What is the Oregon Fringe Festival?

Each spring, the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University produces the Oregon Fringe Festival, a multi-day event celebrating bold, innovative, and outrageous creativity in the arts. The festival is first and foremost a crossroads for emerging artists and professional practitioners to engage with each other’s creative work. Our roster includes music, theatre, visual art, film, dance, circus, spoken word, creative writing, and more, as well as panels and workshops for students and the greater community. Now in its eleventh year, the Oregon Fringe Festival is aligned with the rich history of The Fringe, an international movement exploring our innate creative spirit.

Mission Statement

The Oregon Fringe Festival is a boundary-breaking platform for free expression.

We celebrate unconventional art and unconventional space.

We work to secure a tolerant space for the sharing of ideas through the arts.

The Oregon Fringe Festival Team

**Russell Copley, Festival Director (he/him/his)**

Most recently Copley relocated to Ashland from Los Angeles where he served as Assistant Principal and Arts Coordinator at the renowned Ramon C. Cortines School for the Visual & Performing Arts. In this capacity he spearheaded the establishment of the Media Arts Academy and served as the managing producer of the 2022 Media Arts Symposium forging partnerships with industry giants such as Netflix, Spotify, and MTV. Copley also co-produced the RFK Mural Project with Branded Arts, as well as the South-Central Dance Festival and city-wide Youth Dreaming Festival. His extensive background includes teaching creative writing, theatre, and technical theatre as well as curriculum design in arts integration. As a distinguished professional theatre director, Copley is also a proud member of the Actors Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild. He has undertaken specialized training at esteemed institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Los Angeles in Visual Thinking Strategies, the Arts Media and Entertainment Institute, The Kennedy Center in its Arts Integration Project, the OTIS College of Design. Copley was also part of the Institute for Educators at the Los Angeles Music Center. Copley holds a Master of Arts in Modern Drama Studies from University College in Dublin, Ireland and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Drama from University of Cape Town, South Africa.

**Gianna McCardell, Marketing Director, (she/her/hers)**

Gianna is a senior at Southern Oregon University pursuing a degree in Emerging Media and Digital Arts with a focus in graphic and scenic design. She is passionate about supporting fellow creatives and is excited about the opportunity to inspire engagement and build community in the arts. She has previously participated in the Oregon Fringe Festival as a producer in the 2023 festival and as an artist in the 2022 and 2023 festivals. Gianna also works as the Marketing Lead for the SOU Rec Center, a Research Assistant for Southern Oregon Computer Science For All, and a Teaching Assistant for the EMDA program.

**JT Taylorson, Technical Director, (they/them/theirs)**

JT is a senior Music Industry and Production Studies major at SOU. Growing up in Los Angeles, they were exposed to all manor of artistic mediums but found music to be the most impactful. JT hopes to help assist musicians achieve their vision by supporting them on the technical side. They enjoy reading, board games and hanging out with their adorable yellow lab in their free time.

**Mary Snelgrove, Operations Coordinator (she/her/hers)**

Mary is in her fourth year of study at Southern Oregon University pursuing a degree in Music Industry and Production. Her passion for live music and its power to foster human connection and spirit inspires her to pursue a career in concert production and venue management. With that being said, Mary is extremely grateful for the Oregon Fringe Festival for providing a space to explore and learn about all of the excitements that go into planning extraordinary events, such as the Fringe. Mary is stoked to be a part of the Oregon Fringe Festival for the third time and to celebrate unique art and unconventional creativity.

**MaryEllen McGinnis, Festival Producer, (she/her/hers)**

MaryEllen is a theatre major at SOU pursuing a BFA in performance. Ever since performing with Salt Lake City Fringe Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah, MaryEllen has fallen in love with Fringe Festivals and the kind of artistic voices they uplift. She is thrilled to be a part of the Oregon Fringe Festival this year and hopes to bring her love of Fringe to this festival. Outside of school, MaryEllen is co-producer for Pansy Palace Productions and performs in their shows under her burlesque persona Mel O'Drama.

**George Butterick, Festival Producer, (he/him/his)**

George is a senior at Southern Oregon University pursuing a BFA in Theatre Arts with a focus on acting. He is thrilled to be joining the Oregon Fringe Festival team this year, and looks forward to exploring a deeper celebration of art and creativity. Aside from the festival, George is the artistic director of Oracle Theatre Company, SOU’s student-led company. George hopes to take these experiences further in the future as he continues his work as an actor, playwright, and director.

