Culture

A young man breathes deep as he does his final check.  His curly hair almost, but not quite, covers his glasses and problem skin.  He can feel the heat of nerves creeping up his spine and staining his face red.  He checks on his actors.  Professional actors and kids from school alike stand nervous in the wings.  They are all so good in the parts he has written.

He signals to the Fringe stage manager provided as part of his grand prize winnings.  He can still remember the day his teacher encouraged him to enter his new play in the Emerging Fringe competition.  Looking out at the audience now, filled with friends, family members, and complete strangers drawn by the social media campaign he designed and launched, he can’t believe that the visions that kept him company at night in bed were finally ready to share.  Every set piece, every prop, every detail exactly as he pictured it, as he made it, ready to share with his waiting audience.    

He takes another deep breath, checks his costume, and steps out onto the stage.

The International Fringe Festival began in Edinburgh in 1947 and has since spread, with more than 200 Festivals occurring around the world. San Diego, still a young Festival organization is the only Fringe to host a bi-national Fringe Festival, with performances in both San Diego and Tijuana.

During the festival, artists from across the United States and around the world participate alongside local talent, in art forms spanning from theatre, buskers/street performers, cabaret, comedy, circus, dance, film, poetry, spoken word, puppetry, music, visual art, design & open to any other type of artsyness.

Key to the operation of San Diego International Fringe Festival is its’ role to support, encourage, and facilitate producers, artists, presenters, venues, and businesses. The festival works to ensure that artists and all participants involved have the best possible experience. For independent artists, San Diego International Fringe Festival is an inspirational environment to showcase their work.

With more than 400 performances in an 11- day timeframe, shows vary from puppet shows, spoken word, singing, dancing, plays, and everything else once can imagine.  Fringe supports performing artists by letting them retain 100% of the ticket sales. This helps to give both local and global artists a platform to express and share their art, support their journey and make their dreams come true.

As part of the appeal to everyone, SDIFF will host a Family Fringe event in City Heights. At this event, performances and activities are geared toward youth and family and is completely free. Arts have become less prominent in school and federally defunded, and SDIFF has a strong commitment that now more than ever, it is important to involve, inspire, and include youth in the arts. Performing art is a valuable tool for youth to learn as it can help them cope and have a creative outlet later on in life.

San Diego International Fringe Festival will take place June 22-July 2, 2017, and will include new venues in Balboa Park in addition to those in the downtown area. Performances are $10 or less to attend. A $5 Fringe Tag is required to attend and can be purchased at the office in Horton Plaza Park.  75% of all performances feature local talent, with the 25% of talent traveling internationally from more than 7 countries to conduct performances.

The Emerging Fringe offers local high school students the opportunity to compete for a grand prize that includes a Fringe supported production during the year in a professional theatre space downtown.  The goal of this event is to empower high school kids to create, develop, and mount an original production of their choosing.  Each year, one high-achieving student whose creative, original production will be shared with the greater San Diego audience by utilizing the space and staffing resources available to the San Diego International Fringe Festival.

San Diego International Fringe Festival is a non-profit project of CONTACT ARTS, in association with the Actors Alliance of San Diego, designed to help provide a platform for artists while also helping the community as a whole. For more information visit http://www.sdfringe.org