Meet City's Fringe bloggers

Get to know Adam, Daniel, Frank, Jake, Leah, and Rebecca

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Adam Lubitow

This is my third year covering the Rochester Fringe Festival for City Newspaper, and while I've got a long list of shows I'm looking forward to -- Remote Rochester, ShakesBLOOD, Hot Tub: The Musical, and the RIT Student Honors Show currently top my list -- by now I've learned that my favorite acts often end up being the ones that weren't even on my radar going into the festival. It's the joy of discovery that keeps me excited and coming back to Fringe each year.

I'm also hoping to check out the lineup of movies showing at the festival's Pedestrian Drive-In at least a couple nights over the next 10 days. As programmer and writer for the ImageOut Film Festival, as well as City's resident film critic, the rest of my time is spent loitering in Rochester's many fine movie houses. As the week marches on, I'll mostly be surviving on a steady diet of iced coffee, popcorn, and dreams, but as long as you don't mind a likely-delirious, sleep-deprived response, feel free to shoot me a tweet @adamlubitow.

Daniel J. Kushner

Art in a familiar medium that challenges us to engage with culture in a way we may not have otherwise has always piqued my interests. There is perhaps no local festival that draws such a high concentration of artists who ply their trade in this way than the Rochester Fringe Festival.

I'm especially excited about the influx of contemporary dance performances that the festival brings, including works from New York City and Milwaukee choreographers in "An Ode to Lovingly Imperfect Bipedals" and a program from BIODANCE that shines a much-needed light on social justice issues.

Contemporary dance will also be an integral part of the concert "Bach without Boundaries," in which violist Bridget Kinneary will perform alongside dancer Missy Pfohl-Smith. The Fringe Festival presents numerous opportunities to see multidisciplinary works that show how music and visual art can inform one another, and this performance will certainly be one to watch. Follow me on Twitter: @danieljkushner.

Frank De Blase

Welcome to my world, the underground; splendor in the light fantastic; life on the edge; life on the fringe. If you know anything about me, you know I dig shit that's out there, socially, emotionally dangerous, devoid of convention, a genuine threat to pop culture and organized religion. Now not everyone has the resources or the wherewithal to go hunting for the odd, the unique, the fringe, but you do have the Rochester Fringe Festival where all disciplines of artistic expression explode upon our downtown landscape in a counter culture display. And we're not just talkin' about music either. I'm aiming to see a pant-load of performances howsabout you?

Leah Stacy

I am a freelance journalist who eagerly anticipates the Rochester Fringe Festival every year. Though my specialization is in theater, I love any risky, new artistic work. In 2014, I produced my own show, "Intrepid," at the Fringe -- but I look forward to being in the audience this year. When I'm not freelancing, you can find me at Nazareth College teaching media and communication classes or guzzling coffee at one of the many fine shops around town. You can follow me on Twitter: @leahstacy.

Rebecca Rafferty

I'm looking forward to loads of shows (I'm reviewing 30 and probably seeing even more), but especially the Arthur Shawcross-based drama, "Mystic Castle"; "Conscience," a play about Rochesterian Bob Good on trial as part of the Camden 28; "Sure-Minded Uncertainties," which promises a magical exploration of the balance of nature and technology; "H | Histories," a musical performance inspired by subatomic particles and genomic lineage; and the Roc Bottom Slam Poetry Team's performance of "Growing Pains." Follow me on Twitter: @rsrafferty.

Jake Clapp

It's hard not to be excited about the Rochester Fringe Festival. More than 500 events; unique settings; artists pushing the boundaries of what is considered "traditional" in their genres; the Fringe is a whirlwind of performances that you won't easily find anywhere else during the year. It's invigorating to see the Rochester arts community starting to embrace new, funky, and fun ideas. Plus it doesn't hurt that the fall weather is starting to creep in.

While I will be out and about covering my share of performances, as City's Arts & Entertainment editor, I will spend the next week mostly burning the midnight oil, coordinating coverage, tweeting, and helping our bloggers review their shows. It's going to be an exciting week, and we want to help you figure out how to make the most of the Fringe.

In This Guide...

Rochester Fringe Festival

Rebecca reviews RIT's Photo House, "The Fiery Sword of Justice," and "Me, Ray Charles, and Sammy Davis Jr."

I stopped in at The Little to check out RIT's Photo House, a grouping of photos displayed on the walls of the theater's 2-5 lobby. Ranging widely in style, genre, and talent, the showcase is a window into what current students are working on, presented to the shifting audience of moviegoers.

