CURTAIN S UP FOR THE FIRST FRINGE MANILA Fringe, The World s Largest Arts Festival

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1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CURTAIN S UP FOR THE FIRST FRINGE MANILA Fringe, The World s Largest Arts Festival Manila, January 28, 2015 The internationally acclaimed multi- arts festival, Fringe, is taking over Manila on February 12 to March 1 as its newest destination under the banner of Fringe Manila, for a strictly limited period, in venues across Manila, with a focus along the spine of Vito Cruz, from the De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde in the East, to the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the West. Fringe Manila is an open access, artist driven, uncensored arts and community festival that will showcase fresh, daring, and groundbreaking work. It s joining over 200 international Fringe Festivals around the world. It highlights the unique point of view of emerging and established artists from the Philippines and all over the world in theater, literature, music, dance, visual art, film, cabaret, performance art, circus and every other artistic genre in between. Fringe Manila is the perfect platform for emerging and local established artists to take risks and share their work to diverse audiences. Fringe represents the voices of artists and artistic genres that both challenge and reflect traditional and contemporary art forms. The Philippines is now taking its place in this extraordinary revolution. There is a growing renaissance of art by future movers and shakers in the industry that create work driven by their experience and social consciousness, says Festival Director and co- founder Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan. Fringe Manila is significantly important because it was created under spontaneous freedom of expression of tens of thousands of creative souls, from all walks of life, at all stages of their careers, and representing all art forms. He adds. According to a study conducted by BOP Consulting during the 2012 Perth Fringe (Australia) inaugural program, 98% of Artists and Audience believe that Fringe is an important addition to the cultural life of a city.

2 What to watch out for After two years of planning and preparation, several months of registrations, Fringe Manila is proud to launch its first year s program composed of around 90 events, more than 200 performances by hundreds of local and foreign artists in 20 different venues. This year s festival brings us a vast range of art genres. Get carried away with theater s lineup consisting of Destiyero Theater Commune s Tungkol Kay Angela which is awarded by Palanca Awards and BBC International Playwriting Competition, alongside Egg Theater s Maniacal, Green Glass Door s Dance Until You Shatter Yourself, Denise Mordeno Aguila s Hope Floats, Scenius Pro s Maikling Dasal Mahabang Gabi, ADHD Productions Kwentong Komyut #MiddleClassProblems and Storyhouse (Philippines) Storytelling NOT just for kids! On the theme of love, sex and sexuality, open your mind to Black Canvas' Kyemestry, The Thespian Society's PNU Diaria and Boss Machine's Spoken Tandem. Cry your eyes out with the well- loved Studio Connections International's PETA's Haring Lear and The Sandbox Collective's The Pillowman. Discover the limits of your fears and suspense with Dulaang Elyu's Testigo and DLSU Harlequin Theater Guild's Haunted Hall VI. Sing along to the songs of Musical Theater s Boy in the Bathroom by The Sandbox Collective and F(r)iction: A New Musical by Ejay Yatco. Remarkable University and College groups will also take part by staging FEU Theater Guild's Makikitawag Lang Ako and Usapang X, Saint Louis College, Center for Culture and Arts Bulong: Ang Ating Sigaw ng Pagbabago, Dulaang Filipino s Crossroads 12, and Mapua Tekno Teatro's Head or Tails. Draw inspiration and appreciate different interpretations of dance from Airdance s In Stall Ment, Brian Moreno s Bathala Na, Daloy Dance Company s Canton Atbp. and Reconfigure, Seven Contemporary Dance s Presence, Flow Arts Show s Quanto Salto, La Salle Dance Company Contemporary s Ang Hiwaga ni Gamhan: isang dula- sayaw and Romancom Dance Company s The Art Beat: DEAFying Limits.

