25 years of Orlando Fringe Festival memories: 1993, the 2nd festival
Countdown to Fringe 25: A look at 1993
by Matthew J. Palm
The Artistic Type
March 17, 2016, 5:47 pm
Between 25,000 and 30,000 people made it to the second Orlando Fringe Festival — about double the attendance of the inaugural event.
1993’s 10-day theater festival in late April featured almost 200 indoor performances by nearly 30 theater companies and individual performers from the United States, Canada, England, Uganda and Norway, as well as numerous free performances outdoors.
The most important news for the festival: It broke even. The budget? $118,000. (By comparison, the budget for the 2016 festival will break $1 million for the first time.)
Among the most popular shows in 1993 were the TheatreSports International tournament, a comedy-improvisation competition involving teams from around the world; “World*Power*Sex*Control,” a comedy monologue by Janice Perry of Ferrisburgh, Vt.; and “A Little Higher and to the Left,” a one-woman comedy by Orlando’s Ann Carrigan.
Orlando Sentinel theater critic Elizabeth Maupin praised the “sheer, unique creativity of such shows as ‘Cochon Flambe,’ ‘Decadence,’ ‘The Lorraine Bowen Experience’ and ‘Fool.’”
As it is today, parking was on the minds of Fringegoers. The Sentinel published a guide detailing the most convenient parking lots and garages near the Fringe venues, which were still scattered around downtown Orlando.
One Sentinel reader enjoyed the newspaper’s coverage so much, she wrote a letter to the editor singing the praises of the paper and the festival:
“I read your Fringe Festival reviews, and they motivated me to forgo mediocre television and attend two different musicals,” wrote Shirley E. Jantzen of Casselberry. “The shows were wonderful, every performer extremely talented, and through it all, I was overwhelmed by the creative writing. Thank you, Orlando Sentinel, festival producers and volunteers for an extraordinary experience!”
Co-producer Terry Olson was equally enthusiastic.
“We feel great about it,” Olson told the Sentinel after the Fringe ended on a high note. “We’re very excited. It went so much more smoothly than last year. This year I was really able to enjoy the festival.”
Countdown to Fringe 25: A look at 1993
by Matthew J. Palm
The Artistic Type
March 17, 2016, 5:47 pm
Between 25,000 and 30,000 people made it to the second Orlando Fringe Festival — about double the attendance of the inaugural event.
1993’s 10-day theater festival in late April featured almost 200 indoor performances by nearly 30 theater companies and individual performers from the United States, Canada, England, Uganda and Norway, as well as numerous free performances outdoors.
The most important news for the festival: It broke even. The budget? $118,000. (By comparison, the budget for the 2016 festival will break $1 million for the first time.)
Among the most popular shows in 1993 were the TheatreSports International tournament, a comedy-improvisation competition involving teams from around the world; “World*Power*Sex*Control,” a comedy monologue by Janice Perry of Ferrisburgh, Vt.; and “A Little Higher and to the Left,” a one-woman comedy by Orlando’s Ann Carrigan.
Orlando Sentinel theater critic Elizabeth Maupin praised the “sheer, unique creativity of such shows as ‘Cochon Flambe,’ ‘Decadence,’ ‘The Lorraine Bowen Experience’ and ‘Fool.’”
As it is today, parking was on the minds of Fringegoers. The Sentinel published a guide detailing the most convenient parking lots and garages near the Fringe venues, which were still scattered around downtown Orlando.
One Sentinel reader enjoyed the newspaper’s coverage so much, she wrote a letter to the editor singing the praises of the paper and the festival:
“I read your Fringe Festival reviews, and they motivated me to forgo mediocre television and attend two different musicals,” wrote Shirley E. Jantzen of Casselberry. “The shows were wonderful, every performer extremely talented, and through it all, I was overwhelmed by the creative writing. Thank you, Orlando Sentinel, festival producers and volunteers for an extraordinary experience!”
Co-producer Terry Olson was equally enthusiastic.
“We feel great about it,” Olson told the Sentinel after the Fringe ended on a high note. “We’re very excited. It went so much more smoothly than last year. This year I was really able to enjoy the festival.”
Copyright © 2016, Orlando Sentinel (original article)