An experiment with storytelling

By David Dixon

Since 2013, the San Diego International Fringe Festival has been giving America’s Finest City an eclectic selection of theater. Kicking off this June 23, attendees will experience everything from musicals, comedies, dance events, and family-friendly programming play at theatrical spaces around the city.

Some of the venues last year included the Lyceum Theatre, the Tenth Avenue Arts Center (the headquarters of San Diego Fringe), and the recently closed Swedenborg Hall.

In charge of the festival is executive producer and director, Kevin Charles Patterson. Before founding the event, he was involved with directing, choreographing and producing productions around the world.

Unfortunately, Patterson got in a car accident, which ended his career teaching dance and choreographing.

“I got cut off by a big-rig truck and broke my hip,” he said. “I owned a studio and wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my professional life.”

He became inspired after learning more about Fringe Festivals. “I found out about Fringe and I thought, this would be perfect,” he said. “I realized we had a shortage of small venues and alternative venues in San Diego. This opens the door for local artists to present unique stories.”

Aiding Patterson with programming is managing director and the group’s press contact, Candice Caufield. While the two of them have been close for years, she was not always a Fringe team member.

“In 2013, I wasn’t too involved because I was working more for my regular job,” she said. “However, I had so much fun doing a little bit of volunteering that year, I asked Patterson if I could become more involved.”

This led to a trip where the two of them went to the 2014 World Fringe Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland.

“I was completely sold after meeting people with Fringes from throughout the world and going to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe,” she said.

Like many major artistic events, the San Diego Fringe is continuing to grow. “In 2013 it was for five days, and has now expanded to 11 days,” Patterson said. “What is nice is artists can present their works and get word out and help build an audience.”

Another way that the celebration has continued to develop is having several shows performed in Tijuana.

“2015 was our first bi-national festival,” she said. “We had two small venues at Pasaje Rodriguez. We are fortunate this year, because we will be working with Amigos del Rep in both cities.”

While this year the festival will have plays that appeal to larger audiences, some selections offer plenty for more adventurous theatergoers.

“I like seeing stuff that’s outside of the box that you wouldn’t normally see,” Patterson said. “When I visit other Fringe Festivals, I want to see all the kinds of things we wouldn’t normally see in San Diego theater. Due to all the distant travelling, we’ve ended with a big chunk of national and international artists.”

Since there is no censorship, several tales should have no-holds-barred content.

“Artists can push the envelope as far as they want,” Caufield said. “We cannot censor, curate, or jury anything. We will continue to have ratings for each tale in the program.”

Patterson remains fascinated by the diverse options available for attendees. “There are cool layers, like last year we had shows taking place at the San Diego Natural History Museum all the way to Les Girls,” he said. “The more things like that happen, the more it warms my soul seeing total contrast and interesting locations thrown into the mix.”

Under the helm of Patterson and Caufield, there will be no shortage of high quality entertainment and this year’s festival is poised to provide a unique way to spend the beginning of summer.

The San Diego International Fringe Festival runs from June 23 through July 3. For tickets, venues and more information, visit sdfringe.org.

—A fan of film and theater from a very young age, David Dixon has written reviews and features for various print and online publications. You can reach him at [email protected].