Tag Archives: spotlight

2312, 2018

Venue Spotlight: Tucson Improv Movement (TIM)

James Pack/ December 23, 2018/ Venues/ 0 comments

We have another venue for the 8th Tucson Fringe Festival. Tucson Improv Movement was kind enough to help us in a jam. About six weeks before the festival, one of our venues announced they were closing on January 1. Two shows had lost their venue. We began plotting ideas and brainstorming replacement venues we could use. We discussed squeezing shows into other venues and even considered using the Fringe Lounge for those shows. It was a stressful couple of weeks, and we weren’t sure if we would find another venue in enough time. Tucson Improv Movement came to the rescue and offered their space. We are forever grateful and the two shows in questions are comedy shows and this fits what TIM offers. So, what does TIM do? Tucson Improv Movement offers classes and shows in improvisation. They strive to be the premier comedy destination for the city of Tucson. And they don’t just focus on improvisation. They offer classes

2611, 2018

Venue Spotlight: Steinfeld Warehouse

James Pack/ November 26, 2018/ Venues/ 0 comments

The next venue for the 8th Tucson Fringe Festival is the Steinfeld Warehouse. This is the second year the Fringe has used the Steinfeld Warehouse and we are happy to include a piece of real history to the festival. The warehouse is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest surviving warehouse in downtown Tucson. Built in 1907 for Albert Steinfeld & Co by architects David and Jesse Holmes who managed many other building projects for Steinfeld as well as for the University of Arizona in the early days of the territory. “The warehouse stands today as an early example of Victorian Commercial architecture, complete with corbelled brick details, segmented arches above door and window openings, and a 1920s-era storefront addition with two-tone, wire-cut faced brick and cast stone.” (“Steinfeld Warehouse Community Arts Center.” Steinfeld Warehouse Community Arts Center, Warehouse Arts Management Organization, 2010, www.wamotucson.org/Steinfeld-Warehouse-Community-Arts-Center.) Albert Steinfeld owned many businesses in Tucson with his most successful being Steinfeld’s

1211, 2018

Venue Spotlight: The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre

James Pack/ November 12, 2018/ Venues/ 0 comments

The next venue for the 8thTucson Fringe Festival is The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre. This is the second year the Fringe has used S&S and it is an intimate space with all the needs a performer may desire. Currently in its second season since its grand opening, this 30-seat performance space is perfect for all our fringe-y needs. As the newest edition to the live performance community in Tucson, The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre is already making waves. What’s the story behind this new space and how did it come to be? The theatre space is the brainchild of two tech entrepreneurs, Bryan and Elizabeth Falcón. Not only did they start the new nonprofit theatre they also helped renovate the Zuzi Theatre space, a past fringe venue. Their goal is to help connect audiences to the human condition. “Coming out of the election season in 2016, we began to see cultural narratives at war with each other. Given the current

3010, 2018

Venue Spotlight: The Screening Room

James Pack/ October 30, 2018/ Venues/ 0 comments

The next venue for the 8th Tucson Fringe Festival is The Screening Room. Used during the first and sixth years of the festival, The Screening Room has added its unique history to the Fringe. The neon marquee sets it apart from most businesses along Congress Street and helps recognize it as an entertainment venue. The building’s history holds a lot of mystery. Despite hours of research, there are still several decades which hold no evidence as to how the building was used. Built in 1912, nothing is known of its use until the 1940s. For almost four decades, the site was known as Karl’s Shoe Store, a national chain. The owner was Harold Karl who was the second husband of Debbie Reynolds, star of stage and screen. After his death in the early 1980’s, it is rumored the building became a shot gun store as a front for a punk rock club called “The Dangerzone” but sources list the address as

1610, 2018

Venue Spotlight: Hotel Congress

James Pack/ October 16, 2018/ Venues/ 0 comments

Our first venue for the 8th Tucson Fringe Theatre Festival is Hotel Congress. The first time Congress was used as a venue for the Fringe Festival was 2013 and continued to be a venue every year since. This is the sixth year Hotel Congress has joined us in our performing arts adventures and we hope to have them as a venue for many years to come. They are also the closest hotel to many of our venues for anyone traveling from out of town to attend the festival. And now a brief history of Hotel Congress. The hotel completed construction and opened in 1919 just seven years after Arizona became an official state. On January 22, 1934, there was a fire causing the hotel to renovate and move from 80 rooms to 40 rooms. This same fire began a sequence of events that led to the capture of notorious criminal John Dillinger. Hotel Congress would have continued its charming existence as