The performing arts have a rich legacy
in Woodstock, from plays by the River Arts Repertory to the modem dance
of Isadora Duncan.
Wallace Norman, who has been involved
with Woodstock’s theater community for five years, has produced
everything from modest readings to small theater festivals. Now, he’s
working on taking theater arts even further.
Wednesday marks the inaugural season
of the Woodstock Fringe theater festival at Wood- stock’s Byrdcliffe
Theater. The festival runs through Aug. 31. Individual performances
range from $15 to $18 for general admission, and $12 to $15 for students
and seniors.
The lineup consists of 25 performances
that includes one-person shows, a music-play from Pulitzer Prize-winning
author Lanford Wilson and Kenneth Fuchs, a world premiere play by
Rebecca Ortese about an actress whose life closely mirrors a role she
plays and — no joke — even a Shakespeare production cast with inch-high
plastic ninjas on a brief- case-sized stage.
Woodstock Fringe intends to sweeten
the experience with an eclectic mix of vocal and chamber music works in
“American Songfest.” Performances offer selections from composer Ludwig
van Beethoven to tunes from “Porgy and Bess.” Celebration of the arts
Norman, the producing artistic
director of the festival,, decided to form Woodstock Fringe to serve as
a forum for professional and new artists.
He’s working with such noted artists
as Leigh Silverman (director of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Wit”),
composer Larry Bell and Broadway actor
Nicola Sheara
The festival is part of the Centennial
Celebration of Byrdcliffe Arts Colony. The colony was founded by
Englishman Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead and his wife Jane Byrd~Mcall,,
painter and printmaker Bolton Brown and writer and poet Harvey White.
The first generation of artists in the colony were, and still are, noted
for their metalwork, pottery, woodwork, textiles and paintings.
Today, Byrdcliffe’s 300 acres. is home
to about 30 cottages, studios and workshops. Artists, writers,
composers, and dance and theater companies have continued to utilize
Byrdcliffe as a residency to plan, mold and present their work.
What Norman said he’d eventually like
to have happen is to provide a couple of fully-staged productions during
the year, and to have the culmination of their work be part of a diverse
fringe festival where they present highly visual works much like the
festivals in London and Philadelphia, where dance, music theater and
multi-disciplinary arts are shared.
“The most important thing is to be a
creative home to emerging and established artists,” Norman said.
All events will be at the Byrdcliffe
Theater on Upper Byrdcliffe Road in Woodstock. Visit
www.woodstockfringe.org for ticket information and times.
Nicole Edwards is the arts writer for the
Poughkeepsie Journal Write her c/o Pôughkeepsie Journal, P.O. Box 1231, Poughkeepsie, NY 12602