**Rose Wood, Festival Producer, (she/her/hers)**

Rose is in her third year at Southern Oregon University studying Digital Cinema Production with a concentration in Directing. She is excited to be joining the Oregon Fringe Festival because it celebrates her love for creativity and celebration of art. Rose enjoys filmmaking, photography, visual arts, and live music. Her goal is to create films that celebrate the power of emotions and connections, and she hopes to be able to contribute to the incredible celebration of art and community in Fringe.

**Zoe Lockhart, Festival Producer (they/them/theirs)**

Zoe is currently a senior at Southern Oregon University pursuing a degree in Visual Art. Initially from Coos Bay and graduating from Southwestern Oregon Community College in 2021 with an Associates Degree in CIS Digital Design, their creative work revolves around knitted colorwork, textiles, soft sculpture, printmaking, and painting. Zoe is currently the Co-Director for the CVA Galleries at Southern Oregon University and has assisted there since 2021. Ultimately, their goal is to connect artists and creators with the resources that they need and to assist in creating a strong, collaborative, and creative community on campus and beyond.

**Maggie Braa, Lead Lighting Designer (she/her/hers)**

Maggie is an SOU alumni with a degree in Lighting Design & Technology currently working as an Assistant Lighting Designer with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She served as a producer for the 2023 Oregon Fringe Festival and lighting designer for *The Hobbit, or There and Back Again* with Fringe 2023 and *Into the Unknown* with Fringe 2022. She now works primarily in Southern Oregon and the southeast as a freelance designer and electrician. Her recent credits include *Born with Teeth* at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Assistant Lighting Designer), *Beehive: the ‘60s Musical* at Florida Repertory Theatre (Master Electrician), and *Slowpoke!* at Flat Rock Playhouse (Staff Electrician). Maggie is thrilled to be back on the Fringe team helping bring life to the work of emerging creatives in the valley.

**Adam Sproat, Assistant Lighting Designer (he/him/his)**

Adam is an SOU alumni, graduating with a BFA in theatrical lighting technology. He has worked previously on the 2023 Oregon Fringe Festival’s “The Hobbit” as Head Electrician, and will be returning this year as an Assistant Lighting Designer. Adam has recently done work as a lighting technician at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland and for the Broadway Rose Theatre Company in Tigard, Oregon. Soon, he will start as a stagehand at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Adam is stoked to be back at Fringe this year in his new role!

**Marvin Walder, Festival Photographer (he/him/his)**

Having graduated with his Bachelor's in Digital Cinema and Minor in Business, Marvin has now created his own company and is working in the photography and filmmaking industries across Central and Southern Oregon. His favorite part about the process is figuring out how to tell people's stories using the right technology, while seeing it come together piece by piece. Marvin found his passion in digital cinema through appreciation for films and content creators, and he aspires to create meaningful content for others, much in the same way others have done for him. When not on set, Marvin can be regularly found one wheeling, climbing, mountain biking, working out, playing video games, or spending time with his friends.

Southern Oregon University and the Oregon Fringe Festival are located within the ancestral homelands of the Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawa peoples who lived here since time immemorial. These Tribes were displaced during rapid Euro-American colonization, the Gold Rush, and armed conflict between 1851 and 1856. In the 1850s, discovery of gold and settlement brought thousands of Euro-Americans to their lands, leading to warfare, epidemics, starvation, and villages being burned. In 1853 the first of several treaties were signed, confederating these Tribes and others together - who would then be referred to as the Rogue River Tribe. These treaties ceded most of their homelands to the United States, and in return they were guaranteed a permanent homeland reserved for them. At the end of the Rogue River Wars in 1856, these Tribes and many other Tribes from western Oregon were removed to the Siletz Reservation and the Grand Ronde Reservation. Today, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (www.grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (www.ctsi.nsn.us/) are living descendants of the Takelma, Shasta, and Latgawa peoples of this area. We encourage YOU to learn about the land you reside on, and to join us in advocating for the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous people.

The Oregon Fringe Festival is committed to providing a boundary-breaking platform for free expression that amplifies the voices of those who are all too unrepresented in the creative arts industry. A lens focusing on equity, diversity, and inclusion will filter our selection process for all applications that are submitted.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to participate. If you are a person with a disability who requires accommodation(s) in order to participate in this festival, then please contact Disability Resources at DSS@sou.edu in advance.