Imagine being at an art festival and all of a sudden you are a piece of the creation. That’s exactly what happened for some participants at the recent Elgin Fringe Festival.
A dancer changed positions and each time that happened, the audience made a different noise with their voices and other instruments.
Percolate – Creative Moves was one of many shows at this festival. It’s an interactive performance that served as a rehearsal and performance for the crowd, including Andrew Ross.
“A lot of the shows don't really engage the audience, I think,” he said. “But maybe one or two engage the audience, but I don't think like this.”
The shows were spread throughout certain buildings in the downtown area.
Nick Mataragas, the artistic director of the festival, was hanging out at Side Street Studio Arts. He said the 2025 festival is like a reset.
“We’re at a point in time where a lot of artists are really finally coming back out of their shells,” Mataragas said. “You know, we lost a lot with Covid, as did a lot of performing arts like it just kind of slowed back down. And so, we're in this arc, going back into people feeling like they're ready to come out and do things.”
Minneapolis artist Derek Lee Miller sat on a bench in front of the studio. His show Bay Creek is scheduled later in the evening. It’s a horror-themed performance set in West Central Illinois, where Miller grew up.
He shared a few lines from his storytelling show.
“Don can't help you," he said. "No one can help you. Wherever my dad's gone, you can't follow him. And even if you could, you really wouldn't want to."
Philip Gonzales is also from Minneapolis. The title of his show is a play on words.
“My show is called Trust Exercizes Exorcises, and it's like 90% of it is improvised,” he explained. “It's a story of my high school theater experience and all the traumatic and hilarious things that have….I don't know. It's hard to say this to the traumatic things that happen, people think the show is just going to be dour, but it's actually a comedy.”
Miller has participated in fringe festivals in his hometown, but this is his first time participating in the Elgin one.
He said participating in a fringe festival cuts out the middleman.
“You, the artists, are free to put up whatever you want, as long as it's legal,” he said. “And so, you're not answering to a board of directors, of a theater or fundraisers, or anybody who might take umbrage at you trying something risky or different or challenging.”
He said because of this the audience is taking a chance when they choose to participate.
“Roll the dice...see what you get," Miller said, "because one of the worst shows I've ever seen before in my life was at a fringe festival, and one of the best shows I've ever seen in my life was at a fringe festival. And you don't necessarily know that when you walk in, what you're going to get, but it's always a ride.”
A different type of show was going on at Elgin Artspace Lofts. A crowd stood in a dimly lit area while listening to melodic tunes.
“The idea of fringe is that it's outside of the box," said photographer and painter, Dominique Hadley, "thinking it's kind of weird, it's kind of dark, sometimes it's kind of subversive in some ways, but at the same time, there's joy in it.”
Hadley never participated in the Elgin Fringe Festival but has done other art shows in the city.
“There's community in it,” she said. “So, it's an art festival where you'll see everyone's voice kind of represented.”
This year’s festival included a queer musical circus adventure, science fiction comedy, and a performance that addressed gender reveal parties.
