RIT well represented at 2024 Rochester Fringe Festival

Rochester Institute of Technology students, faculty, and staff will contribute music, dance, comedy, poetry, photojournalism, and more during the 13th annual Rochester Fringe Festival, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 10, through Sept. 21.

It is the largest multi-genre arts festival in New York state and is renowned among the world’s more than 300 fringe festivals for its large-scale, outdoor, free-to-the-public performances.

More than 600 eclectic performances are planned during the 12-day festival, which has more than 30 venues, most in and around downtown Rochester. Many events are free, including all of the 31 RIT performances and exhibits, most of which will be held at The Little Theatre, 240 East Ave.

“We are fortunate that the Fringe Festival offers RIT students, faculty, staff, and alumni a platform to share their talents with the Rochester community,” said Lisa Stein, RIT’s executive director for events and conferences. “Our region boasts a vibrant arts community, and it’s exciting to showcase this for all to enjoy.”

Free shuttlebus service to and from campus is being provided for RIT students wanting to attend the weekend events at the festival.

RIT also is a major educational sponsor of the community collaborative event, which will feature world-renowned performers as well as up-and-comers.

‌

Provided

Joseph Fox, left, and Christopher Coles present ‘BakariPoet & Chicken Wings: Southern ASL BBQ,’ one of more than 30 RIT-related performances and exhibits in this year’s Rochester Fringe Festival, which begins Sept. 10 and continues through Sept. 21 in downtown Rochester.

“We know RIT has many talented and creative students, faculty, staff and alumni, and we’re honored to be able to share the variety of talent with the greater Rochester community,” said RIT President David Munson, who regularly attends Fringe Festival events with his wife, Nancy. “We’re proud RIT has supported Rochester’s Fringe Festival since its inception.”

RIT staff member Joseph Fox, who joined theater productions at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf more than 20 years ago in numerous roles, decided to participate in this year’s Fringe Festival with Spoken Word poet and activist Christopher Coles after the two attended last year’s Fringe Festival with friends.

“I mentioned to Chris the idea of creating a show centered around our Southern culture,” Fox said. “He was enthusiastic about the concept.”

Fox said he hopes audience members will feel inspired and connected, recognizing the universal themes of family, tradition, and identity that resonate across different cultures.

“We aim to share our cherished moments and highlight our Southern traditions, family, language, food, and future with the audience,” he said. “By sharing our personal stories and experiences, we want to foster a greater understanding and respect for the traditions and values that shape our lives.”

Look for their show, “BakariPoet & Chicken Wings: Southern ASL BBQ,” on Sept. 21.

RIT offerings at this year’s Fringe Festival include: (* denotes interpreted; CC denotes captioned).

The following will be presented at The Little Theatre, 240 East Ave.:

Fri. Sept. 13:

• * Dangerous Signs: Getting Fringy, 6-6:45 p.m. ASL poetry, music, and comedy show by deaf and hearing performers featuring “Back to the Future: The 12 Years,” where they celebrate their past, present, and future.
• The Mid-Century Modern Jazz Quartet, 7:15-8:15 p.m. Jazz from the 1940s through ’60s. The quartet features Al Biles on trumpet and flugelhorn, Chuck Dye on seven-string guitar, Bruce Goldman on upright bass, and Steve Gates on drums.
• * RIT Improv, 8:30-9 p.m., improvisational comedy by RIT students.
• A Cappella Time: Kaminari and Eight Beat Measure, 9-10 p.m., Kaminari, performing all genres of Japanese music, and a cappella group Eight Beat Measure perform.

Sat., Sept. 14, all in the Little Café:

• * Signatures Art & Literary Magazine, 10-11 a.m., poetry reading by RIT students of their work in the literary magazine.
• * Poetry of Tarot: A Reading Inspired by Tarot Images, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Adjunct faculty member Sean Watson will use the complex imagery of tarot cards to inspire poetry, collective storytelling, and human connection.
• Culture Crescendo, 12:45-1:15 p.m., pianist Angela Nkugwa, an RIT staff member, and violinist Christopher Holmes, an RIT student, give a performance of mixed cultural backgrounds.
• Dresnack and Friends: Songs You Can’t Hear Anywhere Else, 1:45-3 p.m., original songs and first-time performances, featuring Bill Dresnack, associate professor in Saunders College of Business.
• * Pollyanna (Queer Faith and Gaming Saved My Life!), 3:30-4:15 p.m., a cabaret of how queer spirituality and gaming intersect in one body and soul.
• Caricature, by Dave “Bippy” Boyer, 4:45-5:30 p.m. RIT alumnus Dave Boyer will draw and discuss caricature art.

