(Photo by Luis Xavier De Peña)
Orlando Fringe’s Out Fest, an all-new LGBTQ+-focused mini-fest, was scheduled to take place at the Fringe ArtSpace, located at 54 W. Church St. in downtown Orlando, June 27-30; however, it was postponed after a flood resulted in extensive water damage to the theatre.
Orlando Fringe announced the news in an email, saying the organization was “incredibly disappointed” but that they would be “making all efforts to reschedule the festival for another date.”
Well, that date has arrived. Orlando Fringe’s Out Fest will now be taking place at Fringe ArtSpace on Sept. 20-22.
Orlando Fringe began in 1992 and has become a staple in Central Florida. Celebrating its 33rd season this past May, it is the longest running Fringe Festival in the U.S. Along with the annual theatre festival, Orlando Fringe has worked to create year-round entertainment with productions at its Fringe ArtSpace theatre and produced mini-fests such as FESTN4 and now Out Fest.
Orlando Out Fest differs in several ways from the annual Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. For Out Fest, there’s no need to buy a button; tickets are priced at $15 per show. Additionally, all performances will be held on the mainstage at Fringe ArtSpace in downtown Orlando.
Ciara Hannon, Orlando Fringe’s special events producer, first got involved with Fringe in 2019.
“My association with Fringe started when I produced my own little gay show, and I was immediately hooked,” says Hannon.
After a brief conversation with Hannon’s mentor, Tempestt Halstead, Fringe’s newly named artistic director, the idea of an all LGBTQ+ festival was born.
“We were just talking, and I was like it’d be crazy if there was an all-LGBTQ festival,” Hannon says. “Then we just had that look of like, oh, this sounds like a really good idea.”
Hannon stresses that this festival is nothing new for the Orlando community, it is simply one that highlights the rich LGBTQ+ history that already lies within the Orlando Fringe Festival and the new artists who are taking their first swing at it.
The festival offers a plethora of entertainment from a one-man show by queer icon Billy Mick to a Big Gay Variety Show to an “Alphabet Soup” show that gives the audience a guide to the LGBTQ+ community. This festival will provide an environment of fun for all ages.
“What you can expect is some fringe favorites, and also some new faces who this is their first time doing anything with the festival,” says Hannon. “So, it’s very supportive in that way. So truly, what audiences can expect is a supportive environment for queer artists to shine.”
The new festival will run the gamut of themes and topics, letting the audience indulge in “real fringe craziness” including a family friendly LGBTQ+ puppet show, a horror drag burlesque show and other productions highlighting religion and LGBTQ+ relations.
“It’s also fantastic LGBTQ artists just doing their thing at the end of the day, so I love that,” says Hannon.
Although the date change has caused there to be fewer productions for the inaugural mini-fest than initially planned, the seven shows that will be presented offer a lot of exciting entertainment.
“We do have a little bit of fewer shows, but I do believe that it is an opportunity to highlight some of these incredibly talented artists,” says Hannon.
The mini-fest will kick off a little differently than the main festival with a 90-miunte “Truth-or-Dare Game Show” hosted by P. Sparkle at Fringe ArtSpace on Sept. 19, starting at 7:30 p.m.
“So instead of doing a typical teaser show, we get to — in true LGBTQ fashion — watch a bunch of queer people battle each other on stage,” says Hannon.
Another way Orlando Out Fest will spotlight Central Florida’s diverse queer artists is with its “Out Fest Wall,” a display of photographs of LGBTQ+ artists both within the festival and those who are associated with Fringe in general. There will be QR codes throughout which people can use to access the artists’ socials and acts as a medium to introducing them as well.
As a younger queer person, Hannon understands that in producing this festival she is celebrating all the queer artists who have paved the way before her.
“I even have a tattoo of a little Keith Haring guy holding up another guy,” Hannon says. “It’s this quote that I really, really latch onto of ‘Our shoulders are only as strong as the ones that we stand on.’”
For more information, visit OrlandoFringe.org and check out information for each show below.
“Alphabet Soup! An A-Z Guide to the LGBTQIA+”
7 & Up | 60 minutes | Sept. 21, 1 p.m.; Sept. 22, 2 p.m.
A young puppet named Xan visits their favorite diner to learn all about how the LGBTQIA+ Community expresses themselves.
“Bi Bi Bi”
13 & Up | 60 minutes | Sept. 21, 4 p.m.; Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Whiskey Theatre Factory tells stories of the most often left out letter. Get ready for an exploration and celebration of bisexual and pansexual perspectives.
“The Center Orlando Presents: A Big Gay Variety Show”
18 & Up | 60 minutes | Sept. 20, 10:30 p.m.
From stand-up comedy to singing and dancing, some of Orlando’s best queer entertainers perform.
“Drag Queen Story Hour: After Dark”
18 & Up | 60 minutes | Sept. 21, 10:30 p.m.
An 18-and-up only Drag Queen Story Hour, hosted by Addison Taylor.
“Just B”
7 & Up | 60 minutes | Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 21, 9 p.m.
Join Orlando queer icon Billy Mick for his one-man show.
“The Odd Ball”
18 & Up | 45 minutes | Sept. 21, 2:30 p.m.; Sept. 22, 6 p.m.
Davi Oddity and their terrifying troupe present a very queer, very haunted and very horny variety show.
“Revelations”
13 & Up | 60 minutes | Sept. 20, 9 p.m.; Sept. 22, 3:30 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.
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