D.C. actors are reflecting on the impact of the Capital Fringe Festival and planning the D.C. art scene’s future after Capital Fringe announced in January they’ll no longer hold the festival.
They told News4 the festival has been a crucial venue for new actors and artists.
Capital Fringe, which aims to serve aspiring and established artists, first hosted the downtown D.C. festival in 2006. Self-produced artists, usually based in the D.C. area, put on live performances.
Securing reliable venues for the festival grew more difficult in the face of rising costs, Capital Fringe said in statement, saying, “to continue to fight this battle annually is not sustainable.”
“Community” is the first word that came to mind for performer David Kessler when he thinks of Capital Fringe.
“It is a true community of respect and appreciation, and I don’t think there’s many other theatrical festivals or areas where someone who at the age of 60 could say, ‘I want to do my first show and amass a team of highly talented, professional people willing to work with him.’ And that’s what I got at Fringe,” he said.
When the festival began, it was easier for theater companies to use vacant office space and buildings in a more informal way than would be allowed now, he said.
Though the festival is ending, its energy lives on, Kessler said.
“It is full of wonderful, creative, talented, generous people who not only want to put on great shows for the audience, but want to help each other, and that’s really important, and that will continue,” he said.
What the Capital Fringe Festival meant to performers
Shari L. Lewis, who has been involved in Fringe as an actor and director, said producing a performance usually started with someone having an idea and developing a proposal. The outlines had to be complete enough that Capital Fringe thought it could work, and the person who filed the proposal would be responsible for details such as gathering actors, props, costumes and rehearsal times, she said.
“It is just a big juggle, and it’s fun that way – can be a little frustrating, but the whole thing about Fringe is that it is off-kilter. It’s meant to shake things up,” Lewis said.
The festival served as an essential platform for aspiring artists.
Reginald Richard was fresh out of school at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts when he attended his first Fringe festival in summer 2015.
“Capital Fringe gave me that opportunity to showcase my versatility as an actor,” he said.
Richard said Fringe paved the way for him as an actor, first starring in Stephen Spotswood’s “The Last Burlesque,” with Pinky Swear Productions, and most recently directing J.J. Johnson’s “Wannabe,” which received the festival’s 2024 audience award.
“Fringe had a sense of introducing new work by local actors, and I’m a fan of new work because you just never know what might become of it,” Richard said. “It allowed me to be seen in a community that was rich and people that were doing other aspects of theater.”
How the pandemic affected DC’s art scene
The cancellation of the Fringe Festival sent shockwaves and disappointment throughout the District’s artistic community. Some pointed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luigi Laraia was the playwright behind the 2024 Best Comedy “This Is My Sister.” Laraia said he learned about the festival’s struggles finding venues in a conversation with Julianne Brienza, the founding director of Capital Fringe, but was still surprised when its ending was announced.
“There is a lot of demand for arts. Maybe audiences don’t flock to theaters like they used to in the past, and I think this requires a little more analysis, more studies, in terms of, why is this happening?” Laraia said. “It’s not like a black and white issue. It’s not a simple issue.”
Many venues in D.C. temporarily closed their spaces during the pandemic because of stay-at-home orders. Total revenue in 2021 represented about 71% of pre-pandemic levels, according to a 2022 report by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The same report said attendance at performance venues was 60 to 90% of what it was prior to the pandemic.
Martin Thompson, one of the artistic directors for Otherwise Theatre Company, said D.C. must acknowledge that pipeline for emerging artists to break into the industry in order to earn a reputation as a top city for theater.
“In order for there to be successful, well-known plays and artists, there have to be new plays and artists, and I think that the lifeblood of the American theater is new work,” Thompson said. “It’s crucial that we provide spaces and opportunities for artists who are finding their voice, who don’t have a permanent home, and we support those artists so that they can find new audiences to bring into the American theater.”
On the horizon: a ‘micro-festival’ called District Fringe
Capital Fringe remains in the District. The organization plans to launch an annual cash artist award in the fall to celebrate and support the local arts community.
Some of the festival’s biggest supporters are planning a “micro-festival” called District Fringe to fill the void.
Karen Lange, a founder of Pinky Swear Productions, said the mini-festival will be small, with about 10 shows. The group reached out to people who previously worked on the festival, including its founder, Brienza.
“We are reaching out to Julianne to say ‘Look, this is to honor what you created. This is not to replace it. We can’t replace it. There’s no replacing Capital Fringe Festival, but you created something that we’re all very thankful for,’” Lange said.
Lange said she’s working with the theater companies Nu Sass and Theatre Prometheus to develop a volunteer leadership to get things going and figure out logistics such as fundraising and technical details.
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Diane Sharp-Nachsin, the artistic director of SHARP Dance Company in Philadelphia, said presenters are under more pressure to make money after the pandemic. She urged people to find ways to support the arts in their own community, such as by attending performances and advocating for government funding.
“So many grants and funding trickle down through different systems, that we just need to make sure that people are really positive about supporting the arts in general, from the government-level all the way down,” she said.
