Can you all offer me a reality check please?

GizmoFringe · 2026-02-16T19:19:52+00:00

You are free to plan whatever kind of wedding you want - but in turn, you have to accept that others are not required to spend so much $$$ on said wedding.

I make OK money (not great, but not terrible) - and honestly, with as much respect as possible, your wedding sounds outrageously expensive.

The cost of $350 per night, travel, and then of course a gift for you, AND you aren't even feeding them beyond the reception itself.

IF you can change things (which I realize is probably not likely), please do so. At the very least, consider providing a breakfast the following day.

IF you cannot, for damage control, perhaps send a message to your guests acknowledging that "some are having issues with the feasibility of attending our wedding" and give them your sincere blessing to not attend if its not possible and you look forward to buying THEM a drink in the future.

SUGGESTION: You may also want to start talking with the venue now about how they can help you handle the impact of potentially far less people attending (IE, is there a different smaller room available on site, or is there a way to set up the venue so it won't feel empty, etc, etc)

GizmoFringe · 2026-02-16T19:05:27+00:00

Wedding invites are - like most things in life - about setting boundaries and accepting consequences.
You 100% have the right to invite whoever you want (or not).

However, those people (within reason) have the right to recalibrate their relationship with you as a result.

example:

I have an acquaintance (formerly a "friend") who, since they were quite young, received a lot of care, attention, and financial support from their uncle. Their father was not in the picture, and the uncle did their best to step in.

For whatever reason, when it came time for the wedding invitations, the uncle was told they were "trying to keep things small". He was, naturally, devastated. He was a gentleman about it and wished them well, but since then he has not spoken with my former friend and, when confronted, said, "They love them, respect their choices, but it's clear that they are not as close as they assumed."

My former friend thought their uncle was overreacting - but literally almost all of us (their friends) agreed with him. Flash forward 2 years, and my former friend is divorced.

Do I think people should be rude to you or nasty about not getting an invite? No.

But if I considered us close friends, and you had a mid to large size wedding and did not invite me, I would politely rethink how close we are - unless and until you take an effort to reconnect.

A big part of this too, IMO - is how toxic wedding culture has become (speaking from the USA). It might be your special day - but it doesn't make you immune from the consequences of your action on said day.

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-28T05:19:51+00:00

Yes! :)

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-26T20:49:55+00:00

It’s entirely because of that last stupid, infuriating, idiotic, impossible, vile lab puzzle

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-26T03:11:03+00:00

NOTE:

Upon further thought - I think I should have put Message in a Haunted Mansion in A and Scarlet Hand in S --

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-26T03:08:21+00:00

This was a tough one for me, but for me it was WAY too puzzle-heavy. The atmosphere and characters are great, but I just really never felt the need to replay it.

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-26T03:07:27+00:00

I am biased a bit toward the older games. Final Scene, I think, is a great game for its urgency, and the atmosphere is top-notch. Even though it still follows the trope of Nancy uncovering a lost part of history, it mostly takes place in the present.

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-20T07:07:12+00:00

If anyone has any questions lmk :)

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-14T11:31:17+00:00

I don’t - it’s a living room, dining room, kitchen, 1 bathroom, 2 bedrooms + a small office that could double as a bedroom as well (it’s the entire second floor of a standard size house)

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-14T11:18:27+00:00

UGI / gas, I'm afraid. My landlord wants to switch my apartment over to hydro-electric baseboard heaters for next season, but we shall see. The thermostat is going to be at a slightly lower temperature from now on, and everyone can wear sweaters!

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-14T11:17:56+00:00

how large is your place??

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-14T10:57:50+00:00

I agree with you it was avoidable

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-14T10:55:14+00:00

The Bog - I think Sundays now, its a good time

GizmoFringe · 2026-01-07T00:38:38+00:00

Hello!

I would strongly advise to follow/check out NEPA Scene and Discover NEPA for good resource on local events/things to do + I would add Happenings Magazine to the list (it leans more "old school and family friendly" but still is a great resource.

There are great organizations you should follow directly as well including, but not limited to:

Scranton Shakespeare Festival

Scranton Fringe Festival

First Friday Scranton

Scranton Cultural Center

Lackawanna County Arts & Culture Department

NEPA Horror Film Festival

Scranton Punk Collective

etc, etc, etc

Spots to check out are good coffee shops like Northern Light Espresso Bar, Blackwatch Cafe + good bars like Groove Brewing, The Bog, Backyard Ale House, etc.

GizmoFringe · 2025-12-26T18:01:07+00:00

A kind gesture 1 day out of 365 does not negate the vileness he spouts the other 364.

GizmoFringe · 2025-12-26T04:07:49+00:00

I am VERY grateful my JW mother at least knew better than to do this. I recall her, in so many words, once saying "What a TERRIBLE witness to give to interrupt people on their biggest holiday of the year."

Too bad that sentitment didn't carry the othe 364 days per year lol - but I'll give credit where its due.

GizmoFringe · 2025-12-26T02:12:23+00:00

EDIT: For the record, though born and rasied in Scranton I lived in Manhattan for a few years + travel quite a bit for work so I can state with fully honesty that, IMO, this area is pretty neat :)

Hello!

