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Taipei welcomes the fringe

FESTIVAL NOTES: WHAT:The Taipei Fringe Festival (台北藝穗節) WHEN:Tomorrow until Sept. 14 TICKETS: Varies show to show; available at the door, at NTCH ticketing outlets and at www.artsticket.com.tw ON THE NET:www.taipeifringe.org DETAILS: Printed programs available at Eslite bookstores and NTCH ticketing booths

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With the 10th Taipei Arts Festival under way, theater buffs get to see some highly accomplished and well-established performance troupes. But the organizers — Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (台北市文化局) and the Taipei Cultural Foundation (台北市文化基金會) — also see festival time as an opportunity to showcase new artists, while audiences are in the mood.

Enter the first ever Taipei Fringe Festival, which starts tomorrow and takes place at different venues throughout the city until Sept. 14. The event features 61 local artists in 166 shows over the next two weeks. The performances cover a wide spectrum, from solo theater and modern dance to classical music recitals and rock bands. There’s even a theater performance combined with a real wedding banquet.

The spirit of the festival lies in experimentation, “free of limits for artists,” says Yoyo Kung (貢幼穎), a project manager for both the Taipei Fringe Festival and the Taipei Arts Festival.

PARTICIPATING VENUES: » Somebody Cafe; (貳拾陸巷), 3F, 131 Xining S Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧南路131號3樓) » Red House Theater (西門紅樓), 10 Chengdu Rd, Taipei City (台北市成都路10號) » Taipei Artist Village (台北國際藝術村), 7, Beiping E Rd, Taipei City (台北市北平東路7號) » Ximending Cinema Park (西門町電影公園), 19 Kangding Rd, Taipei City (台北市康定路19號) » IP Dance School, 3F, 114-4 Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段114-4號3樓) » Nanhai Gallery (南海藝廊), 3, Ln 19, Chungqing S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市重慶南路二段19巷3號) » Guling Street Theater (牯嶺街小劇場), 2, Ln 5, Guling St, Taipei City (台北市牯嶺街5巷2號) » Huashan Culture Park (華山創意文化園區), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號)

The Taipei Fringe Festival is inspired by the Edinburgh Fringe, which started in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, a major European event for classical music, opera, theater and dance.

As large crowds were expected at the international festival, alternative and underground theater groups saw an opportunity to try their material on new audiences, so they went to Edinburgh uninvited and put on their own shows in neighboring venues. The number of “fringe” groups grew over the years, which prompted the formation of the Festival Fringe Society, which helped the groups find venues, and handled ticket sales and publicity. Today the Edinburgh Fringe is considered a major training ground for aspiring artists. Past participants have included well-known entertainers such as Hugh Grant, Eddie Izzard and Emma Thompson.

HIGHLIGHTS: Happy Wine of Jimio What: Theater performance combined with the wedding of actor Jimi Zhang (張囍米) When: Wednesday at 7pm Where: Red House Theater Tickets: NT$880 (sold out)   The Story of the Tiger What: Solo performance based on Dario Fo’s A Tale of a Tiger featuring Chongtham Jayanta Meetei of Ex-Theater Asia When: Sept. 5 at 8pm and Sept. 6 at 8pm Where: Red House Tickets: NT$350   A Moving Sound and DJ Liu Shiuan What: Collaboration between classically trained pianist DJ Shiuan Liu and world music group A Moving Sound When: Sept. 6 at 3:30pm and Sept. 7 at 7:30pm Where: Red House Tickets: NT$500   Music and Dance in Honor of the Legend — A Predestined Relationship With Aikido What: A group of elderly Aikido students — members of the Aiki Art Group — present the teachings of their master through music, dance and drama When: Aug 31 (Sun), 10:30am Where: Taipei Artist Village Tickets: NT$300   Setting Out What: A dance performance that explores travel, dreams and connections between the city and the countryside, performed by the Turtle Theater and Ren Jian Dance Company When: Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Monday at 3pm and 7:30pm Where: Taipei Artist Village Tickets: NT$250

The society adhered to one basic, but important principle: there would be no artistic vetting or juries — a core idea that remains with the festival and other similar events in Australia, Canada and France, and one that the Taipei Fringe Festival has adopted. To participate in Taipei, artists only needed to show that they were either Taiwan citizens or part of a legally registered performing group, and then submit their application on time.

The Taipei version also aims to play a supporting role for “emerging and independent artists,” says Kung. The festival covers all venue, equipment and box-office costs, and helps promote the show.

In keeping with the fringe spirit, participating artists are both novices and experienced performers, and content ranges from silly comedy to avant-garde. Here are a few shows of note:

The Story of a Tiger features Chongtham Jayanta Meetei, an actor and artistic director of Taipei-based Ex-Theater Asia (亞洲劇團). Based on Italian dramatist Dario Fo’s A Tale of a Tiger, Meetei tells the story of a Chinese soldier injured while fighting Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) army and is saved from starvation by a mother tiger.

The Aiki Art Group (合氣藝團), a group of middle-aged and elderly Aikido students, use music, dance, and drama to tell the story of their master and his teachings in Music and Dance in Honor of the Legend — A Predestined Relationship With Aikido.

World music sensation A Moving Sound is teaming up with rising star DJ Shiuan Liu (劉軒) to present new compositions with improvisational and electronic elements. Come ready to dance.

In Happy Wine of Jimio (張吉米的喜酒), which is already sold out, experimental actor Jimi Zhang is staging his “Taiwanese-style” wedding at the Red House Theater next Wednesday, complete with a traditional banquet dinner. On his blog Zhang says he wanted take advantage of the free venue provided by the Taipei Fringe Festival, but he assures that the event will be “both a wedding and performance.”

The full event schedule and venue locations can be viewed at the festival’s Web site (www.taipeifringe.org), but it’s easier to navigate through the print version of the program, available at Eslite Bookstores and NTCH ticketing outlets.

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