Basically, Fries started as a late night show in 2003 and ran in an experimental phase for the entire season. The show format was constantly changing and we added many production elements to the show to make it all the more amazing and "funny" for audience members. For the long version (boring) see below..

The Long Version

Fries on the Side™ started in a very simple manner. Shane Elliott wanted to take current show concepts and combine them into something more exciting and effective. He presented his idea for Fries on the Side™ to the membership at his theatre company (The Sanford Meisner Center) and everyone offered help and support to make it a reality. What came next was a late night variety show to be hosted, produced and rehearsed in under 2 hours and performed as well as possible for an audience.

The first show was on March 1st, 2003 as a late night continuation of Barefoot in the Park. The first FOTS audience was only a handful of people (about 8) that decided to stick around after the main stage show. We based our show's format on a common impromptu theatre structure that's used in many theatres and universities across the country.

Since then we have purposely changed the structure to allow for a more refined presentation of the same chaotic theatre style. We've added many sketch comedy principles along with a few poetry slam concepts and believe it or not much of our current format was created from scratch.

Now Fries on the Side™ shows commonly draw audiences that nearly max out the theatre space its in with 30 to 50 people a week. We have musicians, poets, comedians, and sketches that remain amazingly innovative and fresh.