Lately, Atlanta has been an incubator of ideas for many creatives, from film to art and music. However, the performing arts, along with theater, continue to fly under the radar. The Atlanta Fringe Festival is here to change that by giving an opportunity for performers to show their passion and talents in front of crowds. The festival will utilize five venues for performances by more than 20 theater groups, both local and national, from May 9-13, 2012.Diana Brown: Fringe festivals got their start in Edinburgh in 1947, when this lord put on an arts festival. He and his committee invited artists to showcase, but other artists didn’t want to be left out. They decided to capitalize on the crowds the festival would bring by setting up camp around the outskirts of the festival grounds. A theatre critic mentioned all the theater happening “on the fringe.” And the rest is history! They popped up like a communist plot all over the world and in most major cities in the US.
Twinhead Theatre produced the fringe here because we’ve been creating fringe theater in Atlanta since 2003. We took a show to the Minneapolis Fringe in 2006 and it left a real impression on us. The whole city was just buzzing about theater, and there was such a great vibe and energy everywhere. We knew that if Atlanta had a platform like this set up, we would have had a much easier time reaching audiences and making a name for ourselves and our original material. Theatre can be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to create, even when you’re underground and low budget. We wanted to use everything we’ve learned about what fringe theater artists need and provide those resources to help free them up creatively.
DB: Fringe festivals are unjuried festivals; some do a random lottery and some take shows on a first-come, first-serve basis. We chose a lottery, so every show submitted were written on pieces of paper and we went around in a circle and picked them out of a hat until all our slots were full. It’s not about your experience or background, just the will and the want to create theater.
DB: Atlanta is definitely called Artlanta for a reason. It’s very exciting to be a creative person in Atlanta right now because so many cool things are going on, and I’m seeing all these people and organizations taking the initiative to build a sense of community and support. We certainly experienced that while trying to set this festival up; people did whatever they could for us. Atlanta has a great performing arts scene, but it can get overlooked in favor of the visual arts, music, and film being created.
DB: Support is always important. Creative projects are often done as labors of love; the Atlanta Fringe is completely volunteer-staffed. The support and enthusiasm of the people around us was crucial to us seeing the project through. When the community has your back like this, you want to give back a thousand fold. Atlanta can get great things from the people it supports. Even just a few words of encouragement or a $10 donation made such an enormous difference to us. It really means a lot to feel like the people around you are rooting for you. It keeps you going and makes you want to do more, and bigger, and better.
DB: The best tip is to come to our Opening Preview Party on Wednesday May 9th, from 8 p.m. to midnight on the MARTA Plaza in the Decatur Square. All 27 shows will get 3 minutes to preview their shows for you, and we’ll have festival guides on hand, so you can make notes about which shows you can’t miss. Plus, all the artists and Fringe staff will be there selling Fringe merchandise and tickets and getting ready for the craziest weekend ever. Come say hello!
For more information on tickets and venues, visit www.atlantafringe.org