Sun., Sept. 15:

• Musical Theatre Cabaret, 11 a.m.-noon. RIT and Rochester-area students perform a series of musical acts, ranging from comedy, drama, solos, duets, and group scenes.
• Tiger Steel Steelband Ensemble, 12:30-1:30 p.m., steel drum music from the Caribbean and from the Americas by RIT students.
• * Thomas Warfield – PeaceArt Projects, Compassion Through the Arts, 2-3 p.m. An interactive workshop/performance of storytelling by Warfield, RIT’s director of dance, using music, dance, and poetry to restore personal and social healing.
• Brick City Boppers Showcase, 3:30-4:30 p.m. The Brick City Boppers, RIT’s swing dance club, perform in a variety of different dance styles, including Lindy Hop and Charleston.
• * Sunshine 2.0 Variety Show, 5-6 p.m. The National Technical Institute for the Deaf Sunshine 2.0 performance involves the use of movement, sign language, physical theater, entertaining physical elements, and STEM content. Presented in sign language and spoken English to provide full access to audiences.
• * Black Deaf Male: Who Am I? 6:30-7:30 p.m. Written and performed by Sunshine 2.0 Coordinator Fred Michael Beam, Black Deaf Male: Who Am I? examines what it’s like to exist at the intersections of several identities. Beam signs a heartfelt monologue, as we hear his signed words spoken by an off-stage interpreter.

Thurs., Sept. 19:

• Best Films! RIT School of Film and Animation, CC, 5:15-9:15 p.m. Animation, fiction, documentary, and experimental films made by students during the 2023-2024 academic year and selected by the faculty of RIT’s School of Film and Animation.

Fri., Sept. 20:

• Documentary Short Films: RIT Photojournalism, CC, 5-6 p.m. A selection of student-made documentary short films, spanning personal stories to global issues.
• The Urban Boys US Return, 6:30-7 p.m., Popping street dance and hip-hop.
• A Cappella Time, 7:15-7:45 p.m. Performances by The Brick City Singers and Proof of Purchase.
• * CUT By RIT Players, 9:45-10:15 p.m. A comedy featuring a group of actors rehearsing a play within a play within a play. 

Sat., Sept. 21:

• * Becoming Grandma Kat, 10-10:45 a.m. A rising social media creator is involved unwittingly in a pyramid scheme after he witnesses a crime. He voluntarily joins the witness protection program, transforming from a TikTok star to an elderly deaf woman known as Grandma Kat. Written and performed by Keith Banks Jr. ’16, (international hospitality and service management) in American Sign Language. For all ages.
• Out of Sync, 11:15 a.m.-noon. A tapestry of psychedelic ambient sound set to an evolving array of visuals inspired by abstract art, avant-garde film and animation, layered together and performed with a sense of improvisation and experimentation. It’s a project of Rochester artist Chuck Miller, an RIT alumnus and instructor, and an evolution of his MFA work in computer graphics and design.
• With the Roosters Singing Wake Up to a Thousand Buttercups, 1:15-2:15 p.m., music by retired faculty member Howie Lester.
• RIT Surround Sound, 2:45-3:15 p.m., RIT’s premiere barbershop a cappella group.
• WADAIKO Performance, 3:30-4:15 p.m. WADAIKO is a drum group entirely run by RIT students. Most songs performed are traditional and passed on through oral tradition, while some are more modern or contemporary pieces.
• Velocity: RIT’s Urban Dance Crew, 4:30-4:45 p.m., a student-run urban dance team that aims to foster a positive and supportive environment.
• A Cappella Time, 4:45-5:15 p.m.: Groups Encore and Vocal Accent perform.
• * BakariPoet & Chicken Wings: Southern ASL BBQ, 5:45-6:45 p.m. A variety show featuring American Sign Language, dance, music, and more. True southerners RIT staff member Joseph Fox, Spoken Word poet and activist Christopher Coles, and RIT alumnus Teriana Mewborn, share their experiences of life, culture, art, and soul food.
• * Please Don’t Let Me Die in Buffalo, 8:45-10 p.m. A failed playwright reunites with his dysfunctional Irish Catholic family in South Buffalo.

The following is at RIT City Art Space, 280 E. Main St., in the Sibley Building:

• Multimedia Exhibition by RIT College of Art and Design faculty members Rebecca Aloisio and Mitch Goldstein, 1-5 p.m. Sept. 13, 14, 20, and 21, and 1-9 p.m. Sept. 15.

A complete schedule of RIT Fringe events (and notations on interpreted performances) as well as the RIT shuttle schedule and map is available.