2024 Tour Info Comin Soon!

World Debut: 2022 Minnesota Fringe. Touring Debut 2023 Tucson Fringe

Growing up a nerd in the 1980s religious-right wasn’t easy

Join Kyle B. Dekker as he tells the story of his experiences both odd and traumatic that were essential in creating his world view, his hobbies, and his relationship with his family. Tales of demon possession, religious fanaticism, and learning to be yourself.

Credits

Written and performed by: Kyle B. Dekker

Directed By: Denzel Belin

Skeletor Voice: Sif Magnolia Oberon

Graphic Design: Jacob Gulliver

Photography: Kari Elizabeth Godfrey and Scott Pakudaitis

Props: Kyle B. Dekker, Amy Dekker

Sound Design: Kyle B. Dekker and Denzel Belin

Special Thanks: Garrett Larson, Malcolm Dekker, and the Amazing Fringe Techs, Staff, and Volunteers for making all of this happen!

Media Reviews

A Recovering Evangelical Finds Salvation In Unexpected Places - 5 Stars - Single White Fringe Geek

“I have certainly been aware of many of the things in Dekkers play, but for the first time I didn’t just hear them, I felt them.” -The Stages of MN

Further Reading and Videos

Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend - Jeffrey S. Victor The conclusions and sociology of this book aren’t great but the research and interviews are excellent.

Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church - Edited by Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O'Neal These stories are what inspired me to put my own into this show. The reads aren’t always easy, but they are interesting and informative.

The infamous Ed Bradley 60 Minutes D&D piece from 1985. This is really bad journalism from an otherwise good journalist. He doesn’t push back on any of the cops or parents making claims of the connections and the “researcher” citing a connection was proven to used flawed and biased data collection to do so. The quality is poor, but a very interesting watch.

An example of one of the Evangelical Snake Oil Salesman (TM) and their rants against He-Man and other media. This is real and they made good, real money peddling this stuff to sell books and appearance fees.

Cast and Crew Bios

Kyle B. Dekker (Himself)

Kyle B. Dekker (he/him) is a writer, performer, and father from St. Paul, MN. This is his 3rd entry in the Minnesota Fringe and his first solo show. Previous shows include WAITING FOR GYGAX (2017), REMY RAYGUN OF THE SPACE BRIGADE (2018). One reviewer called one of his shows "High Concept - Low Brow" which he agrees with entirely. While he is a Fringe veteran as a producer and writer this is his first time ever touring a solo show. Kyle is thrilled to take this show on the road and bring it to more audiences!

Denzel Belin (Director)

Denzel Belin is a Minneapolis-based writer, director, actor, producer, and improviser. Belin is a longstanding cast member and writer at The Brave New Workshop and a staff writer for AWF magazine. He serves as the Artistic Director for Threshold Theater, whose mission is to "produce fresh LGBTQ works." He currently writes and performs for “Queer Window,” an all-queer sketch show based in New York City. Denzel has appeared on TPT Almanac and created work for the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus and Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. He presented a longform collection of solo sketches and storytelling, “With Love, From Washington” for the Blackness Is… Festival in Minneapolis. With Threshold Theater, he is currently leading a play reading series that will provide playwrights the opportunity to workshop their play with a director and team of actors that concludes with a staged reading that is open to the public. You can learn more at https://www.thresholdtheatermpls.com. Learn more about Denzel at https://www.denzelbelin.com.

Sif Magnolia Oberon (Skeletor)

Loki Embrys Graham (they/them) is a trans & non-binary actor, musician, and clown. They began cultivating theatrical skills on the family farm, while singing and performing for audiences of dairy cows. It is said these performances were quite moo-ving. You can find them performing around town doing everything from opera to improv; and occasionally climbing aerial silks like a pirate. For more information: www.lokiembrysgraham.com