VIRGINIA BEACH — Art that pushes the envelope returns to The Z this April. The Z Fringe Festival returns to Virginia Beach Town Center for three days of theater, comedy, and new works, alongside a visual arts installation.
The Z Fringe Festival was created in 2023 to celebrate new works that “push the envelope.” Inspired by the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, the Z Fringe Festival sees more than 200 artists showcasing more than 25 new works during the Festival.
Now in its third year, the Z Fringe has grown from a two- to three-day event, and sees submissions from both local creators and national talent. This year’s festival selections include performances from artists debuting their first-ever written piece, to seasoned playwrights hoping to debut their latest work.
Nathan Jacques, a local actor, is premiering his first venue into playwrighting at this year’s festival — a new play about the Carpathia’s voyage to rescue Titanic survivors.
“The story of the R.M.S. Carpathia is a story not told often. The more I read the story of Carpathia and those aboard her that night, the more I wonder why that story is never told by Hollywood or Broadway or the like,” said Jacques. “Z Fringe is a great place to debut this as it is still a work in progress. The staged-reading preview style doesn’t fit into a main stage season. Fringe, however, gives this kind of project a way to take its first baby steps toward becoming the full vision.”
In addition to many new plays and one-acts, the festival features cabarets, sketch comedy, and solo performances that audiences would not be able to see onstage during the average theater season.
“What’s great about The Z Fringe is you can see so many different genres and styles of shows in one weekend, from a 15-minute pantomime to a full-length new musical,” said festival producer and Z Executive Director Terry Flint. “Our category for Works In Progress gives artists a chance to introduce their works and start to get valuable audience feedback. All that variety turns into an exciting weekend where audiences experience the building buzzing with energy from 150-plus community artists.”
Also new to this year’s festival are performance awards. Like that of a film festival, laurels will be granted for “Audience Pick” and “Producers Pick” for both Studio and Main Stage productions.
Alongside performances, visual artwork will be displayed gallery-style in the lobby through the entire festival. Artist submitted individual works, full gallery displays, and maker space crafter tables. Artists will sell their work and be available during the Festival Gallery Tour.
What is a Fringe Festival?
The Z’s Fringe Festival is a celebration of self-produced performance art that pushes the envelope and makes a statement. Performances at The Z Fringe are theatrically based, meaning they have a viewpoint, tell a story, or connect multiple pieces with a theme. Like the origin story of Fringe Festivals, The Z Fringe was created to give performing artists access to performance space and the opportunity to explore new concepts and performance formats that don’t fit a “traditional” production model.
A full list of performances and the full performance schedule can be found at thez.org/zfringe. All-access passes, single-day passes and single-show tickets are available online or by calling the box office at 757-499-0317.
Zeiders American Dream Theater is located at 4509 Commerce St., Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Zeiders American Dream Theater is funded in part by the citizens of Virginia Beach through a grant from the City of Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission.
ABOUT ZEIDERS AMERICAN DREAM THEATER
Zeiders American Dream Theater, known as The Z, is a professional, nonprofit performing arts company whose mission is to provide a wide range of highly entertaining artistic experiences to the community by fostering and introducing new works and exceptionally gifted artists in all areas of the performing arts. The Z is a community hub for celebrating creative growth and entertainment. With intimate performance spaces and unique programming that generates an exciting connection between the performer and the audience, The Z inspires audiences and performers to tap into their own creative spark, unleash their dreams, and achieve their full potential. TheZ.org
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