3 In addition, the country s premier Ballet companies join the festival with performances of Ballet Philippines MANHID: The Pinoy Superhero Musical, Ballet Manila s Barkada ni Juan and Ballet Manila 2.0. Roar with laughter and join the fun with the pioneers of Point- of- View Stand- Up Comedy in the Philippines, Comedy Cartel s Delivery Room: A Comedy Open Mic Night, Mike Unson, Tim Tayag, Laughing Stocks, and Bored Horny Unpaid Writers Deus Sex Machina: Original Adult Fiction Read Live For Your Pleasure. Experience improv comedy with One and a Half Men Improv, Switch Improv, Manila Playback Theater s Playback Theater Performance, SPIT Manila s Fernando and Improv Free For All. Furthermore, puppetry never gets old especially with Ony Carcamo & Ruther Urquia: Voices from the Cases and get high with Mental Assassin: Justin Piñon in *MND FCKED. Take in the exhibitions of Cocoy Lumbao: Loose Continuity, Tad Ermitaño: Deus Ex Machina, Kelvin Atmadibrata, Leeroy New s Chrysalis Series, the Light and Space Contemporary Featuring Jason Tecson. and 98B s Where Do We Go From Here. Nourish your senses with art performances such as Christopher Aronson s Songs of An Electric Soul, Para Sa Sining Productions KATHA: Teatro x Sayaw, Academy of Everything is Possible s Russian Psychology- Kaso Uno, The Japan Foundation Manila and Dramatis Personae Productions Mishima: Confessions of a Mask, and UP Dulaang Laboratoryo s OUROBROS: Mga Pananalamin at Panganganino. Understand different cultures with performances of Fo Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple s Chinese New Year Celebrations and Cha n Culture, Singapore s Ang Ai Jia Leia and Seow Yi Qing s A Pair of Slippers, Taiwan s Juedai Contemporary Jazz Dance Theater s Absolute Beauty Taiwan Image and Chun Liang- Liu s Strange Intimacy. Feast your eyes in the international art of Indonesia s Kelvin Atmadibrata s Vitamin C Kingdom: Weight of Living, Romania s Daniel Nicolae Djamo s Bird, Brazil s Paolo Abe s The Banned Library, Greece s Christos Marmeris On Human Rights.

4 Enrich your knowledge by experiencing special events like Coro San Benildo s Harmony of Hearts and Voices VI: A Children s Choir Festival Seeing and Singing through Eyes and the Songs of the Child, Meganon Comics Indie Komiks 101, UP Manila University Student Council Culture and Arts Committee s UP Manila Fiesta 2015, The Cine Totoo Documentary Caravan, and the festival s closing night special, Viva Manila s Transitio. Fringe Manila hits the spotlight The very first Fringe will see thousands of artists, producers, directors and audiences converging on Manila s diverse venues such as the Cultural Center of the Philippines, College of Saint Benilde, De La Salle University, National Commission for Culture and Arts, Sev s Café, Fo Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple and 1335 MABINI, to watch performances across 18 days and nights. Fringe Manila s Executive Producer, Brett McCallum, said We are extremely thrilled to share this celebration of arts and let everyone experience Fringe similar to what Edinburgh, New York, Melbourne and many other vibrant cities have been offering to its culture. We encourage people to make a night of Fringe and go and see 2/3 shows in a night. For example, a matinee show at CCP, an evening performance at CSB and then finish the night with a late night comedy act at Sev's. With average ticket prices sitting around 200/300 pesos, you can have a night of cultural excess for less than 1,000 pesos. Explore the program, make connections and realize that there are 100 unique journeys thru the Fringe program. He adds. Tickets are available at TicketWorld. Call or log on to For further details and inquiries, please contact hello@fringemanila.com. Follow Fringe Manila on Facebook, Twitter, and for exciting updates. - END-

5 FESTIVAL DETAILS Dates: February 12 to March 1, 2015 Venues: Online: TicketWorld Hotline: Cultural Center of the Philippines Tanghalang Huseng Batute Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) College of Saint Benilde SDA SDA Theater SDA BlackBox Theater SDA Cinema College of Saint Benilde Taft Augusto- Rosario- Gonzalez Theater Greenway De La Salle University Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium Marian Quadrangle Mutien Marie Hall National Commission for Culture and Arts Gallery Fo Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple Sev s Café 1335 Mabini 98B Collaboratory Mabuhay Restop UP Manila Fort Santiago twitter.com/fringemnl MEDIA CONTACT: Jigs Reodica jigs.fringemanila@gmail.com Mobile: Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan Festival Director andreinikolai@fringemanila.com Mobile:

6 BACKGROUND THE MISSION AND VISION The Vision of Fringe Manila is to raise the awareness of, among domestic and international audiences, the depth and breadth of artistic endeavor across the Philippines. The Mission of Fringe Manila is to stage and produce an arts festival, to be called Fringe Manila, that will aim to showcase fresh, daring, and groundbreaking material highlighting the unique point of view of emerging and established artists from the Philippines and internationally, across all genres including, but not limited to, theater, poetry, music, dance and the visual arts. Fringe Manila is defined by the core values: Accessibility, Community, Advocacy, Freedom of Expression, Creativity, Education, Collaboration and Sustainability. The Goals of Fringe Manila are; (1) To support the recognition of the Philippines as an arts destination for both local and international artists and companies; (2) To provide a platform dedicated to showcasing experimental and original works by local Filipino artists; (3) To encourage and support the engaging of international artists with Filipino culture, enabling a cross- pollination of ideas, concepts & cultures with local practitioners; (4) To work with artists and assist them in accessing and building audiences. Equally, to work with audiences and educate them to take risks and engage with arts practice in all its forms; (5) To work with venues, both conventional and unconventional, to assist them to activate their spaces and engage new audiences; and (6) To build a business that will support the needs of its community, one that will be financially and ethically sustainable.