So the local university newspaper did a little video asking students a question about the Rogue.
“Would the Rogue Festival be more popular if held on campus?”
I haven’t even got to the responses and I am already bewildered. What the hell kind of asinine question is THAT? A relevant question might be “Do you know about the Rogue Festival?” Or “Have you seen any Rogue Festival shows?” or even “What do you think of the Rogue Festival?”
But to ask if it would be more popular if held on campus smacks of a very insular viewpoint, and is really more than a little naive. It seems to stem from an assumption that the university campus is, or should be, the end-all, be-all of culture and arts in the community.
Still, for the sake of argument, let’s just assume that the person (or persons) who thought up the question didn’t put too much thought behind it and really meant it to be objective and merely thought-provoking.
Let’s get to some points brought up in students’ responses.
The Tower District, where a majority of Rogue activities are held, is not a safe place to be. At night. It’s… like… scary.
To paraphrase something a friend said when discussing this idea… “What… are you a pussy?”
I am a single, 38 year old woman. I have a 13 year old daughter. We walked several blocks of the Tower District last weekend going from one show to another. We were unescorted. It was dark. By the time we were done, it was quite late; well after 11 p.m. At no time did I feel uncomfortable. The only people I saw were fellow festival patrons waiting in line, walking from place to place, riding in pedicabs from one show to another. Everyone was friendly. No one appeared to be even remotely threatening.
I’m not a big girl. I’m not tough or intimidating. I had no problem walking all the way from the Starline down to Dianna’s South. Alright. I did have one problem. I wore the wrong shoes and ended up with an annoying blister on one heel.
If there is any time during the year that the Tower District is most safe, it’s probably during the Rogue Festival. There are always people out and about… good people. Nice people. People who like the arts. Show times are staggered such that there are ALWAYS people about on the sidewalks, smiling, chatting, recommending this or that to total strangers.
I think it is unfortunate that we have come to the point that people are afraid to go anywhere that doesn’t resemble Main Street USA in Disneyland. (Not that there’s anything wrong with Disneyland. I LOVE Disneyland for what it is. But I don’t want to live there.) A true, semi-urban environment is immediately suspect because it isn’t uniform and squeaky clean. And the Tower isn’t really all that urban. It’s more a ‘local neighborhood hot spot’.
The people and businesses of the Tower are real. The restaurants and nightspots are fun. They’re authentic, not pre-packaged (with the exception of Starbucks and Blockbuster, maybe.) There are alleys with dumpsters, people locking up their stores at the end of the day, and yes, sometimes Pops will come up and ask you for seventy-five cents so he can get a cup of coffee.
Oh. Horrors.
Interacting with real people in a real environment is scary.
Next point.
The Rogue Festival would be more popular, or well-known, if it were held on campus.
Um… JUST how insular is life on a college campus?
More popular or well-known? We ARE talking about the same Rogue Festival, right? You know, the largest fringe-style festival WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI??? That one that is LARGER THAN THE SAN FRANCISCO FRINGE? (And that’s not to discount the Frisco Fringe. It’s well-known and very cool, too.) The festival bigger than the BOULDER FRINGE? (Boulder. That’s in Colorado.)
We’re talking about the Rogue Festival that draws performers from all over the country… actually, from all over the world. It IS internationally known. Fresno is a destination listed on Frommer’s online, as well as British Airways, BECAUSE of the Rogue Festival.
Performers come to the Rogue because they find they have a decent turnout and appreciative audiences. They enjoy the atmosphere and the welcome they always receive. It’s actually getting quite the buzz on the “fringe circuit” as a good place to come.
Just because YOU don’t know about it doesn’t mean it isn’t already successful. But now you do know about it. Why don’t you check it out?
Oh. That’s right, I remember. That brings us to the next point.
It would be more convenient if it were on campus. You wouldn’t have to travel the few miles it takes to get there.
Let me ask this question. If you were a student at… say… NYU, would you refuse to attend cultural events in New York City because they weren’t held on campus? If you were a student at Stanford, would you never leave campus to catch shows, visit art galleries, find some great live music in San Francisco?
Is the typical college student now the sort of person that really just cannot be bothered to leave campus at all? How spoon-fed have we, as a society, become?
The point is valid, that it WOULD be more convenient for students to attend activities on campus. They’re already there, so it wouldn’t even require much thought to just stop in and check it out.
It would also be convenient if the local restaurant would just send a cook to my kitchen to cook for me when I’m hungry. It would be extremely convenient if an employer would just provide me with everything I needed to do the job in my home. I’d never have to go anywhere, for anything!
That would be GREAT!
Wait… this is real life. Or, at least, life outside of college is real life. We actually have to make an effort for things out here in the real world. Things don’t just show up outside our door for us to sample if we feel like getting around to it.
