Happy Faces Entertainment presents |
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Ruby's High School Reunion |
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Dennis Porter |
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| Dennis Porter | ||
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| A part of the ESL Rochester Fringe Festival | ||
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From the co-creator and performer of Ruby’s High School Reunion, Dennis Porter:
My work is rooted in the belief that joy is a powerful connector. As a performance-based artist, I create
immersive, improvisational experiences that bring people together through shared laughter. Ruby’s High
School Reunion exemplifies this mission: an ever-evolving, interactive theatrical event in which the
audience becomes not just participants, but co-creators. Through humor, play, and communal
imagination, I aim to build momentary communities that remind us of how good it feels to show up as our
true, best selves.
Improvisation is the backbone of my artistic practice. While each performance begins with a prepared
structure-often a collaboratively written outline or narrative seed-the final work is discovered in real time
with the audience. My training in improvisational theatre allows me to respond authentically to the
people in the room, adapting the performance based on their energy, their ideas, and their willingness to
play. This makes every iteration of Ruby’s High School Reunion unique. Even though the show has a
planned arc, its most memorable moments emerge from spontaneous collaboration with the
“classmates” of Cleaver High.
My intention is simple but vital: to facilitate experiences where people of all ages can laugh together,
engage together, and momentarily set aside the divisions of daily life. Laughter is a universal language,
and when people share it, they create a bond that is immediate, disarming, and joyful. The mission
behind Ruby’s High School Reunion—“bringing people together in commonality to support each other in
being their true, best selves”—guides every creative choice I make. The show is built not just to entertain,
but to empower participants to play freely, without fear of being judged, corrected, or embarrassed.
Influences on my work span improvisational comedy, participatory performance art, and community-
based theatre practices. I am inspired by forms that dissolve the boundary between performer and
spectator, as well as by traditions that value presence, spontaneity, and collective creativity. The
characters, games, and comedic structures within Ruby’s High School Reunion draw from these
concepts while pushing them toward a more inclusive, audience-centered approach.
My process prioritizes collaboration at every stage. Working with co-writers Patricia Peden and Jamie
Lindemann, I begin by shaping a loose narrative framework—an outline that establishes characters,
comedic beats, and potential paths for the story. However, this framework is intentionally porous. During
the performance, audience members step into roles, complete scenes, invent details, and influence the
direction of the event. I may give someone a character name and a hint of backstory, but they bring their
personality, instincts, and humor to the moment. The art emerges from the combined imagination of
everyone present.
In form, content, and process, Ruby’s High School Reunion is experimental: it merges scripted humor
with improvisational openness; it transforms spectators into collaborators; and it turns performance into
a living, communal creation. Ultimately, my work is an invitation—to laugh, to play, and to rediscover the
joy that arises when we create something together.
Thank you for joining me in some time of play and joy!
Cast
Creative Team
Jamie Lindeman
Patricia Peden
Jeff Davis
Camilo Fontecilla
Nadine Clark
Michael Donovan
Camilo Fontecilla
Meet the Company
Dennis Porter
The journey started years ago when Dennis put on his first show in the living room of his parents’ house. Then, the shows had refrigerator box sets, Mr. Microphone sound and table lamp lighting. Flash forward a couple decades to the start of Happy Faces Entertainment, where Dennis performs professionally as an emcee, actor, clown, magician, storyteller, improv comedian and instructor. Having worked on and off-stage for most of his life with community, educational, amusement park and professional theaters, Dennis is truly a variety artist.
With his company, Happy Faces Entertainment & KC Mystery Players, he travels everywhere and has performed from Mexico, Missouri to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Dennis has worked and taught in libraries, schools, festivals, parades, the circus, birthday parties, youth camps and other places where somebody needed some smiles. In a small group or large crowd, everyone relates to his high-energy demonstration of enjoying life to its’ best. "Laughter is something every human has in common, so let’s share it and support each other in it.”
Jamie Lindeman
Patricia Peden
Jeff Davis
Camilo Fontecilla
Nadine Clark
Michael Donovan
Camilo Fontecilla
Fontecilla Marketing is a Kansas City-based design and marketing studio. One of our perennially favorite projects is Ruby's High School Reunion, a drag comedy show that's every bit as ridiculous and fun as it sounds. Ruby does her own looks on stage — but we've handled several of her other looks: the website, the banners, the flyers, and plenty more.
We love this kind of work because it's got personality. A show like Ruby's isn't trying to blend in, and the design shouldn't either. It should be loud in the right places, easy to read in the rest, and make you want to grab a ticket before you've even finished scrolling.
That said, we're just as comfortable with the buttoned-up stuff. Whether your project is a drag extravaganza or something considerably more corporate, we'll treat it like it matters and sneak in a little fun wherever we can.
Photos
