From Thursday, Jan. 19, through Sunday, Jan. 22, playwrights from across the country will be bringing their unjuried, uncensored productions to the Tucson Fringe Festival.
The fest, one of more than 40 fringe festivals that take place throughout the country, will feature a total of 46 performances, covering topics ranging from mind-altering trips to Narnia, to Ukranian ballet dancers to getting married late in life.
“In Futukuchi Onna,” Phoenix playwright Kristin Moran follows a woman who is inflicted with a Futukuchi Onna, a Japanese monster that appears as a heckling mouth on the back of her head, according to press materials.
J. Emily Peabody brings us the story of the country’s first woman elected to the U.S. Congress in “Jeanette Rankin: Champion of Persistence.”
The festival will feature works by creative minds from Florida, Kansas, California and at least six from Minnesota, a state that holds its own Fringe Festival each year in August.
“These performers from Minnesota do Fringe back home so they have everything for their show ready to go,” said James Pack, acting director at this year’s fest. “It is convenient on my end. There are times when people will submit a show, they aren’t sure what they are going to do with it yet. They are figuring it out. Then they work through it by the time the show has to open for the festival.
“Other times, people are like, ‘Yeah, I’ve done this show three times at other places and I am ready to go right now. Let’s do it.’”
Anyone can submit a production pitch, whether they’ve put on a stage show or not. Names are literally drawn from a hat as to who is picked each year.
“Most audiences know this might not be a polished show,” Pack said. “That is the nature of Fringe. If it’s the first time being performed, the creator can use the opportunity to change things around, polish it up and take it to another festival.”
Venues this year will include, The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St.; the Temple of Music & Art Cabaret Theater, 330 S. Scott Ave.; the Steinfeld Warehouse, 101 W. Sixth St.; and The Circus Academy of Tucson, 400 W. Speedway.
For a full schedule and ticket info, visit tucsonfringe.org.
Students prepare for their showcase during Live Theater Workshop's "Jr Players Camp" at Live Theater Workshop in Tucson, Ariz. on June 16, 2022. "Jr. Players Camp" is a two-week camp where high school students learn to produce a play by learning lines, acting, dancing, singing and building sets. The yearly camp runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until June 25. At the end of the camp, the students will put on the first act of the musical "Into the Woods." Their showcase will be on Saturday June 24th at 11 a.m.
