It's Fringe, Let's Throw Some Spaghetti

Spring… I hear it’s coming. And with it the crack of Chris Davis’ homeruns, the JFX Farmer’s market, and the beginning of a new year for Charm City Fringe. This is going to be an exciting year for independent theatre in Baltimore, friends.

I saw two incredible pieces of theatre recently. The first was Twelfth Night at Centerstage. It’s open for a few more days. If you enjoy the bard go see it for its wit, lovely acting, and perfect concept. If you prefer, you are likely to find the cast hanging out afterwards at Midtown BBQ & Brew. More interestingly, I saw the final local performance of the Baltimore Rock Opera Society’s Grundlehammer.

I am a theatre snob. There, I said it. I’ve seen hundreds of plays and musicals over the years. I worked on Broadway. I have two degrees and thousands of additional training hours. Currently, I am a professional production manager. I want shows that are clean, well-directed, efficiently told. On the surface, the BROS don’t meet the myriad of high standards I typically have. Transitions are slow, audio is often not mixed well, story lines are sometimes suspect at best. Grundlehammer is three hours of all of these things and the unadulterated joy of the entire company and the sold out house.

There is something amazing about what I saw on Sunday. The spirit, creativity, ingenuity of the Baltimore Rock Opera Society took me outside of my bubble, and made me forget about my standards. I was so entertained by their passion for their project. Everyone from the band, to the guy under the set who you could hear opening his beer can in a quiet moment, to the leads had me from the get-go. This kind of work is why I love and support small, independent artists and theatre companies. It’s why I believe in things like Fringe Festivals.

I’m hoping that 2014 continues stretching artists in the direction of their passion and stories. I'm so excited to see what kinds of artists and projects we will be cultivating this year at Charm City Fringe. This is a chance for a performer/company to take a risk and produce a piece they’ve been thinking about. Get something in front of an audience so it can continue on with its growth process. Throw some spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. Beginning April 1st, we will be looking for this year’s Fringe Stars. I, personally, can’t wait to see what you send us.

This year we also have a few additional opportunities to get involved. We are opening up a free application process to Bands and Comics who are interested in performing at our After Hours events and parties during the Festival week. Currently, we have a poster contest going on for this year’s Charm City Fringe Festival Poster Design. I’m thinking about entering myself… We are also in the process of talks with venues to ensure the most professional experience possible for our 2014 artists this year.

I gotta say, I’m STOKED to be working on this year’s Charm City Fringe Festival. And we are always open to getting more people involved. Drop us a line if you also want to be a part of creating and engaging in independent theatre in Baltimore. Let’s show the world that we are more than just Natty Boh, Raven’s Football, and The Wire! Our city, our stage!

Kate Gibson

Production Manager and Indy Theatre Lover

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The Fringe Poster Contest will remain open for seven more days, just like that [quippy movie reference]!

A Look Forward and Back

Greetings, salutations, and wilkommen to the first installment of the brand spanking-new, monthly Charm City Fringe blog! Wherein; you’ll find all of the latest updates, information, and juicy inside knowledge concerning the 2014 Charm City Fringe Festival, and the general goings-on at Fringe HQ! This is just a small part of our efforts to bring the fringe right into the palm of your hand.

The best thing since sliced bread? Assuredly, yes. Join us in 2014!

This month is all about the past, and how that past will lead into the future! No, we’re not about to have some existential discussion about the perils of time perception, I’m talking about last year’s festival! The 2013 Charm City Fringe Festival was a huge success, and we owe that success to our fabulous artists, actors, performers, and patrons (hey, that’s you!) who came out to support Baltimore’s first and only Fringe festival. To all of us here at CCF headquarters, the response to our first crack at this thing was inspiring, and will only help to propel fringe further into the stratosphere of performing arts and entertainment. But while we’re moving upward, we haven’t forgotten why we’re all here – the promotion of under-the-radar artists and performances that showcase the diversity and “charm” (see what I did there?) of the Baltimore theatre scene, and beyond!

While we bid goodbye to last year’s festival slowly shrinking in the rearview mirror, we eagerly wave hello to the 2014 festival as it steadily becomes visible in the soft and shimmering beams of our headlights. It may be nighttime for the sake of that metaphor, but the sun is rising on Charm City Fringe in 2014.

This year, we’ve redoubled our efforts to create more buzz and found further partnerships within and without the city, in order to ensure that fringe continues to grow. Big plans are in store for the upcoming season – we’re expanding the reach that fringe has in The Monument City, and the larger regional theatre scene. In order to continue maturing and expanding, we here at fringe are exploring new partnerships with venues, companies, and events that will all come to light as we continue to trek down the path that we’ve laid out for this year. Not a yellow-brick road, per say, our fringe-y path will provide the same level of wonder, but with a greatly mitigated chance of being set ablaze by a broomsticked, green psychopath.

Needless to say; we’re excited to get going… So excited, in fact, we’ve already begun! In February, the festival application was posted, giving potential applicants the advance chance to review the process involved with applying, and the numerous benefits of joining the fringe family. CCF will begin accepting applications starting April 1st, and we tremendously look forward to seeing the variety and creativity of your submissions!

