COVER STORY

Megan Bridge


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Published: Sep 16, 2009

Each salon operator interviewed for this story spent time and lent devotion to my slew of questions — much like they do at their salons. Below are some of their thoughtful answers not included in our feature.

City Paper: When I ran into you and Peter Price at Andrea Clearfield's house, you hadn't even started yet. But now, things've snowballed. So what you got?

MB: As more and more people are finding out about our space and what we're trying to do here, we are getting requests from people to host their events — performances, cabarets, benefit parties. At this point we don't really consider ourselves as presenters but more as facilitators. So far we've had some great performers come through: Kate Watson-Wallace/anonymous bodies and Martha Graham Cracker, Pink Hair Affair, Megan Mazarick and El Malito to name a few. And of course we as fidget> are regularly performing here, as well. There's our artists-in-residence, too, who'll use thefidget space as a place to work over the course of the year, and then they'll probably each present a show of their own work during the season.

CP: Why did you start the salon in the first place?

MB: The work that Peter and I make together has been slow to develop a following in Philadelphia — the traditional model wasn't working for us. We needed a new strategy for identifying and connecting with our audiences. But truth be told, I think it's also just as much about the fact that we do love having people over. We are really excited about this space and want everyone to come see it and hang out with us here.

CP: Do your salons fit in with your aesthetic?

MB: It is definitely not our job or our desire to drive a particular aesthetic movement. We are more about giving people the support that they need to reveal or discover their own aesthetic.

CP: In your short time open, what's been the highlight?

MB: It's hard to top Martha Graham Cracker in platforms and an afro!

CP: How do folks find out about your shows?

MB: It's pretty simple, actually. We invite friends, and sometimes they bring friends. People have found out about the space mostly by word of mouth and e-mail lists so far.

CP: What's most invasive about having the public in your space?

MB: We only have one bathroom, so that's hard.

CP: What has been the sweetest interaction you've had with your fans?

MB: Probably during the whole week of fidget>'s June performance series, which was sort of our inaugural event at thefidget space. We did nine performances over the course of a week. Our audiences were intentionally quite small and we'd have a glass of wine and conversation about the work and the space both before and after the show. Sometimes people would come over for dinner first. Our conversations with audience members would often influence the direction or content of the next performance.

CP: Highlights for your upcoming season?

MB: We are having another weeklong fidget> series, Oct. 20-25, with a big benefit cabaret for fidget> on the 24th. So far the only other event we have scheduled this season is J-Luv's Coffee House Party on Oct. 16 — for Kosoko Performance Group. But our artists-in-residence will be scheduling their shows most likely for spring 2010, and they are all sure to be season highlights!

CP: What differentiates your salons from small clubs or performance spaces?

MB: This is not a public space. People have to walk through our kitchen to get to the bathroom. Our pots and pans are on house right.

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)