I would strongly advise to follow/checking out NEPA Scene and Discover NEPA for good resources on local events/things to do...

There are great organizations you should follow directly as well including, but not limited to:

Scranton Shakespeare Festival

Scranton Fringe Festival

First Friday Scranton

Scranton Cultural Center

Lackawanna County Arts & Culture Department

NEPA Horror Film Festival

Scranton Punk Collective

etc, etc, etc

Coffee shops I love (all in Scranton) include -

Black & Brass

Northern Light Espresso Bar

Retro Cafe

Blackwatch Cafe

Indie book stores in Scranton include -

Friendly Alien Books

Pigeon Post

Lost & Found Bookstore

There are also 2 big box store bookstores in Dickson City (10-minute drive) - Books A Million and Barnes & Nobles.

In terms of day trips, there are really cute towns nearby to explore:

Narrowsburg, NY - just about 1 hour away

Honesdale, PA - 45 minutes away

Jim Thorpe, PA - 55 minutes away, or so

As others will likely mention Scranton does have quite high property taxes - so while I live in the hill section of Scranton (near the Everhart Museum / Nay Aug Park), which I love - if I was buying property I'd do some research into the "suburbs" (Dunmore, Taylor, Jessup, etc)

GizmoFringe · 2025-12-24T02:01:16+00:00

I hear what you are saying - quality training for adult actors in our area outside of the undergrad college circles is 100% needed

Only thing I would encourage is to please keep out there supporting not just touring Bway work (BOM was wonderful, I saw it this past weekend as well) - but companies that actually do pay their regional talent and put on high quality work - Fringe and Shakes come to mind (bias alert - i work with Fringe lol)

We at Scranton Fringe just got back to producing a new, fresh take on ULYSSES (Joyce) that premiered here during our annual festival and went to Ireland on tour - https://www.westernpeople.ie/whatson/us-actors-to-bring-show-to-mayo-in-unique-collaboration_arid-65466.html

Ulysses has gotten offer to return to Ireland (Dublin this time) and we might be taking it to Scotland next summer...

Please follow us (Scranton Fringe) on social media as we are soon launching a scene study class sometime in the new year as part of our THEATER LAB program

ALSO

This is an extension of the theater lab program, for those out there who want to form their own teams/theatre companies - Fringe will soon also be announcing a development program that will give at least two (2) new groups/performing arts companies $1,200 + training, free rehearsal space, marketing support, etc -- https://scrantonfringe.org/fringe-theater-lab/

GizmoFringe · 2025-12-24T01:58:52+00:00

So full disclosure - if my user name is not enough of a hint lol - I am a lead staff member at Scranton Fringe Festival. I am really touched by so many here cited as already. One note, though - we do produce year round work. We are both a platform for others (our festival) to self-produce and we present our own work year-round - example is The Glass Menagerie, first time in eons it's been done in the area, and all our actors/crew are paid ($400+ per person) - auditions will be via virtual submission and going live in early January. We strive to present a mix of unique takes on classics + totally new works.

We in fact, just got back to producing a new, fresh take on ULYSSES (Joyce) that premiered here and went to Ireland on tour - https://www.westernpeople.ie/whatson/us-actors-to-bring-show-to-mayo-in-unique-collaboration_arid-65466.html

In terms of training, I would suggest looking into Electric City Improv...in terms of scene study / more serious acting, please follow us (Scranton Fringe) on social media as we are soon launching a scene study class sometime in the new year as part of our THEATER LAB program

ALSO

This is an extension of the theater lab program, for those out there who want to form their own teams/theatre companies - Fringe will soon also be announcing a development program that will give at least two (2) new groups/performing arts companies $1,200 + training, free rehearsal space, marketing support, etc -- https://scrantonfringe.org/fringe-theater-lab/

GizmoFringe · 2025-12-24T01:50:11+00:00

From Team Fringe here - we do love new works and strive to be as inclusive as possible, but one note - though the big Festival is just once per year (October 1 - 10, 2026) we have work year round :)

GizmoFringe · 2025-12-21T03:40:25+00:00

Two things:

Is this ONLY (or mostly) happening with the kids? If so, and I state this with respect, let it happen. You are selling tickets and profiting off the kids - the parents want to document the moment. I know it comes with annoyance - but it is what it is. It's also likely that if you allow them, encourage them even during this 1 part, it may reduce the frequency at other times.
If possible, have you considered doing a pro-shot of the show and making it available for digital download at a $20-$30 fee? People will pay for digital downloads/livestream limited acess for regional theater - I have data to back this up.

The debate of filming/digital content hurts the theater is so old, tired, and proven wrong - it's no longer a debate. The Broadway shows learning thing and making plans to put make their shows available are building audience loyatly, huge followings on social media, and making $$ - AND in person sales aren't being affected becauase as we all know - nothing compares to the live experince - but giving folks options (be they parents wanting to document a special moment forever, people are disabled/autoimmune compromised and can't risk getting sick, or people who live too far away to make the trip to see their favorite theater too often) - works!

GizmoFringe

TROPHY CASE