By Rebecca Rafferty Sep 22, 2015

2015 RIT Photo House Fiery Sword of Justice Me, Ray Charles and Sammie Davis Jr. Movin' Melvin Brown Slideshow
Rochester Fringe Festival

Leah reviews The 24 Hour Plays

In our culture of reality TV shows and instant gratification, we've grown accustomed to the novelty of becoming a fly on the wall in someone's life anytime we flip to the right channel. Though we know by now reality TV isn't raw and unrehearsed, it still feels that way -- and humans can't resist the chance to watch one another in a vulnerable state.

By Leah Stacy Sep 22, 2015

2015 The 24 Hours Plays Spencer Christiano Megan Mack Slideshow
Rochester Fringe Festival

Adam reviews "Hot Tub: The Musical" and "ShakesBLOOD"

My third day at the Rochester Fringe Festival was a wet and wild one; throughout the course of my time at the festival, rain, chlorinated water, and blood poured down on me at one point or another. My first stop was an afternoon performance of "Hot Tub: The Musical."

By Adam Lubitow Sep 21, 2015

2015 Hot Tub: The Musical Abby DeVuyst ShakesBLOOD Method Machine Slideshow
Rochester Fringe Festival

Rebecca reviews "Sure-Minded Uncertainties," "Conscience," and "Mystic Castle"

"Think of this show as a series of dreams over the course of the night," the audience was instructed before the mesmerizing, multi-sensory performance of "Sure-Minded Uncertainties" at the TheatreROCS Stage on Sunday. Presented by CaveDogs (cavedogs.org), the show featured large-scale shadow projections layered with video imagery and an engaging original soundtrack.

By Rebecca Rafferty Sep 21, 2015

2015 Sure-Minded Uncertainties Conscience Mystic Castle Arthur Shawcross
Rochester Fringe Festival

Adam reviews "James and the Giant Peach" and "Hidden in this Picture"

Performed by RAPA Family Theatre, "James and the Giant Peach: The Musical" comes from Tony-nominated composing team BenjPasek and Justin Paul ("A Christmas Story: The Musical"). An adaptation of the beloved Roald Dahl book, the musical combines aspects of Dahl's book and the 1996 film, adding in a plethora of new songs (it should be noted, these aren't the same Randy Newman compositions featured in the film) and condensing the story for younger audiences.

By Adam Lubitow Sep 21, 2015

2015 James and the Giant Peach Hidden in this Picture Aaron Sorkin RAPA Family Theatre Slideshow
Rochester Fringe Festival

Rebecca reviews "Percentage," "Krapp's Last Tape," and "Bridge Club of Death"

My Saturday night at the Rochester Fringe Festival was full of death, running the gamut of age. I was moved and impressed by "Percentage," presented by RAPA at the School of the Arts' Black Box Theatre.

By Rebecca Rafferty Sep 21, 2015

2015 Percentage Krapp's Last Tape Bridge Club of Death
Rochester Fringe Festival

Leah reviews "Nothing is Written" and "The Rainbow Fish"

There are many beautiful things that happen during the Rochester Fringe Festival, but one of my favorite parts is the heightened vulnerability that emerges in the theater community. Theater is already a vulnerable art form, but with every show there are budgets to consider, boards who must approve show runs, and difficult casting decisions to be made.

By Leah Stacy Sep 20, 2015

2015 Nothing is Written E.F. Milligan The Rainbow Fish Alec Powell
Rochester Fringe Festival

Casey reviews PUSH and "As the Dead Prey Upon Us"

PUSH Physical Theatre, the creation of Rochester-based husband and wife team Darren and Heather Stevenson, bills itself as "physical theater," but it is really so much more. Darren's spot-on humor is imbued with philosophical depth and the pieces the company performed at the Rochester Fringe Festival on Saturday moved the audience from hilarity to awe.

By Casey Carlsen Sep 19, 2015

2015 PUSH Physical Theatre The Chair As The Dead Prey Upon Us Richard Haisma Slideshow
Rochester Fringe Festival

Rebecca reviews "Twain's Amazing Tales" and "Shitty Lives"

I spent the second night of the Rochester Fringe Festival taking in two shows staged back-to-back at MuCCC. "Twain's Amazing Tales," put on by James Landers and Classics Theater of Rochester, featured dramatic readings of excerpts from "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven," which I have not read, and "What Stumped the Bluejays," which was part of Landers' Fringe offering last year.

