By Jackson Cooper, Staff Writer

Published in print Feb. 4, 2015

There I was, dehydrated, covered in glitter, and sitting in a folding chair—not the way I intended to die. I felt like the end was near. It was day four of the New York Fringe Festival. Two years ago I made the trip, upon recommendation from a friend, to see something different. “You’ll love it,” they said. “Fringe Festivals are uniquely different in every way possible.” This statement pleased my offbeat taste in life.

The Fringe Festival circuit is one that has grown in popularity since 1947, when the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was founded. Much like the rise of Independent films in Hollywood, Fringe Festivals came about as a way for underground troupes and solo artists to showcase their art to a larger general audience. What makes Fringe Festivals unique is their application process.

Nearly every Fringe Festival does not use a jury-based selection process, with the exception of places like New York. And we have one of those in our own backyard.

Greensboro’s own Fringe Festival, which runs through Feb. 6, is celebrating its Lucky 13th year of bringing unique acts to Greensboro sans glitter and dehydration (more on that later).

Todd Fisher heads up the Fringe Festival. Fisher knows his stuff. Having served on the Board of the Fringe from its inaugural year until taking over as Director a few years ago, he manages to organize and run the festival—with a little help from his friends, of course.

“Since the festival began [13 years ago], our reputation has expanded and that expanded the fields that are participating in the festival,” Fisher commented. These fields now include everything from one-man shows to experimental dance troupes.

Fringe Festivals, as Fisher explained, are basically co-ops and an invaluable marketing tool for artists interesting in developing and showing their work to audiences. Greensboro’s Fringe does not require any participation fees for the involved groups and provides artists with the spaces to perform in, thanks to a generous donation from CityArts. The Festival, above all, encourages artists to use this time and the space to polish a work that could eventually move to a bigger festival or venue some other time.  Many UNCG alumni have performed at the Festival the past seven years, including a one man show written and performed this year by UNCG alum Scott Whitmore.

My experiences with Fringe Festivals have varied. The first one I ever attended was the famed New York International Fringe Festival. I like to describe it as like watching Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut”: I went in with high expectations and they were met, exceeded, and boy was I not expecting some of the things I saw. I remember sitting in a cramped room, watching a performance art piece called “The Krap We Take” by a Brooklyn based dance troupe. At the beginning of the piece, they threw buckets of glitter over the audience and set the thermostat to 76 so that by the time the dance was over, we were all dehydrated and anxious. I’m still trying to figure out the metaphor.

I returned to my friend’s apartment, rushing to the sink for water. My mind was not as open as it is now, so I did not appreciate the offbeat experience. The next year I attended the Greensboro Fringe Festival, where I appreciated the sense of integrity that was in it. The festival invited artists of all disciplines and tastes. My now-mature mind registered that Fringe Festivals are a chance to see something unique—to be dehydrated and covered with glitter for the sake of the experience. Lesson learned. Open your mind, the world is a fun place.