FRINGE FRIDAY @ FISHTANK | Chicago actress/writer previews 2012 KC Fringe Show

Chicago based actress and writer, Shanna Shrum, brings Dandelion

Chains to Kansas City's Fishtank Performance Studio as part of the KC Fringe's "Fringe Friday" May 18th & 19th. 

Fringe Friday is before Shrum's performance from 6-8 p.m. on the sidewalk at the Fishtank featuring visual art by Barbara Van Middlesworth, live music and refreshments sponsored by Californos. 

A preview of what's to come at this year's KC Fringe, Dandelion Chains is set in 1988 and documents the struggle of a gay couple as the attempt to maintain custody of their adopted daughter.  It is a universal tale of love, forgiveness and acceptance that goes beyond sexuality to discover what makes a family and what keeps it together. 

With Shrum playing a total of six characters ranging from a pregnant Olive Garden waitress reeling from the consequences of domestic abuse to a social worker whose turbulent past affects the family he assesses, Dandelion Chains asks us to consider the values and belief "chains" handed down to us by family and society.   Will the chain break?  Do we want it to?

Fresh off a run at Chicago's Stage 773, Dandelion Chains audiences rave, "Before your eyes, Ms. Shrum transforms herself not just into various characters (both women and men) but she reveals various emotions and states of mind that are subtle, human and raw. Dandelion Chains explores the very identifiable hesitancies and doubts parents have when raising children and begs the question,What does it mean to be a fit parent?" by Kansas City playwright Damian Torres-Bottello.

A graduate of the theatre program at Missouri State University-Springfield, this is Shrum's second solo play.  Her first, Skinny Dipping, made its Kansas City premiere at The Fishtank in 2009 and was a standout at the at the 2010 KC Fringe Festival with the Kansas City Star labeling her with "Formidable writing and performing skills." 

Performance dates are May 18th and 19th 2012 at 8:00 p.m.Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.  Click here to pre-purchase $12 tickets.

For more information please visit www.DandelionChains.com or www.FishtankTheater.com 

Fishtank Performance Studio is located at 1715 Wyandotte, Kansas City, MO 64108.

Dandelion Chains