By Rebecca Rafferty Sep 19, 2015

2015 Twain's Amazing Tales Mark Twain Shitty Lives Straw Mat Players
Rochester Fringe Festival

Casey reviews Garth Fagan Dance

Garth Fagan Dance performed in its Chestnut Street studio on Friday night as part of the Rochester Fringe Festival, showcasing Fagan's latest work and premiering Norwood Pennewell's fifth piece for the company. Watching the Rochester-based, internationally-acclaimed company dance in the same place its members rehearse, create, and sweat intensifies and personalizes the performance.

By Casey Carlsen Sep 19, 2015

2015 Garth Fagan Dance Studio Norwood Pennewell Geoffrey Holder Carmen de Lavallade
Rochester Fringe Festival

Photos from Grounded Aerial

Brooklyn-based aerial dance troupe Grounded Aerial premiered a new work Friday night as part of the Rochester Fringe Festival's big Friday on the Fringe event. Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Manhattan Square was packed with people craning their necks to watch the dancers leap, flip, and glide off the side of the 21-story One HSBC Plaza building.

By Jake Clapp Sep 19, 2015

2015 Grounded Aerial Friday on the Fringe BIODANCE Aerial Dance Slideshow
Rochester Fringe Festival

Leah reviews the TheatreROCS showcase

As the crowds thinned after Grounded Aerial's sky-high theatrics on the side of One HSBC Plaza Friday night, a woman in a bright red shirt stood outside the nearby Xerox building yelling, "Free show here right now!" It turned out her hawking strategy was a good one: I was there because I planned to be, but many others filled the seats inside the auditorium because they were searching for a next step in their Friday Fringe journey -- and "free" is always a bonus.

By Leah Stacy Sep 19, 2015

2015 TheatreROCS Showcase Big Wigs Out of Costume Stardust and Butterflies
Rochester Fringe Festival

Photos from "Merged III"

With new works created by choreographers Heather Roffe and James Hansen, "Merged III" premiered at Geva Theatre Center on Thursday night. The performances will continue on Saturday, September 19, at 4 p.m., and Sunday, September 20, at 6:30 p.m. $10-$12.

Sep 18, 2015

2015 Merged III Heather Roffe James Hansen Dance Performance Slideshow
Rochester Fringe Festival

Jake reviews Remote Rochester

Stay with me; Remote Rochester might take a minute to explain. The -- what should we call it?

By Jake Clapp Sep 18, 2015

2015 Remote Rochester Rimini Protokoll Interactive Theater Video
Rochester Fringe Festival

Adam reviews "La Cage Aux Folles"

My 2015 Rochester Fringe experience began with sequins, high heels, and wigs a-plenty when I took in RAPA's production of "La Cage Aux Folles" (helpful pronunciation tip: it sounds like "La Cahhge ah Fall") on the School of the Arts' Allen Main Stage. Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's Tony Award-winning musical is based on Jean Poiret's original 1973 play.

By Adam Lubitow Sep 18, 2015

2015 La Cage Aux Folles RAPA Eric Vaughn Johnson Roy Wise Billy DeMetsenaere
Rochester Fringe Festival

Rebecca reviews "Cabinet of Wonders" and "No Safe Word"

I saw the very entertaining "Cabinet of Wonders" in the packed Spiegeltent last night, which included everything there's to like about the circus, without the animal cruelty. The show began with the subtlest of clowns -- a wiggly goofball who worked the audience with priceless facial expressions -- performing some tricks while the husband-and-wife hosting team, Matt and Heidi Morgan, worked the audience with witty banter.

By Rebecca Rafferty Sep 18, 2015

2015 Cabinet of Wonders Matt and Heidi Morgan No Safe Word KineticArchitecture Slideshow
Rochester Fringe Festival

Fringe's Shakespeare options

Shakespeare's plays are timeless, and you just can't have a theater-heavy festival without Will's work. Fringe is featuring no fewer than six shows based on the Bard's plays.

By Rebecca Rafferty Sep 17, 2015

2015 Shakespeare HamletGhosts ShakesBLOOD The Ghost at the Feast Shakespeare's Greatest Hits
Rochester Fringe Festival

Fringe Festival 2015: City's Daily Fringe Blogs

The 2015 First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival runs Thursday, September 17, through Saturday, September 26, and City Newspaper will be out EVERY NIGHT of the festival, covering multiple shows. Check in first thing each morning for photos and reviews of the previous night's entertainment, listed below by date.

Sep 16, 2015