SIDESHOW FRINGE Offers 'Adventurous Theater for Adventurous Audiences' 9/29-10/2

Actors Bridge Ensemble presents the first Sideshow Fringe: Music City's Progressive Performing Arts Festival produced by the inaugural Sideshow Ensemble. The four-day festival runs in the Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood September 29 through October 2.

Sideshow Fringe is a Nashville-based four-day performing arts extravaganza connecting adventurous artists with adventurous audiences and showcasing Nashville's diverse talent. This kick-off to Artober will be housed in the Belmont Black Box Theatre, Bongo Java After Hours and a neighborhood street venue. All Sideshow Fringe shows are 90 minutes or less, according to Jessika Malone.

Sideshow Fringe will feature "fringe" forms of performing arts and theatre related performance. Puppetry Arts, Aerial Dance, Physical Arts/Juggling and more will be showcased. The festival will host new and original works by local artists making their debut as well as local premieres of non-traditional plays.

Found space theatre and sustainable art will be featured as well as an open forum called "What's New Nashville?" discussing the future of the creative community in terms of message and medium. Performances will range in running time between ten and 90 minutes, encouraging audiences to see multiple shows in one day or to visit restaurants and merchants while strolling by street performances, hands-on art making and sidewalk art sales

Nashville artists of all genres are invited to submit a fringe project proposal to the festival. Proposed projects will be reviewed by an Actors Bridge Ensemble panel comprised of Jessika Malone (artistic associate, Actors Bridge), Jaclyn Johnson (Arts and Business Council), Mitch Massaro (Nashville Children's Theatre), as well as representatives from Belmont University, Actors Bridge Ensemble, Bongo After Hours Theatre and other arts organizations.   

Applications are available on the Actors Bridge website.www.actorsbridge.org. Deadline for submission is: August 15.

About Sideshow: Actors Bridge has always taken risks on emerging talent. In 2011, the commitment reaches a new level with Sideshow, a ten-month training immersion program comprised of 12 emerging artists. The Sideshow ensemble will produce three professional theatre events as a supplement to the Actors Bridge 2011-12 main stage season beginning with Sideshow Fringe. Sideshow's inaugural season will be led by Malone, Johnson and Massaro.

Actors Bridge Ensemble is a professional theatre company and actor-training program celebrating over 15 years in Nashville. Its mission is to tell the stories that impact our community by producing provocative and socially relevant theatre, creating new theatrical works, showcasing emotionally authentic ensemble acting and fostering a nurturing environment where theatre artists at any stage in their development may train and assist in the production of professional theatre.

Pictured: Jessika Malone

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