By John Lyle Belden

Taking on “camp” in more than one sense of the word, Defiance Comedy gathers some wildly-talented local actors and distills memories and movies of summer camps with their horny counselors and creepy killers into “Camp Summer Camp” at Musician’s Union Hall.

It’s summer 1984 at the titular Canadian camp, and the counselors gather: One is determined to “become a man,” but the object of his desire has dedicated her body to Jesus; meanwhile another girl wants to throw herself at him, if she can find her glasses to see whom she is throwing herself at. Another guy isn’t taking it well that he’s not senior counselor, and the new guy from the States is eager to show off his falconry skills. Keeping this all together are the very, very close siblings who run the place, promising a lot fewer fatalities this year.

The antics that ensue are nonstop funny, clobbering cliches and trampling tropes all the way – even adding goofy touches like shouting “Ow! Ow!” when someone resets the cardboard prop “campfire” upright. And, there’s the fun sing-along of the “Camp Summer Camp Summer Camp Song.” You’d best sign up in advance for remaining camp sessions, as a lot of people are dying to get in (or was that get out? Hmm…).

By John Lyle Belden

For those who tread the boards, acting can be a stressful business. Even during rehearsals, when someone doesn’t show, it’s a hassle working around the missing person and getting those lines down. For this company, portrayed by Eclectic Pond’s Matt Anderson and Kate Homan, no one else in the cast of “The Importance of Being Jeff” has shown up – but theatre company board members have, and they want to see a run-through of the show. This is further complicated by the fact that the two actors didn’t pay much attention to the script beyond their small parts in the third act.

This sets up the “Speedthru,” playing at Firefighter’s Union Hall, in which the two play all the roles as best as they can recall them – and it’s not like anyone else has read this obscure play – as fast as possible before the folks paying for this show catch on that they don’t know what they’re doing.

Homan and Anderson show immense talent, as it takes a lot to look like you’re just winging it and still be entertaining. This slapstick quick-change farce, with wry commentary on classical plays thrown in, is a treat for all audiences ages teen and up, but especially for thespians who remember being in similar binds themselves.

By John Lyle Belden

Inspired by Ukrainian author and satirist Nikolai Gogol, British troupe Royal Kung Foolery presents “Cocooned in Kazan,” playing in the Marrott Center, the story of a ladies’ man in 19th-century Russia who finds he must settle down and marry to inherit his parents’ estate. But this requires going to his little home town of Kazan, where all the women know him, and not fondly. So Konstantin instead pines for newly-arrived Katya, while his maid, Tatiana, has her eyes on him.

This results in a lot of comic situations and creative physical humor, helped along by occasional anachronism and several fourth-wall moments. Yet as manic and goofy as things get – even when a character walks offstage to share a drink with an audience member – the story never falls apart.

This is easily one of the most entertaining shows of the fringe, and a great example of how wonderful it is to draw in such international acts.