Tampa’s Most Eclectic Arts Festival Celebrates 10 Year
by Maggie Duffy
Get ready to fringe with the best of them at the Tampa International Fringe Festival, returning to Ybor City for its tenth year June 10-21.
According to the festival’s website, to “fringe" means to immerse yourself in more than 30 experimental, eclectic performances happening in the jam-packed festival. Performances happen in three spaces at the Kress Building and the Commodore Theater. A free shuttle will take folks between the two venues.
The origin of Fringe festivals started in 1947 in Edinburgh Scotland, when eight theater groups showed up uninvited to the city’s international arts festival and held rogue performances on the “fringe” of the festival.
Tampa International Fringe producer Trish Parry said she started the festival because she had performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland back in 2011. When her global tour of a show about the history of beer brought her to Tampa, she joined forces with David Jenkins (of Jobsite Theater) and William Glenn and decided to create a fringe here.
A few years went by, Parry said, but then the festival was born ten years ago.
“We thought it'd be really great to bring in this kind of temporal melting pot of different kinds of performance,” Perry said.
Once again, this year’s lineup is varied enough to fit anyone’s taste, no matter how niche. For example, “A Funeral For Someone You Didn’t Know” is an immersive experience in which you can participate (or not) in a funeral.
“Strange Girls 2” features local actors Bridget Bean, Laila Lee, Jonelle M. Meyer and Dawn Truax and will appeal to those who appreciate dark humor.
Fans of improv may gravitate towards favorite “The Last Stand Tavern,” Frigin & Flagons’ award-winning show that mashes up improv with role-playing games.
There are children’s shows too, including a Kids Fringe Workshop and a puppet show based on Oscar Wilde’s “The Selfish Giant.”
Performers are coming from all over the country and the world, with one from Germany and several from Canada. About half the performances are from locals, Parry said.
“We're excited that it's been 10 years, we've made it this far, and we're just appreciative of artists and audiences that are willing to come together and do this thing every year,” she said.
Parry said not only has the audience grown (she said last year there was a 30% increase in audience), but that some people who came as attendees have gone on to start doing their own Fringe shows and sometimes touring them.
Heading to Fringe to see The Saint of Scandal?
Before you watch Samantha Martí-Parisi tackle the wild history of La Maupin on stage, listen to her recent guest appearance on our podcast: "Samantha Marti Parisi Isn’t Afraid of the Netless Leap."
She sat down with us a few months ago to discuss the "terrifying" thrill of solo theater, her creative journey in Tampa Bay, and why she is drawn to rebellious stories about overlooked women in history.
“It's pretty cool that we're kind of exporting some Tampa talent now,” she said.
Tampa International Fringe Festival. June 10-21. Ticket prices vary and there are price breaks for bundles. Die-hard Fringers can take advantage of the Eliminator Pass to book as many shows as they want and use the festival’s helpful guide that has descriptions, times and prices for every show. festival.tampafringe.org.