Can we say that we expected more?

What a party! Granville Island hasn’t seen this much action since WWII!

Perhaps you remember our little V-Day rendez-vous with our hot visitor, Torchy? We surely do.. AND we remember a certain whispered promise that it was no one night stand. The fire would return! The Fringe wouldn’t be just another port of call!

Well, sadly Torchy didn’t return, not even to say goodbye (snif!).

Were we foolish to hope? Maybe. Maybe, rather than the light of our life, Torchy is now just another old flame. Gone but not forgotten… yet. The Fringe remains, though, a little stronger perhaps.

And speaking of forgetting, a more important focus of concern is whether Mr. Campbell and Mr. Krueger will have forgotten the pride, connection, and purpose we all felt recently. Whether at Opening, Closing and Medal Ceremonies or all the other official and unofficial artistic expressions of Canadian and B.C. culture and sports, artists showed us who we are.

Can we forget the music, theatre, art installations, poetry and spontaneous “flash mobs” and shows of heart that framed, coloured, gave dimension to, and actually defined the sports and corporate events that were embedded in them? Can our government forget or deny the crucial role of the arts when, for weeks now, they have shone from every nook and cranny, revealing spirit and character, stimulating investment and spending, and defying the grey of Recession?

Today is provincial Budget Day. Today is the day we find out just what our provincial government thinks of the arts and their role in our society. Only two days after the official end of the biggest exposition of arts and culture B.C. has ever hosted (all respect to the Paralympians who are still to come and the art that continues!!), today we find out if our government has forgotten.

This afternoon, we find out if the fire has truly left B.C. This afternoon will we wonder if we should have followed our government’s snide suggestion and used that flame on our hair. Instead, we chose to do what we do best and express our culture, enhancing the world around us and our experience of it.

Did they notice? Do they listen? Have they forgotten?

Today we find out if it was all just a one night stand.

We never kiss and tell (too much burning pain?)!

NOT QUITE!!

But the flame couldn’t resist a quick
pre-Valentine’s visit to the Fringe (seen in the background)!
Nobody will say if it was a booty call!

 Happy Valentine’s Daze, Fringers!

Photo by Jimmy!

Kahlil Ashanti

GigSmacked!

Past Fringe artist and international star, Kahlil Ashanti, and talent manager, Justin Sudds, have created a new artists’ website and blog as a forum to spread some knowledge and ideally help artists and entertainers build their careers! Visit GigSmacked, let them know what you think and offer feedback or other ideas.

Ashanti and Sudds aim to grow this site and blog and reach as many artists and performers as possible. If you know someone who you think can benefit, pass it along and help get people engaged! You can subscribe or follow the blog, retweet it, share it on facebook, name your first born GigSmacked, whatever works!

Fringey Love

Who doesn't?!!!

When you think of the Fringe, love and marriage aren’t usually the first things that come to mind. But for one Vancouver couple, the three will be connected forever.

Anthony Lee has been coming to the Fringe Festival for years and years, and has even volunteered at two Festivals. One of his first dates with Vanessa Reinson, was at the Fringe too, so when he decided to ask her to marry him, he thought of an ingenious way to propose—he knew she wouldn’t be impressed with something ordinary.

Anthony snuck a ladybug ornament from their home and brought it to us at the Fringe. With a little help from him, we put a silent auction bid sheet together that described the ladybug and said, “in addition to the ornament, the winner will have the option to receive a lifetime of laughter and love. Please see donor for the additional benefits….Value: Priceless.”

To throw Vanessa off and maintain the surprise, Anthony took her for a romantic dinner at the Hart House the night before the Opening Night Gala— without saying a word.

The next day the couple arrived at the Gala. With nerves aflutter and a ring in his pocket, Anthony tried leading Vanessa to the right table. “It was so crowded, she wanted to change tables [when we were only] two items away from it,” Anthony confided. But Vanessa spotted the ladybug and was dying to know what it was going for. Then she read the sheet.

“She was stunned. She said ‘of Course!’ I completely caught her off guard,” Anthony boasted.

Vanessa and Anthony’s happy day will fall on May 1, 2010. Ah…Fringey love.

Goodbye Debby and Michelle

Superstar Michelle Leclair!

We must bid a very fond farewell to Debby Reis, our Communications Coordinator, and Michelle Leclair, our Artist Service Coordinator, whose contracts have come to an end. They have both been invaluable in making the Fringe wheels turn.

Debby "The Communicator" Reis!

We already miss Debby’s social networking flair and Michelle’s infectious laugh and it’ll be a bit too quiet around here for a while…Thanks for being such an integral part of our team and always going the extra mile for the Fringe!

Ps. Check out Debby’s blog!

The Canada Show Returns!

Just in time for the estimated 250,000 to 2 million people soon coming to Vancouver, Monster Theatre brings back The Canada Show as part of Granville Island’s Winterruption Festival!

The Canada Show's Beaver!

