Renegade: Taking free theater, cabaret and poetry to the streets of Old Town

Every year for almost a decade now, in the scorching month of August, they come. Performing artists from all over the Capital region and across the mitten state, from all walks of life, gather in anticipation of a weekend of theatrical celebration - the Renegade Theatre Festival.

Experience a full weekend of theatre in Old Town this week, in all it's many incarnations and manifestations. So … are you ready to be entertained? Provoked? Thrilled? Horrified? Good, then you've come to the right place.

"All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players"

Chad Badgero, Founder & Artistic Director of the Peppermint Creek Theatre, is also the founder of the Renegade Theatre Festival. "The way I've always connected to the Lansing community was through theatre. My whole life is tied to theatre."

So how did Renegade come about? Badgero realized one day that Lansing had a festival for everything else, but nothing that celebrated theatre. "I kept asking people why there wasn't a theatre festival, and no one could tell me, so I decided - Hey! Let's put on a festival!"

Melissa Kaplan, the fine and performing arts coordinator at Lansing Community College, and Badgero's partner-in-crime, is a driving force behind Renegade. She is also a passionate believer in it's purpose. "Renegade is an environment in which we can nurture and encourage both new plays and new playwrights. It's a way to provide an opportunity for theatre to be celebrated in our community."

"It's called acting, young man, you should try it!"

Over the years, many local theatres have participated, both from the Lansing area and from all over Michigan. "That's actually part of the excitement," says Badgero. "Every year is completely different and we never know how it's going to turn out until it's happening."

This year's festival line-up includes a fantastic assortment of performers, both amateur and professional, independent performers and theatre companies. Lansing's own Raymond Thibeault will be presenting A Vase for Molly's Roses, and Oralya Garza brings us Members Only, both one act plays that will be featured in the Renegade N.O.W. queue.
"We want to be the kind of place where someone could experiment, try something new." Kaplan says. "We have theatre companies who come and do a reading on a play that they're considering for production during the coming season. This forum allows them to get feedback and test the audience's interest in the piece. It's a wonderful opportunity to trial run a play."

"The object is freedom."

And the cost? Well, there isn't one. "It's free in every sense of the word!" Kaplan explains. "The performance spaces are generously donated by the Old Town Business Association, so we are very lucky there! But otherwise, it's free to the participants and the theatre groups, and free to the viewers too."

This year the performances will be happening all over Old Town, in the Absolute Gallery, the MICA Gallery, the Old Town General Store and even the Red Cedar Friends Building, along with several other spaces. Every year is different, according to Kaplan. "Different plays, different performers, different spaces." After all, variety is the spice of life, is it not?

There's even something for teenagers - a day-long improv and acting workshop led by Rico Bruce Wade, the celebrated Lansing-based actor and director whose career includes Buzzard, Lily's Mom, and Nain Rouge.

"If you can't act, behave!"

So what's new on the horizon for Renegade? Several things, in fact. This year the festival will add some interesting new material to their line-up, one of which is the Experimental Stage. What is that, you may be wondering. Well, without giving too much away…"It's going to be exciting!" laughs Kaplan, "We have a performance artist who does a pole dancing and poetry combo!"

Another new feature is the Cabaret show planned for Friday night at Zoobies, showcasing some of musical theatre's newest composers and featuring great local talents. And then there's the Soapbox Speeches. "These are speeches by well known people, like Gloria Steinem and Abe Lincoln, that emphasize a political theme, but will be performed by local actors." says Kaplan. Interesting? Very!

So while Renegade N.O.W. (New Original Works) is already dedicated to featuring entirely new plays, the fact is that this year, the entire festival boasts a fantastic lineup of brand new, contemporary theatre in all it's many and varied forms. "Overall, we have more new plays and more new playwrights and performances this year, than in any of the prior years, so it's going to be very exciting!"

So if you're up for a weekend of mirth and merriment, among other things, be sure to put the upcoming Renegade Festival on your calendar. Go on, do it now. Or should we say...N.O.W.

"So, goodnight unto you all."---
Sarah Hillman is a freelance writer for Capital Gains. 
 
Photos © Dave Trumpie
 
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.