UPDATE: A flood at the Fringe ArtSpace in downtown Orlando has resulted in extensive water damage to the theatre causing all planned events at the location to be relocated or rescheduled, including the first ever Orlando Out Fest.
In an email from Orlando Fringe, the organizations wrote:
“We’re incredibly disappointed to announce that due to unforeseen flooding that has resulted in extensive water damage, ORLANDO OUT FEST will not be happening next week like originally scheduled.
At this time we are making all efforts to reschedule the festival for another date and will share an update as soon as we have more information.
For those of you who have already purchased your tickets, our box office will be in contact with you soon, but please consider donating your ticket purchase to the artists affected by these unforeseen circumstances. At its core ORLANDO OUT FEST has always been a people-first fest.
To learn more about the artists and how to donate to them directly please visit OrlandoFringe.org/Orlando-Out-Fest-Artists.”
Watermark’s original story on Orlando Out Fest can still be read below.
Orlando Fringe celebrates Pride Month with first ever Out Fest
ORLANDO | About a month after wrapping up its 33rd theatre festival, Orlando Fringe is bringing an all new, LGBTQ+-focused mini-fest to its downtown ArtSpace.
Orlando Out Fest will take place at Fringe ArtSpace, located at 54 W. Church St. in downtown Orlando, June 27-30. This inaugural mini festival will be focused solely on queer artists and shows.
“We asked ourselves every June, how do we support queer people outside of Pride and how do we support queer artists outside of Fringe,” says Ciara Hannon, Orlando Fringe’s Special Events Producer who is producing the inaugural Out Fest. “I don’t even like to call this festival ‘new’ because Fringe as always been an ‘out fest.’”
While Orlando Fringe has always supported and embraced the LGBTQ+ community, Hannon says now felt like a moment to take a stand for queer art.
“We all live in the state of Florida, we all know how it is now and has been for a while with LGBTQ+ rights,” says Hannon, adding that the idea for Out Fest came about during a conversion with Fringe festival producer Tempestt Halstead. “When I moved back to Orlando from South Florida, I met with Tempestt and said to her ‘you know what would be cool, if we did an all-LGBTQ+ festival.’”
Hannon says that since Orlando Fringe opened Fringe ArtSpace in 2023, the organization has wanted to start producing more mini festivals throughout the year.
Orlando Out Fest has some noticeable differences from its annual counterpart, the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival held every May. First, with Out Fest you will not need to purchase a button. All tickets will cost $15 per show and all shows will take place at ArtSpace over the last weekend of June.
“Both theaters there will be engaged, so there will be shows on the mainstage as well as in the black box theatre,” Hannon says. “It is going to be as rich a tapestry as the LGBTQ+ community is. We have a puppet show, we have a Flamenco show, we have drag, we have big musicals, we have burlesque. There is also something for all age groups.”
The festival will feature 11 shows in total, curated from nearly three dozen submissions.
“We looked at what we wanted Out Fest to be,” Hannon says. “I wanted it to be an eclectic mix of people who you know and have been doing great things at Fringe for a while and people who this is their very first experience with Fringe. We also didn’t want to just pick all shows that were dramas or shows that were campy musicals, we want to provide a rich and fun collection of shows that show off our queer artists.”
Another way Out Fest will spotlight Central Florida’s diverse queer artists is with its “Out Fest Wall.”
“We have a big purple wall in ArtSpace and we have been taking photos of artists, both within Orlando Out Fest but also who operate in Fringe in general,” Hannon says. “They will each have QR codes so you can click to their socials, and this is a way to introduce people to LGBTQ+ artists that have been embedded in Fringe for years. This festival is a real celebration of them.”
Check out information for each show below.
“Bodies”
Genre: 18 & Up
Duration: 55 mins
Venue: ArtSpace – BlackBox
Schedule: June 28, 6 p.m.; June 29, 5:45 p.m.; June 30, 6:15 p.m.
Artist and creative Matti McLean explores our relationship to our bodies through the medium of body paint. Involving a live body painting woven together with dramedic storytelling, BODIES explores why we fear our bodies and how we can start to move forward with less judgement and more acceptance of something we all take for granted.
“Gay Cowboys”
Genre: 18 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Venue: Artspace – MainStage
Schedule: June 28, 7 p.m.; June 30, 5:30 p.m.
Sweetwater used to be a quiet town full of simple folks. That all end of the day the Midnight Mangler strolled into town, bringing about chaos with their scheming and lies. But hope gallops in with Fancy; a beacon of salvation, with lies of their own. In a world, turned upside down passion and love in all its different forms, emerge as the guiding light, promising redemption for all who dare to grasp it. Gay Cowboys, Orlando Fringe is 2023 “Favorite LGBTQ+ show” is back and all new! We are inviting you back to Sweetwater to embrace the power of love, and all its forms and celebrate the beauty of queer relationships.
“Seaman”
Genre: 18 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Venue: ArtSpace – BlackBox
June 28, 7:30 p.m.; June 29, 9:15 p.m.; June 30, 4:15 p.m.