The Canada Show was at the Vancouver Fringe in 2002 where it won the Pick of the Fringe, but it’s toured across Canada and won the 2002 Just For Laughs Frankie Award for Best Comedy at the Montreal Fringe Festival.

The show will take its patrons on a one hour tour of Canada’s history—from beavers to the FLQ to Jacques Cartier puppets, Monster Theatre makes learning about Canada fun and irreverent!

Check it out February 22-27 at the Waterfront Theatre. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit Monster Theatre’s website.

Fringe Flashback

Bruhanski Theatre Studio!

Bruhanski Theatre Studio

When we were digging through boxes and files of old Fringe photos, we came across this one, but we had no idea where this was or who these people were. The only information on the back of the photo was “’87.” No one in the office has been with the Fringe that long—even our Executive Director has only been involved since 2004.

So the photo sat in a folder.

Then our Communications Coordinator went to visit a friend on 11th Avenue. And there it was! The sign from the photo! The Bruhanski Theatre Studio!

The Bruhanski Theatre Studio was a Fringe venue in the Festival’s early days in Mount Pleasant. Alex Bruhanski, who owns and teaches at the Studio, told us that our founder, Joanna Marratta was one of his students. One day she called him to ask if he would attend a meeting for a project she was working on. It turns out that project was the Vancouver Fringe!

According to Alex, the Studio was the smallest of the Fringe venues. And it might have been highly illegal . . . at least as far as licensing goes. In its second year as a venue, Joanna ensured it was up to code, but its Fringe life was short. Due to noise complaints from the upstairs neighbours and the difficulties this caused with scheduling, the Studio stopped being a Fringe venue.

The Bruhanski Theatre Studio is still alive and kicking today with Alex teaching classes to actors of all levels. He admits his website is always out of date, but you can call or email him to find out the latest info.

A Choir Like Fringe? A Fringe-like Choir?

Here it is. Celebrated local musician Anna Baignoche started a choir with friends in her living room for the joy of singing. Anna says “I wanted to create a space where everyone could sing for the fun of it” and Local Vocals was born. Anna’s philosophy is: Anyone can sing, everyone welcome, no auditions! She was inspired by the Gettin’ Higher Choir in Victoria after training with Shivon Robinsong. Now four years later the choir has far outgrown her living room, but the idea of creating community through singing is still at the core of what she does.

A trained jazz singer, with a passion for world music she is currently studying ethno-musicology through UBC. She brings the world into Local Vocals through a ridiculously diverse repertoire. The choir tackles everything from Cuban son to an Irish ballad, a Korean love song to a Brazilian samba, Bob Marley to The Beatles.

David Jordan and Anna B.!

Our very own Executive Director is in the choir and says he is inspired by Anna’s ability to lead such a large group with a pretty untrained musical background through this musical terrain. “She has an unrelentingly positive attitude that makes everyone feel like they can sing. When you feel like you can sing, you can.”

So… wanna sing? Everyone’s invited. There’s even a family choir if you want to get the little ones singing.

Local Vocals annabmusic@gmail.com | (604) 215-1901
Directed by Anna Baignoche

The Spring Season will run on Mondays from March 8th - June 14th (no class on May 24th) at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House (800 East Broadway - just east of Fraser) from 7:30 - 9pm. 14 weeks for $140. Grants/payment plans available.

Local Vocals Family Sing will be on Sundays from March 6th - March 27th (4 weeks) at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House (800 East Broadway - just east of Fraser) from 10-11am. $50 per family. Grants/payment plans available.

CTV Covers the Olympics!

CTV, the Fringe’s official and exclusive television sponsor is also the 2010 Winter Olympics’ official broadcaster! They’ll be covering everything Olympics, including events from the Cultural Olympiad. Be sure to check them out for highlights and coverage throughout the Games. You can also check out their website for extra tidbits.

Rumour has it that CTV’s Canada AM will be broadcasting from Granville Island on at least one day during the Games. The show has to be on the air at the right time back east, so they’ll be on air in Vancouver at such an odd time, that you may as well stay up while you’re enjoying all the free stuff on offer.

Reminder to Granville Island Visitors:
Parking Restrictions

You know how hard it is to find parking on Granville Island on, well, pretty much any day? Well, times that by a million and you’ll have an idea of how hard it will be to park here in February. In short, don’t bring your car.

Cartwright Street, which is the street that circles the Island, will be restricted to authorized vehicles only, east of Old Bridge Street. If you don’t know if you’re authorized, then you’re not.

You’ll also have to pay for parking, if you can find a spot, at a rate of $3.00 per hour for a maximum of two hours (unless you’re here between 10:00pm and 10:00am-then parking will be free, but only for a maximum of two hours).

So, why not try an alternative method of transportation? Take transit, the Aquabus or False Creek Ferries, bike, or walk. And there’s that new streetcar, too.

And if you do decided to bring your car, be careful. There’ll still be ducks on the road!

