In 1947, the Edinburgh, Scotland, Festival of the Arts failed to include eight groups of artists. Feeling snubbed and insulted, theses artists set up makeshift theatres on the outskirts,or “fringe” of the festival. This became a tradition, with the fringe acts soon receiving bigger crowds and a more loyal following than the main festival.

Since that time, the concept of the “fringe festival” has been executed worldwide, offering a place for new performers to test material or established performers to test the boundaries. Here, works that are a bit edgier, a bit less mainstream can search for an audience. For audience members, it is a fair for the senses, offering a chance to feast on cotton candy, funnel cakes and spicy alien dishes for the soul.

Only three years ago, Kansas City, Missouri, joined the throng and established its own Fringe Festival. Strange little venues were found: Back rooms of art galleries, empty buildings with just enough room for a stage and 20-40 chairs, available theatre space for small productions. With large signs saying, “Welcome Fringers!”, these off-beat locations become the scene of crowds of people waiting in line, middle-aged couples dressed for a night at the theatre standing near spiky-haired, tattooed, pierced black-clad young men and young women sporting three shades of color in a hairdo that is cropped on one side and hanging long on the other. It is a time to throw together people from all walks of life to experience artists from all walks of life. Like a big game hunt, there is a feeling of anticipation and a wondrous feeling of discovery when a new play or an emerging artist can cause goose bumps.

Scheduling and location made it impossible to see all the offerings, but our report provides a representative sampling of this year's participants. Some of these performers and acts travel from festival to festival, so be on the look out for them.

CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO READ THE REVIEWS.......

THEATRE:

SPACE:

HISTORY OF THE THEATRE PT 1:

YIDDISH WITH DICK & JANE:

AMERICA: AciremA:

YOU & ME:

TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A GO-GO GIRL:

...AND THEY FIGHT!:

CONCERT:

PENNY OLIVIER: