FROM OUR FRIENDS
KINDLING ARTS FESTIVAL 2026:
Utopias
July 23-26
OZ Arts is proud to be a venue partner for Kindling Arts Festival 2026. Exploring the theme of Utopias, the radically unique arts festival takes over multiple West Nashville venues with dozens of events and performances from some of the city’s most imaginative creators. OZ will host three of this year’s offerings, including a deliciously sweet queer musical and two inspiring dance showcases.
Learn more about the events at OZ below and explore the full festival line-up at kindlingartsfestival.com. Individual tickets and all-access Festival Passes are on sale now — including a VIP option for reserved seating at some of the most in-demand events.
PERFORMANCES AT OZ ARTS NASHVILLE
Fairy Floss: A New Musical | Madeleine Hicks & Kara McLeland
Starring Seth Nath Green & Andrew Newton, with featured performances by Gabe Cyrus, Blake Holliday, Emma Supica, and Cammie York
Friday, July 24 + Saturday, July 25 at 8:30PM
Deliciously sweet and abundantly heartwarming, Fairy Floss is a whimsical new musical that reimagines the story of the creation of cotton candy as an uplifting queer romance. Utilizing her distinctly playful theatrical style, pop-art aesthetics, and fanciful puppets, director and writer Madeleine Hicks joins forces with songwriter and musician Kara McLeland to tell the unauthorized, sugar-coated story of how two locals created a love for the ages. The festive new production features an all-star cast of local theatrical talent anchored by the irresistible duo of Seth Nathan Green and Andrew Newton in the leading roles.
The turn of the century is approaching when Nashville natives Dr. William Morrison, an uptight dentist, and John C. Wharton, a loveable candymaker, become star-crossed lovers and unlikely business partners with the creation of their new confectionery treat. Fairy Floss follows the quirky pair of entrepreneurs from their humble origins in Middle Tennessee to the groundbreaking debut of their wildly popular new treat at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. Delightfully blending local historical events with magical realism, this hilarious reimagination of Nashville’s little-known culinary past invites audiences to collectively imagine an even sweeter future together. It’s sure to be a gay affair to remember.
Objects in the Mirror:
A Trio of New Dances
Dances by Becca Hoback, Emma Morrison, and Asia Pyron / PYDANCE
Thursday, July 23 at 8PM + Sunday, July 26 at 7PM
Three of Nashville’s most fearless choreographers debut vibrant new dances that explore personal identity and both inward and outward reflections. With her original solo piece “This Is a Good and a Bad Dance,” delightful performer Emma Morrison unravels the effects of time in a performer’s body, showing contradictory moments of feeling simultaneously too young and too old, experiencing playfulness yet confusion – only to discover that she contains it all. In her newest solo work “Rapt,” Becca Hoback fills the stage with her riveting presence, transforming herself from a defensive, almost predatory creature to one that is soft and free. The new work, including an original rhythmic electronic score by Ignacio Nieto Carvajal and an operatic aria sung by local vocalist Sangeetha Ekambaram, features stunning costume design with a spectacular reveal at the music’s crescendo. Finally, dynamic choreographer Asia Pyron and her star-studded PYDANCE crew close out the evening with EGO, a new collaboration with local punk band SNOOPER. This fresh, comedic dance-theater piece unpacks the exhaustive journey towards success undertaken by experimental artists. The incisive group piece perfectly closes out the trio of danes, wrestling with themes of self-belief, ambition, delusion – and the labor that it takes to make it all possible.
Common Ground
New works by DancEast, Friends Life Community, and Autumn Wegner
Saturday, July 25 at 4PM + Sunday, July 26 at 2PM
Showcasing unique and timely perspectives from the local community, Common Ground invites audiences to celebrate a sense of joy, resilience, and belonging together. DancEast brings a community-centered group dance piece and storytelling project “Voices in Motion: Practicing Utopia” to the Kindling stage, asking an idyllic question: “What might become possible if we imagined a more just and joyful America together?” The words and stories of Nashville residents are transformed into choreographic vignettes, invoking a more expansive future through collective action. Autumn Wegner’s “Kinder(Garten)” uncovers the playful and profound movements of preschool students, utilizing a handful of tiny prop chairs to play games, navigate interpersonal conflict, and explore creativity. Finally, the beloved artists of Friends Life Community debut a new devised work inspired by the Festival’s theme of “Utopias” that features original movement, spoken word, photography, and a festive “Big Book” inspired by the artwork of Paul Collins. With more than two dozen Friends’ work included alongside a host of community collaborators, it’s sure to be a stunning finale to this trio of performances that remind us of the beautiful neighbors in the city we call home.