Other Fun Stuff:

Electric Company
Love Film Noir? Have some ‘30s-esque clothes? Want to be an extra? You can!

On February 13, the Electric Company will be filming the backgrounds for a new piece that incorporates film and theatre at the Stanley. It’s called Tear the Curtain! and you can be part of it!

For details on how to be an extra, check out the Electric’s Facebook Fan Page or email them directly.

Talking Stick Festival
Volunteers Needed for 2010 Talking Stick Festival

TSF is looking for Volunteers - the true heroes of any festival. If you are interested in getting involved, want to have a fabulous time, meet some amazing artists and work alongside an energetic, creative team simply fill out our online application form and contact our Volunteer Coordinator Valri Wright.

It’s an opportunity to volunteer at what will be remembered as one of the best Talking Stick Festivals to date. Featuring artists like Digging Roots, Rez Official, New Native Music Revue, Wonderbolt Circus “Tricksters”, Byron Chief Moon, Red Sky “Raven Stole the Sun”, Pat Braden, Dancers of Damelahamid and so much more!

If the link doesn’t work, paste this url into your browser:
http://www.fullcircleperformance.ca/content.asp?chapterID=15&SubchapterID=62&PageID=157

In 2009, fundraising became a focus for the Vancouver Fringe. As you already know, 100% of the regular ticket price of a Fringe show goes directly to the artist, which means the organizing body of the Festival relies on application fees, memberships, and government grants.

Gareth Duncan at the 2009 Fringe Bar. Photo by Brice Ferre.

With the BC government’s announcement to cut funding to the arts, we know we have to spotlight on year round fundraising. That’s why we’re welcoming Gareth Duncan, our 2009 Fundraising Coordinator, back to the Fringe as our new Director of Development!

Gareth began a lot of great projects in 2009, including implementing the revamped Sweet on the Fringe campaign and successfully raising “$5,000 (and then some) in 5 Days” through a post Festival email campaign!

With Gareth on board year round, we hope to develop stability for the Fringe, decrease our reliance on the government for funding, and build new opportunities for artist development.

Gareth is currently at the Festival Au Desert near Timbuktu in Africa. Although it’s a far cry from his Dead Head days (let’s be honest, he still is one, and has gone to three concerts this past year) he keeps us posted about his trip via his blog.

You can expect to hear from him about upcoming fundraising plans for the Fringe soon after he returns.

Blogging About Her Win

Cara Yeats performing her 2009 Fringe show, Some Reckless Abandon. Photo by Dan Fairchild.

Cara Yeates, the winner of the Fringe’s 2009 Joanna Maratta Award, has begun a blog about her year long mentorship with long time Fringe favourite, TJ Dawe. Named for the Fringe Festival’s founder, the Joanna Maratta Award is meant to honour the founding spirit of the Festival. Cara was chosen for the award because of her consistent artistic development as a writer and actor over the past several years, particularly her depth as an actor in Leah Bailey’s Some Reckless Abandon. Her strong potential as a community leader and her willingness to collaborate with others made her the ideal candidate for this award, which is intended to encourage artistic growth and community leadership in Vancouver.

Be sure the check out Cara’s blog regularly for updates on her progress. So far, it’s been decided that TJ will be directing Cara in Brendan McLeod’s first play, a one-woman show with the working title, The Lives of Children. The show will be workshopped at the Cultch at the end of February.

Helping the Arts, One Computer at a Time

Mac Station, the power behind the Fringe’s Box Office, celebrated its sweet 16th birthday this past year and the company has grown wise in its years. They are a great supporter of the arts in BC, and not just the Fringe! In addition to us, Mac Station supports Arts Umbrella, DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Out On Screen, and the Whistler Film Festival among others (not to mention that TJ Dawe is learning how to make podcasts thanks to the seminars they sometimes offer).

Part of Mac Station’s desire to support the arts comes from being associated with Apple. Apple has a history of being the computer creative people use, due in part to their early desktop publishing program, PageMaker, and their infamous Super Bowl commercial, 1984 (view it here!).

The other reason behind Mac Station’s arts supporting ventures comes from the acknowledgment that the arts are under funded. “With a background in event management, I have always empathized with organizers who need to set up their pre- and post-production offices and facilitate their day to day logistics. This is traditionally a huge expense,” David Malboeuf, Mac Station’s General Manager says. With Mac Station’s line of used and traded in computers, they’re able to help out groups such as ourselves work more efficiently!

Fringe Flashback

Fringe Volunteers!

This was not a show. These are Fringe Festival volunteers!

We’re not sure what year this photo was taken. But everything points to the early ’90s. Check out the guy wearing the Batman shirt. That movie came out in 1989. And this is certainly Heritage Hall, which suggests that this photo was taken back in our Mount Pleasant days (prior to 1995).

Over the years our volunteer base has grown from a small group of 25 to about 450 during the 2009 Fringe. We certainly would not be able to put on a festival without their help. So thank you to all of you who’ve volunteered for the Fringe over the years!

