ON THEATER: Gallimaufry heads to Scotland

The impact of Gallimaufry Performing Arts is spreading far beyond its home in Laguna Beach.

The four-year-old company has kept busy since its inception with more than 40 local productions — but it also is a major presenter of European and world premieres at the world’s largest arts festival.

That would be Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest arts festival in the world. Last year’s event hosted more than 2,000 different shows and sold upward of 1.7 million tickets.

“While this is an open festival, there are only a handful of large-scale producers and venues,” explained Steve Josephson, artistic director of the Laguna company. “The largest producer on the Fringe is the C Venues, which put on 160 shows from 140 companies in multiple venues during 2007.”

Two of the C Venues’ most successful productions, according to Josephson, were Gallimaufry’s renditions of “Harlem Renaissance: The Life of Florence Mills” and the European premiere of Del Shores’ “Secret Lives.” Both shows were staged before appreciative local audiences last year.

Last year, Gallimaufry launched the Gallimaufry & Greene Dance Company, which premiered “A Night at the Movies” in April and “Desolation Row” in July, along with several duets as part of the company’s Gloriously Gershwin concert.

Recently, as the company was preparing its two latest works, Gallimaufry was invited by the Fringe Festival to perform “A Night at the Movies” this summer at the 2008 festival.

“Not only has the company been invited to perform at the festival, July 30 to Aug. 25,” Josephson noted, “but C Venues has offered the company a chance to perform in its main venue — the only proscenium stage — at 8 p.m.

“You can imagine the honor of being offered the best time slot in the best theater operated by the largest producers at the world’s largest art festival,” Josephson enthused.

“This is an offer we can’t refuse.”

Only one obstacle stands in the way — money. As Josephson explains, “In a very short period of time, we have the need to raise a large sum of money to pay for the additional costs related to taking our professional dance company abroad.”

Lagunans and other arts supporters can help defray these costs by joining or renewing their memberships to Gallimaufry Performing Arts.

“Your tax-deductible donation will help us share our art with the rest of the world,” Josephson said.

For more information on the Laguna performing arts group, check out its website at www.gallimaufry.info/ membership.htm.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Coastline Pilot.