Teresa Sparks, Administrative Assistant

Teresa's background is in fine arts and arts administration, and she brings her editing superpowers to the Fringe, as well as many years experience as a stamp-licker and envelope stuffer. The appropriate sports metaphor for her contributions is "pinch hitter."

The Fringe is the perfect bridge between artists and their communities. It provides a coherent framework within which artists learn to produce their own work and audiences have an opportunity to see examples of the best contemporary cutting-edge theatre, dance, film, music and visual art. As we become more compartmentalized as a society, it becomes more and more likely that we may not realize the abundance of artistic work being produced right here along the Front Range. Fringe takes us on a tour of our own backyard.

As an artist myself, I love the Fringe because it creates connections among many different communities of artists, who may be working within fifteen miles of one another but may have never seen one another's work. The Fringe also raises the bar for all the artists in the area, because it hosts national and international artists, many of whom have been producing their work and touring it for years. This intense cross-fertilization supports the development of local groups throughout the year. I also love Fringe because it reminds us that economic growth and the arts aren't mutually exclusive, and that art of all kinds should be an exciting part of our daily lives, not a solemn, occasional, duty-driven experience.