Contact:
Ian Hoch
Media Coordinator
ian@nofringe.org
504-258-8706

 

(August 6, 2014) - The New Orleans Fringe has become known for its offbeat and sometimes crazy venues, a mix of unusual places and repurposed spaces for theater: old churches, warehouses, live oak trees, a float den, bars, living rooms, and the backseat of a minivan have all hosted performances. This year for our seventh annual Fringe Fest, November 19-23, 2014, several audience-favorite venues will be returning to our line-up - the Marigny Opera House, The Shadowbox Theater, Mardi Gras Zone and the Old Firehouse. Fringe is pleased to announce the addition of two very special new spaces to our line-up of official Fringe-managed performance venues: Zeitgeist on OC Haley Blvd and Art Klub on Elysian Fields.

So, this year, Fringe is going all the way from A to Z - Art Klub to Zeitgeist, with Mardi Gras Zone, Marigny Opera House, the Old Firehouse, and The Shadowbox Theater in between. And we're just warming up...

For the past several years, the burgeoning OC Haley arts corridor has been gradually growing as a hub for Fringe "bring your own venue" shows - artist-run shows that help push the reach and depth of the festival. Now the area boasts a growing slate of performance venues during Fringe Fest, restaurants and coffee destinations, and it has become an evening's destination unto itself - where theater-goers can catch a couple of great shows, have a delicious bite to eat, get a refreshing drink, and get totally immersed in the Fringe Fest spirit. Partnering with the New Orleans Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center, which has been bringing alternative art to New Orleans since1986 at 1618 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, Fringe is pleased to present a managed venue and line-up of shows on OC Haley and work side-by-side with the BYOVs and businesses in Central City during the festival. With Zeitgeist, the Ashe' Cultural Arts Center, Divine Yoga, Dryades Theater and the BEATnik, all within just a few blocks of one another, this inclusive hub of perspective and creativity promises to reward full immersion.

Back closer to the vortex of Fringe, the Art Klub at 519 Elysian Fields Avenue has hosted dozens of theater and dance performances over the years, has been a highly sought-after Fringe BYOV site for years, and has also played host to New Orleans Fringe's annual Saturday night after-party since 2009. Yeah, we've flirted for a while...who can resist a former municipal stable turned funeral home, now recreated as a performance space and artist studio? Hhhhottttt.

The Fringe Fest organizes performances in a total of six "Fringe-managed" venues. Performance groups that appear in our Fringe-managed venues are selected by local peer reviewers from applicants from all over the country and internationally. This year, 140 groups applied for the 24 slots at Fringe-Managed venues. In addition, artists also self-organize "Bring Your Own Venues" at locations throughout the city. With Fringe-managed Venues and BYOVs, we expect a total of 40 venues this year.

The New Orleans Fringe Festival is a five-day event where performers from New Orleans, across the US, and around the world, present innovative, unconventional, beautiful, challenging and original theater of all types at wild variety of venues in neighborhoods of our city. In the 2014 Festival, over 60 groups will present over 300 shows at 40 venues in the Bywater, Marigny, French Quarter, Warehouse District and Central City. The Festival lineup will be announced October 1, and tickets go on sale at that time as well. Visit nofringe.org for more information.

 

About Fringe
The Fringe is a 501(c)3 non-profit that was founded by local arts organizers to nurture fearless theater in New Orleans and to benefit artists, venues, neighborhoods and local businesses. Fringe is supported by a SEED grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. This program is supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council. This program is supported in part by a Community Arts Grant made possible by the City of New Orleans. The grant is administered through the Arts Council of New Orleans.

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