PUSH Physical Theatre Set for 2014 First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival, Now thru 9/27

Award-winning PUSH Physical Theatre has had a very busy touring schedule for the past year, and-if plans unfold as expected-the future will find them on the road even more frequently. Local audiences will have a chance to catch up with this homegrown favorite during the 2014 First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival (September 18-27).

PUSH's hour-long Fringe show will feature the world premiere of "Strangers," a new piece that explores chance encounters and the effects of busy lives on important relationships, created with support from the Rochester Area Community Foundation. Fan favorites from 14 years of PUSH's masterful physical storytelling will round out the four, all-ages performances at Eastman School of Music's Kilbourn Hall on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 3 & 7 p.m.; and Saturday, Sept. 27 at 3 & 7 p.m. Tickets are $16 and available at rochesterfringe.com, as well as at the door (if any remain) one hour before curtain.

"We're very excited to be performing at home again," says Darren Stevenson, co-founder and artistic director of PUSH, which has been traveling for much of the time since the company's Arc of Ages production at JCC's Hart Theatre in June of 2013, with a brief return for last year's Fringe performances.

The group has been teaching, performing and showcasing in Guatemala, South Carolina, Texas, California, Massachusetts, New York, Tennessee and more. Additionally, PUSH was honored to create original choreography for Comala, for which composer Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon was named a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist. The musicians and PUSH toured the piece to Rochester, Atlanta and various cities in Mexico, and participated in a documentary video.

Perhaps most exciting is their already-taped, yet-to-be-announced season on a new reality show that will air on a major cable network this fall. The competition show features teams of performers who-like PUSH-use theatre, acrobatics, illusion and more to re-imagine moments and manipulate audiences' perceptions.

"We are sworn to secrecy until the show has been officially announced, hopefully in early September," explains Stevenson. "At this point, we believe it will air sometime in October."

PUSH's performances in the 2012 and 2013 Fringes were sell outs, and the company's street performances during Fringe always draw a crowd.