This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
The 2024 Atlanta Fringe Festival, running June 3-9 at 7 Stages and other venues around the Little Five Points neighborhood, is theater for audiences who like wilder, unpredictable performances. For its 12th year, the Festival will feature 28 different acts performing in different spaces, including Limelight Theater, Dynamic El Dorado, Metropolitan Studios and the Wrecking Bar. The work varies from personal storytelling, burlesque acts and dance to clowning and comedy.
“It rewards risk-taking for audiences and artists,” said Executive Director Diana Brown.
Tickets to individual fringe shows cost $15, and multishow packages are available at a discount through atlantafringe.org. An added feature of this year’s Festival is street fringe entertainment, which will be provided by buskers around Little Five Points and includes musicians, jugglers, actors and comedians. The kids’ fringe and street fringe events are free to all.
Brown compared the variety of fringe acts to a buffet.
“There’s a lot of options in front of you,” she said. “You can stumble around and discover things. It can open you up to a whole new thing that you love. We need to be surprised and learn new things about ourselves.”
The acts chosen to perform on Fringe’s stages are selected by lottery at the beginning of the year. Applicants submit their show pitches — some of which are not yet developed — and shows are chosen at random.
“I love the lottery,” Brown said. “There’s no gatekeeping. No one’s picking anything or trying to prove anything to anyone. You can just let your work stand on its own. Sometimes people use the lottery as an excuse to write something. The application says, ‘To be determined.’ We’re not afraid of that if the artist isn’t. They get picked and get to writing. Several times, that’s an award-winning show. It gives daring people a fantastic reason to get their creative juices flowing.”
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Fringe Festival
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Fringe Festival
Among the artists in town this year are clowns Miles Calderon and Levi Meltzer, who are bringing their play “Mr. Cardboard” to Atlanta after touring at European fringe fests.
“I think we’d be in big trouble, personally, if fringe didn’t exist,” Meltzer said in a Zoom interview while in London. “Because this is the kind of theater that really thrives [on the] fringes. It subverts traditional ideas around theater and comedy, pushing two things together that you might not think would fit. Audiences are willing to take a risk and a punt, and they might fall in love with it.”
Linnea Bond, who is bringing her one-woman show, “Heart Ripped Out Twice and So Can You!,” said fringe festivals give artists the opportunity to break traditional theater formats wide open.
“We’re in a challenging moment right now because I believe we need live performances more than ever, yet it’s harder to get people to the theater, maybe more than ever,” she said. “But I think that people are craving it post-pandemic. It’s even more of a valued experience. And I think, with fringe, having a space where you don’t quite know what the rules are brings so much excitement and freedom.”
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Fringe Festival
Credit: Courtesy of Atlanta Fringe Festival
Other notable events
“Five-Fifths of ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’” (June 3 at 7 Stages)
In this annual event, five Atlanta-based performing groups retell a classic movie using a variety of styles, including puppetry from Beau Brown and comedy from Twinhead Theatre. This year, the team is tackling the classic time travel comedy starring Keanu Reeves.
Preview Party (June 4 at 7 Stages)
Each featured act of the festival takes the stage for three minutes, giving audiences a brief taste of what they can expect by attending their shows. This gives curious theatergoers a chance to sample what’s to come.
“The Masque of the Red Death” (June 7-9 at 7 Stages)
The Savannah-based Assembly of Phantasms presents an Edgar Allan Poe-flavored burlesque variety show, complete with a killer ending, in 7 Stages’ backstage space.
“Agnes and Agatha” (June 7-9 at 7 Stages)
Dancers Rachel S. Hunter and Ben Howard bring their piece about two former radio stars now in a nursing home to 7 Stages. Hunter said the piece is intended to explore how art and artists adapt their work as they age.
THEATER PREVIEW
Atlanta Fringe Festival
June 3-9 at 7 Stages and other Little Five Points-area venues. Most shows, $15. atlantafringe.org
::
Benjamin Carr is an ArtsATL editor-at-large who has contributed to the publication since 2019 and a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Atlanta Press Club and the Horror Writers Association. His writing has been featured in podcasts for iHeartMedia, onstage as part of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival and online in The Guardian. His debut novel, “Impacted,” was published by The Story Plant.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
MEET OUR PARTNER
ArtsATL (artsatl.org) is a nonprofit organization that plays a critical role in educating and informing audiences about metro Atlanta’s arts and culture. ArtsATL, founded in 2009, helps build a sustainable arts community contributing to the economic and cultural health of the city.
If you have any questions about this partnership or others, please contact Senior Manager of Partnerships Nicole Williams at nicole.williams@ajc.com.
About the Author
