UCF theatre alum returns to festival as producer

Somewhere between the snowbird season of winter and tourist takeover of summertime lies the claim to fame that is the Orlando Fringe Festival.

The Fringe is a two-week hiatus from the man sandals and Mickey Mouse ears that mark Orlando as a tourist trap. It is an annual festival held in Orlando's Loch Haven Park celebrating theater, art, dance, music and all the imaginative madness in between.

UCF graduate Michael Marinaccio is no stranger to the Fringe. He was recently named the producer of the upcoming 2012 Fringe Festival.

Marinaccio graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from UCF in 1998. The acting major began his quest to dominate the Fringe 15 years ago and since has participated as an actor, producer, director and volunteer within the festival.

The alumnus made his way to the top of the thespian totem pole with his solid education of hands-on experience and years of dedication, practice, networking and involving himself completely in the evolution of the Fringe.

"I built up the connections in town and had done enough work as far as every single job in the theater," Marinaccio said. "I'd like to think everything I have done in my life and career has led up to this."

Marinaccio cites the time he spent studying acting and theater at UCF as the necessary building blocks that set him up for his success to come.

"During my time at UCF, I was able to learn every single job there is in the theater," Marinaccio said. "The program really prepared me for the professional world because I didn't have to just make my way as an actor. I could always find work because I knew how to do it all."

The new producer has a lot to live up to. Chosen by a panel of Fringe veterans, Marinaccio's role follows a long line of successes. The previous producer, Bethany Marshall, not only grew the Orlando Fringe Festival to the cultural culmination of the year that it is today, but also served as an advocate for the artists.

Faced with a large legacy to live up to, Marinaccio has set out to change a variable he holds little control over: the public's perception of the festival.

The unrestrictive nature of the Fringe and its substituent acts is what makes it so unique. The festival is 100 percent uncensored and unjuried, which means that artists can put on any sort of show they like as long as they are chosen in the lottery of applicants.

"Sometimes the best and most professional content is overlooked because people worry uncensored automatically means nudity," he said. "That's the beauty of the Fringe — you choose which acts you wish to attend. We have many amazing family-friendly acts and also more adult ones."

Another change Marinaccio has planned for this year lies with the scheduling.

Marinaccio said that Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer recently donated $6,000 in support of the Kids Fringe aspect of the festival. This grant will go a long way to helping that element of the Fringe grow.

"I'm going to do some things with scheduling to bring the audiences in in waves," Marinaccio said.

Acts the the audience will see will be arranged in a way that the more mature content will take place later in the night while the family-friendly material occurs earlier in the evening and on weekdays.

"I don't want anyone to think they're going to have to see something they are going to have to go home to pray about," Marinaccio said. "I just want to make it an inclusive place that is comfortable and fun for everyone to be at."

The Fringe is the most accessible way for artists to produce independently. It is the least expensive, has a built in audience and provides exposure to a broad spectrum of spectators.

The longest-running Fringe Festival in the U.S., the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival continually inspires creativity and draws the community with 100 percent of the proceeds given back to the artists.

Marinaccio said that audiences can expect "wonderfully bad" shows as well as theater masterpieces.

"There is a something for everyone at the Fringe," he said.

Veteran producers, acting amateurs, internationally known productions, imaginative monologues, puppetry, magicians and musical masterpieces all contribute to the thespian takeover of the city. There are more than 100 participating artist groups from all over the world with international names and local artists alike.