The 23rd Annual Rogue Performance Festival launches in Fresno’s Tower District this weekend!
[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”18″]Pictured above: Joey Rinaldi’s Rogue show is titled “Potty Training: The Broken Penis Story.”[/perfectpullquote]
If that sentence doesn’t register any recognition with you, worry not. “The Rogue” is one of the longest running performance festivals in the region, but it is also one of the least mainstream. As a “fringe festival,” the fact that you probably haven’t heard of it is pretty on brand.
I had the dubious honor of being one of the Rogue’s lead producers for the better part of the last decade, and so I’ve heard nearly every question anyone has ever had about it. So rather than interview an artist or the producers of this year’s festival, I thought I’d just get the questions out of the way with y’all. . . en masse.
ROGUE FAQ
Q: Why have I never heard of it if it has been around for 23 years?
A: Probably because it is a fringe festival. By their very nature, they are on the fringe. . . not part of the mainstream.
Q: What is that? What’s “the fringe?”
A: You have the classically established performing art forms like choir, ballet, opera, symphony, and the mainstream performing arts like musical theater or blockbuster films. The things these have in common is usually a major funding source and an organization behind them. They perform in established theatres, concert halls, and cinemas.
Fringe is more like indie films or alt-country singers . . they are performers who do their own thing, on their own dime, and usually with original or experimental work. They are storytellers, singer-songwriters, poets, clowns, comics, magicians, improv groups. . . all marching to their own offbeat drum doing unique shows they way they want to do them. Fringe venues are usually tiny black-box theaters, dance schools, yoga studios, cafes and bars, anywhere where someone can put up a show.
Q: Where is it located?
A: The Rogue has nine DIY venues in the Tower District.
Q: The Tower’s kind of sketchy, isn’t it?
A: That’s part of its charm. It is a little slice of bohemia in suburban sprawl of Fresno. You can cope with it.
Q: How do they choose the performers?
A: They don’t. They put out a call for performer applications in the fall, put the applications in a lottery drawing, and draw randomly. Half are locals and half are from all over the country. Anyone who has an idea is able to have an equal shot at getting in.
Q: How do they know if the shows are any good?
A: They don’t. That’s part of the experience. Some folks have polished, well-worked shows and some shows are half-baked. The Rogue believes that all performers have the right to bomb however they want as long as what they are presenting isn’t illegal or inciting violence. The Festival is a safe space for experimenting, working on new ideas, or just trying something wacky.
Q: Do you really let just anyone in? What if a racist wants to have a show?
Heather: Frankly, to try to label performers in advance could bar performers for arbitrary reasons. That invites corruption, which really isn’t cool. Racist artists don’t usually take to fringe festivals, though. It has never happened in 23 years, but if it came to it, the Rogue would facilitate a space for the community to peacefully protest a racist artist. “Free speech is free speech” is a guiding value at the Rogue. The Rogue is a 1st Amendment Zone.
Q: How do I find shows?
A: You can go to the festival website and browse shows by venue or date. Choose a show you think you’ll like and show up 30 minutes before showtime. The volunteers there will guide you through everything else. Easy peasy.
Q: I don’t have a ton of time. Can I squeeze in a show?
A: Shows are only an hour long with 30 minutes in between. They run from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weeknights and 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. You can see a show and grab a bite to eat in under 2 hours and for as little as $30. If you want to see more, you can go back next weekend. Here’s a program. It will give you all of the info you need to “Get your Rogue on.”
If that information makes things clear as mud, you can watch this video from the Rogue Festival founder Marcel Nunis, called “Rogue Lives.”
I’m looking forward to providing some mini-reviews from the Rogue Festival for the next two weekends. A few shows to consider for your first weekend:
Locals:
Confessions of a Women’s Prison Guard @ Lotus Room: Paula Balakian and Karan Johnson’s “rogue” troupe perform in their last Rogue Festival offering.
How to Be Wicked @ Dianna’s: Jaguar Bennett delivers Nietzsche but in easy comedy form.
The Latehomecomer @ LAByrinth: Jasmin Vang delivers Kao Kalia Yang’s Hmong Family Memoir.
Sandwichland (film) @Lotus Room: by Andrew Champagne.
Janice Noga: The Only Virgin in New York City @ VISTA – because, well. . .it’s Janice Noga.
Marty’s Turn @ Hart’s Haven – Latest original from Marc Gonzalez, Billy Jack Anderson performs.
99 Dreams @ VISTA – Kate McKnight and Sarah McKnight Serafimidis perform a music-storytelling show.
S’Will @ VISTA – Local do-gooders The Fool’s Collaborative are back with drunk Shakespeare.
Out-of-Towners:
Jester of all Maladies @ Spectrum: Kurt Fitzpatrick
Tonight! A Clown Who Just Wants to Be Loved @Vista: Andrea Barello
Emil Amok, Lost NPR Host: Married To Peta And Other Untold Tales From An American Filipino Life @ Lotus Room: Emil Amok
Baby Medina @ Veni Vidi Vici: Joe Medina
Robert Will Show You the Door @ Vista: Susan Jeremy
seaMan (probably among the fringiest shows on our docket this year). @Diannas: 2 Sleepy Rat Guys
The Rogue Festival runs shows on March 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 & 9 in venues throughout the Tower District. Visit fresnoroguefestival.org for program and information.
Heather Parish is the former Executive Producer of the Rogue Festival who has turned to the dark side and is now writing reviews. She also has a show “on the Rogue” called “Radical Domesticity: The Leftovers Show,” a reading of essays, stories, and poetry exploring how we find belonging and make connections at home.
