WHAT: Fringe Summer Freakout
WHEN: Tuesday, July 14, at 5 p.m. (Puppet show at 8 p.m.)
WHERE: New Mountain Asheville, 38 N. French Broad Ave.
WHY: Asheville’s next Fringe Arts Festival doesn’t take place until January 2016, but eager individuals can get a taste of the action-to-come at the Fringe Summer Freakout fundraiser, which is intended to spark dialogue surrounding the experimental annual arts event.
“We’re hoping that people that maybe have not thought about performing or being part of the festival might get curious,” Fringe’s artistic co-director Jim Julien says. “We [want] to give people at least an entry point to think about becoming part of the festival because every year we try to encourage new artists to participate.”
During the free portion of the event from 5-8 p.m., New Mountain will house several “odd and interesting” pop-up art performances, along with breakout workshops for potential exhibitors.
Part of the Fringe spirit, Julien says, is encouraging artists to create jointly. To that end, the workshops will function as collaborative brainstorming sessions and artist networking opportunities in addition to providing logistical exhibitor information.
For the casual Fringe supporter, the fundraiser offers a large-scale, elaborate puppet show by Madison J. Cripps and Keith Shubert, beginning at 8 p.m. Originally premiered at New Orleans’ Fringe Festival, The Mysterious Metamorphosis of Mr. Krank depicts the main character’s successive dreamscapes.
“It’s very atmospheric and dreamy,” Julien says, “and most of it is done … in a Japanese style where the puppeteers are all dressed in black. They manipulate the puppets onstage using rods. It’s more than just your small marionettes.”
General admission tickets for the puppet show are $20 per person, and VIP tickets, which include drinks and snacks, cost $35 each. Proceeds support the planning and logistics of Fringe Festival 2016.
“I hope people will enjoy this event,” Julien says, “but be excited for our upcoming festival, when we really go wild.”
Visit newmountainavl.com for more information or tickets.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.