Arts Professional Story: Sarah Mikayla Brown, Chicago Fringe Festival
How and why was the Chicago Fringe Festival conceived?
Why did you decide to host the CFF in Pilsen?
One of the aspects of our vision that we are incredibly charged about is the notion of bringing theatre and performance into areas of the city that don't enjoy as much visibility. There are numerous artists performing in Pilsen right now that deserve to be recognized; they deserve to have the performance community strolling around their home turf. Pilsen is an insanely active arts community, but there are plenty of Northsiders who have yet to go there. We intend to create an environment that will encourage Chicagoans to explore the city and to create conversations between diverse artists and patrons. There are many neighborhoods like Pilsen that aren’t in the spotlight very often. We plan to move the festival each year to offset that trend.
Why might a Chicago Fringe Festival be important not just for the development of emerging theatre, but for emerging dance artists and companies as well?
We invite choreographed and scripted performance, whatever that can mean. For the CFF, I see no distinction between theatre and dance. When we talk about encouraging conversations between diverse artists, we are also talking about getting theatre and dance companies talking. Dance companies and theatre companies often run around in very different circles in Chicago. This need not be the case. We are all in service of the same art—thoughtful live performance. We all strive to create immediate, moving experiences. Theatre can serve dance; dance can serve theatre. Dance patrons can be served by being exposed to theatre, as theatre patrons can by being exposed to dance.
How does the festival aim to target a diverse spectrum of performance programming—locally, nationally, and internationally?
All of our selection will be done by lottery. When looking at the national and international spectrum of Fringes, we found that the majority are programmed by a quality of randomness: either by lottery; first-come, first-served; or a “bring your own venue” scenario. We felt strongly that the notion of Fringe was somewhat defined by that glorious chaos. Additionally, in looking at the landscape of other Chicago performance festivals, we felt that a lottery selection was distinctive; creating a festival this way would be creating something new, not duplicated at other times of the year.
However, we are having sub-lotteries to ensure diversity. We are aiming to have 50% of the material be from out of town, both national and international. On the flip side of that, we want to ensure that 50% of the material is from Chicagoland. In addition, we will have a sub-lottery to ensure that at least 25% of the material reflects diversity of color, age, and ability.
How will the Fringe Festival support the artists selected to participate—production, publicity and marketing, lodging, etc.?
For production, we will provide a venue, venue tech to run the light and soundboard, a technical rehearsal, and full box office services. Publicity will be provided through general marketing efforts. More specifically, each show will be featured prominently on our webpage and in our festival program. Beyond that, we will provide access to discounted printing and publicity rates for artists who choose to market. As for lodging, we will endeavor to locate free or discounted lodging to any non-local artists. We also are planning on setting up a sort of "Big Sister/Little Sister" program for any out of town artists. As a social and networking opportunity, we want to pair out-of-towners with local artists. Did I mention that 100% of the ticket sales go back to the artists?
Will the Fringe Festival consider networking as part of its goals during the festival? In other words, will one of the festival’s aims be to get artists talking to other artists, producers, etc.?
Absolutely. I can't emphasize that enough. We hope to have workshops and panels figure largely in the festival. We also will have a lively "Fringe Central" where everyone can go to mingle, laugh, and learn.
What are your visions for the growth of the Chicago Fringe Festival? What are some short-term and long-term goals of the CFF?
So much of that future vision will be impacted by how our 2010 festival emerges. Our short-term goals include getting the performance community informed and excited. We are talking with people constantly, trying to garner feedback. To that end, I encourage any readers with questions to contact us at info@chicagofringe.org and to become Facebook fans.
For the future, I see the festival growing larger in scale, though we don't want it to get to be too much of a monster. I see it taking over entire city blocks into a cacophony of sound, performance, food, and laughter. I see patrons eagerly looking forward to it as a unique opportunity to discover new favorite acts, enjoy a flurry of performances in a short span of time, and explore a vibrant Chicago neighborhood. I see connections being forged that will lead to Chicago artists traveling to perform around the country and the world. I see joint productions being planned between theatre and dance companies.
Who should apply? How do folks apply?
Anyone and their grandma should apply, especially local Chicagoans. You don't have to have a formal company; you don't even necessarily need to know exactly what you are going to do. The application is simple, and show information can be changed later if necessary. Teens, please apply. Seniors, please apply. Foreign language pieces, please apply.
Applications are located on our webpage here. The deadline is February 15, 2010. We will have a public lottery party on February 28 to announce the performers.
Sarah Mikayla Brown is the Executive Producer of the Chicago Fringe Festival, and an ensemble member with the improvisational theatre group Cult of the Stage Monkey Chicago. She is from Lafayette, Louisiana, where she had the privilege of attending the University of Louisiana and performing with Acting Up! She has lived in the Chicago area for five years and has had the pleasure of working with numerous local groups, notably Tantalus Theatre Group, and Ripettes Burlesque.