Stay posted on more volunteer opportunities here and through the newsletters.

Are you in this photo? Tell us about it! Or tag yourself in it on our Facebook Fan page!

Larisa Fayad Memorial Award

On September 16, 2007, Larisa Fayad a well known lighting designer and technician who had previously worked for the Fringe, passed away in a plane crash in Thailand.

Now a new lighting design award has been created in her memory through the Vancouver International Dance Festival. The Larisa Fayad Memorial Award is a biennial award that will be presented to a student pursuing lighting design or to an emerging lighting designer.

Applications for the award are being accepted until January 31 and the recipient of the award will be announced during the Vancouver International Dance Festival’s 10th Anniversary Gala on March 11.

For more information on applying for the Larisa Fayad Memorial Award, download the application here.

Want a Giant Fringe Poster?

Do you want one?

Last August, you may have noticed some bus stop posters promoting the Vancouver International Fringe Festival. They featured our cartoon mascot, Jimmy, in his little pedal plane against a hot pink background.

Now that the Festival is over and we had our large posters returned to us, we realized that we have more than we need. So if you’re a huge Fringe fan and want to commemorate your fandom in your living room, basement, or garage, then  contact us and we’ll put one aside for you!

Fringe Poster Update: We are overwhelmed at how many of you want a giant poster! We feel so warm and fuzzy inside! Sadly, we’ve had more requests for posters than posters themselves, so we’ve come up with a little contest…

But before I tell you the details of that, to answer some of your questions:

Yes, the posters are free, but now you have to jump through our contest hoop.

No, we cannot mail them to you unless you’re able to make a donation to cover the cost of shipping.

If you’re chosen to win a poster, you must arrange to pick it up from our office of Granville Island (Mon-Fri 9-5ish).

Ok, now for the contest details:  Please tell us in 25 words or less, why you want a giant 2009 Fringe Festival poster. We will chose our favourites at our next staff meeting (Tuesday, January 19) and you will be notified by Wednesday the 20th. All entries must be received by 10:00 am (PST) on Tuesday, January 19) to be eligible. We may use your quote on our Facebook page, Twitter feed, or newsletter (if you prefer that we do not use it, please us know). Please email us your entry!

Thanks! And we look forward to reading your entries!

Photo of poster and poster design by Jena Powell of Hatch Creative Group. Illustration of Jimmy by Zuzia Gandy.

This past Saturday, December 5, the Fringe’s mainstage lottery was held at the Carousel Theatre. For those of you who don’t know, our mainstage shows are chosen by a draw! The lottery! Donors, volunteers, artists, staff, and fans of the Fringe came together to see who would be in the 2010 Fringe!

One of many 20 second dance parties. Photo by Dale North.

After some prerequisite mingling, and with beverages in hand (from our lovely sponsors St. Ambroise and/or Wild Horse Canyon), we handed out the bingo (or Fringe-o) cards and David Jordan, the Fringe’s Executive Director, got things started. After explaining our bizarro version of bingo that included 20 second dance parties and eating gummie worms, we got down to business.

Board members Susan Ogul-Propas and Lonnie Propas drawing lottery balls. Photo by Dale North.

We split 45 mainstage spots evenly among three categories (provincial, national, and international). The international category had three spots reserved for the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals lottery winners, leaving 12 spots to be drawn. Each application corresponded to a numbered ping pong ball, placed by category into one of three crazy hats. The fuzzy purple and white hat held international balls, the yellow and black hat held the national balls, and the big black hat held the provincial balls. Then the draw began!

Meanwhile, our Communications Coordinator, Debby Reis (that’s me!), was tweeting the results as they were drawn, with help from her lovely assistant Sandra Perry. There were loads of shenanigans interrupting the draw such as the aforementioned 20 second dance parties, but there were also random prizes given away from Theatre Conspiracy, the Cultch, Touchstone Theatre, Pacific Cinematique, Cocoa Camino, and of course, Fringe t-shirts and vouchers.

Frances Kitson jumped up when she won!

There was extra jubilation in the crowd when Frances Kitson (seen here jumping up as she won) and Melissa Haller of Connecting Flights Theatre won spots in the lottery. We also got immediate response to our Twitter feed when we tweeted that Liz Wilton had made it in. Liz was following “at home with risotto and champagne” and was “ecstatic” when we announced her name!

All in all, the night was a blast! To see the full list of lottery winners, check out our website. If you’re an artist hoping to be part of the 2010 Fringe, there’s still an opportunity to participate by producing a BYOV show. You can find a BYOV application and all the details here.

The Fringe is Hiring!

Our Festival Manager, Isabella Kessel, is having a baby! And that means that we’re looking for a interim Festival Manager to cover her maternity leave.

The deadline for applications is December 11, so have a look at the posting, and if you think you’ve got the stuff, send us your cover letter and resume to administration@vancouverfringe.com!

