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Fringe Online 2020


Low Down

“FRINGE SNEAK PEEK will premiere a different show each night at 7pm on Sunday September 13th, Tuesday September 15th, Thursday September 17th, Friday September 18th, and Saturday September 19th, 2020. After premiering, the shows will continue to run on www.Facebook.com/exittheatresf/live until the end of September 2020.”

Review

The Annual San Francisco Fringe Festival produced by Exit Theatre every September will not take place in person due to the pandemic, in 2020. However, Christine Auguello, founder and artistic director of Exit Theatre and the SF Fringe together with her creative team at the Exit scheduled a series of Sneak Peek live shows on their Facebook channel at 7pm each evening from September 13 to 19, and all these one hour shows are still available to catch up at this link (as of this date) for free (and without joining facebook): www.Facebook.com/exittheatresf/live

Auguello describes these Sneak Peeks as ‘magazine’ style shows. They offer a taste of many of the over twenty theatre companies and performing artists who were scheduled to perform at this year’s SF Fringe Festival at the Exit Theatre’s complex of three theatres on Eddy street, downtown San Francisco.

Introduced by an Exit Theatre team member each evening, including Auguello, they interview performers and directors, show video clips, live music, images and slides provided by the companies and invite audiences back next September 2021 to come and see the shows in person.

SF Fringe is part of the CAFF https://fringefestivals.com/about-caff/ organization of fringes that do not curate or select the line up, but the shows that perform are the result of a lottery held in public earlier in the year, at the Exit Theatre’s cafe with live stream on Facebook. Needless to say, this element of chance makes this exciting for the companies as they wait to see if their name is drawn from a hat or something similar – and is equally appreciated by the public. I have attended the SF Fringe Festival for the last 5 years and talked to audience members as we wait in line before each show – they often tell me that they enjoy taking a chance themselves, by buying a pass and seeing several original shows in a weekend. I can say that there are always wonderful surprises from seeing fringe shows – and you never know how much you will be entertained, enlightened and moved, but it is often – so take a risk!

The performing arts and artists, like everyone, have been hit hard during the pandemic. Theatres are going through dire times and many are becoming creative and adapting how they keep their passion for the arts alive and are supporting artists by experimenting and presenting online theatre. Since May 2020, Auguello and the Exit Theatre production team have organized regular “Hanging Out at the Exit Cafe” low key events online, with informal conversations and interviews about how they and guests are dealing with these strange times and staying creative. For those of us who miss the theatre and creative arts, events such as these help keep a connection with fellow artists and support morale. Theatre is powerful and we all need it, especially now.

Auguello announced that there are special guests on the September 19th Sneak Peek show, from the Chang Mai Fringe Festival of Thailand, the Philippines and New York – don’t miss this – and catch up with the other SF Fringe Sneak Peek and Exit Theatre videos and shows while you can…and remember to check out the SF Fringe Festival in 2021!

Published