Lee Theatre to host Fringe Fest online
Image courtesy of Lee Theatre
Each spring, Lee Theatre hosts “Fringe Fest,” a festival of plays that consist of submissions from directing and playwriting students. These students collaborate together to make their visions come to life on the stage. This year, Fringe Fest will be held online via Zoom on April 23 at 7 p.m EST.
During a typical semester, directing students are given an eight to 10-minute scene from the playwriting students and are responsible for casting and rehearsing, with the final product showcased at the Fringe Festival.
With an initial idea from the theatre department of a space where students can showcase their work, Associate Professor of Theatre Dan Buck and Associate Professor of Creative Writing Stacy Isom Campbell introduced the idea to conduct the festival over Zoom.
“Some of the plays are written to go along with the quarantined times, and some of them are plays that have worked out with people living together who are acting together in a scene,” said junior theatre major Madi Rosenthal.
Rosenthal explained once participants join Zoom, they will be instructed to turn off their video and mic so the focus is fully on the actors and story.
“It’s pretty odd and a bit challenging because of technological issues and WiFi problems, but it’s a fun way to create things,” said senior theatre major Madelaine Burgess.
Burgess is directing one of the plays to be showcased during the festival and has participated in the Fringe Festival all four years while at Lee. Burgess emphasized her excitement for the festival, even though this year’s production looks different.
“It challenges the normal way of working in a space as a director because the space is now online. I think something it does is it really brings the focus on the writing, which is why we do this,” Burgess said.
According to the directing and playwriting students, the participants have worked hard to produce interesting and creative stories to show their audience. Together, they tackled the challenge and are excited to share their work.
To access the Zoom link, click here.
