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Commonwealth Artists Student Theatre, Carnegie, Know Theatre team up to enhance Fringe Festival


Commonwealth Artists Student Theatre (CAST), The Carnegie, and Know Theatre of Cincinnati are thrilled to announce a collaboration regarding the annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival. The three institutions are teaming up to evolve Fringe Next’s mission of creatively empowering high school-aged artists with two new additions to their Fringe experience.

The first addition will be a chance for Fringe Next applicants to produce an up-to-10-minute excerpt or preview of their show at a Fringe Next Preview event on January 18. These show excerpts will serve as an additional piece of adjudication for Fringe Next productions and give audiences a chance to see what could make the lineup.

“Our mission with Fringe Next has always been to give these up-and-coming artists a taste of what it takes to produce your own work in the real world and help prepare them for whatever comes next,” says Fringe Producer Chris Wesselman. “It can be a daunting task to present at Fringe, so we’re excited to offer a unique opportunity for students to first dip their toes in the water and present a small portion of their work before having to dive completely in and mount an entire production all by themselves.”

The second part of the extension will be the launch of an inaugural new works festival of the Fringe Next applicants who are not selected for the Cincy Fringe Festival. This new works festival will take place Memorial Day weekend of 2019, the weekend prior to the Cincy Fringe Festival, and will go by the name: The Fringe Next-ival presented by CAST!

“When I approached Chris with this idea, I thought he was going to think I was insane,” commented CAST Artistic Director Jason Burgess. “Know has so many things going on with the Cincy Fringe itself, their MainStage Series, One Minute Play Festival, Serials and so on. I didn’t want them to think that I was trying to put more on their plate. The idea is to actually take something off their plate. We want to help them with their educational outreach. We want to expand the scope and variety of Fringe Next and since our mission and focus is on high school students, we thought it was a perfect fit.”

In celebration of this collaboration, CAST will host the Fringe Next Preview event and The Fringe Next-ival at the Lincoln Scholar House in Covington. The Lincoln Scholar House was originally built in the 1930’s and served as Covington’s public school for African American students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. It was desegregated in 1965 and continued to operate as an elementary school until 1976 under the name Twelfth District Elementary.

Photo provided from last year’s FringeNext production at Highlands High School.

Subsequently, the building served as a community center providing education, cultural experiences and fellowship for the people of the Eastside Neighborhood District. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated as an African American Heritage Site by the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission. The auditorium is operated by The Carnegie.

“We’re so excited to support Fringe Next and bring life to the newly renovated Lincoln Grant Auditorium,” says Carnegie Theatre Director Maggie Perrino. “When The Carnegie agreed to operate the space, we saw it as a place for community groups, new works, and educational experiences–partnering with CAST and Fringe Next perfectly fulfills this vision.”

Commonwealth Artists Student Theatre is a Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati theatre collaborative, that through professional quality productions, arts instruction and developing community relationships, empowers students to achieve their artistic potential under the leadership of professionals. More information about CAST is available at www.caststages.org or by calling (859) 474-2811.

Know Theatre of Cincinnati’s goal is to create an artistic playground where artists and audiences can come together to produce and experience work that could not be done anywhere else. More information about CAST is available at www.knowtheatre.com or by calling (513) 300-5669.

The Carnegie is Northern Kentucky’s largest multidisciplinary arts venue providing theatre events, educational programs and art exhibitions to the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati community. The Carnegie facility is home to The Carnegie Galleries, the Otto M. Budig Theatre, and the Eva G. Farris Education Center. 

More information about The Carnegie is available at www.thecarnegie.com or by calling (859) 491-2030.


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