Rox Cox: Cox Photography
Is this your first Fringe Experience?
No. I have been a part of the Capital Fringe Festival since its premiere in 2006. I was part of the Rude Mechanicals' A Midsummer Night's Dream for the 2006 festival and OutOftheBlackBox Theatre's Volpone for the 2007 festival. The first season of Bargain Basement Game Show premiered at the 2008 festival, and we debut our second season at this year's festival.
What drew you to this piece?
Growing up as a child, while all my friends wanted to be astronauts and firemen, I wanted to be a game show host. I thought it would be cool to be on television, ask really challenging trivia questions, and give away lots of cash and prizes. Unfortunately, there was not much of a job market for game show hosts back in the late 1980's, so I ended up being a computer programmer instead. It was not until I got heavily into community theater these last few years that I decided to resurrect my dream by creating my own game show.
Tell us a little about the concept for the show.
Bargain Basement Game Show is a theatrical-based game show that combines high-brow trivia with low-brow humor. It is a real game show; everyone that is in the audience gets to play, and we give out a variety of fabulous (if inexpensive) prizes. The name of the game show comes from the fact that it is a low-tech game show, one that was conceivably put together in somebody's basement. We build each episode around a single theme, like the 1980's or the 2008 presidential elections, and we perform a number of comedic skits throughout the show relating to the theme. It is a fun-filled homage to all of the game shows that I have watched as a child and an adult.
Why should Fringe Patrons see your show?
Anyone who is a fan of game shows, or who ever wanted to be on a game show, will enjoy themselves at Bargain Basement Game Show. We are very interactive with our audience. Not only are they contestants, but we invite them to get involved with our skits or play mini-games throughout the episode. Most of all, though, we are a fun show. We want audiences to leave our show feeling like they had a great time.
What's next for you and/or for the company?
I am working on streamlining Bargain Basement Game Show so that I may be able to take it on the road to other Fringe festivals. I am also developing a second game show, called Future Eyes, which will let the audience save the Earth from various doomsday-related futures. Outside of game shows, I hope to get back on the community theater stage in the DC area. There are a number of great community theater groups in the area, and it will be fun just to be an actor again.
Performances of Bargain Basement Game Show are as follows (all performances at Warehouse-Next Door; 1021 7th ST NW):
July 10th 9:15 pm
July 12th 4:30 pm
July 16th 10 pm
July 18th 1 pm
July 24th 6 pm
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