The Berkshire Fringe

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 contemporary theater. Solely committed to original material, Bazaar Productions aims to expand awareness, increase support, and provide recognition and resources to emerging artists from across the United States—as well as those living in our own backyard. Through adventurous and diverse cultural collaboration, we aim to engage new audiences, foster artistic dialog and delve into traditions underrepresented in the mainstream. We also strive to make high quality culture available to everyone by providing affordable or free tickets for all of our performances and events.

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 a center for new work in the heart of the Berkshire Community. In 2005, Bazaar Productions launched the first season of The Berkshire Fringe, a 21-day festival of theater, dance, music and film by emerging voices from across the United States.  Based at the Daniel Arts Center on the campus of Simon’s Rock, the festival has grown into a significant annual cultural event that has hosted over 200 performers, visual artists, and musicians; presented 60 full-length works and hosted dozens of free performances, discussions and community workshops.

Who We Are

Sara Kathryn Katzoff A native of the Berkshires, Sara graduated cum laude from Bard College at Simon’s Rock after spending a year training at The Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater in northern California. While “abroad” on the West Coast, Sara began to investigate interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary theater. Inspired by the nature of physical performance, Sara returned to the East Coast and produced her first major ensemble work, The Scissor Tango Variations. At 22, Sara and her creative partners co-founded Bazaar Productions with the mission to establish a home for the creation and presentation of dynamic original works here in the Berkshires. Since 2003 Bazaar Productions and The Berkshire Fringe have presented over 40 full-length works, cultivated diverse audiences and supported more than 100 emerging artists from across the United States.

As an actor, Sara has performed nationally with Landis & Company, A Mixed Company and Dell’Arte. Selected performance credits include: My Children, My Africa!, 900 Dreams, Othello, Shotgun Wedding, and world premiere readings of Mombo and Dream of a Blacklisted Actor. Most recently, Ms. Katzoff performed with the Brooklyn based  Ensemble de Sade, and produced and co-directed excerpts from Suzan Lori-Parks’ 365 Days/365 Plays as part of the 2007 Berkshire Fringe. Ms. Katzoff is a member of the Actor’s Equity Association and has trained as a company member with Mission Improvible!, Shakespeare Sedona, The National Theater of The Deaf, and Shakespeare & Young Company.  Ms. Katzoff currently works as a nonprofit consultant, teaching artist, and theater director dividing her time between Housatonic, MA and Brooklyn, NYC.

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.

Peter Wise grew up playing music in Stockbridge, MA and went to school in Rochester, NY at the Eastman School of Music, studying with John Beck. The first student to complete Eastman School’s World Music Certificate Program, Peter has particular interest in the music of the Balinese Gamelan (Indonesia), and the Mbira tradition of the Shona people in Zimbabwe. Currently living in Brooklyn, he plays music in and around the New York City area with groups such as Alarm Will Sound, the Anechoic Chamber Ensemble, the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, and more. He has also been seen playing with the Berkshire Bach Society, on initial work at Tanglewood for Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project, and as a collaborative creator and performer of Sara Katzoff’s The Scissor Tango Variations at Simon’s Rock College of Bard. Peter has participated in two years of the Bang on a Can Summer Institute of Music at MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA) with guest composers Steve Reich and Louis Andriessen. When he finds a moment to stop banging on things, Peter works as Marketing and Financial Associate at Bang on a Can, a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn that commissions and presents adventurous music. Peter can be heard on the Cantaloupe Music label.