Want the chance to be a part of Charm City Fringe 2014? Well you, my industrious friend, have a variety of options at your disposal! Fringe doesn’t just need artists and performers - volunteers of any kind are always more than welcome, and if you have even the slightest interest in theatre and performing arts, you’re encouraged to reach out to us at info@charmcityfringe.com! We love meeting new people and sharing our mutual admiration for theatre and the arts! If you missed us last year and would like a small glimpse of what CCF is all about, take a look at our gallery, which is filled with some wonderful images for your perusal.

This is going to be an exciting year for Charm City Fringe and Baltimore theatre, so stay tuned to see exactly what we have in store for you. If all the world’s a stage, we’ll be handing out playbills very soon…

Alexander Ward

Public Relations

2013 Press Release: That Fresh Ish

Charm City Fringe Announces Festival Lineup

Performers and venues for the second annual performing arts festival

Media Alert: The Charm City Fringe Fest opening party and media night sneak peek will be held at Liam Flynn's Ale House, Sunday November 3rd, at 6 p.m. This event will be an opportunity for area journalists and audiences to kick off the festival and watch sneak previews of each scheduled production.

BALTIMORE, Md. – Charm City Fringe Fest has released the final performance lineup for its return engagement on November 6-10, 2013.

The schedule of performances, along artist bios, performance descriptions, and ticketing information can be found on the festival website, www.charmcityfringe.com. The information will also be available in a printed program later in the month.

Festival performances will take place at Baltimore Theater Project in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood (45 W. Preston St., Baltimore, MD) and Single Carrot Theatre in Station North (1727 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD). The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory will perform at its own venue, The Great Hall Theatre at St. Mary’s (3900 Roland Ave., Baltimore, MD).

Charm City Fringe Fest special events and happy hours will be held at Liam Flynn's Ale House (22 W. North Ave., Baltimore, MD) as well as Joe Squared.

"We're so proud of the work that our artists are putting on," said Zachary Michel, cofounder of Charm City Fringe. "I can't wait for this festival to kick off, it's going to be a great year for Baltimore theatre and Fringe as a whole. We're looking at a moment where Baltimore theatre is really going to start getting the attention it deserves."

Tickets to each production are $10 with the one-time purchase of a $3 festival button. Tickets will go on sale October 16, 2013. Student and Senior tickets are available at the door for $8, cash only.

The Charm City Fringe Fest opening party and media night sneak peek will be held at Liam Flynn's Ale House, Sunday November 3rd, at 6 p.m. This event will be an opportunity for area journalists and audiences to kick off the festival, network with other festival attendees, and watch sneak previews of each scheduled production.

“This party is going to be a blast,” said Michael Brush, cofounder. "It's the beginning of the festival and it truly exemplifies the spirit of fringe. It's not only a chance for audiences to interact with artists, but for the artists to interact with other artists and for the media to get a feel for the upcoming shows and see all that the festival has to offer."Charm City Fringe aims to become a yearly event and a staple of the Baltimore performing arts community. The festival is the first and only of its kind in Maryland.

“I love Baltimore’s music scene, but before I started working with Fringe, I had a difficult time keeping up with local theatre,” said second year festival volunteer, Alex Ward. “The ability to explore and have access to all of this art that I previously wasn’t aware of has been fantastic.”

The companies and individuals slated for performances are:

·      Baltimore Improv Group, Baltimore, MD

·      Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, Baltimore, MD

·      Nicholas Horan, Hyattsville, MD

·      Rob Jansen, Berwyn Heights, MD

·      Siobhan O'Loughlin, Brooklyn, NY

·      Playwrights Group of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD

·      Lucie Pohl, New York, NY

·      Adam Ruben, Washington, DC

·      Single Carrot Theatre, Baltimore, MD

2013 Festival Art and Artist Announcements!

Hey there, neighbor! 

We've been a bit quiet on the festival front, but we assure you, it's been anything but slow behind the scenes. First up, check out the latest mockups for our festival posters and graphics. Okay, now imagine them with fresh new line work colors that pop off the page!

There we go! And here to our right you can see the miniature poster, also located in the thumbnail to this post.

But what is a festival without festivities. Not very good, that's what! Well, we have one company left that is finalizing their contract, but we can proudly announce that you will be able to catch wonderful performances by the following artists this fall:

The Playwrights Group of Baltimore, Single Carrot Theatre, Adam Ruben, BIG, Rob Jansen, Siobhan O'Loughlin, Rob Jansen, and the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, with tentative performances by artist Lucie Pohl.

 Look for more news to be posted in the coming weeks, including: artist biographies, production teasers for each show, festival schedules, fun festival festivities, and of course, ticketing information and giveaways.

Thanks for listening, and remember to keep it fringe.

-Zach Michel 

Charm City Fringe Gears Up for 2013 Festival!

Hey guys, 

Check out our new press release...

RIGHT HERE

And enjoy this lovely photo of a young child dancing to The Wailers at Artscape 2013!  

Thanks,

-CJ

(Photo Credit: Nick Karlin)