YARGH! The strangest 30-minute scenic boat tour gone wrong you’ve EVER been on: Seagulls! Ocean! REVENGE! A hilarious physical comedy riff on Gilligan’s Island by way of The Lighthouse, seaMAN is the deranged love child of award-winning veteran fringe artists Amica Hunter (Anatomica, A Little Bit Off) and Bruce Ryan Costella (MUTTNIK, RAT MAN HAPPY PLACE).
“Alphabet Soup”
Genre: 7 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Venue: Artspace – MainStage
June 28, 8:30 p.m.; June 29, 3:30 p.m.
Xan, a young puppet full of wonder, finds himself at a loss for words, literally. When the little kid is called queer by classmates, they visit their favorite diner to find some answers. With an order of extra hot Alphabet Soup, the owners of Marsha’s Diner sing along with more puppet friends to teach Xan all about how the LGBTQIA+ Community expresses themselves. Alphabet Soup is a family friendly musical that kids (and puppets) of all ages can enjoy and learn from. From the creator of Born Ugly Yesterday and the Planet Earth Prize winner Biodegradable Seagulls comes a fun, high energy, and uplifting children’s show about understanding who we are.
“Bi Bi Bi”
Genre: 13 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Venue: Artspace – MainStage
June 28, 10 p.m.; June 30, 4 p.m.
Get ready for an exploration and celebration of bisexual and pansexual perspectives! Presented by Whiskey Theatre Factory originally as a staged reading in 2021, five short pieces, now fully fleshed out, come together to tell stories of the most often left out letter in our alphabet soup. Did you know the B doesn’t stand for bacon?? We’ll explore everything from coming out to friends and family and polyamorous relationship dynamics, to alien abductions and the Garden of Eden! Pieces include “The Morning After the Fall” by John Bavoso, “Just to B” by John Mabey, “We’re a Couple” by Juniper McKelvie, as well as “Anomaly” by Bethany Dickens Assaf, and “Going In” by Katie Thayer, who are both Whiskey Theatre Factory founding members. Whiskey Theatre Factory is committed to producing, developing, and celebrating emerging, untapped, and historically excluded voices. We hope you’ll B there!
“The Center Orlando Presents: A Big Gay Variety Show”
Genre: 18 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Venue: Artspace – MainStage
June 28, 11:30 p.m.
Come spend an evening with The Center Orlando. From stand-up comedy to singing and dancing, some of Orlando’s best queer entertainers will be onsite. Hosted by George Wallace and P. Sparkles. 100% of all ticket sales benefit The Center Orlando.
“Dali y Lorca”
Genre: 18 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Price: $15Venue: Artspace – MainStage
June 29, 2 p.m.; June 30, 8:30 p.m.
Compiled from written exchanges between Salvador Dalí and Federico Garcia Lorca, this docu-drama style production infuses poetry, flamenco, interviews, and letters to provide a glimpse into the hidden relationship between these two artists.
“Just B”
Genre: 7 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Venue: Artspace – MainStage
June 29, 5 p.m.; June 30, 7 p.m.
Join eclectic Orlando queer icon Billy Mick for his one-man show, “JUST B”! His life journey is told through songs, stories and A LOT of jackets! From humble beginnings in Jacksonville, FL to topping charts internationally as an original recording artist, Billy can truly say, “been there, done that.” Peel back the glitter and see the man behind the trials and tribulations of growing up gay in today’s society, and managing the heartbreak and victories that come with relationships, health crises, a career, and being completely FABULOUS!
“Dude, Where’s My Strings?”
Genre: 13 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Venue: Artspace – MainStage
June 29, 8:30 p.m.; June 30, 2:30 p.m.
The creator of FROGPIG and MEDDLIN’! THE DOOSICAL is, once again, combining his love of puppetry and the art of cabaret to bring you the completely truthful tale of what it’s like to be released from one’s strings, splinters and all. JOEL SWANSON stars as Pinocchio in this one “man” show that challenges its audience to think again before wishing upon a star.
“Revelations”
Genre: 13 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Venue: Artspace – MainStage
June 29, 10 p.m.; June 30, 1 p.m.
When a latiné student joins St. Dymphna’s School for Girls, her classmates and teachers are forced to confront their own biases and acknowledge their past of harm for marginalized individuals. “Revelations” utilizes Southern Catholic imagery and motifs to capture an image of religious oppression that must be challenged in order to move forward. During the readthrough hosted by Rollins Players in February of 2024, Revelations was lauded as being “timeless” as a narrative that for better or for worse could continue to happen in the present day, leaving the audience to decide what they will do to change their path. Furthermore audiences described the tone as, “cautiously optimistic”, daring viewers to hope and challenge the current systems in place. TW: Racism, homophobia (particularly in a religious setting), psychiatric manipulation, mentions of psychiatric intervention.
“Drag Queen Story Hour: After Dark (Featuring Addison Taylor) 18+”
Genre: 18 & Up
Duration: 60 mins
Venue: Artspace – MainStage
June 29, 11 p.m.
Not your average Drag Queen Story Hour. Hosted by Comedy Queen sensation, Addison Taylor. 18+. Classic stories such as “Suzy Likes to Play With Balls” and “I Hope My New Neighbor’s Not a ****” . 100% of ticket sales benefit The Center Orlando.
For Orlando Out Fest ticket and festival information, go to OrlandoFringe.org/Orlando-Out-Fest.
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