In times like these, it’s good to have a VFF.
VFF explores friendship through one-hour video chats. Only 20 people can take part in these one-on-one experiences (one per day), hanging out over FaceTime with award-winning performance artist and actor Brian Feldman (#txtshow, Dishwasher, Wawa® Shabbawa).
What is a friendship worth? How do we make friends? What does being friends actually mean? Brian explores these questions and more by offering you an opportunity to define friendship.
As Washington City Paper wrote, “See It If: You want a new conceptual artist friend to hang out with in real life.”
Presented as part of the 2021 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, VFF is a modified social distancing version of BFF, which premiered in a sold-out 50 show run as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival.
This project was supported by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
“(★★★★) This show offers the most personal attention this reviewer has ever encountered and a performance artist who is trying – and succeeding – to encourage audience and performer interaction.” – DC Metro Theater Arts
“It’s an enjoyable [hour] of carte blanche to ask a stranger anything you want to know about himself – and to get things off your chest that you’re not comfortable admitting to the people who know you. You’re never going to see this guy again. You can tell him absolutely anything and at the end of your [hour], it won’t matter.” – The Washington Post
“Did I “explore friendship… through ‘friend building’”? Not really. But I laughed and got a kick out of doing something I wouldn’t ordinarily do with friends or on a date. Verdict: 5 stars.” – Texarkana Dispatch
Showtimes
All showtimes are in EDT (UTC-4)
Credits
Himself: Brian Feldman
Yourself: You
Content Considerations
18+
This is a one-hour video chat hangout over FaceTime and requires constant back-and-forth conversation.
Audience Instructions
This show takes place over FaceTime. In order to participate, you must have an iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 10.0 or later, an iPad with iPadOS 10.0 or later, or a Mac with OS X Lion 10.7 or later. You will receive a FaceTime video call from Brian Feldman at the phone number you provide when purchasing your ticket. Please make sure your device is charged. All times are in EDT (UTC-4).
One more thing… In June 2021, Apple introduced the latest version of its iOS operating system, iOS 15, which is set to be released in the fall and which allows for FaceTime calls on Android phones, Windows PCs, or any device with a functioning browser. However, a release date had not yet been announced as of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival program deadline. Regardless of the release date, this feature won’t work on Brian’s phone because it’s too old.
About the Artists
Brian Feldman is an award-winning performance artist and actor. He lives in Washington, Douglass Commonwealth where, as the news website DCist noted, “In a city that has an advocacy group exploring how to ‘make D.C. weird’ – and is still struggling – Brian Feldman is a shining beacon of eccentricity.” His work has been featured on television, radio, in print, and online, earning critical comparisons to the likes of Marina Abramović, David Blaine, John Cage, Christo, Marcel Duchamp, Tehching Hsieh, and Andy Kaufman. Since August 2003, he has presented 400+ performances of 130+ projects at 175+ venues and festivals in cities worldwide via Brian Feldman Projects, one of the world’s premier presenters of experimental time-based art.