Fear Forest

A solo version was first performed in 2016 at the SOLOCOM Festival (the PIT ) and the Bindlestiff Variety Night (Dixon Place).
In 2017, the full version was performed at the PIT loft and the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.

Written by Carol Lee Sirugo
Performed by Jonathan Kaplan and Carol Lee Sirugo
Directed by Jay Dunn

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reviews

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, Winnipeg MB
★★★★

Plucky park ranger Colleen’s first day on the job is a nightmare, thanks to bad campers, a hungry bear and the haunting memory of a summer-camp tragedy. 

New York-based writer and performer Carol Lee Sirugo is a charmer as Colleen, a nature lover who believes in being prepared with fun facts, bear protection and a talking Smokey Bear puppet who knows why she has a deep-seated fear of the forest — "I told you not to freak out, Colleen." 

A quest for supplies, a prose-spouting bear and a Blair Witch-y phantom (Jonathan Kaplan, who also plays AWOL ranger Tom) thicken the plot, but the one-hour comedy loses momentum during a dimly lit foray into the woods. Fortunately, sight gags and physical comedy help the duo behind past fringe hits This Town (2012) and The Hysteric (2011) pull it out of the fire.  

— Pat St. Germain