Fringe Festival takes its second virtual curtain call

Marley Carter’s dance, “Trust in the Force,” took inspiration from Order 66, an executive order Emperor Palpatine made in “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.” As a lover of dance, film and a fan of the movies, Marley Carter, SF State cinema major, couldn’t help but see this beautiful “ritual-like dance of the jedi.” 

Initially, she envisioned a choreography for a full stage production of multiple dancers. However, readapting her project to video opened possibilities such as implementing lightsaber animations, holograms and blaster beams. 

Carter’s goal was to mimic the special effects in the films as closely as possible. She said some editing days were met with tears.

“But that’s like dealing with any art project,” Carter said with a laugh. 

Special effects editing in her dances wasn’t something Carter had in mind, but now it’s just as important as pointing a toe.

Both students and educators alike have adapted and navigated distance learning, putting together ensembles such as Fringe Festival, a more than 26-year legacy showcase of student-written plays and, for the first time this year, a collaboration with the dance department. This year’s Fringe Festival was held from April 13 through April 19; however, the festival will be available to stream until May 5. 

“Three technique classes were taken because they were under-enrolled. And then there were classes last fall also that were cancelled due to low enrollment. So just to give you a background, this is not typical,” said Ray Tadio, instructor for the New Moves course and director of all the dances in the Fringe Festival. 

Nonetheless, the show must go on. Tadio said he’s impressed by the students’ dedication. 

This will be the Fringe Festival’s second virtual outing. This year, students’ use of programs like OBS Ninja and Adobe Premiere allowed more possibilities. But the absence of a stage is still largely felt. 

The festival was broken up into two phases and spent time showcasing the department. 

“It was huge for me to be able to say, ‘we are still here, we’re still creating theater, we are still providing the joy and the happiness that comes from being on a stage and and that comes from telling these stories.’” theater department senior Christian Cantrell said. 

 Cantrell remembers the theatre’s stage well, in fact he composed multiple plays that debuted there. The experiences he had and the people he met during that time were inspirations for the lyrical valentine “Golden Gate Dreams” that he debuted at Fringe this year. 

Graduating theater majors, dreaming of seeing their names spelt out on the marquees of Broadway, recognize the reality that those marquees have been dark for over a year. 

“How does theater shift? How does theater come back? And I think that a lot of that’s going to dictate which path I take,” Cantrell said. As of now, that path is unclear, but moving to New York this fall is his first step. 

Johan Casal, an SF State sophomore double majors in film and dance now, is inspired by Beyonce’s visual albums, finds that the transition to virtual learning has strengthened “different muscles,” opening his eyes to larger possibilities in the industry. 

“This is like a great stepping stone for me to practice seeing dance in a film setting. Seeing how else I could further manipulate it, and just see where it goes from here,” Casal said. “I’ve learned so much within this one semester, and I’m ready to continue moving on, even after this class is over.” 

His film utilizes a drone to produce industry level images to capture him performing his choreographed routine. Prior to this class, he said he only had a basic understanding of iMovie. Now, a semester later, he is confident in his skills and feels they are strengthening his future in both the dance and film industry. 

Tadio sees the students as drivers of their own success. “They are the performers. They are the choreographers. They are the cinematographers. And they are the editors of their own film,” he said. 

The greatest struggle for Director of the Fringe Festival and SF State Theater Arts lecturer, Terry Boero hasn’t been a lack of talent, production value or participation, but rather a spatial disparity among students, the stage they need to perform. 

“One of my student actors has 18 inches between her bed and her computer table. That’s a range of motion — she only has 18 inches. Other people have a basement or garage they can go into,” Boero said. “It just bothers me that we’re all working at an advantage or disadvantage.” 

Boero has found computers to loan out, mailed equipment and sent props to students through Amazon. She said that access is still not equal across the board. 

“It hasn’t been easy,” Boero said. “But what we have noticed is that the people who are brave enough to do this kind of work are really passionate about it.”