24th Annual FronteraFest Kicks Off This Week at Hyde Park Theatre

One of the most popular and longest running performance events in the country, FronteraFest, returns for its 24th year.

A collaboration between Hyde Park Theatre and ScriptWorks, the Fest runs from January 17th through February 18th (Short Fringe, featuring pieces 25 minutes or less) at Hyde Park Theatre, 511 West 43rd Street, (B.Y.O.V., Bring Your Own Venue) January 25th - February 5th, held at multiple locations and Mi Casa es Su Teatro for one day only on February 11th primarily in private homes (see website to purchase tickets, view full schedule and location details www.hydeparktheatre.org).

The Long Fringe, which traditionally hosted pieces over 45 minutes has been canceled for the first time, due to the thearical venue crisis in Austin.

FronteraFest allows artists, actors, singers, dancers and writers the freedom to perform in virtually any medium or manner, and has been delighting, challenging and engaging audiences for nearly 25 years. In what has been described as the premiere 'performance event of the Southwest', participants have traveled from around the world to participate, as well as attend. Actors from as far as Chang Ung University in Seoul, South Korea performed a fascinating adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, in both Korean and English. Other U.S. cities represented in recent years include New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. Throughout the life of the Festival, there have been thousands of participants.

While the spirit of the festival is collaborative rather than competitive, there are weekly three-person voting panels as well as audience voting in the Short Fringe. The highest ranked performances get to return to the stage each Saturday of the Short Fringe for a 'Best of the Week' showcase. The final week of the Short Fringe is reserved for 'Best of the Fest' February 14th - 18th, which are pieces selected from 'Best of the Week', in addition to a special?'Wild Card' night, which are pieces selected by FronteraFest staff and crew.

Ken Webster, Artistic Director of Hyde Park Theatre credits the Fest's popularity and longevity to the eclectic mix of performances, "The combination of work by established writers and performers, as well as newcomers to the Austin arts scene is an exciting mix," he says. "From dance to music to theatre - you experience an artistic melting pot, and I think that resonates in a city like Austin."

Christi Moore, Executive Director of ScriptWorks views the collaborative nature of the Fest invaluable to both new and developing artists and writers. "The very nature of the ScriptWorks organization is collaborative. We work together to make everyone better; to tell better stories, become better writers. The Fest provides a different and very special kind of immediate feedback thatcan educate, entertain, and inspire."

FronteraFest is widely regarded in the national arts scene as an incubator for new work. Many performances that germinated at the Fest have catapulted to become full-length, professional award-winning productions. Austinites Steven Tomlinson, Ron Berry, Hans Frank, Cyndi Williams, Lowell Bartholomee, and many others have been widely recognized for their work. Participants have also included former LA television actress Beth Broderick, now living in Austin; Hank Schwemmer, and slam poet 'Big Poppa E' who made a name for himself on HBO's former television series 'Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam.'

The Fest is a collaboration between two of Austin's foremost arts organizations, Hyde Park Theatre, an award-winning professional theatre in Central Austin and?ScriptWorks, a playwright development and service organization with members in Austin, the state and around the country.

Venue, ticket information and full schedules can be found at www.hydeparktheatre.org. Persons interested in performing in Mi Casa or sharing their home for a performance can contact Christina J.Moore directly at fronterafest@hydeparktheatre.org.

Hyde Park Theatre develops writers, designers, directors, and actors from within the Austin community, while producing works by exciting new and established voices of the alterNative Theatre scene. The theatre utilizes a broad and diverse base of local artists to produce theater that confronts, challenges, and entertains. We have a strong commitment to paying local writers, actors, and designers a decent wage for their work, and to expanding the base of working artists in Austin. We hope to diversify and expand the audience for theater in Austin, making theater accessible and essential across lines of income, class, race, gender, and sexual preference. Visit www.hydeparktheatre.org.

ScriptWorks is a playwright driven organization that seeks to promote the craft of dramatic writing and to protect the playwright's integrity by encouraging playwright initiative and harnessing collective potential. Go to www.scriptworks.org.