In the bone-dry entertainment “news” cycles of August, Chicago theater behaves like the rest of America; it goes on vacation. But two Chicago shows that literally took summer trips—to the two most high-profile English-language fringe festivals on the planet—came back with prizes to show for it.

Last week the Annoyance’s production of Love Is Dead: A NecRomantic Musical picked up a Fringe Citation for Outstanding Music and Lyrics. The show’s Uptown creators Andrew Hobgood, Julie Nichols and James Asmus were the recipients.

Meanwhile, across the pond, the Q Brothers (that’s G and J) scored a big win with Funk It Up About Nothin’, the hip-hop “ad-rap-tation” (to be clear: not our term) of Much Ado About Nothing which made its debut earlier this summer at Chicago Shakespeare. After making a critical splash at the hotshot Edinburgh Festival Fringe—with particularly big shout-outs given to Ericka Ratcliff, a veteran of Congo Square, House Theatre and Strawdog projects—the show went on snag the Dress Circle Award for Best Musical Production.

We extend our hearty congratulations to these artists for their recognition, and our grateful thanks for giving us something to blog about in the slowest theater week of the year.