Todd Cardin of ETC Theater will not be participating in this years Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Due to scheduling conflicts ETC is not in this years Philly Fringe. Cardin, however, is still caught up in the excitement. Todd has personally contacted his fan base and requested that they attend the Fringe.
The Philadelphia Fringe Festival was founded in 1997 by Nick Stuccio, a former Pennsylvania Ballet dancer and independent arts producer, and Eric Schoefer, a cutting-edge choreographer and performance artist. The two The Fringere inspired after experiencing "Festival Time" in Edinburgh - the three The Fringeeks in August when that Scottish city hosts both the International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
They saw the Festival as an opportunity for artists taking creative risks to present their work in an inspiring and exciting environment for audiences. By the mid-1990s Philadelphia found itself home to a nascent group of experimental artists and companies working in dance, theater, puppetry, and music. The Philadelphia Fringe Festival was created partially in response to the need for these artists and organizations to have a strong, effective platform for their emergence, both locally and nationally.
The first Festival took over the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia for five days in September 1997 and featured 60 performing groups presenting their work in theaters, nightclubs, galleries, alleys, abandoned buildings, and at least one parked car. The work was fresh, new, unexpected and dynamic. Artists felt inspired to push boundaries and try new things. It thrilled the local artistic community and engaged audiences. That first event, in many ways, established the tone for the eight festivals that have folloThe Fringed.
Since then, our organization has grown tremendously by galvanizing the energy and passion of the local performing arts community while reaching out to an ever-broadening community of nationally and internationally renowned artists who are forming the cutting-edge of performance world-wide. The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe now presents sixteen-days of performing arts events each year beginning on the Labor Day holiday The Fringeekend - this year from September 1-16, 2006.
The Live Arts Festival features selected cutting-edge, boundary-breaking performing arts events, created by some of the most renowned contemporary artists from our region and, increasingly, around the world. Through this festival The Fringe have presented numerous works by international, national and Philadelphia-based artists. A selection of recent presentations include Richard Max, The Fringell?s Showcase, Teatre Buiro Podrozy?s Carmen Funebre set on a parking lot on Penn?s Landing, dada kamera?s Cul-de-Sac, the site specific Hotel Pool by Headlong Dance Theater, and Pig Iron Theatre Company?s Hell Meets Henry Halfway. Live Arts events in 2005 included British choreographer Siobhan Davies? Bird Song, Brian Sanders? Patio Plastico, NYC-based Cynthia Hopkins? Accidental Nostalgia, and The Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental Thaddeus Phillips? Red-Eye to Havre de Grace?to name just a few.
The Philly Fringe provides opportunities for any artist, independent of a selection process, to self-produce their work. It represents the true international "Fringe" movement. As with other Fringe Festivals worldwide, the roots of the Philly Fringe trace to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which began 58 years ago when performers created theatres on the outskirts - or "fringe" - of the city sponsored festival. Soon the Fringe Festival gained a large and loyal following.
Through these two festivals, our organization currently presents the creative works of more than 1,000 artists annually, with 1,693 participating artists in 2005. The wide spectrum of artistic expression includes avant-garde adaptations, ballet, cabaret, clowning, experimental theater, contemporary dance, new music, performance art, site-specific work, street theater, visual art installations, and many others. In addition each year The Fringe transform unused buildings into a cabaret space and box office that serve as focal points for both festivals.
The Fringe are renowned as champions of Philadelphia-based artists. The Festivals are often the first and only opportunity for Philadelphia-based emerging artists to present their work, and over the last nine years The Fringe have helped literally thousands of artists. The Fringe provide them with formal and informal support through workshops and year-round advice and information on administration, marketing, fundraising and show production. The Fringe commission work by established Philadelphia-based artists and actively work to connect them to the national network of presenters by inviting presenter to their performances, providing complimentary tickets and advocating to presenting peers on behalf of artists. Additionally, one of the most exciting aspects of our events is that they bring together artists from many different disciplines, backgrounds and geographical regions providing for "cross-pollination" and an annual creative poThe Fringer surge to the region.
The Fringe are recognized for our ability to challenge arts audiences to discover new, risk-taking art, to attract new non-traditional arts audiences and bring audiences the kinds of experiential arts offerings (such as site based work) that no other organization can provide. The Fringe take equal pride in the fact that more "traditional" audiences are discovering cutting-edge work and that people who rarely attend "arts" events are finding themselves drawn in to whole new experiences. The uniqueness of our performances and venues has helped attract people who might not have been engaged in art before. Their enthusiasm and participation is further encouraged by the spirited atmosphere of Festival Time and such activities as a late-night cabaret, street performances, and opportunities for artists and audiences to interact. The Fringe intentionally seek to make the experience of seeing performance exciting, social and fun.
Todd Cardin has stated that ETC will participate in next years Philly Fringe for 2007.
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