Alison Torba performs in "NUMB" in Fringe Festival. Photo: Kati Astraeir
“A little scary and exciting” is how Tucson Fringe Festival co-founder Yassi Jahanmir describes this year’s festival.
Coming off of a successful, initial event last year that drew hundreds to see experimental theatre work, this year’s festival will again feature performances that adhere to the “Fringe Festival” dogma. That means that the artists are presenting works that are experimental in nature, censorship-free and affordable to all.
The world’s first “Fringe Festival” took place in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1947 and while there are now festivals all over the world, the Western U.S is only just now getting on board. Tucson joins Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix as locations where artist and audience can freely experiment and engage in “fringe” activities.
While some works that debut at a Fringe Festival end up becoming cultural touchstones and commercial success ("Avenue Q," "Urinetown"), others may not, but therein lies the excitement of “Fringe.” Not unlike a film fan discovering a great piece of cinema at a film festival, “Fringe” attendees may be witnessing the birth of a new piece of theatre gold, a treasure that you can say, “I saw it first.”
Organizers Jahanmir and Sara Habib are staging the festival downtown due to their commitment to our burgeoning city center. Jahanmir expressed a desire to try to create the synergy she saw at the New York Fringe Festival when she volunteered and wanted to allow artists to have a “safe zone to try things and to be crazy.”
With performances scheduled for three days at Solar Culture and Beowulf Alley Theatre, there will be ample opportunity to see some eclectic works by both well-known artists and some new faces. This year, Fish Karma and Alison J. Torba are returning from last year’s festival with new pieces and will be joined by four new performers, Dylan Fresco, One Gentle Mule, Joan O’Dwyer and Catfish Baruni.
Plans for the future of “Fringe” in Tucson include the possible creation of performance workshops and panels and other activities to keep “Fringe” alive during the year.
Tucson Fringe Festival performances are Feb. 24-26 at Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, 11 S. 6th Ave., and Solar Culture, 31 E. Toole Ave. See the schedule at TucsonFringe.org.
