Sample a variety of theatrical styles at the 2004 Rogue Performance Festival

By Tessa Ramirez
Get Out! Staff writer

If you are looking for a way to sample a variety of theatrical styles for an affordable price, then consider attending the 2004 Rogue Performance Festival.

This open, non-juried festival is committed to an artist's right to produce work without judgment and without being censored.

This annual celebration is made up of performances of theater, music, dance, film, performance art, puppetry, poetry, storytelling and visual arts, which take place simultaneously.

"It's a celebration of independent performing arts," said Lisa Repasky, who handles promotions for the festival. "And it's such an eclectic mix of a variety of arts."

The festival will take place March 5 through 7 and March 12 and 13 at several venues in the Tower District, including Veni Vidi Vici, The Starline and Club Fred.

Tickets range from $2 to $6 and will only go on sale 30 minutes prior to each show at the event.

The shows will go on at the same time in different venues, so patrons should view the schedule of shows and decide which ones they would like to attend.

People who attend can walk from one venue to another in a safe and fun environment.

"Anybody and everybody from age 5 to 105 will come," Repasky said. "We especially love to see those who have never seen a live theater show."

However, it is important to note that not everything at the festival is appropriate for people of all ages.

Everyone who attends the festival will receive a Rogue map, which lists the shows, as well as their ratings.

The ratings are decided upon by the performers and serve as guidelines as to what is appropriate for people of varying age groups.

"It's an experimental performing arts festival," Repasky said. "And though there is something there for everyone, not everything is for everyone."

The Rogue doesn't believe that a group of so-called experts should decide what is good or what an audience should see.

Rogue volunteers believe that a performer has the right to present his/her work and that the audience should decide what they like and don't like for themselves. Therefore, anyone who thinks they've got something worth seeing can participate.

To become a part of the show, the interested party simply fills out an application and pays a small fee. It is all on a first-come, first-served basis, and there aren't any auditions involved.

The performers receive 100% of the sales from their shows. The idea behind giving the performers all of the money from the ticket sales is to provide them with some seed money to jump-start their performing arts careers.

The Rogue Festival is now in its third year.

Theatre J'Nerique, at Sanctuary Stage Theater in downtown Fresno, powered the first Rogue Festival in March 2002. This location offered two separate venues, which were called the Rouge Mainstage and the Rogue Café.

The first year attracted 16 performing companies, and approximately 1,200 people attended over a six-day period.

The 2003 Rogue Festival was moved to the Tower District. The Rogue Mainstage was housed at the Starline Performance Venue, and the Rogue Café was hosted under a tent on the patio of Veni Vidi Vici. There were more than 25 performing groups, and twice as many people attended.

The 2004 Rogue promises to be bigger and better than the previous two years. There will be more than 40 performing acts and more than 80 performances.

"The festival is different every year," Repasky said. "We continue to be different because we include a variety of performing arts -- not just theater."

The Rogue Gallery, which will showcase the visual arts, as well as Late Night Bands, which will showcase performing bands, have been added to this year's festival.

Shadow Castle Productions will also showcase independent films in the 2004 Rogue Festival. They are doing this in hopes of adding an independent film component to the 2005 Rogue Festival.

The Rogue Festival was created to make arts and entertainment easily accessible to the public.

The goal is to make it affordable for anyone who wants to see a variety of talent. For the performers, it serves as an outlet. For the audience, it is something to go out and do and helps support the local art scene.

Volunteers for the Rogue Festival wanted to bring more fun things to do to Fresno and think this has been a major success so far.

"Fresno does have a soul and is a happening place to be," Repasky said. "The Rogue just helps to add to it."