By Paul Thompson

Northeast News

July 19, 2017

A Northeast resident will take the stage this weekend during the Kansas City Fringe Festival, an 11-day celebration of performing and visual arts that begins on Thursday, July 20.

Scarritt Renaissance resident Lydia Miller will be performing in Blackmail, Murder & Other Ways to Say I Love You, a dark comedy featuring three mini-performances that highlight the frightening things we do for love. Miller will be starring in two of the mini-shows: Love and Animosity and Photo Synthesis. In the former, Miller plays a maid of honor who’s “maybe not as honorable as she seems.” In the latter, Miller plays a nanny who is extremely attached to the families she looks after.

“It’s a mysterious play,” said Miller of Photo Synthesis. “It’s a little creepy, which is something that I definitely enjoy.”

Miller, a Lawrence, Kansas native who recently moved to the Kansas City area from New York, said that she’s used to being cast in more wholesome roles. That’s one reason why she has especially enjoyed her dark, dual roles in Blackmail, Murder & Other Ways to Say I Love You.

“They’re all about the darker side of love. Each story is a little bit twisted, in some way,” Miller said. “People generally look at me and think sweet and innocent. It’s kind of fun to be on the other side of that for once.”

Mary Beth Gordon, a producer with Potluck Productions and the writer behind Love and Animosity, told the Northeast News that Miller is already receiving strong reviews from those who have seen early rehearsals of the show.

“She’s the highlight of the show; she’s very young, but she’s really a good actress,” Gordon said. “She has this natural charm about her.”

Blackmail, Murder & Other Ways to Say I Love You will be performed four times during the festival, which each performance on the Jerome Stage at the Unicorn Theatre. Show times are at 9:30 p.m. on July 22, 9:30 p.m. on July 24 , 8 p.m. on July 26, and 6:30 p.m. on July 28.

The Kansas City Fringe Festival is now in its 13th year of operation. This year will feature 450 performances from 100 artist at 17 venues, as well as visual arts displays at a pair of galleries. Organizers estimate that between all performances, roughly 25,000 people attend the Kansas City Fringe Festival annually.

Barbara Dooley, Kansas City Fringe Festival’s press and media coordinator, said that the 11-day event has blossomed from humble roots. When it began, Kansas City’s incarnation of the Fringe Festival lasted only three days and featured roughly 50 performances. Now, Dooley says that the festival provides a stage for Kansas City’s creative class to shine.

“It’s the largest performing arts festival in the region, and it covers every genre,” said Dooley. “We have out-of-town acts, as well, but the bulk of the festival are our own professional and emerging artists. It creates a huge energy in the city.”

Performances will take place throughout the city’s entertainment corridor, from downtown Kansas City south to Midtown. For more information about performances or venues, visit kcfringe.org.