Imagine Bumbershoot, only calmer, completely free and right here in downtown Tacoma.
That will give you a taste of what’s up this weekend at the Broadway Center for the Arts’ Fall Free for All.
The two-day, all-ages festival offers a 75-show sampler of some of the best arts of the Northwest, from dance to indie rock, hip-hop to film, original theater to classical music to spoken word – and it’s all free.
“The economy continues to struggle,” said Broadway Center executive director David Fischer, “and we don’t want to have buying a ticket be the obstacle that prevents the community from experiencing what we have to offer.”
It’s a generous attitude, one underscored by the substantial list of sponsors. And thanks to the diversity of the programming, it means pretty much everyone will be able to find a free show to enjoy.
The weekend is divided into genres between the three main downtown theaters managed by the Broadway Center.
The Pantages will offer film screenings, some – such as the assisted-suicide documentary “How To Die in Oregon” and the family classic “The Black Stallion” – in partnership with the Grand Cinema’s Tacoma Film Festival.
At the Rialto will be music, including indie rock groups Eternal Fair and Port St. Willow, folk from the Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Singers and Pearly Gate Music, singer-songwriter Kris Orlowski, hip-hop group Hurtbird, and the cutting-edge alt-cello group the Portland Cello Project.
Theatre on the Square, meanwhile, is hosting dance and vaudeville. There are performances from contemporary dance group the MOV!ING Company and the Tacoma City Ballet, hip-hop from Koncrete, break dancing from Fab-5, a magic show and queer femme poetry.
Between TOTS and the Pantages are three rehearsal halls (some up the elevator); these will host offbeat shows such as the Vaud Rats ukulele operetta, Professor Humbug’s Flea Circus and the revival of the DoubleShot theater festival, where local actors perform plays by local playwrights who have had just 24 hours to write the script (each with a given line, prop and action to include).
There also will be arts outside the theaters: giant puppets, Children’s Museum activities and interactive theater from Theater Simple, including “Wonderland” on Saturday and “Park Bench” on Sunday. Food carts will be open all hours, and some venues offer no-host bars for ages 21 and older.
Fischer is excited about the revival of the DoubleShot and the inclusion of indie rock groups from along the West Coast, but he is most excited about “Voices of the City,” a Tacoma-centric, Broadway Center-generated performance by local folks telling their own stories through a combination of poetry, music, art and film.
Participants include DeVitta Briscoe, Rob Collins, Melanie Denise Cunningham, Alice Di Certo, David Duea, Antonio Edwards, Steph Farber, Daryl Frost, Kristin Harper, Julio and Maralise Hood-Quan, Roxanne Hreha, Ame Lee, Tad Monroe, Diane Lachel, Lenora Peyton, Johnnie Pratt, Nancy Tyson, and Kim Washington.
Indoor performances of “Voices of the City” are in Rehearsal Hall 2; outdoor performances will be along Broadway, in Theater Square Park, at the State History Museum, the Tacoma Dome Link Light Rail and at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
“I have no idea what’s going to show up,” said Fischer of the project, culminating after two years of preparation. “The creation has been a very private experience, and now it’s going public.”
Everyone who attends must give their address and email to obtain a wristband for the shows.
“We want to get new folks engaged with us, to find out about the other 40 events we do,” Fischer said.
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