The appeal of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival has always included not just the performances, but the unique venues that Fringe artists find and mold to their purposes. With Fringe’s popularity growing each year, the festival has started to seek new and interesting spaces outside of the festival’s center in Old City. Just as Northern Liberties is the new “it” location for clubs and restaurants, it’s now becoming a new territory for the Fringe. A new theater and performing arts space that will be open year-round will have its opening during the Fringe, with three theater groups performing as part of the Unfiltered, or self-produced, Fringe.

The Triangle Theater on North Lawrence Street will make its debut with a variety of original productions. The Triangle is owned by Jane Stojak, an actor, producer and director. Her theater ensemble, Random Acts of Theater, Inc., is housed in the space. The two other companies, First World Theater Ensemble and CloudConspiracy, are new and now in residence at the theater.

The Triangle is appropriately named because the large building, situated on a fork in the road, is shaped, for lack of a better description, like a big hamantasch. Last summer, Stojak was looking for space for Random Acts in her Northern Liberties neighborhood. While taking a stroll, she came across the oddly shaped structure. She bought the building directly from the owner at what she considers a bargain, but the site required about $250,000 in repairs. Fortunately for Stojak, the building is located in an Empowerment Zone, qualifying her for numerous tax abatements both during the renovation and now that the theater is open.

The first floor is the main theater space. There are rehearsal studios and office spaces on the second floor, a third floor apartment and artists' studios on the fourth floor. The Triangle completed its renovations just in time for the Fringe.

Stojak did not begin her working life in the theater world. She is by training a psychologist and a journalist. She received her doctorate in developmental psychology from City University of New York, and then studied for two years as a postdoctoral fellow in the Psychology Department at Yale. She later got her masters in journalism from Columbia and worked as a freelance science writer. Prior to her founding Random Acts, her last vocation was as an independent consultant in organizational development, working with a colleague at Carnegie Mellon to develop a program centered on making engineers and scientists more productive. Despite the money she was making, Stojak's heart wasn't in her work, so she decided to start over, and launched her career in theater.

Since January1999, Stojak has produced 10 plays based on original material, most recently A Gentleman from Mississippi. One of her current projects is Furies: Mothers for Hitler, a play that examines the implications of the right wing, pro-fascist mothers' movement in the United States in the1930s and '40s. Stojak also founded the Random Acts of Theater Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the development of artists and directors.

Random Acts put on Skewed Shakespeare at the 1999 Fringe. (In the show, Shakespearean works were updated to modern times but still used the original text.) Stojak has either directed or produced all of the six plays that Random Acts will present for this year's Fringe. Barking Dawgs, written by David Dallas, follows the lives of five characters in Mississippi. Philly Film Spoofs is a compilation of short sketches parodying Philadelphia scenes in film history.

The other shows include Not in the Stars, a one-act boy-meets-girl written by Buck Busfield, brother of actor Timothy Busfield; It's a Wonderful Lie, a one-man play by Tony Hamilton about a gay man living in New York; Coconut Therapy, a one-woman musical written by Quiara Hudes, depicting Puerto Rican life in Philadelphia; and Dee Freidel's No, I Don't Have a Boyfriend, a comedy about the tribulations of a single, 30-year-old middle school teacher.

Also in residence at Triangle Theater is Zuhariah McGill, known as Z, the executive producer and founder of First World Theater Ensemble. She is a 20-year showbiz veteran from New York and studied under Ossie Davis.

"My mentor is [Venture Theater co-founder] H. German Wilson," she says. After recently coming to Philadelphia, McGill says she was frustrated by the "cliquishness" of the city's acting community. "The same actors were always used," she says. She began First World in the hopes of forming a more inclusive group of actors. For the Fringe, First World will perform Trumpets of War, written by Joseph P. Blake. The piece is a futuristic drama depicting race wars. McGill will play the Captain of the African-Americans, General Christine Imfuma Kahlo, whose son is on the opposing team of Latinos. First World will also offer acting classes, a "World Poetry Slam," and an actor's etiquette workshop taught by McGill.

The third group sharing Triangle Theater's space, CloudConspiracy, is the concept of director Tlaloc Rivas, originally from California. He has lived here for three years and before forming Cloud, was the director of Venture Theater.

