Trouble in paradise? Whether its training for obedience, emotional abuse or getting the last word in, no taboo is off limits for Heather Parish’s comedy performance “Jaguar and Heather Save Your Marriage.”

Parish, Rogue Festival performer, joined the Henry Madden Library six months ago as a marketing and public relations specialist. She previously worked for Linden Publishing in downtown Fresno publishing nonfiction and California history. She received her bachelor’s degree in theatre arts and English literature from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.

Parish is married to Jaguar Bennett, known to be “Fresno’s most offensive comedian.” He is a Fresno State alumnus and a founding producer of the Rogue Festival.

The couple will perform their comedy show on March 7, 8, 12 and 14, at the back patio of Veni Vidi Vici restaurant and bar in the Tower District. Tickets are $7 each after the one-time purchase of a $5 Rogue wristband. Click here for show times or to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets can also be purchased at the door 30 minutes before show time. There will also be a special secret show at 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 13, at the Spectrum Gallery.

In addition, the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing will present four readings during the festival.

Parish started volunteering with the Rogue Festival in 2014 and was “head rogue” of the festival in 2017 and 2018. She will return to volunteer as a co-head Rogue Festival runner next year.

Parish spends most of her time outside of work producing and creating art events in Fresno. She directs and produces plays in the Tower District and produces historical re-enactments such as Renaissance festivals and Regency dancing events. She is the regional coordinator for the Jane Austen Society and has a blog about local theater called “What’s My Call Time.”

Campus News asked Parish about her upcoming performance.

Tell us what the Rogue Festival is and how you got involved with it.
The Rogue Festival is Fresno’s fringe festival. What’s a fringe festival? Well, “fringe arts” are the performing arts that are on the fringes of the arts scene (clearly). Rogue artists are not typically associated with any established or monied performing arts institutions like theaters or symphonies. They are usually solo or small-cast acts who often write and perform their own work. As a result, they help create a distinctly forward-thinking culture wherever they go.

The Rogue Festival features theater, storytelling, dance, spoken word, comedy, music, performance art, magic and more every year in various venues in the Tower District. I got involved about 13 years ago to produce and direct an original play by a local playwright. It was called “All’s Red That’s Riding Hood” and it was a retelling of the Red Riding Hood tale as a “Romeo and Juliet” saga, spoken in iambic pentameter. If that appeals to you, we should be friends.

What makes the Rogue Festival different from other theater or performance events?
The Rogue is really special in Fresno. The show venues are tiny or makeshift performance spaces, and all of the artists are chosen by a lottery system, so there’s no one judging them to get in. They get to succeed or fail on their own merits and only the audience decides what’s worthy. It is a really punk rock, do-it-yourself vibe where they may be small shows but they contain big, bold ideas that the artists are exploring.

About half of the acts are from out of town, traveling here from up and down the West Coast and a few from farther away. This gives audiences a chance to get a little taste of what people are creating elsewhere but also discover some local talent, too.

We hear you are performing with your husband this year. Can you tell us what “Jaguar and Heather Save Your Marriage” is about?
“Well, marriage is a struggling institution in America. Half of all marriages end in divorce. Increasingly, Americans are living alone, rather than trying to cope with the boredom of lifelong monogamy, the petty demands of trying to appease a tyrannical spouse and the incessant, why-the-hell-won’t-they-shut-up-and-give-me-a-moment-of-peace whining that characterizes American marriage.

Marriage as an institution is in trouble, but we have the solution: Your relationships suck because you suck. You’re doing marriage wrong, and our show will teach you how to do it right.

Taking a refreshingly practical and unsentimental attitude toward an ancient institution, ‘Jaguar and Heather Save Your Marriage’ will show how you and your spouse can get more from your marriage by recognizing it as a never-ending battle for personal supremacy, as demonstrated by charming vignettes of Jaguar and Heather’s own domestic bliss through superior firepower.”

Yeah, I totally just dropped that section from our press release.

Why did you decide to perform this piece? What was that creative process like?
When Jaguar decided upon the topic of relationships for his latest 45 minute comedy show, I told him I had to be in it because there was no way I was going to let him talk about our marriage without getting my say.

The process has been absolutely blissful for me. We met while he was acting in “Richard III” and I was directing him. So, naturally he’s been doing the work and I’ve been giving the notes. I love a man who can take a note.

Seriously, though, we work together really well. He’s a satirist and I’m a dramatist, so it is really a bipartisan effort.

When did you start performing theatre? What inspired you? Have you been involved in other theater groups?
I’m a scribbler by nature and grew up writing for school newspapers, but I found the collaborative nature of theater fascinating when I was at College of the Sequoias in Visalia. I think that I, like many writers, just needed to get a life. I liked that theater taught me new things and helped me make direct connections with people. After completing my degrees, I did a theater internship in London for a year.

When I returned to the Valley, I got involved in area theater. I produced and directed my own indie theater company called The New Ensemble for about seven years, directing plays like “Turn of the Screw,” “Hamlet,” “Gross Indecency,” “The Pillowman” and “Hedda Gabler.” I’ve directed and performed for Good Company Players and was the artistic director for Woodward Shakespeare Festival for a time, as well. I’ve produced for audiences large and small and there’s nothing like telling a story that makes an impact, whether that’s in a theater, a written piece or a publicity campaign. I’m always chasing story in my life. Can’t stop at this point!

What was it like being the director of the Rogue Festival? What were some of the challenges?
The Rogue Festival is what I call “The Beautiful Beast.” I’ve produced many types of events, but the Rogue is the most complicated I’ve had to master. There are so many moving parts, from partnerships with local businesses for venues, organizing volunteers, signing up artists, setting up equipment and processes. Then when the artists come to town, it all gets taken up a notch. We produce almost 300 performances in about 10 venues over nine days, and the only people who stand to get paid are the performing artists – if they can sell tickets.

There’s a lot that can go wrong, but everyone is very committed to connecting unusual art, artists and audiences in Fresno so we make it work. It ain’t always pretty, but Rogue Festival always presents something you can have an opinion about. That’s a pretty great thing.

A few other notes about Rogue Festival:
Aside from me and Jaguar, Fresno State is represented at Rogue Festival well this year with the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing presenting four readings during the festival called #FresnoWritersLive. Professor Benjamin Boone has also performed at the festival several times and has a new show at Cal Arts Severence Theatre this year. Many alumni perform at the festival on the regular.

To get the basics on Rogue Festival, hit up fresnoroguefestival.com. The program of shows is available on the site in PDF and there’s an FAQ there, too. Basically, just show up to your first show 30 minutes early and the amazing volunteers there will walk you through everything.

(Editor's note: Campus News accepts nominations for faculty and staff profiles. These stories allow the campus community to learn about the many colleagues who contribute to the success of Fresno State. If you know someone with an interesting story — a passion for helping the community or a cause, a remarkable life journey, or there is just something fascinating about them to share — please email campusnews@csufresno.edu.)