The Fringe Files

Planet of the Zers

For early 2016, The Fringe Files presented science fiction parody Planet of the Zers, the first play in the Cosmic Capsules space series, written by Michael Starr.

The Trailer

Here's the official video trailer:

The Plot

Four star fleet crew members beam down to an extinct planet for a standard away mission, but what happens when they lose contact with their mother ship? A mission of discovery becomes a battle to survive. Join us for this wacky Star Trek parody.

The Notes

For this production, The Fringe Files welcomed newbies Brian Paterson (performer), Phoebe Mulcahy (performer), Craig Weaver (performer), Jon Attwood (performer), Charlotte Wright (performer) and Charlotte Watkin (tech) for their debut with us. Rhian Brimble (tech), Sarah Brady (props) and Robert Walker (photography) all returned, whilst founder Michael Starr (writer / producer) completed the line-up.

This production brought about a scheduling change for The Fringe Files. For the first time, we presented a show during the Spring festival season. The Fringe Files also returned to where it all began, back in 2011, at the Backwell Playhouse (Bristol), our original rehearsal and performance space for inaugural show The Curse of Miss Fortune.

The Timetable

Rehearsals ran from January 2016 to March 2016 at The Drawbridge (Bristol), Bishops Tavern (Bristol) and The Hope & Anchor (Bristol). Performance venues included the Backwell Playhouse, as part of the Avon One Act Drama Festival on February 27, 2016, Shaftesbury Arts Centre, as part of the Shaftesbury Drama Festival on March 5, 2016 & Norden Farm, as part of the Maidenhead Drama Festival on March 19, 2016. The Fringe Files were later invited to return to the Backwell Playhouse, as part of the Avon One Act Drama Festival recall on April 16, 2016. For this performance we changed one of the cast roles.

The Team

The following members were involved in this production:

Performers
Craig Weaver
Jon Attwood
Brian Paterson
Phoebe Mulcahy
Charlotte Wright
Sarah Brady
Michael Starr

Writer
Michael Starr

Director
Michael Starr

Sound Technical
Charlotte Watkin
Michael Starr

Light Technical
Rhian Brimble

Props Master
Sarah Brady

Photography
Robert Walker

The Accolades

We are proud to have received the following award acknowledgements:

Best direction category to The Fringe Files as presented at the Shaftesbury Drama Festival (won). Teamwork category to The Fringe Files as presented at the Shaftesbury Drama Festival (won). Best actor category to Jon Attwood as presented at the Shaftesbury Drama Festival (nominated). Best original play category to Michael Starr as presented at the Avon Drama Festival (nominated). Best male actor category to Craig Weaver as presented at the Avon Drama Festival (won). Best sound category to Charlotte Watkin as presented at the Avon Drama Festival (nominated). NDFA playwriting category to Michael Starr as presented at the Avon Drama Festival (nominated).

The Archives

We like to document our production progress via our online blog. Do be sure to check out our posts relating to Planet of the Zers.

The Statistics

Productions = 1
Performances = 4
Locations = 3
Festivals = 3
Countries = 1
Award Nominations = 7
Award Wins = 3

The Script

Please refer to our Scripts Page if you are interested in performing this play. Please also consider making a token Donation to the writer.