Last week, one of winter term’s most awaited shows took place, once again exceeding everyone’s expectations. The Fringe Festival, which originated in 2013, is Choate’s unique tradition in which students stage self-written and directed plays in the Gelb Theater. It is completely student-run, from play selection and casting to set design and production. Students with or without prior experience learn how to do various jobs in a theater, whether it is onstage or backstage.
One of the playwrights, Connor Barnes ’19, shared his experience in Fringe. It is Barnes’ third year participating in the festival. He wrote “Welcome to Ireland” for his Playwriting and Screenwriting class. Regarding his writing process, he said, “Personally, I think about it for a long time. When I’m in the shower or doing something that doesn’t require a lot of thought, I think around random characters and their quirks. I like to start with characters, and I create a scenario around their quirks and conflicts against each other.” After getting his characters down, writing out the full plot that forms in his mind is the simpler part.
The show wouldn’t have been the same without the thoughtful costuming and stage setup for each play. Naomi Koo ’20 coordinated costumes and props for the show. This wasn’t an easy task — Koo had to transfer props back and forth between the PMAC costume shop and the Chapel. Communication with Ms. Kate Doak, the Fringe Festival adviser, and the directors was key during the whole process to avoid mix-ups. Koo explained, “Gelb is a small place and we can’t have everything in there, so it’s more about what we need onstage versus what we want onstage. I can’t design the whole set; there’s a limitation based on what can fit.” Making the whole show possible required dedication and perseverance. Koo said, “It was a huge responsibility and on a larger scale than I originally thought. Towards the end of the process, I had a lot of work, and I had to do everything including building an entire machine prop. [Through] Fringe, I learned how to take responsibility, and I think a lot of other people did too.”
Wilson Wang ’19, one of the directors in Fringe, had prior directing experience from Student Directed Scenes (SDS) and Directing class. He said, “I started taking Directing class this year, and I really enjoyed it. I love theater. I acted a lot last year, so this year, I wanted to shift backstage and teach my acting experience to other people, just to see what work I can produce when I’m not onstage.” A challenge Wang faced was dealing with many developments and changes in the script. He collaborated a lot with the writer and actors to figure out what worked best and made the most sense onstage.
Several actors share their insights on acting in Fringe. In her sophomore year, Heather Shao ’19, a member of Dance Arts Concentration, acted in both the spring musical and Fringe. However, she confessed, “I enjoyed Fringe more because it’s such an intimate setting with a lowkey and non-competitive atmosphere. Everyone is nice and very sweet to each other. I’ve been so invested in dance during my junior and senior years. I missed theater so much that I wanted to return to Fringe.” Shao continued, “This year, Fringe was actually pretty competitive because the winter show was canceled, and the fall show postponed. There were many actors and talents, so I was really honored to be selected as one of the actresses.” Due to the large cast and crew size, Shao was able to meet many new fantastic people.
Similarly, Francis Juma ’19, another actor in the show, said, “Fringe for me was a wonderful experience. I got to make friends and meet people that I’ve never spoken to before.” Juma was fairly new to acting, and he found it helpful to learn from more experienced actors in Fringe when he first started out. He said, “At first, it was hard to memorize all the lines. However, during the run-throughs by the end, I just told myself, ‘You know what, it’s all about the confidence. It’s all about having fun, owning the character, and giving it your best.’ Fringe was a rewarding experience for me, and I look forward to future productions.”
Many audience members were impressed by the show. Haley Strom ’20 said, “My favorite part was seeing people I’ve never seen act before onstage, being confident, and being people I’ve never seen them be before. ”
All in all, Fringe was a success this year as it created new friendships and gave students valuable theater experiences and responsibility. 
