it needs is an audience. Won't you join me? (I feel like Mr. Rogers.)

More shows that look like a lot of fun

I don't know how many shows I'll be able to attend this year - but I am crossing my fingers that I can make it to these ones!

Shakespeare is an idiot - featuring Solitaire

Anger Management Sessions - Musical Comedy

Airplane Jayne's Talking About... - Comedy

Bugs Bunny on Broadway - the Fresno Philharmonic

One Beat Off the Remedial Path and All That Jazz - does she look like a red-head to you?

Sprawlzilla vs Main Street - Blake & Chelsea Jones

The Feast - Improv

There are so many great shows - and I have not had time to go through the entire catalog - but these popped out at me - either because I know people in them, or because - well - one is improv which is a riot - and one is a singer who looks like she could be a red-head, and one is the Philharmonic, and one is a comedienne, plus musical comedy, there's a Father/Daughter musical group - and the Rogue's own Solitaire acting... so these are definitely top of my list!

Just wrote a poem about Mia Paschal

She just qualified to get her own category - I have a feeling I'll have multiple posts about her. And yes, I just wrote a poem about her - she's the one doing Along the Path of Larks and Swallows.

I wrote a poem about her - emailed her on myspace - and she called me about 5 minutes later and we got to catch up after too many months. I read her the piece - and she is happy with it and I get to premiere it at the Rogue Hop Big Bash! This will be fun because I'll be promoting my show and hers all at the same time! This is how the Rogue works - artists promoting artists!

I'm sorry to be using so many exclamation points. My eighth grade English teacher would be horrified, but I think right now I actually am THAT excited and so they should be allowed! (Yes, I'm still friends with my eighth grade English teacher - isn't everyone? We're both red-heads and writers - we bonded!)

Huge Blow Out Bash

Received the following Party Flyer in an email from Solitaire - I will be performing a teaser of my show, "Again you will take up your Tambourines" at both Ashtree Studios and Vini Vidi Vici as part of the Big Preview Blow Out Bash Party... (I'll be premiering the new piece about Rogue Performer Mia Paschal!)

Hey Party People!

Every year we have a HUGE BLOW OUT BASH to celebrate the beginning of the Rogue Festival... this year is NO different!

FEBRUARY 28TH, 2008

5:00 pm - 8:00 pm 

at

Ashtree Studios 

AND

Vini Vidi Vici

See teaser performances and the art that will be showing for the ROGUE FESTIVAL 2008! 

for details check out www.roguefestival.com

THEN

8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

at

FULL CIRCLE BREWERY

(620 F. STREET, FRESNO, CA)

Check out more teaser performances and meet ROGUE FESTIVAL 2008 participants and staff.

This is our Kick Off and ya'll know

WE LIKE TO PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Please pass this information along... we want as many people as possible! :-)

Thanks!

~Solitaire

PS: for more information check out www.roguefestival.com

Again you will take up your Tambourines!

Well of course - this is My Show! And I would love to have people come to see it!

One thing I should say is that I don't understand most poetry that is published these days. My husband has gotten used to the funk I get into every time a new poetry journal arrives in the mail. I just don't get it. Many people, when they hear this - feel safer exploring my poetry - because as it turns out - very few people actually GET what is published as poetry.

So, I call myself a poet begrudgingly. To me - it is poetry. To a Poetry Professor, it may not be. But most of what a poetry professor would have me read, would make me want to poke my eyes out - so it's okay if the professors don't like my stuff. Real people like my stuff, and that is what matters to me.

Here is a link to reviews from last year's show - "Come now, I will test you with pleasure". Perhaps hearing what people thought of my Freshman performance will help you decide to come and check out this year's work!

I appreciate you trusting me with your time.

Kien Lim's ART

Kien Lim has an amazing eye. I bought a set of photographs from his 2007 Rogue Show. Beautiful! This is another one that should definitely not be missed.

American Squatter

American Squatter is the new Barry Smith work - also one I am anxious to see after his performance last year of the Beyond Brilliant - Jesus in Montana.

I cannot wait to come back and tell you in glowing words, that, as a poet I should be able to craft, how amazing, how tantalizing this show is and how quickly you must stop whatever you are doing to go stand in line - because his shows - as well as dear Mia's, are almost always SOLD OUT!

Go See This Show!

Along the Path of Larks and Swallows

This is the new Mia Paschal show - and just based on what I've seen from her last year, I would highly recommend this show!!! Go check her out!

She is a beautiful, brilliant performer who has the ability to completely mesmerize her audience.

On her Home page - you can find reviews of her work - mine among them. I could not contain myself after seeing her last year - I wrote multiple reviews!!

Yesterday I was on the Radio!

Yesterday I had the privelege of being on KFCF 88.1 fm speaking with Rick Flores. I got a chance to read one of my favorite poems from this year's performance - "Soundtrack - We all wish we had one!" and even though I was losing my voice, he said that it actually just sounded husky and sexy. Let's hope that's how it came across - I thought I sounded a little like Oscar the Grouch. So - who knows if the poem came off the way it was supposed to with all it's sex appeal and swagger.

The bummer was that I got a call-waiting click right during the last stanza - the last line of the poem! Bugger!

I was all embarrassed and apologized to him - and I think he thought I was saying I needed to take the call. So he did a real quick wrap up and let me go. Sigh. I would have loved to speak with him more. Anyway - it was lovely to get the opportunity!