For the past seven years I’ve supported my wife, Megan, in her whole-hearted devotion to the difficult art of play making. This past year, I’ve been joining her onstage and backstage occasionally. I’m thinking about changing my title from Rocco Tripaldi, Theatre Husband to the slightly elevated Rocco Tripaldi, Frequent Collaborator.
As I move forward in this endeavor, a quote from the legendary comedian, Groucho Marx comes to mind: “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member”.
I learned today that a play that Megan is a part of earned over $1000 in crowd funding to appear in this year’s Portland Fringe Festival. When I heard this news, I initially thought that it seemed excessive to solicit donations for Fringe, which is essentially a way to test out new work. Megan reminded me what Fringe is really about. The festival, like most other theatrical events, is competitive. The artists involved don’t simply want to test out their work, they want to take it to the next level. Sometimes you need to make a big impression to achieve that.
Friends in Portland, friends in Boston, friends in New Hampshire and Rhode Island: come see PortFringe. Come especially if it’s been over 5 years since you’ve seen a play. Come as an excuse to visit us and visit Maine. Come to see great artist striving for bigger spotlights!
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