arts

Mad Cow Theatre may lose its performance space in the heart of downtown Orlando due to a financial dispute with the city government.

The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The 14-day festival, which features hundreds of theatrical performances, was canceled last year due to COVID-19. This May, it’s back with an in-person festival in Loch Haven Park, along with an all-new online “DigiFringe” festival in June. Alauna Friskics, executive director of Fringe, Lindsay Taylor, the festival’s theatre producer, and Lena Feliciano, artistic director of Celebration Theatre Co., join Intersection to discuss how the festival is adapting to the pandemic, expanding their diversity and inclusion efforts, and celebrating 30 years of Fringe.

Live entertainment venues, theaters and museums have a financial lifeline with the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, a program through the U.S. Small Business Administration. WMFE’s Joe Byrnes joins Intersection to discuss how the program will be able to help keep venues afloat locally.

The new data show the drop in ticket sales at theaters, arts centers and orchestras in the United States, U.K. and Canada has been "catastrophic" for the performing arts.

When the pandemic hit, a lot of performers scrambled to take their shows online. Drag queens were no exception. April Fresh, the drag persona of Loc Robertson, joins Intersection to discuss her year of online shows, returning to in-person performances and what the loss of Parliament House--the iconic venue that was recently demolished--means for the community.

When the theme parks closed last year, it affected the livelihoods of tens of thousands of theatre artists, according to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. Steve MacKinnon, the artistic director at St. Luke’s, and performer Cami Miller join Intersection to discuss “Supporting HEARTS,” the church’s initiative to provide meals--and hope--to the Central Florida arts community.

The UCF-produced documentary “Marching Forward” tells the story of two high school bands in segregated Orlando and their trip to the World’s Fair in 1964. Joining Intersection to discuss the legacy of Jones High School band director James “Chief” Wilson are Dr. Carl MaultsBy, who composed music for the film, and Nina Wilson Jones, Wilson’s daughter.

Orlando puppeteer Tracey Conner has been helping kids cope with the uncertainty and stress of the pandemic--with a little help from her friends.

While Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus packed up its big top more than three years ago, a brand new circus company--formed just last year--is looking to expand the message of the circus.

The Orange County Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs is calling for input from Black, Indigenous and People of Color about their perceptions of Central Florida’s arts and cultural community ahead of the first official meeting of the office's Diversity and Inclusion Committee.