Philadelphia's annual two-part festival of experimental performing arts kicks off in venues around the city this week. While the wide open, unvetted Fringe Festival has nearly 150 works by mostly Philadelphia artists, the curated Live Arts Festival includes 16 works selected from the local, national and international scene, with shows coming from as far away as Australia and Japan.
This year, ordinary people are performing in two Live Arts shows: Sylvain Emard's Le Grand Continental - a dance with 160 Philadelphians, and This Town Is a Mystery, created by Headlong Dance Theater for four families to perform in their living rooms. WRTI's Susan Lewis considers the Festival and the various ways it reaches out to the public. More Information.