I’m not really complaining about the viewpoints of the individual students that answered the question posed to them. From their perspectives, their opinions are very valid. Unfortunately, their perspectives seem to be very narrow and somewhat uninformed.
It’s a glaring example of the disconnect between the local university culture and the greater local arts and entertainment culture of our community. There really does seem to be this attitude among university students that if it isn’t happening on campus, it isn’t worth caring about. It’s a crying shame. It really is. We have a very rich, diverse, vibrant arts community in this area. College students could both benefit greatly from being exposed to the many facets of local arts, not to mention the contributions they could make for the good of Fresno as a whole.
Whose fault is this? Why doesn’t the university care about the community’s arts contributions, when the community is expected to care so much about the university’s arts contributions? We should support university theatre and music, but… do they promote anything else?
It is interesting, and a little dismaying, when you consider that no less than HALF of the founders of the Rogue Performance Festival are CSUFresno alumni.
But… hey… just because THEY graduated and left the campus doesn’t mean anybody ELSE should leave the campus.
Not much time to whine about my personal life. (A mercy for those who do stop by here to read me, I imagine.)
I’ve been Roguing. Visit Fresnocentric.com to see what I’ve been up to, and click through the links to see what I’ve reviewed.
Sleepytime. I’ll fall asleep singing to myself… “He got kicked in the head by a stripper… talkin’ ’bout thigh-high boots to the kisser…he got kicked in the head by a stripper, talkin’ bout thigh-high boots… right on, right on…”
I’m having, so far, a great Rogue. And I haven’t even performed yet! (That’s in a couple hours.)
Caught a couple shows, got to hang out with some wonderful people in between shows…
Mia said nice things about my singing from Thursday night on her blog…
Other people have been kind and complimentary…
I’ve seen phenomenal talent so far (check Fresnocentric.com to see who and what so far), and I’m looking forward to seeing more….
AND… I get to go play with two of the nicest guys, two of the greatest musical talents, and two VERY tolerant and supportive bandmates ever. What can go wrong? If I fall they’ll pick me up. If I screw up, they’ll cover for me. I love singing, and I love singing WITH THEM. It’s all good.
BTW… come see us.
That is all.
I’m a dork, but I’m on the podcast.
Also… the Rogue is a travel destination!
It’s global? GET IT FRESNO?
04
It was the annual Mardi Gras parade in the Tower yesterday.
The Rogue Festival was out IN FORCE, tossing beads, handing out handbills, and generally letting people know JUST how wacky-cool we Rogues really are. All this in an effort to get people to be more aware of the amazing festival of arts, music, theatre, dance and film that is soon to descend upon Fresno for ten days starting February 28.
We had some Rogue Festival dignitaries…. staff… volunteers… friends…
(She happens to also be the artist of this years Rogue Festival muse… pictured on that lovely t-shirt she wears. You, too, can have a shirt like this. Watch for t-shirt sales throughout the festival. Celebrate the Rogue in Roguish style.)
Some crazy cats from the Suicide Lounge plied the parade route with panache… (I like aliteration.)
They will, incidentally, be playing the Valentine Season Love Sucks Sessions at Full Circle Brewing Co. on Friday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m…. a show YOU should not miss… And if you’re a Rogue performer, come out and plug your show.
(Yeah. For some reason, one third of Suicide Lounge didn’t get a camera pointed at her. This is probably a mercy.)
There were bellydancers…
The lovely ladies of Ananka…
and Mahzjai…
and contrary to some beliefs in this town… the bellydancers of Fresno get along with one another just fine… (and they love Freddie Falcon of the Fresno Falcons, too…)
Yes, we were blessed with the presence of Freddie… and you can check out Freddie at Fresno Falcons games. If you make it to the Falcons vs. the Phoenix RoadRunners game on February 26… you can get a sneak preview of the Rogue Festival on center ice during the first intermission, and other Rogue promotions as well. Not that you’ll go just for THAT. We all know Fresno loves and supports our Falcons! Make sure you’re there!
(I have no idea who that chick in the lower left might be. Heaven only knows where they picked HER up…)
And where did they find THIS kid?
And, of course… these babes lit up the proceedings with grace and style…
Look at all that fun we had! Just think, you could see us again… Come out to the Rogue Festival and see some art, catch several shows. And don’t forget there will be previews of SEVERAL shows during Art Hop this coming Thursday, February 7, at both Ashtree Studios and Tower Mosaic.
(And… this is MY blog, so I can plug Suicide Lounge again… Friday, February 8, 8 p.m., Only $5, Full Circle Brewing Co. 620 F Street, Downtown Fresno. You don’t want to miss it. We’re taking potshots at Cupid, and we have a prize for the most horrible ‘love sucks’ story from the audience. See… even if you’re a loser in love during this sappy season of red and pink, you can be a winner!)