About the Fringe folks
New Orleans Fringe is a grassroots community effort and 501(c)3 non-profit.
Hundreds of people have put their ideas, resources, creativity and hard work into the Fringe, including volunteers, organizers, venue technicians, sponsors, local businesses, arts organizations and of course the performers. Here are just a few of the people who work behind the scenes:
- Charlie Brown, Free-For-All Coordinator
- Ramona Catalanello, Volunteer Coordinator
- Kathy Connelly, Goodchildren Fringe Parade Organizer
- Phil Cramer, Venue Coordinator
- Kristen Evans, Executive Director
- Todd Giese, Box Office Manager
- Kaitlin Greetham, Catering Coordinator
- Damon Rosenzweig, Development Coordinator
- Emilie Whelan, Performance Coordinator
- Jeff Zielinski, Technical Director
And a few folks' stories....and our board!
Phil Cramer, Venue Coordinator
Phil, originally from North Carolina, is co-founder of NEW NOISE, a dynamic New Orleans-based theater company that has performed original pieces in site specific locations, including After the War, Maybe You Can't Tell, Vigils and the annual new works showcase Sound Off. He was most recently Technical Director at Southern Rep and has worked in various technical, set construction and design capacities with Tulane Shakespeare Festival, ArtSpot Productions and Mondo Bizarro. As Venue Coordinator, Phil is responsible for scoping venues, designing the performance spaces, establishing technical specifications and ensuring that the venues meet the performance needs of the many theater groups that will use them for the Fringe.
Kristen Evans, Executive Director
Kristen has a passion for launching grassroots projects and convincing people to join the cause. She started her first business in Atlanta -- a graphic design and internet company -- and grew it within six years to a profitable company of 20 employees. She then joined the Peace Corps, where she helped indigenous people in the Bolivian Amazon start businesses to save their forests. In 2005, she moved to the Bywater in New Orleans to dedicate herself to theater production. In 2007 she co-founded the Backyard Ballroom on St. Claude Ave and in 2008 co-founded the New Orleans Fringe with Dennis Monn and Ben Moren. The New Orleans Fringe Festival is everything she loves doing: startups, theater and community development. She is involved in Festival business management, marketing, promotion, and dedicated to getting everyone – volunteers, performers, audience, community and press – crazy about the Festival.
Kaitlin Greetham, Catering Coordinator
Kaitlin loves theater, theatrical lighting, and volunteering for community events almost as much as she loves food. After two years as lighting designer at the Backyard Ballroom, she went on a temporary hiatus this past August in order to attend the culinary arts program at Delgado Community College and spend evenings with her three year old. In her free time, Kaitlin works full time as a candymaker at Southern Candymakers and plans delicious things for Fringe Fest participants to eat.
Damon Rosenzweig, Development Coordinator
Damon was born and raised in New Orleans and spent most of his professional career in leadership of international humanitarian assistance programs delivered in conflict areas. Damon was among the professional leadership of Doctors Without Borders in 1999 when the staff and volunteers of that organization were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He has worked in Haiti, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Sudan, Burundi, Congo, the Balkans, Uzbekistan and Uganda among other remote locations. He has a Masters in Public Health from Tulane and has worked in public health and community development in New Orleans and around the US, where he has been involved in the planning, organization and development of non-profits -- the scrappier and more grassroots, the better. So he joined the Fringe, where he is dedicated to the Fringe's organizational development and building a community-oriented effort that nurtures risky and innovative artistic expression. Damon is also a sculptor; he organized the acclaimed multi-disciplinary large-scale sculpture installation On Piety, which was a Prospect.1 satellite venue and BYOV Fringe venue in 2008. He also participated in the development of the set elements for the ArtSpot/Mondo Bizarro original production Loup Garou in 2009 and Go Ye Therefore in 2010.
Emilie Whelan, Performance Coordinator
Emilie came to New Orleans in 2006 and has been an energetic force in New Orleans theater since. She helped to launch Cripple Creek Theatre Company and has been involved in numerous productions, both on and off-stage around New Orleans, with Cripple Creek, NOLA Project, Tennessee Williams Theater Festival, Goat in the Road, New Noise, Tulane Summer Shakespeare Festival and other theater companies. In May 2010, she was Artistic Director of the New Orleans Fringe Adult Petting Zoo, a mini-Festival event featuring six performing groups presenting new work. She is a graduate of NYU's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, a professional educator and an active community organizer, having co-founded the Educator's Roundtable, which is dedicated to developing pro-active dialogues for educational programming. As the Fringe Performance Coordinator, she has been involved in improving the Fringe selection process, connecting with performers in New Orleans and beyond and working with performing groups to make their productions a reality on the New Orleans Fringe stages.
Jeff Zielinski, Technical Director
When he was 16 years old, Jeff began gigging as a drummer in central Massachusetts, and he made it his goal to make his living in the arts. Throughout the years, Jeff played in bands in North Carolina, where he lived from 1994-1999 and eventually made a move to New Orleans in late 1999 to expand his musical and cultural perspectives. Jeff became the technical director of the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans where he served from 2002-2008. During his tenure at the CAC Jeff worked with artists from all disciplines including theater, dance, music, and film; facilitating and producing their works. Other venues and organizations with which Jeff has been involved include Loyola University, New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and Le Petit Theater. He has worked with numerous local, regional, national, and international artists. Jeff is delighted to be part of the New Orleans Fringe Festival and acting as their technical director and will work diligently to ensure its success.
