“Obviously the festival can be an incredible career maker, but the spirit of the festival is just full of people who really love performing and story-telling and nothing more.”
WHO: Sarina Freda
WHAT: “You don’t need to see a show about a life-changing hallucinogenic experience. You don’t need to hear about how it unlocked the meaning of love and the finite nature of time. You don’t need to know the secret key to existence. Sarina didn’t make that show. She faced her certain mortality and is here to share with you how she overcame it and now it’s all completely totally fine. And you will stand up and applaud her for doing so. And then we’ll all die someday! xox.”
WHERE: theSpaceTriplex – Studio (Venue 50)
WHEN: 16:05 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
This is my very first time performing at the Fringe!! I am so excited. I attended last year as an audience member and I was like “why did no one ever tell me it was like this?!?!?!?!?” It was a truly spiritual experience and I had to be a part of it. Especially because I don’t think anything could exist like this in The States. We’re obsessed with commercial success. Obviously the festival can be an incredible career maker, but the spirit of the festival is just full of people who really love performing and story-telling and nothing more. I cannot wait to participate amongst them. And these audiences are hungry for something challenging, risky, and absolutely nuts. I am coming to the Fringe to be surrounded by the best creators and the most generous audience members in the world.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
The sheer scale of the festival is impossible to comprehend or communicate. It is just absolutely massive. What I really took away is that there are so many ways to ‘do’ the Fringe and there are very few rules. The way to find your own success is by creating meaningful connections with Fringe goers and performers and reminding yourself of the absolute privilege it is to be performing every single day for three weeks. There will be a lot of noise, good and bad, and it will be imperative to stay true to myself and what my team and I have built together.
Tell us about your show.
This show is about the most harrowing LSD trip in recorded human history. This show is about one woman’s revelation of the intricacies of space and time. This show is about her newfound, unparalleled, impenetrable control over the universe. Until it isn’t.
I brought the idea to my director Tom Costello in 2021. At our coffee, I told him the story of my LSD trip and he became very emotional and shared his own similar experience. He then was like, “if you want to make this, I will do it with you.” We spent the next two years having half conversions about the piece, but then after attending the Fringe in 2023 as an audience member I became so inspired by all the brilliant work I got to witness that there was no turning back. We have since been working on the play for countless hours. Sometimes I scream with elation and sometimes I want to run head first into the brick wall of the studio. Either way, we’ve gotten the job done.
In the winter we brought on composer and sound designer Nick Webster, who has been a massive part of the piece’s creation. We have no set and very few props so the sound design has allowed us to create a world we couldn’t capture with just text and movement. He has brought the play to a totally new level, his work is masterful.
We’ve done it five times in NYC and once in LA. All of these performances have been such a hit and so helpful in our revision process. We cannot wait to get this piece in front of the brilliant and crazy people of The Fringe.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Xhloe x Natasha, last (2!) year’s winners of Scotsman’s Fringe First award! We are all part of the What Co. Theater Collective in NYC and they have been incredible supporters of mine. I’m so excited to see their new piece at the Fringe this year. They are so uniquely creative and extremely kind souls. I am so inspired by them.
I can’t wait to see all the spectacular clowning shows I can cram into my time, especially TROLL which I missed last year and am so glad they are returning!!
Jamie Denbo: Beverly Live! I saw Jamie’s show in NYC and cried laughing. She is a genius and unmissable. Ruuuuunnnnn to see comedy excellence.
I’m also traveling to the Fringe with a spectacular collective of artists under The Brooklyn Bottling Company which includes seven shows. I’d recommend seeing everyone’s shows!
Pretty Delusional by my bestie Gianna is happening right after mine in the same space!! Stay for a gorgeous, brilliant, and hilarious performer.
Brett Epstein: Alone on Stage is so exceptionally written and performed, an absolute must see.
Something To Believe In, by Sarah Alice Shull is beautifully crafted and so generously performed and really triggers my Catholic girl roots!!
The Christening of Prince Imogene, sung by the bravest, most gentle Otis Wolodarsky is such a pleasure to take in.
Elle Barto: Itchy and Scratchy!!!!!!!!! I’m so excited for this reimagining of what drag performance can be.
Sent From My I-phone by Catrin Ody is incredible and full of my most favorite performers!!!
Ellen Tolland’s Pretty Good, Not Bad is a surprising and deeply moving piece excellently performed and written.
4 Girls with the Letter E from Missing Rib is a FEAT. I cannot wait for the world to see!!
LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!
INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!
Get Your Coats On 