The underground is about to rise up.
No, we're not talking about Underground Atlanta making an eleventh-hour comeback. We mean the Atlanta Fringe Festival, the annual gathering of, as its informative Tumblr site (atlantafringe.tumblr.com) proudly claims, "weird, bizarre, underground, awesome theatre."
Actually the third edition, presenting 20 productions from 11 states and Canada from June 5-8 at 7 Stages and other Little Five Points sites, is quite a bit broader than that self-description might suggest.
This year’s fest will embrace everything from circus to cabaret, tap to spoken word and Middle Eastern dance to puppetry, plus a lot of performances that require a lot of hyphens. For instance: S’Park Theatre of Birmingham, Alabama, which will perform its shadow-puppetry-mask-making-animation-and-pantomime troupe show “Amelia the Brave” without any dialogue.
Many of the performances are works very much in progress, such as “Hours of the Darkest Night” by the Atlanta troupe Sith Penguin. The show is described as a multisensory experience that responds to the enforced cheeriness of the holiday season and features musicians and ground and aerial circus arts performers. “Hours” will be a 30-minute preview of a full-evening show planned for December, and both sound plenty fluid at this juncture.
“While we have a strong overarching vision for what we would like to see in December, at this stage, our team is still coming together to share ideas and figure out how we want to work together,” producer-performer Abby Joslin acknowledged. “We have a core group with creative veto power, but this is very much a collaborative work. … The overall show will be cohesive, but this is not the time or the place for micromanaging.”
Schedule and ticket ($10, with discounts for multishow passes) information: atlantafringe.org/home/shows. Fest updates: www.facebook.com/atlantafringe.
Also, Fringe Audio, in collaboration with the Hear Now Festival of Kansas City, Missouri, and Atlanta Radio Theatre Company, is offering 23 radio plays from across the country streaming for free through June 8 at atlantafringe.org/home/fringe-audio-2014.
THEATER
True Colors’ 2014-15 lineup
Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company has announced an abbreviated 2014-15 season, kicking off in October with August Wilson’s “How I Learned What I Learned,” co-conceived and directed by longtime Wilson collaborator Todd Kreidler.
Leon is preparing Kreidler’s “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” a musical inspired by the lyrics of the late Atlantan Tupac Shakur, for its Broadway premiere (previews start June 2).
Here’s the True Colors lineup (all shows presented at Southwest Arts Center) …
Oct. 7-Nov. 2: "How I Learned What I Learned," written by Wilson, co-conceived and directed by Kreidler. In this solo show that Wilson debuted in 2003 at Seattle Repertory Theatre, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (here played by Wilson veteran Eugene Lee) shares personal stories about his encounters with racism, music, love, jail, his first kiss, and life-changing friendships as a young poet in Pittsburgh's Hill District.
Feb. 10-March 8, 2015: "Detroit '67," written by Dominique Morisseau, directed by Kamilah Forbes, artistic director of New York's Hi-Arts hip-hop theater troupe. In 1967 Detroit, Chelle and her brother Lank are making ends meet by turning the basement of their late parents' house into an after-hours club. But when a mysterious woman enters their lives, the siblings clash over more than the family business. As their pent-up feelings erupt, so does the city around them, and they find themselves caught in the middle of Motor City riots.
July 7-Aug. 2, 2015: "Chasin' dem Blues," written and directed by Kevin Ramsey, a musical about the history of Paramount Records in Grafton, Wisconsin, in the 1910s. True Colors describes it as "a foot-stomping, multimedia musical celebration," detailing how this small Midwest town changed American music, ushering in the sound of the early 20th century.
Tickets and subscriptions: 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com or www.truecolorstheatre.org.
VISUAL ART
Design as a social force at MODA
The Museum of Design Atlanta’s new exhibit is about the opposite of design for design’s sake (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
“Design for Social Impact” covers how design is being used to address 21st-century challenges. It details 24 projects by designers, engineers, students, professors, architects and social entrepreneurs in the areas of health care, education, community, shelter, food and water and energy.
Opening reception: 7:30-9:30 p.m. May 29; $30. MODA’s Katie Simms will give curator’s tours at 6:15 and 7:15 p.m. June 5 (reservations advised).
Through Aug. 3. Noon-6 p.m. Sundays and Tuesdays-Fridays (until 8 p.m. Thursdays), 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays. 1315 Peachtree St., Atlanta. $10; $8 seniors and military; $5 ages 6-17 and students with IDs. 404-979-6455, www.museumofdesign.org/current-exhibitions.
ARTS
Honors for cultural contributors
Nominations are being sought for the 2014 Governor's Awards for the Arts and Humanities. Any Georgia resident may nominate an individual who has made significant and substantial long-lasting contributions to the state's cultural heritage as well as organizations that have demonstrated longtime support for the arts or humanities. Nomination forms are available at www.gaarts.org. Deadline: June 26.
