I do have to admit that there was a little ego gratification as I walked through the door at the Exit Theater and Richard, the co-producer of the SF Fringe announced (albeit tongue in cheek) "The Rogue is Here! The Rogue is Here".

I have been going up to the Fringe for years... first as an independent producer, then an audience member, then as producer of the Rogue and now back as an audience member. We are now professional friends. I know many of the regular performers and the producers... in a way, it has become my creative home away from home. I still feel like a welcomed guest and there is an easy casualness amongst all of us.

This was Solitaire's first time and I'm pretty sure from the time we hit the ground in the city her high expectations were exceeded. First by the welcoming reception at the Exit then at the performance of "The Sewers" where we had arranged to meet the lovely Mia and her beau Julian. To say that she was shell-shocked by the content, style and level of performance could easily be an understatement. It really was a wonderful show. I have followed the progress of Banana, Bag & Bodice for years and from the creative standpoint... they did not disappoint.

We also met up with my friend Tiffany and her friend Jose who joined us on this first night romp. We gathered at The Chieftan, a pub down the street from The Garage performance space for a drink then migrated to Original Joe's where we were to meet up with APJ and Steve. Once again, the news spread that the Rogues were present and both APJ and Solitaire were bombarded with questions about our festival. All of this groundwork was laid out both by Steve and Mia who (apart from being wonderful hosts) had already spread the news of of our presence and introduced us to performers (who after being given an effusive work over by Solitaire's pitch) bare now seriously considering applying for the Rogue.

We closed down Original Joe's and ran into the cast of The Sewers who invited us to join them for drinks at Frank's... a little dive down the block. There was more chatting and drinking and we finally (admittedly a little drunk) hit the hotel at 2:30 ish in the AM.

I was happy that I had forced and been forced to attend this year.

There'll be a vlog coming soon on more of the