Rivas envisions Cloud as a multicultural company. "I want to allow the company to explore different boundaries and push the envelope," he says. As a director, he stages plays to be colorblind, and is more concerned with bringing an artistic sensibility to the productions. Rivas' resident playwright Martha Michaela Brown wrote a one-act play, DisappearingAct, which premieres at the Fringe featuring actor Charlotte Ford.

Random Acts, First World and CloudConspiracy welcome new writers and actors for their productions. Opening night for performances is Aug. 30, but the theater groups will host an opening party on Sept. 7 at the Triangle.

Triangle Theater, 1220 N. Lawrence St., 215-763-0110. Opening party, Sat., Sept. 7, 9 p.m., $10. Shows run Aug. 30-Sept. 14., www.randomactsoftheater.com.

FringePicks

Barking Dawgs, Random Acts of Theater, Sat., Aug. 31 and Thu., Sept. 5, 8 p.m.; Tue., Sept. 3, Fri., Sept. 6, Mon., Sept. 9 and Wed., Sept. 11, 10 p.m.; Wed., Sept. 4, 6:30 p.m., $10, Triangle Theater, 1220 N. Lawrence St. Random Acts of Theater brings back David Dallas, who specializes in the deepest of Souths, creating/performing characters based on folks he knew in Mississippi while he was growing up.

Demand & Writhe, Junk, Fri., Aug. 30-Sun., Sept. 1, Wed., Sept. 4-Sun., Sept. 8, Wed., Sept. 11-Sat., Sept. 14, 8 p.m., $10, Junk Space, 1223 Wood St. Brian Sanders is the muscular magician of Philly dance; his performances often leave folks in awe of his talent and wondering “How did he do that?” Sanders brings this magic and his love of large props to this year’s Fringe with his own take on murder mysteries.

The Earths Sharp Edge, Lucidity Suitcase, Sat., Aug. 31-Sun., Sept. 1, Tue., Sept. 3–Sun., Sept. 8, Tue., Sept. 10–Sat., Sept. 14, 9 p.m., $10, St. John’s Church, 1028 N. Third St. Thaddeus Phillips’ Lucidity Suitcase most recently presented Poe’s Own Twilight Zone, and Phillips has become a Fringe favorite with works like Planetlear (King Lear meets mini golf). Now Phillips takes on airline security, promising to transform an old church into planes, battlefields and motels, among other things. It’s a safe bet that he’ll manage to pull it off.

Publife, Protein Dance, Tue., Sept. 3 –Fri., Sept. 6, 8 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 7, 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 8, 3 p.m., $15, Ruba Hall, 414 Green St. Is anything more theatrical than a bar? Talk about high drama, music and … moves. Visiting British troupe Protein Dance invites us to lift a mug with them at Publife, in an honest-to-goodness bar. Everyone will be in the action at this pub, just keep straight who’s a dancer and who you came with!

The Ride Across Lake Constance, Big House (Plays & Spectacles), Fri., Aug. 30–Sun., Sept. 1, Wed., Sept. 4, Sat., Sept. 7–Sun., Sept. 8, Tue., Sept. 10–Thu., Sept. 12, 8 p.m.; Thu., Sept. 5–Fri, Sept. 6, Fri., Sept. 13, 10 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., $15, 919 N. Second St. Local avant-garde director Mark Lord (remember the Beckettian Across two Fringes ago? Endgame four Fringes ago?) meets Austrian avant-garde playwright Peter Handke (Kaspar) in an old abandoned movie theater in Northern Liberties. Bound to be strange and interesting. The cast includes busy Charlotte Ford (who’s also in CloudConspiracy’s Disappearing Act and is seen on this week’s CP cover), Maggie Siff, David Disbrow, Juan Mora and City Paper Editor-in-Chief David Warner, who’s been in three previous Mark Lord extravaganzas.

FoodPicks

Las Cazuelas, 426-8 W. Girard Ave., 215-351-9144

Standard Tap, 901 N. Second St., 215-238-0630

We know everybody always says Standard Tap has the best bar food in the city. Well, it does.

N. 3rd, 801 N. Third St., 215-413-3666

Mega-trendy on the inside with charming outdoor seating and an eclectic menu. Great fries.

Palette, 637 N. Third St., 215-940-1222

Art-gallery-slash-restaurant that has the requisite upscale fishes and loaves, but also has an affordable, damn good burger.