Countess de la Fringe

For all the props we give to the artists and creative people who contribute to the Fringe, we wouldn’t be able to put on a great Festival without the help of our Finance Manager, Kathy Costello. Kathy keeps track of all our money issues–budgeting and making sure that artists get paid just being a few.

But that’s not to say that Kathy isn’t the creative type. She made a collage of Fringe tickets that adorns our office wall, and she’s often on our “Quotes of the Week” list. In fact, she’s still trying to get us to change her official title to “Countess de la Fringe!”

For fun, Kathy started Geocaching last year. In that brief time, she’s found 337 treasures and hidden four, including one on Granville Island.

Kathy with the infamous Lovin' Lamb and its receipt. Photo by Gareth Duncan.

On top of her Fringe responsibilities, Kathy handles the accounting for two law firms–very serious places compared to the Fringe. “I keep a list of ‘things I don’t do at my other job,’” Kathy says. Her list includes “not having to reimburse for the purchase of a ‘Lovin’ Lamb,’ [the prize for the Nasty Award] or not hearing radio calls [like] ‘if anyone sees the guy wearing the helmet and jockstrap could you send him back to his venue.’” You can tell she loves it and we love having her aboard!

FYI Granville Island Visitors:

If you’re coming down to Granville Island between now and January 29, you may notice that there’s extra construction going on outside of the Net Loft. That’s because they’re constructing an Island Plaza on the east side of Net Loft. They’re remove a curb, add additional bike parking, add a cross walk between the Net Loft and the Public Market, and make the Net Loft more accessible and visible.

In the meantime, the construction will cause some traffic congestion, so please schedule yourself some extra time, and be conscious of pedestrians near the Public Market and the Net Loft.

The Queens was part of the Fringe in 1992.

Fringe Flashback: The Queens

Directed by Katrina Dunn
Photo by Deborah Dunn
Actor: Dianne Brown

Written by Quebecois playwright, Normand Chaurette, The Queens is the story of six royal women vying for power in London in 1483. The Queens was also one of Ruby Slippers‘ early productions and it was featured at the Vancouver Fringe Festival in 1992.

This past July, at our 25th Anniversary Party, Diane Brown shared a story about one night at the Fringe when there were some technical difficulties with lighting.

“There we were, a group of actors dressed up like various old Victorian Queens, exposed in the harsh house lights pushing around the humongous plaster walls of the set, trying to make it look ghostly and magical and easy….! We did the show in house lights, and got a standing ovation. For effort. And we loved it.”

Happy Holidays from the Fringe!

There are lots of holidays this month: Hanukkah, Eid al-Adha, Yule, Kwanzaa, Christmas, New Year’s, and of course, Festivus. Whatever you celebrate, we here at the Fringe want to wish you a fabulous holiday season!

Every Fringe Festival that belongs to the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) reserves a select number of show spots for the winners of the CAFF lottery. These lottery winners apply to CAFF and choose five Fringes that they want to tour to. This year’s CAFF lottery winners that are coming to the Vancouver Fringe are Daniel Nimmo, David Gaines, and Button Eye Productions (the creators of Die Roten Punkte)! You can catch their shows at the Vancouver Fringe in 2010! Congrats to these winners!

If you’d like your production to be included in the lottery for the Vancouver Fringe, we’ll be accepting applications till November 27 (for the mainstage category).

We encourage Bingo outfits.

The draw will be conducted on Saturday, December 5 at the Carousel Theatre and everyone’s invited! We’ll be playing bingo with the lottery results and dancing to DJ Lizard of Oz till late into the night! It starts at 8:00pm and it’s free! So come on out and see who’ll be performing at the 2010 Fringe!

Bring Your Own Venues are chosen on a first-come, first-served basis and that application will go online on our site on December 9!

$5,000 in 5 Days?? You Did It!!!

You folks are so Fringin’ awesome! We destroyed last year’s total and reached our goal!

It was a crazy week around here, but thanks to you, we raised $5,383!!

Cara Yeats accepting the 2009 Joanna Maratta Award. Photo by Brice Ferre.

We owe it to you for making this our best email campaign yet!! You’ve helped support our foundational and legacy work, such as the Joanna Maratta Award!

Thanks to you new donors, we’re off to a fantastic second quarter century!!

From the artists and all of us here at the Fringe: thank you, thank you, thank you!

P.S. Don’t worry if you didn’t get a chance to give–we’ll still gladly accept all new donations!

Industry Images’ Hot Ticket Program

As the Fringe Festival’s print sponsor, as well as the print sponsor for other arts organizations such as the Calgary Underground Film Festival, the Fernie Mountain Film Festival, and the Saskatoon Reggae Festival, it’s no surprise that Industry Images supports the arts.

In addition to printing pre-addressed grey square postcards so people could easily send their thoughts on the arts funding cuts to Gordon Campbell, Industry Images has recently announced The Hot Ticket campaign in support of local non-profit arts groups.

The back of the Industry Images Hot Tickets will look like this.

