We Are Not A Festival
Q: When is a festival not a festival?
A: When they apply for funding from BC Gaming.
It’s come to this. There’s nothing left to do but joke, because the government’s Gaming Policy & Enforcement Branch continues a relentless assault on arts and culture. According to a conversation MLA Spencer Herbert recently had with Gaming, professional arts festivals will not be eligible for the new sub category of Fairs, Festivals, and Museums.
As you know, if you have been following our discussion about these changes taking place in our society, we had expected as much. Nevertheless, it is shocking to have the worst case scenario confirmed.
For the Fringe, we will see this massive loss of $70,000 after next year’s Festival because we have a current agreement with Gaming. But for others, this change will have immediate impact.
We’re not sure what Gaming and the government think a festival might be… Ideas?
The Newest Fringer
Hello Baby!
Yep, we’ve got a new little Fringer among us! Some of you may have noticed that our Festival Manager, Isabella Kessel, has been on maternity leave since March. He must have been rearing to go, because little Yannick was born on April 24. With a full head of hair and some downy fuzz on his back no less!
The Fringe staff went on a little excursion to meet the baby last week, where he was passed around like a hot potato. He seems like a quiet little guy but we can’t wait to hear him speak. Having a mom with a German accent and a dad with an Australian accent, we can only imagine what tongue twisting he’ll have to learn!
Welcome to the world Yannick!
Performance, Awards, and Finances, Oh My!
Thanks to all of you who made it out to our Annual General Meeting last month. We had a great turn out and we discussed memberships, our finances, and we handed out our Volunteer Appreciation Awards. Plus we had a preview of TJ Dawe’s new show, Lucky 9.
First off, we started with our Treasurer, Glenn Mori’s review. In 2009, the Fringe continued to pay down its deficit due in part of savings by the production department and human resource management; however, with the government’s cuts to the BC Arts Council and impending cuts from the Gaming Commission, our primary funding sources, we will have to prepare for the worst. The HST is also a concern as we continue to wait for a ruling on if and how we will have to add it to ticket prices.
David Jordan, our Executive Director, reported that the 2009 Festival’s commitment to artist development through the recently developed Awards was noteworthy and appreciated by the Festival’s artists. He was also happy to report the successful efforts of our newly developed fundraising program, which will help to offset the government’s arts cuts, and that our Director of Development, Gareth Duncan, will continue to champion our fundraising efforts.
An amendment to the way memberships work was implemented. Now volunteers, qualifying donors, and participating artists will be exempt from paying membership dues. Also, the dates of a membership’s validity will now be set by the Fringe when issuing memberships.
Robyn Dann (left) accepting her "Lifer" Award from Interim Festival Manager, Christina Price (right).
The Fringe also handed out Volunteer Appreciation Awards as part of our AGM. This year we honoured Jullian Kolstee and Sara Tuppen as outstanding rookies. Both Jullian and Sara volunteered during the Festival in various capacities as well as helping out post Festival. Robyn Dann was given the Volunteer “Lifer” Award for her longstanding commitment to the Festival, while Art Perret and Sheila Butt were awarded the Dynamic Duo Award. Robyn, Art, and Sheila have volunteered for more years than any staff member can claim and their continued return exemplifies the love they have for theatre. Congratulations to our Award winners and thanks to all of volunteers for making the Fringe a success.
The AGM closed with a performance by Fringe favourite TJ Dawe. We don’t want to give too much of TJ’s new show away, but let’s just say that this is one of TJ’s most personal pieces. Using enneagrams, the Wire, and personal stories, TJ exposes himself in a remarkable way. TJ will be touring Lucky 9 to the Orlando, Toronto, