Fringe festivals, celebrating art whose nature falls far outside the mainstream, typically happen in large cities. The Village of Phoenicia would not seem a likely candidate, though it arguably lies at the outermost exurban fringe of the New York metropolitan area. Still, the Shandaken Theatrical Society has taken on the challenge of hosting its own such festival at the Phoenicia Playhouse for two weekends, July 5 through 7 and 12 through 14.
Each of the six shows, beginning at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays, features performances from two spoken-word artists, many of them award-winning veterans of story slams and festivals throughout the world. In fact, Richard Templeton’s immersive The Piece, coming to Phoenicia on Saturday, July 13, was named Best Experience at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Richard Cardillo, whose Invisibility will be performed on Sunday, July 14, is a six-time story slam champion on The Moth.
Here’s the full Phoenicia Fringe Festival 2019 schedule: Friday, July 5, Dean Temple’s Voice of Authority and Nina Williams’ Om Shaadi Om; Saturday, July 6, Amanda Nicastro’s I’m Just Kidneying and Jamie Brickhouse’s I Favor My Daddy; Sunday, July 7, Bob Brader’s Smoker and Harmon Leon’s American Horror Story; Friday, July 12, Doug Motel’s Mind Salad and David Lawson’s Nazis and Me; Saturday, July 13, Richard Templeton’s The Piece and Lauren Bone Noble’s Fury; and Sunday, July 14, Richard Cardillo’s Invisibility and Victoria Ford’s Shadow Queens Rising.
Tickets to each of these immersions in expert storytelling cost $20 general admission, $18 for seniors and students. If you attend both the Friday and Saturday evening performances on one weekend, you can get into the Sunday afternoon show for only $10. To order, call (845) 688-2279 or visit https://phoeniciaplayhouse.com/phoenicia-fringe. The Phoenicia Playhouse is located at 10 Church Street in Phoenicia.
Join the family! 