Until June 1, 2010 or until 50,000 free tickets are printed, any non-profit arts organization that produces at least three shows a year can take advantage of Industry Images’ free ticket printing!

So if you’re looking for tickets and you think your organization fits the criteria, download this info sheet and application and email Kate Wilkins at Industry Images today!

A Long Overdue Welcome

Back in July, we here at the Fringe had to scramble to find a new Artist Services Coordinator after Andrea Fraser-Winsby was offered a position working in TV. The Artist Services Coordinator is responsible for arranging billets for artists during the Fringe, addressing concerns, ensuring artist get paid from their shows, and pretty much anything that pertains to making sure the artists are kept happy.

Michelle loves our beer sponsor.

When Michelle Leclair turned up to fill the position, she was a godsend! Despite describing herself as being “an overall pain in the ass,” with a history of working in film, Michelle has just the right combination of organizational wizardry and artist wrangling capabilities to fill the role of Artist Coordinator at the Fringe.

Extended Runs=More Fringe!

Lavignia and Louis Riel are back to back at the Firehall.

If you missed The Seven Lives of Louis Riel or Lavignia: A Modern Fairy Tale of Gigantic Proportions at the Festival back in September, here’s your chance to catch them again!

Lavignia stars Tara Travis, who the Winnipeg Sun says “keeps audiences of all sizes hooked along the way with her charmingly sheepish demeanor, exaggerated physical antics, eccentric puppet friends and unexpected guest stars.”

And the Winnipeg Free Press called Seven Lives: “Irreverent? You bet. But tempered with a massive dose of salty humour, Gladstone’s play is, ultimately, a tribute. And a terrifically funny one at that.”

Open now and running until November 14 at the Firehall Arts Centre.

Fringe Flashback

The Hope Slide was at the Vancouver Fringe in 2004.

The Hope Slide

The Hope Slide was at the Fringe in 2004 and was about Irene, who is inspired by the Doukhobor protests, which included naked marches and bombing government buildings in BC in the 1960s.

The Hope Slide stared Terri-Lyn Storey, who played 10 characters. In 2008, Terri-Lyn’s Following Foster won second place in the “Five Minutes to Change Your World” documentary-making contest.

Monthly donations give us the kind of steady income stream we need to plan and mount our 2010 season with confidence — even in the face of drastic funding cuts from government! Last year, we raised over $3,000 in five days! That really is a fantastic amount… but soooo last year!

We challenge you to beat it - we’re shooting for $5,000 in five days!

Check out Fringe Board Member, John Inthavixay, thrilling us with sizzlin' pyrotechnics to close off our 25th Anniversary Party. Photo by Victoria Haynes.

The cost of one DVD rental a month… that’s all it takes to become a fundamental part of our second quarter century!… and no sittin’ on the couch at home for your entertainment, either — you get live theatre!!

• $5 a month enters you into an intimate “Fringe Fling” with us! Benefits include a t-shirt ($20 value)!
• $9 per month helps ensure we can cover the basics: venues and techs and you become a Fringe “Sweetheart!”
• $25 per month gets you into the 25th Anniversary club and you will be “Going Steady” with the Fringe!
• Plus, you still get all your regular Fringe Benefits, including t-shirts, tickets to other exclusive events, and more!

Just download the safe, secure authorization form, fill it out, and fax or mail it in to us. It’s that easy! (NOTE: If you use Mozilla Firefox, you may experience downloading problems — try using Internet Explorer or Safari to download the form instead.)

Or you can visit CanadaHelps.org for a quick and satisfying donating experience!

A close up of this year's groooovy t-shirt design! Photo by Gareth Duncan.

We had a great 25th Anniversary season and Festival — increasing attendance by 6% and contributing to our theatre community with the Fringe Awards Night and its legacy-building awards.

Let’s keep up the momentum and make 2010 an awe-inspiring start to our next quarter century!!

Fringe lights on a Fringe sandwich board. Photo by Dan Fairchild.

Hurrah for the 2009 Fringe Festival!

What a Festival! We staged 471 performances of 68 plays for an audience of 21,000 (an increase of 6% over last year! We formed a spontaneous village of volunteers, artists, and fans to celebrate theatre!

For a Festival that doesn’t jury its programming, there was a great depth to this year’s lineup including renewed energy from veterans of the theatre community and a bumper crop of newcomers and touring artists.

We celebrated our 25th Anniversary with a new awards component (see below), a new Fringe Bar location, and many new and committed sponsors. Thank you to all who made this year’s Festival a resounding success!

Fringe Awards Night

Toby Berner hosted the Awards Night.

Hosted by Fringe veteran and comedian extraordinaire, Toby Berner, the Fringe Awards Night was held on September 20 at Performance Works to a full house of artists, volunteers, staff, and fans. We created new awards to provide development opportunities for artists, to celebrate our joyous proliferation of theatre and community, and to celebrate our 25th Anniversary!

