Founding Fringe producer & UR alum “incredibly honored” to speak May 15
Rochester, NY – Fringe Producer Erica Fee will deliver the commencement address during the University of Rochester’s 166th College Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 15 at 9 a.m. A 1999 UR alumna, Fee is the founding producer of the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival, the very successful, annual, multi-disciplinary arts festival in downtown Rochester.
“Erica Fee has done an absolutely remarkable job with Rochester’s Fringe Festival by creating a hugely popular and accessible showcase of arts and cultural performances, with many highlighting our own community’s diverse talents and creativity,” said Joel Seligman, University President, CEO, and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor. “In just a few short years the festival has become one of Rochester’s and the region’s most anticipated events. Through her vision and dedication, she is furthering the aspiration of Rochester to be a city of festivals.”
Under Fee’s stewardship since 2009, the Fringe has blossomed into one of the top three most-attended fringe festivals in the United States. In 2015, the Fringe drew more than 63,000 visitors, included more than 500 performances (120 of which were free of charge) by local and world-renowned performing arts groups, and took place in over 25 Rochester venues. The University of Rochester is a charter sponsor and has been a continuing and major participant in the arts festival from the initial planning stages in 2008.
“I am incredibly honored to have been chosen by my alma mater to give this year’s undergraduate commencement address,” says the 39-year-old Rochester native. “The University of Rochester has given so much to me – as a student, alumna, and professional – and I am excited to share some words of wisdom with the Class of 2016.”
While at the University, Fee was a Xerox Scholar, was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in political science and American history with a minor in theatre. She was a Take Five Scholar, with her Take Five year centered on film, theatre, and anthropology.
Following graduation, Fee received classical acting training from the Arts Educational Schools London, from which she holds her master’s degree. She was the first American to receive the prestigious New Producer’s Award from StageOne (Society of London Theatres / TMA), and won the award twice – the maximum amount that it can be received. As part of her award, she was mentored by acclaimed Broadway and West End producer, Paul Elliott.
Fee lived in the United Kingdom for a decade and ran her own London-based theatrical production and general management company, which focused on new work and major revivals. Her credits include the film-based improv show Totally Looped, the sell-out hit comedy The Bicycle Men, and London’s original, multi-disciplinary Scratch Sundays. She also produced the U.K. premieres of two of renowned American playwright Christopher Durang’s plays, Durang Durang (Edinburgh Fringe, Latitude Festival, Brighton Fringe and London) and Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge.
At the Edinburgh (Scotland) Fringe, Fee’s production credits include the sell-out hit How to Play the Ukulele in Under an Hour (How George Formby Saved My Life), Bed & Breakfast, The Collector, and Clarkson & Crouch: Away with the Fairies, among many others.
A classically-trained actress, Fee’s performance credits include the hit comedy I Am Star Trek! (Edinburgh Fringe and London), the major revival of Unidentified Remains and the True Nature of Love (off-West End), plus many U.K. commercials, ad campaigns, and short films. Her directing credits include Bed & Breakfast (The Gate Theatre, London), Long Story Short (Hampstead Theatre, London), and Edinburgh Fringe shows.
“It’s always gratifying to welcome back an alumna as Commencement speaker, especially someone who has achieved so much success in the arts as Erica has,” said Richard Feldman, dean of the College. “We are very proud of the way she has created such a positive community impact through Fringe, and are honored to have her share her wisdom and experience with our graduating students this May.”
Since returning to Rochester and helping to found and serve as president of the non-profit Rochester Fringe Festival, Fee has studied festival production, festival economic impact, and festival marketing through the University of Minnesota, and speaks frequently on the new arts festival revolution, festival production, and the Rochester Fringe, including at the University of Rochester and its Eastman School of Music.
Rochester Fringe Festival is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation that exists as a means to connect venues, performers, artists, educational institutions and the audience. It was pioneered by several of Rochester’s esteemed cultural institutions, including Geva Theatre Center, the George Eastman House and Garth Fagan Dance, as well as up-and-coming groups like PUSH Physical Theatre and Method Machine. The Board of Directors includes representatives from the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC, Boylan Code LLC, the Eastman School of Music, Mengel, Metzger and Barr & Co. LLP, Method Machine, PUSH Physical Theatre, and Writers & Books. The Rochester Fringe Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. This festival is also supported by a grant awarded to the Rochester Fringe Festival by New York State’s Empire State Development and I LOVE NY / NYS Division of Tourism under Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council Initiative.