Tampa Fringe Fest is back and kicks off on Thursday, July 29 in Ybor City. While Fringe is slightly scaled back this year, 13 participating companies is much better than the 0 that did any live performances last year (Tampa Fringe Fest 2020 was all virtual).
If you don’t know about Fringe, the 10-day festival consists of plays, comedy shows, cabarets, musicals or any type of performance that hasn't hit main stages yet. Tampa Fringe has been running since 2016, though it originated in Scotland in 1947. In non-pandemic times, participants come from all over the world; this year the lineup is mainly acts from Florida with companies from Texas, Ohio, Alabama and California sprinkled in. Either way, it’s your chance to see things on the way up, or just outside of the mainstream box.
Though all of the shows look worthy of a viewing, here are three that caught my attention.
- Moving the Mountain From Cincinnati, it’s a “one-puppet comedy show about what it means to crush your demons.” It had me at “puppet.”
- Be a Pirate Songs and stories make up this family-friendly one-man show about pirates —there’s usually a couple Fringe shows you can bring the kids to.
- A Rocky, Whorish Patter Show Multimedia, interactive show celebrating the cult-classic featuring comedian and cabaret-headliner Vulva Va-Voom whose “signature style weaves crowd-work patter, song-'n'-dance, and sketch/standup elements with burlesque and a fair amount of bourbon.”
Tampa Fringe runs Thursday, July 29-Sunday Aug. 8 in various rooms (studio, mainstage, rehearsal hall) throughout the Ybor City campus of Hillsborough Community College, at 2112 N 15th Street. $10-$160.
Fringe requires all non-vaxxed persons to wear masks, and to be respectful of someone’s choice to wear one. With rising numbers, organizers reserve the right to change any COVID-19 policies as deemed necessary.
Individual show tickets (roughly $10) are available along with an “Eliminator Pass” ($160) which gets you into all shows. For the less committed, smaller ticket bungles (5 shows for $60, 3 shows for $42) are also available.
Tampa Fringe Fringe Festival. July 29-Aug. 8. Hillsborough Community College. 2112 N 15th St., Ybor City. $10 & up. tampafringe.org
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This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2021.