The Awards and their winners are:

Cultchivating the Future Award: Ginette Mohr for Fish Face

From the Fringe and the Cultch, the Cultchivating the Future Award paid tribute to Fish Face for its unique potential and rewarded it with development resources and a run at the Cultch.

The Talk of the Fringe Award made a chicken-y sound when squeezed.

Talk of the Fringe Award: Ryan Gladstone for The Seven Lives of Louis Riel

Plank Magazine’s Talk of the Fringe Award recognized Seven Lives for generating the most online and in person buzz. (Plank even made the award shown here on the left.

Joanna Maratta Award: Cara Yeates of Some Reckless Abandon

The new Joanna Maratta Award honoured Cara Yates for showing potential to make the greatest contribution to the Vancouver theatre community through artistic achievement and demonstrated community leadership. Cara will be awarded with a mentorship with TJ Dawe.

Jacques accepting his award.

25th Anniversary Award: Jacques Lalonde

Celebrating the inimitable and unstoppable Jacques Lalonde and his contribution to the Fringe over our first quarter century. Jacques has now performed in 23 consecutive Fringes!

Volunteer Choice Award: The Honeymoon Period is Officially Over

The Honeymoon was the buzz of the volunteer centre and it was chosen by volunteers (some of our biggest fans) as the Volunteer Choice Award!

The SOFA (Spirit of the Fringe Award): Saving Faith

In addition to relentlessly flyering (in a jock strap and helmet no less), Rolf Reynolds continued to perform even when his acting partner Dennis Innes had to leave the Festival for several days due to a death in his family. Then Dennis returned to perform the remaining performances with Rolf. Now that’s spirit!

Collette Kendal accepts her anatomically correct prize! (All Awards Night photos by Brice Ferre)

The Nasty Award: The Cockwhisperer: A Love Story

Yes, there actually were other contenders, but the Cockwhisperer perfectly fulfilled the criteria of  the show you’d least like your grandmother to see. Thanks to Collette Kendal for being the gracious recipient of this fun award!

Thank you to all our 68 performing companies for contributing to an extremely rich and diverse year of theatre! Awards are just one way of celebrating. We’re proud to say that every day of the Fringe was a celebration of theatre and the artists who create and perform it!

Sweet on the Fringe?! Yes You Are!

Eleven presenters, over 20 volunteers, 11 artists, four venue techs, and, most importantly, almost 5,000 audience members were involved in this year’s Sweet on the Fringe campaign! Through quarters, loonies, toonies, and some exciting bills, we raised almost $9,000 and gave away over 4,500 Cocoa Camino chocolates! Most got tasty morsels of dark chocolate, but some lucked out with big, spicy bars! Frenzied audiences cheered as a zany musical medley spurred volunteer “pilots” to zoom through the laughing crowds collecting “fuel” for the Fringe.

Charlie gives David a piggyback ride during Sweet on the Fringe. (Photo by Gareth Duncan)

It peaked when our Executive Director, on the back of legendary Charlie Ross, led a piggy-back horse race through the happily crazed crowd. Charlie then donated a one night only fundraiser performance of his world famous One-Man Star Wars Trilogy to close the Public Market Pick of the Fringe. That sold out night brought us $3,500!

Mid-way through the Festival, we joined our artists in mounting a secret cabaret for the final Saturday of the Festival. Together we raised $1,000 and gave the lucky attendees a gut splitting Fringe highlight!

Finally, during (and just prior to) the Festival, individual donors responded to the sudden provincial funding cuts with $1,600 in direct donations and ticket purchase top ups!

Have You Taken Our Audience Survey?

We’re hoping to gather some information from you, our audience members, so that we can learn about your experiences at the Fringe!

As a thank you for taking the time to fill out our very brief questionnaire, you’ll be entered to win a Superpass for the 2010 Fringe (that’s an all access pass!)–just be sure to leave us with your name and contact info in the very last question of the survey.

To take our Audience Survey, click here! And feel free to share this link with the friends you brought to the Fringe!

Wanna be part of the 2010 Vancouver International Fringe Festival?

The deadlines for the Fringe are coming up fast and are as follows:

October 28, 2009: Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals Application Due (this is for those of you who want to do the Fringe Circuit and travel to at least five Fringe Festivals)

October 28, 2009: Artist Application for Vancouver International Fringe Festival goes online (for mainstage venues)

November 27, 2009: Artist Application Deadline for the Vancouver Fringe (for mainstage venues)

December 4, 2009: Lottery (this is when we draw shows out of a proverbial hat)

December 9,  2009: Vancouver Fringe BYOV Application available online

February 24, 2010: Vancouver Fringe BYOV Application Deadline

Note: This map may not be 100% correct.

Fun Stuff Round Town

We here at the Fringe get invited to lots of stuff… stuff that we want to invite you to too! Check out these upcoming fun things:

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Ryan Gladstone and Tara Travis star in The Shakespeare Show.

