About Us

ADVISORY BOARD

What We Do

Bazaar Productions, Inc is a nonprofit performing arts organization dedicated to the exploration, creation and presentation of affordable, cross-disciplinary and dynamic new works of theater. Committed to cultivating creative risk and inspiring new ideas, Bazaar Productions aims to expand awareness, increase support, and provide recognition and resources to emerging artists from across the globe—as well as those living in our own backyard. Through adventurous and diverse cultural collaboration, we  engage new audiences, foster artistic dialog and delve into conversations that are often underrepresented in the mainstream.

History

Bazaar Productions was founded in 2003 by Sara Katzoff, Peter Wise and Timothy Ryan Olson, a trio composed of Berkshire natives and graduates of Bard College at Simon’s Rock. All three founding members are emerging professionals in various artistic fields who have specific interest in creating new work and inspiring collaboration across disciplines.  Having experienced the growing movement of experimental and multi-media “Fringe” theater throughout Europe, Canada and the United States, the trio was inspired to diversify the cultural landscape at home by establishing an international  center for new work in the heart of the Berkshire Community.

The Berkshire Fringe

In 2005, Bazaar Productions launched the first season of The Berkshire Fringe, a 21-day festival of theater, dance, music and multi-media works by emerging voices from across the United States. Taking place each July and August in the Daniel Arts Center on the campus of Simon’s Rock, The Berkshire Fringe has been recognized as a vital testing ground for new work that has hosted over 500 emerging performers and presented nearly 100 full-length original productions. 

Dedicated to providing high quality, adventurous and affordable cultural enrichment, a core mission of The Berkshire Fringe is to engage the next generation of audiences and inspire diverse cultural dialog throughout our community. Free concerts and workshops, post show artists discussion and Pick Your Own Price nights are some of the many ways that everyone is made welcome. 

While the festival model is often evolving in order to better serve the growing needs of the creative community, works presented at The Berkshire Fringe often come through an open submission process that encourages a diverse spectrum of artists to apply and insures that festival curators are able to present the most adventurous and exciting programming available. 

Participating artists are given space to develop and perform new work, teach community workshops and invite audiences to engage more deeply in the creative process through open rehearsals and discussions---All of which are vital resources to new voices in the performing arts. 

2012 marked the Berkshire Fringe's first season as an international festival welcoming theater makers from the United Kingdom, Korea and across the United States.  

The Berkshire Fringe has been featured in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Berkshire Eagle, the Valley Advocate, Rural Intelligence, Metroland, Berkshire Living Magazine, Berkshire Magazine, the New York Sun, Chronogram, the Women’s Times, and has been featured on NBC News Channel 10's Mass Appeal, WAMC Northeast Public Radio and New England Public Radio. 

Who We Are

A native of Great Barrington and a graduate of Bard College at Simon's Rock and Dell'Arte International, Sara Katzoff is the co-producing Artistic Director of Bazaar Productions and The Berkshire Fringe. 

A performer and director with specific interest in devised theater and new work,  Ms. Katzoff's recent directing credits include Iris Dauterman's The Waypoint (MASS MoCA, artist in residency),
Kelli Newby's Grounded  (WAM Theatre's 24 Hour Project), Suzan Lori Park's Long 365 Days/365 Plays, Way Down and Flark (all at The Berkshire Fringe),  Alice's Profile (Made In The Berkshires Festival/Berkshire Theater Festival) The Stalk (Mountain Road School) and Crimes of The Heart (Bard College at Simon’s Rock).  As a performer, Sara has toured nationally with Landis & Company and appeared onstage in My Children, My Africa! (Rattler Productions) Othello (Infamous Genius Theater), 900 Dreams and Mombo (Spencertown Academy) Ms. Katzoff originated the role of Kessie in Timothy Ryan Olson's DARK: An End of the World Play with Music and an Exercise Bike which she co-developed alongside her partners at Bazaar Productions. Upcoming projects include the multi media visual art and theater exhibition 10X10 on 10 (In Collaboration with WAM Theatre and The Alchemy Initiative), the stage adaptation of John Lawson's Hurricane Hotel  and Miss Valentine, slated to begin production in New York in 2013.

Ms. Katzoff is a member of the Actor’s Equity Association has trained with Mission Improvible!, Shakespeare Sedona, The National Theater of The Deaf, and at Shakespeare & Company. She is an adjunct faculty member at Bard College at Simon's Rock and currently divides her time between Western Massachusetts and New York where she lives with her husband and collaborator.  More information available soon at www.sarakatzoff.com (Coming Spring 2013)

Timothy Ryan Olson graduated summa cum laude from Simon’s Rock College where he studied the theater and dance. He spent a year in Amsterdam studying the Dutch language and researching the Holocaust. He received his MFA in playwriting from the Actor’s Studio Drama School, where he was granted a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship in the Arts by the United States Board of Higher Education. He was a guest artist at Simon’s Rock College where he taught Method Acting to the advanced theater students. He spent a challenging year teaching drama to first and second graders in an after school program run by NYU’s Metro Center. Mr. Olson has sung and acted in a few off-off Broadway productions including A Christmas Carol (Personal Space Theatrics), Short Stories 4 (Native Aliens Theater Collective), Miss Milligan’s Third Grade Class Presents “Animal Farm” (Geek Ink), and Best Sex of the XXth Century Sale at Theater for the New City. His one act play, Cleaning House, was recently produced by NativeAliens as part of Short Stories 5. Most recently he wrote and directed the world premiere of DARK: An End of the World Play with Music and an Exercise Bike and acted in the workshop performance of The Waypoint at MassMoCA. He is currently a full time theater faculty member at Bard High School Early College in Queens, NY. 

Peter Wise grew up playing music in Stockbridge, MA and studied percussion at SUNY Stony Brook and the Eastman School of Music, where he received the school’s first certificate in World Music.  Currently splitting his time between New York and the Berkshires, he plays with an eclectic array of ensembles including Newspeak, Oliphant, JG Thirlwell's Manorexia, The Exhaust Ensemble and Banana Bag and Bodice's award-winning production Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage.  A sound designer for stage, recent credits include: Scored! (Berkshire Fringe) Five Flights (Mixed Company), The Scissor Tango Variations (Bard College at Simon's Rock), The Waypoint (Mass MoCA) and the world premiere of DARK: An End of the World Play with Music and an Exercise Bike, which he composed alongside playwright/lyricist Timothy Ryan Olson. Peter also a co-artistic director of Bazaar Productions/The Berkshire Fringe and the founder of Square Candy Design, specializing in website design services with many clients in the music and non-profit communities. His music can be heard on the Cantaloupe, New Amsterdam and Innova Record Labels.