The 12th annual Providence Fringe Festival, known as FRINGEPVD, kicked off Sunday night at The Wilbury Theatre. The festival, which brings artists and performers from across the country to Rhode Island, runs through July 26. The festival is organized each year by the Wilbury Theatre Group.
“We started (FRINGEPVD) in Providence a few years ago to support those artists who don’t have dedicated performance space (and) who maybe don’t have an audience that comes and sees their work regularly, says Wilbury’s Artistic Director Josh Short, “So this is a real opportunity for them to showcase that work and for our audiences to discover that work for the first time.”
The “fringe festival” was popularized by the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, bringing actors, comedians, musicians, and other artists to Scotland for the festival since 1947.
“Artists in Scotland couldn’t get into the official performance festivals. So they started their own on the fringes of the international festival, says Short, “and that became the first Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Since then, fringe festivals have sprouted up all over the world.”
FRINGEPVD takes place across 12 indoor and outdoor venues in Providence’s Olneyville/Valley neighborhood. From the two venues inside 50 Sims Ave. to Teatro Ecas, festival organizers say patrons have a roughly 15-minute walking area where they can explore shows each night.
“When we started the Fringe Festival, we were spread out all over the city. And as great as that was, we found that there was this walkability factor (missing).” Short adds about the evolution of FRINGEPVD, “So a few years ago, we brought it all into the Olneyville and Valley Arts District footprint, and we have some incredible neighborhood partners here.”
Short also says bringing the festival to one centralized area has also allowed it to become more accessible.
“All of our venues are handicap accessible, And this year we partnered with RAMP (Real Access motivates Progress) and so our Free Family Fringe Day and Sims Ave. Fest on Saturday, July 26 is also being held in conjunction with the Accessibility Is Beautiful Festival, which is a day all about celebrating accessibility.”
The opening night included an hour-long “Show Us Your Fringe”, where performers had one minute to pitch their show to the audience, with names like “Beastly: An Autobiographical Feminist Folk Tale” which takes place 25 years in the future, “I Am Going To Die (And All They Gave Me Were These Lousy Cupcakes)” which celebrates a “Deathday Party”, and “Apocalypse King; Or, the legacy of small hands (an anti-anti intellectual play) also known as, No one panic! It’s just late stage capitalism!” performed by Providence resident Teddy Lytle.
“I think it’s one of the reasons why I stay (in Providence) is because of the Fringe Festival and because of the artist community here around it that makes it possible, Lytle says about FRINGEPVD, “Providence really does as a community and as a city, foster artistry and collaboration and community.”
Tickets and information for the festival can be found on FRINGEPVD’s website.