Monster Theatre’s The Shakespeare Show Or; How an illiterate son of a Glover became the Greatest Playwright in the World is playing at the Genstar Studio Theatre at the ACT in Maple Ridge on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 8:30pm. It features Fringe favourites Tara Travis (Lavignia: a Modern Fairy Tale of Gigantic Proportions) and Ryan Gladstone (The Seven Lives of Louis Riel).

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Evil Dead: The Musical opens on Oct. 22 at the Vogue Theatre and runs till Halloween! Henry Kolenko, the show’s Artistic Producer (who just happens to be Fringe Alumni) let us know that if you come out, you need to decide ahead of time if you’re up for sitting in the Splatter Zone…

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Here Be Monsters is a theatre festival meant to facilitate the creativity of new work! With only 48 hours to put together a show based on a random “inspiration package,” performing groups will put their shows on at Performance Works on Oct. 30 and 31. And they’re still accepting applications! If you’re up for the challenge, fill out the application (trust us, they’re still accepting applications even though it’s past the deadline!).

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Fringe Shows being held over at the Firehall Arts Centre:

nggrfg is being held over at the Firehall.

From Oct. 21-31 nggrfg and Oh Winnipeg! A Surprising Musical Memoir are being shown at the Firehall Arts Centre! Don’t miss this chance to see these Fringe shows! Visit the Firehall’s website for times and ticket info.

Lavignia: a Modern Fairy Tale of Gigantic Proportions and The Seven Lives of Louis Riel are also being held over at the Firehall November 4-14. Times and ticket info here.

Our survey doesn't actually look like this...

Audience Survey!

Thank you to all of you who made it out to the Fringe Festival this year! We’re hoping to gather a little more information from you so that we can learn about your experiences at the Fringe so we’ll know where to focus our energies for the 2010 Fringe.

As a thank you for taking the time to fill out the questionnaire, you’ll be entered to win a Superpass for the 2010 Fringe (that’s an all access pass!)–just be sure to leave us with your name and contact info in the very last question of the survey.

Take our Audience Survey now!

Grey Campaign update:

This past Monday, September 28, artists and arts supporters rallied at the SFU Wosk Centre for Dialogue, where the BC government held a public consultation on the budget. Protesters sat in on the consultations and Bob D’Eith spoke for Music BC, and for the arts in general.

As we’re sure you know, the BC government wants to cut funding to the arts by 85-92% by 2012. This will leave many arts organization unable to function. Many small organizations will be forced to close while larger organization will have to reduce their programming.

Thankfully the budget has not yet been finalized, but it will be by early November. Although you may have missed the rally on Monday you can still contact your MLAs and be part of the reason to reverse this decision. Click here to find out how.

Be sure to check out this new website that includes quotes from prominent British Columbians and Canadians speaking out against the cuts (including Kim Catrall, Margaret Atwood and Mayor Gregor Robertson) along with more information on why the arts should not be cut.

Congratulations to our iFringe winner!

Picking a winner for our iFringe and Win Contest sure was hard, but with the help of our trusty intern, Mariella Koc-Spadaro, we were able to do it!

Drum roll please….!

The Bee Gees' Jive Talkin' helped Darren win the iFringe contest!

Congratulations to Darren Boquist! We played Darren’s playlist at the St. Ambroise Fringe Bar at Agro Café on Saturday, Sept. 19 and it was great fun to listen to (putting the Bee Gees’ Jive Talkin’ on his list probably helped Darren win!). He got to take hope an iPod Touch from Mac Station.

Darren was in two Vancouver Fringe shows this year, Virtual Solitaire and The Secret Love Life of Ophelia. Next up he is presenting Dov Simens’ 2-Day Film School in Victoria & Vancouver in October.

Wanna hear the winner? Download it here!

Fringe Flashback

Jeny Cassady starred in Toxic Saliva

Toxic Saliva

This 2004 Fringe hit was about a scientific genius who learns that she’s half insect — one that Jerry Wasserman described as “a fly fatale.”

Directed by Aaron Craven, starring David Nykl and Jeny Cassady (pictured), and written by Jill Johnson.

Photo by Jill Johnson.

THEATRE MATTERS: The 10th Annual Making a Scene Conference for Theatre Professionals

The Making a Scene Conference is celebrating their 10th anniversary and this year they’re inviting theatre audiences to join in on the brainstorming on how to get bums in seats, increase diversity, how to use social media, and more.

Keynote speakers include George Thorn (Co-Director of Arts Action Research, Portland, OR) and Carey Perloff (Artistic Director of American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, CA).

Workshop leaders and other speakers include John Wright, Susan Hogan, Rohan D’Silva (who’s teaching Bollywood dance), Janet Wright (known for her role on Corner Gas), theatre aficionado Jerry Wasserman, Max Reimer, Howard Jang, Heather Redfern, Margot Kane, Wayne Specht, Kim Collier, Donna Spencer (Artistic Producer at the Firehall Arts Centre), and many more!

Dates: October 29 - November 1, 2009
On and around Granville Island

For more information, a conference schedule, and to register, click here.