Vanessa of Cheetah Banks

FringeArts: Break the ice! Imagine we’re in the awkward first ten minutes of a date. What’s your name, where are you from, where are you now, how’d you end up in Philly, etc., etc.

FA: vanessa kamp, from the DC area, been living full-time in Barcelona since 2005, just here visiting to be in Cannonball

FringeArts: Which show are you presenting? Give us the details!

FA: Cheetah Banks. Performance theatre that is funny and mysterious, with dance, audience interaction, sculptural objects, video, original music and sound. I love this show because it is meaty, mercurial, and really impacts the audience in unexpected, meaningful ways, and we have fun together!

FringeArts: If you could describe yourself as an object, what would it be and why? (Not what you would be IDEALLY, but what you’d be REALISTICALLY. Be honest with yourself.)

FA: a lump of ice cream or goo on a countertop half solid and half dripping off the edge

FringeArts: What made you decide to get into the arts, if it was even a conscious decision?

FA: always fascinated with textiles, pattern, and touch, i got into art through sculpture and fiber art, which has expanded to include dance and movement, sound, and text.

FringeArts: If you weren’t (probably losing it) at the Fringe Festival, what would you be doing right now?

FA: hmm, performing, teaching a class, or reclining with book in hand and eyes closed

FringeArts: Give us a random cool/interesting fact about yourself.

FA: i was an apprentice at the fabric workshop in philadelphia

FringeArts: What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment thus far and why? (Take this as seriously or non-seriously as you wish.)

FA: i don’t think like this

FringeArts: Which other show are you looking forward to seeing most in the 2023 Fringe Festival?

FA: just as many shows as possible, especially bipoc circus arts

FringeArts: Is there anything else you’d like to mention? Where can we find you when the Fringe Festival is over?

FA: find me here: IG @vnsskmp @cheetahbanks website www.vnsskmp.com www.cheetahbanks.com

Colby of The Other Gardeners

FringeArts: Break the ice! Imagine we’re in the awkward first ten minutes of a date. What’s your name, where are you from, where are you now, how’d you end up in Philly, etc., etc.

FA: Hi! I’m Colby Calhoun (they/she) and I’m a Cancer Sun, Sag moon and rising, (escaped) from Dallas, TX. I moved to Philly last summer looking for somewhere where it was a little easier to survive and thrive and while I’ll always be a TeXXXA$$ girl at heart, I’m grateful to be here and to be getting to make the kind of work that my hometown was so resistant to.

FringeArts: Which show are you presenting? Give us the details!

FA: I’m making/in a show called “The Other Gardeners”! Our flier describes it as a “lightskin black trans fake Adam and Eve fully nude post modern “dance show” fantasy ride” and that’s the simplest way I could put it. Me and my stage partner Micah Lay (he/they) made it and perform it together as a queering of our origins and also a conjuring of the present and future(s) of the world(s) we’d like to live in. I remember when we first started rehearsing he said something about trying to figure out what he “does” not even what he does well, or “likes” to do, but just like – how he shows up, and I keep coming back to that. We are super grateful to have been awarded a grant through the BIPOC New Works Track at Cannonball and we have one more show Monday, September 25th at 9:30 at Icebox Project Space. Come see two naked hotties fall madly in love for an hour, and maybe leave with a little more love for yourself when it’s done.

FringeArts: If you could describe yourself as an object, what would it be and why? (Not what you would be IDEALLY, but what you’d be REALISTICALLY. Be honest with yourself.)

FA: BAHAHAHA, ok when I was in dance school I said to the chair of our department “well you can do anything you want Mary, you’re the chair” and she said “I’m not the chair, I’m the table” and I REALLY relate to that. I hold the meetings the celebrations, I’m supportive but also I’m a center piece of the room. I’m your messy desk and your cutie vintage side table. I’m a kitchen island. Sturdy, well loved, tired. I’m there to bring everyone together and give them space to lay their burdens down. And I’m grateful for that.

FringeArts: What made you decide to get into the arts, if it was even a conscious decision?

FA: Oh idk I’m gay and nobody listened to me as a child lmaooooo. I don’t think I had a choice! It’s less of a decision of what to do and more how to do it? I guess? How do I tell people how I’m feeling, how do I remember what happened to me, how do I intertwine myself with others? It sound so woowoo drama artist philosophy cornyyy but without art I’m not sure I have a space to discover myself – and without that I don’t know if I really exist ????

FringeArts: If you weren’t (probably losing it) at the Fringe Festival, what would you be doing right now?

FA: GOD I WISH I WAS ON A BEACH IN BARCELONA I WOULDNT BE DOING THAT OF COURSE I WOULD INSTEAD BE TAKING A 500 YEAR NAP BC I NEED IT SO BAD BUT HOPEFULLY I GET TO EITHER OF THOSE SOON

FringeArts: Give us a random cool/interesting fact about yourself.

FA: … I fear I may be too disinterested in myself to answer this LMAO and not in like a depression way just in like a wow-I-live-in-my-body-all-the-time-is-there-anything-else-for-me-to-do BUT I don’t know I’m cool I think? I read tarot cards sometimes? I have two dogs and two cats (if you’re my landlord, this is a joke). Also I

(FringeArts note: Colby, if you’re reading this, the mysterious cut off makes you 10x cooler.)

FringeArts: What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment thus far and why? (Take this as seriously or non-seriously as you wish.)

FA: Oop! Wow! I don’t know? Great question. I would first say Very Good Dance Theatre has been and continues to be a HUGE accomplishment. Something that a few queer Texans built from the ground up has touched so many places, and spaces, and people nationally and that’s so beautiful to me – and even though we’re still super tiny I’m so grateful for it and how it has changed how I work, create, love, and live !!!

