On any given day hundreds of people pass by Dianna’s Studio of Dance and never notice the humble, often-vacant building. It is among the wallflowers on the well-traversed path to the Highway 180 coming from the Tower District.
But with the Rogue Festival into its second day, Saturday night was one to remember at the lonely dance studio. Cars could be seen lined down Fulton like a red carpet as huddled groups of people exchanged thoughts on the show they just witnessed.
Two volunteers happily covered the door with the tools familiar to most veteran Rogue-goers: a fold-down table, two fold-up chairs, and a can/cash register.
A muffled applause was heard through the studio’s closed door and people standing outside instinctively began to shuffle away from the door; the performance had come to an end. Renee Newlove, a volunteer helping inside with the show, emerged out of the herd of people exiting the building.
Newlove has volunteered for the Rogue Festival for the last three years managing the Starline’s performances, but this year Newlove has taken on a broader role for the Rogue helping out at many of the venues. “I’m the help kiosk,” Newlove said with a warm smile.
Throughout her years of participation in the festival Newlove has gained a deep appreciation for the Rogue’s ability to connect people. “The Rogue is simply amazing,” she said, struggling to find the words for something so simple yet genuine. She described the unique relationships she has built with fellow Rogue-workers. “Really, we become a family,” Newlove said.
The small warm atmosphere of the Rogue has been one of its features since it began seven years ago as a sort of experiment. Each year it grows in both attendance and quality, offering a remarkably diverse selection of art. It is one of the only local festivals (if not the only) where a person can go out on a given night and see a storyteller, a musician, a painter, a bellydancer, a comedian, and an actor perform all on the same night.
How can the Rogue Festival host so many different performances? Different businesses in and around the Tower District like the Starline and Tower Mosaic offer themselves as a venue.
BYOV or Bring Your Own Venue is a relatively new Rogue concept, allowing performers to host their own event and have discretion over the dates and times. The Fresno Philharmonic is among the groups hosting their own venue. Titled “Bugs Bunny on Broadway,” they will be performing the original orchestral scores to Looney Tunes as the cartoons are projected onto a movie screen.
At the Revue, the scene may not have been the Rogue paradigm Dianna’s Studio of Dance was, but the effects of the festival were still very present in the quiet coffeehouse.
The familiar scene of students crowded around a table covered with textbooks, homework, and coffee was replaced with that of Rogue-goers crowded around a table covered with Rogue maps [programs with dates and times for Rogue performances]. One did not hear academic discussion but rather talk of performances and lively debates on what shows to see next.
The singer/songwriter Abigale Nolte was seen among a group of fans in the Revue after her second Rogue performance this year. This is Nolte’s third year performing at the Rogue festival and she says she has enjoyed it every year. “It’s [the Rogue festival] a great way to get exposure,” Nolte said.
Joey Giudici attended Nolte’s performance and described it as “amazing.” It was Giudici’s first time participating in the Rogue festival.
Curiosity struck those around the Tower District not participating in the Rogue Festival. Katy Giberson, a fourth-year English major at Fresno City College wondered what all of the commotion was about. She said she had only heard of the Rogue Festival. “I’ve never been, I’ve been meaning to,” Giberson paused, “the bellydancing would be pretty cool.”
The Rogue Festival ends Saturday, March 8. It will close with the traditional “One Big Rogue Party,” starting at 10:00 p.m. at the Starline.
