'Out With the Old': Winter Mini Fringe Festival returns in Elgin

Join Elgin Fringe Festival and Side Street Studio Arts for the second annual "Winter Mini Fringe: Out With the Old!" which begins Wednesday, Jan. 20, and continues through Jan. 31.

The virtual lineup will feature the work of Victoria Reeves; Kimberly Baker; Sarah Ellen Miller and Dani Wieder; Gabriel Bruno Eng Gonzalez; Hardly Working Promotions LLC; Moore; Project Bound Dance; and B3 Theater.

For tickets, visit outwiththeold.elginfringefestival.com. Individual performances are $10 each or $40 for a festival pass. The videos will premiere on Vimeo starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, and be available through Jan. 31.

• "Things Are Still Not Fine" is a short investigation into the insanity of this cultural moment and the newness of the way we are all learning to navigate the world. As children become more well-versed in navigating the world than their parents, as women and genderqueer people begin to feel empowerment in new ways that speak honestly to the joys and horrors of their life experiences, and as knowledge and learning become more available than any library or encyclopedia made possible in the past, one is faced with the seemingly insurmountable task of finding and declaring one's position in all of this. This piece serves as an ode to that feeling. Praising, examining, and naming the feeling of "Things Are Not Fine (and i have no idea what to do about it)."

• "Triple Bypass: Three 10-Minute Plays About Living for Death and Dying for Life." It features three 10-minute plays with life and death theme, one drama, one fan fiction, and one comedy. Produced by Hardly Working Promotions LLC from South Dakota, in conjunction with Aberdeen Community Theatre.

• "Selections from B3's 'Voices for the Holidays.' " B3 Theater takes a storyteller's story, translates it into a monologue by a different playwright, then uses a different actor to provide three perspectives on one world. This excerpt will feature two such combinations of storyteller, playwright, and actor.

• "Moore - (Almost) Live" with Moore from Elgin's own Hip-hop collective Watch City for a live concert and multimedia experience. The emcee, producer and multimedia artist will perform new material along with a few fan favorites. It also will feature new visuals from Moore's latest project "Dark $kie$, Tainted Water$," special guest performers, and more.

• "BRASSY + INTREPID: Fighting to be Me" is about overcoming fear and embracing your magic. This fun, coming-of-age story follows the heroine as she questions everything and mixes it up with the planet. Through her wild adventures and empowering songs, you will travel with solo artist/creativity coach Victoria Reeves into the world of radical self-acceptance.

• "A Theory on Staying." A solo dance work that indulges themes of reflection, sexual identity, self-worth, intimacy, and self-destructive habits. Movement and original text by Emily Loar. Under the direction of Ashley Deran and Emily Loar, Project Bound Dance is a tri-focal dance collaboration aiming to foster community engagement, dance/technology experimentation, and socially conscious performance.

• "37.2020." A short dance film by Kimberly Baker, created and performed in the confines of a small garage. The boxed space as well as the shifting color filters help set a visual tone to represent the confinement of almost a year spent in shelter-in-space while being a dancer/performer on the verge of "aging out" of the field. This piece is a narrative from a 37-year-old dancer venturing a new space of accepting/fighting an aging body during a pandemic where the future is so unknown, their career and goals feel obsolete.

• "me looking at you looking at you" by Sarah Eileen Miller and Dani Wieder, with music by Thomas Dvorak. It is the product of a daylong exploration between director and performer. Following months of separation, the artists examined questions of visibility, self-expression, and readability from their respective sides of the lens. The resulting visual dialogue explores what it means to see and be seen, capturing both the restlessness and serenity found in collaboration.

For information, visit www.sidestreetstudioarts.org or www.facebook.com/sidestreetstudioartselgin/.

It is produced by Side Street Studio Arts and sponsored by the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission.

The mission of the Elgin Fringe Festival is to encourage bold artistic experimentation and innovation by providing an accessible, affordable experience for artists and audiences alike.