WELCOME TO PORTFRINGE POP-UP!

WHAT’S A PORTFRINGE POP-UP?
POP-UP is the annual fundraiser for PortFringe – Maine’s Fringe Festival. Performance Artists, chosen by random lottery, are each assigned one section of a classic work — which must be performed in just a few minutes (and with zero communication with the other scenes). No creative limitations, no application fees, … and no full-company rehearsals! That’s right – the first time the show happens, in scene order, is on opening night, in front of a live audience!

A HISTORY OF PORTFRINGE POP-UP EVENTS
Click here for a list of Past PortFringe POP-UP events, venues,
and participants, click here! >>

THE GREAT GATSBY!

It’s gonna be great… Gatsby! Almost 100 years after it’s first publication, PortFringe is excited for you to bring F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby to life for PortFringe POPUP 2023! If you don’t remember your high school English class, no worries, we’re here to help. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway’s interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby’s obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

Published in 1925, amidst the Jazz Age and on the heels of a World War and the 1918 flu Pandemic, The Great Gatsby captures a snapshot in time while also being timeless. It speaks to many themes we can easily relate to today; a cynical view of “The American Dream,” a status-obsessed class system, societal gender expectations, and sexuality to name a few.

We believe art is an important tool for holding a mirror up to ourselves and society, allowing us to ask hard questions, laugh at ourselves, and cry together. So, get ready for a roaring PopUp Party to present your take on this American classic.

ARTIST APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!

POP-UP: THE GREAT GATSBY will provide 10 theater artists/companies the chance to perform their fringe-iest interpretation of this iconic novel as part of an epic, one-night-only, roaring twenties fundraiser performance event on April 1, 2023.

VERY BASIC LOGISTICS:

• Applications must be submitted before midnight on Sunday, October 30, 2022.
• Selection lottery will take place and Artists will be notified on or before November 1, 2022. Scenes will be assigned based on lottery order (i.e. the first lottery draw will be assigned the first GATSBY scene, and so forth…). 
• A waitlist will be maintained in the event a selected Artist withdraws (or is removed) from the project.
• POP-UP Performance Artists are not paid for their participation. Each of the 10 Artists/Companies, however, will receive 10 tickets to the upcoming 12th Annual PortFringe Festival in June as an expression of gratitude for the extraordinary gift of time and  talent that makes this fundraising event such a success each year.

VERY BASIC RULES FOR ARTISTS:

• Each individual Artist may only participate in one POP-UP scene.
• Assigned GATSBY sections must be presented in 6 minutes or less (including setting/clearing playing space, and include one line of original text (sourced from the GATSBY section provided after the lottery).
• Scenes must be able to POP-UP quickly and GO in a non-traditional theater space (TBA) with only seconds for set-up/strike.
• Artists must be present at four short zoom check-in events taking place between January and April. Failure to attend these meetings (or to send a representative instead), may result in disqualification from the POP-UP GATSBY event.
• Artists must be able to perform in-person on April 1, 2023, in Portland (Maine), before a live audience (time and venue TBA). 
• Artists must be willing to adapt POP-UP scenes to a recorded digital format if COVID-19 pandemic conditions render an in-person event impossible. Artists must comply with any/all COVID-19 rules set forth by PortFringe, the POP-UP venue, and/or any local/state health agencies.
• Artists must agree to follow all other rules and policies outlined in the application (below), and maintain excellent communication with PortFringe throughout the process.

POP-UP PHILOSOPHY:
As always, PortFringe is looking for WEIRD, original and unexpected performance work.  If you’re up for the challenge, please apply below!

THE APPLICATION!

NOTE: This is an application to participate in the POP-UP PORTFRINGE production of THE GREAT GATSBY taking place in April 2023. The 11th PortFringe Festival will be held in June 2023 – application information will be posted soon!

POP-UP GATSBY APPLICATION DEADLINE: Midnight on Sunday, October 30, 2022