The Scranton Fringe Festival will hold a second edition of Fringe Under Glass this fall, the organization announced today.
The program, a mix of walking tour and live productions, will take place Thursday, Sept. 23, through Sunday, Sept. 26, and could be extended into the first weekend of October. In Fringe Under Glass, live performances take place in large storefront windows plus select outdoor areas across downtown Scranton. The audience moves from one location to another in small groups, watching the shows from the outside and listening via wireless audio transmission.
“As the pandemic continues to create incredible challenges for the professional arts as well as local small businesses, Fringe Under Glass will attract patrons to downtown Scranton to enjoy and experience live theater and performance art in a socially distanced, COVID-19 compliant environment,” organizers said in an announcement.
The production will include numerous COVID-19 safety measures, including requiring audience members and guides to wear masks. Other personal protective equipment also will be available, and Fringe staffers will sanitize locations between performances.
Downtown businesses, including eateries and shops, saw an increase in foot traffic and sales during the first Fringe Under Glass weekend, according to organizers.
“Collaborating with everyone from Fringe Under Glass 2020 was seamless,” Denise Gordon, owner and general manager of Center City Wine Cellar, said in a statement. “We had a great weekend financially, and we’ve seen many returning customers from the event.”
The Fringe Festival will accept applications for Fringe Under Glass from performing artists and other creatives “with a keen eye to visual aesthetics, strong performances and an openness to a collaborative process” from Friday, March 5, through Friday, April 9, on the Scranton Fringe Festival website, scrantonfringe.org/apply. Organizers also will accept applications for “outdoor performances, musical interludes and unique street theatre.”
The Fringe Festival will provide stipends to participating artists, “ensuring that they can invest in their best ideas after over a year of lost work without depending on ticket sales or possible future shutdowns,” organizers announced. The festival previously raised money for and handed out more than $10,000 worth of mini-grants to regional artists and other creative gig workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Fringe Under Glass tickets will go on sale this summer, with individual and group packages available in addition to “special initiatives to ensure tickets are provided to those who otherwise could not afford to access them,” according to the Fringe Festival.
Caitlin Heaney West is the content editor for Access NEPA and oversees the Early Access blog in addition to working as a copy editor and staff writer for The Times-Tribune. An award-winning journalist, she is a summa cum laude graduate of Shippensburg University and also earned a master’s degree from Marywood University. Caitlin joined the Times-Shamrock family in 2009 and lives in Scranton. Contact: cwest@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5107; or @cheaneywest