FringeArts: Which other show are you looking forward to seeing most in the 2023 Fringe Festival?

FA: A lot of things I’m still excited to see, most notably: $7 Girl & Fix Me from Almanac Dance Circus Theatre, I wanted to catch An Undertaking by Emmett Wilson and Rose Luardo but I don’t think I’ll get to (hopefully they bring it back!), and Something About The Dark is Micah Lat’s solo show that I really wanna see again!

FringeArts: Is there anything else you’d like to mention? Where can we find you when the Fringe Festival is over?

FA: Support Black Trans Art with your money, your time, your advocacy – give us support even when it’s not convenient for you! And if you want more of my rambling you can find me at @corncobcalhoun on most things and FOLLOW @verygooddt OR ELSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💕

Micah of Something About the Dark and The Other Gardeners

FringeArts: Break the ice! Imagine we’re in the awkward first ten minutes of a date. What’s your name, where are you from, where are you now, how’d you end up in Philly, etc., etc.

FA: Im Micah Lat and Im from Dayton, Ohio where I grew up dancing. In 2016 my mom passed which led me to picking a new city to live. I decided to keep on dancing in Philly after that and moved in 2017 to pursue a BFA in dance at the University of the Arts. Right now I live in West Philly and I love it. I feel lucky to be where I’m at !

FringeArts: Which show are you presenting? Give us the details!

FA: Im presenting a solo called Something About the Dark and in a duet by Very Good Dance Theater called The Other Gardeners. SATD has one more show day on the 29th at Fidget Space at 8pm and The Other Gardeners has one more show on the 25th at Icebox at 9:30pm. They’re both really different. The Other Gardeners in short, you can picture two naked black trans people, talking and joking about our childhoods, our shared love for each other, our origins. SATD you can expect one fully dressed black trans person still talking about childhood in dramatic dark lighting with angst at the forefront. They are very different vibes and Im processing information so differently in both of them. I feel grateful to have this shot to share in this way. Rose Luardo, whose also presenting work this Fringe, told me this was a special moment for me to do whatever I want and to wipe my taint across the floor. So, I am.

FringeArts: If you could describe yourself as an object, what would it be and why? (Not what you would be IDEALLY, but what you’d be REALISTICALLY. Be honest with yourself.)

FA: The first image that came to mind was a candle stick holder. Im thinking an old brass one. One because that thing is haunted with all kinds of energies and has seen alot and had wax burning into and onto it and two because thats the class and richness I feel aligned with in the fall. Its grand, kinda drama, and can light up a room.

FringeArts: What made you decide to get into the arts, if it was even a conscious decision?

FA: My mom made me get into the arts. This was not conscious and happened literally before my memory could form. I was in tights by the time I was two years old. My older sister was a dancer and I had terrible ADHD and already seemed pretty gay. My parents chose dance. In Ohio a-lot of people say “if they’re wild throw them in ballet”… That definitely made me more wild and dysphoric which led to more intense ADHD amongst other mental health complications. I now choose the arts because I am obligated to create as its one of my many purpose for the time being! To make and find pleasure and get to know myself in this way. And then, to share it. I choose the arts because it makes sense to me. This is just how I am.

FringeArts: If you weren’t (probably losing it) at the Fringe Festival, what would you be doing right now?

FA: Buying new Sims 4 packs to play. I really want the Seasons expansion pack. To briefly explain, Sims 4 is the base video game. But you can buy expansion packs to customize the game and make it feel more real and interesting. The seasons pack makes it so that the games calendar aligns with mine and the weather will shift and unlock activities based on the season I am in. But to be honest, I also play Sims 4 in The Other Gardeners! HA!

FringeArts: Give us a random cool/interesting fact about yourself.

FA: I learned how to make stained glass windows in 2018. I fell in love with the man who taught me and have been writing him letters since 2018 off the strength of this new craft.

FringeArts: What would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment thus far and why? (Take this as seriously or non-seriously as you wish.)

FA: I think my greatest accomplishment so far happened a couple of days ago. I felt my 24 year old brain (that my prefrontal cortex is almost fully developed in) make a life saving separation. I, for the first time ever, was able to distinguish obligation from desire. In just a few days, I’ve felt my life change and Im excited to keep being honest with myself. Besides that, I also recognized, I’ve done the things I prayed to do as a kid that I thought were High School Musical fantasies. Turned out they are real and people will pay to see me act silly at Fringe! I am seriously so proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished this year. Baby me is a fan.

FringeArts: Which other show are you looking forward to seeing most in the 2023 Fringe Festival?

FA: I want to see everything which is impossible but I will settle if I can see these at least (And I have seen some and will again): Mike Baby Please, xxJamxx, Momma I Rode the Beast, Glitter Baby, Fix Me, and $7 Girl.

FringeArts: Is there anything else you’d like to mention? Where can we find you when the Fringe Festival is over?

FA: Keep up with my website micahlat.com. It won’t be up and running again until October 1st. Maybe sooner. My Instagram is @micahlattt and thats where I post dance and sound stuff regularly. Soon I’ll have a newsletter which you can find out about there on instagram for now or my website. I love Fringe and Cannonball. After undergrad, I didn’t think dance had any room for me. The producers of Cannonball keep showing up for me, keep making space for me, and keep making it so easy to do whatever I want. Folks at Headlong, where I rehearse, keep showing up, keep making space. I am so grateful to everyone reaching out, supporting, making it a little easier for me to make work. Its hard and its vulnerable and Im really grateful people are interesting in supporting my visions. This keeps me alive and hopeful. Im just full. And I’m gonna keep going. I encourage other artist to submit work and be in your practice whenever you can. Cannonball and Fringe is where I want to be with others in Philly.