The Doormen, Walking Tour, San Francisco Fringe Festival 2008

Lovers and others open doors for us we must walk through alone...

photos by Liam Breck

The Doormen is a humorous chronicle of how loved ones provoke life-changing transitions. It is an interactive, site-specific work employing physical comedy and improvisation. For the 2008 San Francisco Fringe Festival, I staged an outdoor walking tour version of The Doormen in Downtown San Francisco. I paraded small audiences along a route of actual doorways and portals found among the hotels and restaurants near the EXIT Theatre, who sponsors the fest.





Very loosely based on "Doormen" from my own life, this interactive show chronicles the thorny and thriving moments of Lulu, a passionate, lunatic heroine who marks transitions gifted by her "Doormen" -- lovers, co-workers, and a black cat. The playwright returns between vignettes to lead the group to the next station of the tour.

San Francisco Fringe Festival 2008
September 3-14
Wed-Sat 7pm, Sat-Sun 4pm
Walking tour begins in the EXIT Theatre Cafe
Fog or shine

Like the idea? The Doormen is available for Festivals, Theaters, and Non-Traditional Venues worldwide. I'll recreate The Doormen anew around the set, street, or situation available to me.









Development Shows for the Doormen:
The Garage, 975 Howard, San Francisco
Wednesdays, Aug. 6, 13, 20, 2008
sharing a bill with Alicia Dattner & Katie Rubin

Reviews for The Doormen

"I especially loved the way that experiencing your show created for me a whole new relationship with streets that I had been on many times before; the way your voice projected down the streets and through the hallways of towering buildings; the way the people dining in the restaurant looked up from their plates of spaghetti as we gazed at them over shuffling feet; the way the colors and shapes and stories of the mural became your own; the way I felt like I was in a temporary alternative universe that was simultaneously laid over top of the one I walked to the show through; I love the way passersby stopped and joined our groups for little moments; and the way you jumped quickly to lead us on- keeping me always on the edge of my toes; I loved the way this made me alert like a cat, eager and willing to follow and see what was next to unfold. - Daphne Saliba