Orlando Fringe 2008 Part II

I will be up in Orlando for the Fringe Festival again this weekend. I am looking forward to seeing a number of additional shows and to sampling some more local eateries. Hopefully, more commentary when I return.

First Fringe

This is my first year attending the Orlando Fringe Festival. Before moving here, I was vaguely aware of it. I think I was on the CAFF mailing list, but I recall signing up to get info about Toronto, which wasn’t too far from where I was living. I was familiar with Edinburgh, naturally, but never had any real hopes of getting there, and some friends of mine had done a show in the San Francisco Fringe Festival. Beyond that, the only Fringe festival I knew really well was FringeNYC, the New York International Fringe Festival. Because it’s a juried festival, some members of the CAFF circuit don’t consider it one of theirs, and look upon it with mild derision.

Even when something is juried, there are some hits and some misses. It’s just as true with an unjuried festival, though I don’t know that it’s necessarily more true. So far, Orlando Fringe seems to have some pieces of incredibly high quality, and some things that could use some more polish. What’s interesting about this festival is the attitude of openness and equality… everyone seems excited to work together. Because everything is all held in one place, there’s a strong sense of community. There’s also that slightly crazed carnival sense, what with the sandwich boards and the wacky marketing gimmicks.

I hadn’t expected the festival to feature pieces that I wouldn’t normally consider to be “theater” — like storytelling, improv, and a Neil Diamond show. By the very nature of being unjuried, it’s open to all kinds of performance, which I think is incredibly open-minded. It provides an outlet for whatever you want to do (I think there’s a show this year about poop).

I also read a comment by a regular Fringe-goer about the lottery system, how companies that have an established Fringe presence might get shut out, while a newbie gets an opportunity. I believe she meant this as a caveat, but I think that’s the beauty of the thing. How great that we hear from new artists! Someone with an established Fringe presence should now have the resources and following to go off and produce in new venues, taking their work to another level. I would hate to see the festival turn into the same old thing every year. Guess I’ll have to attend next year to see what’s happening!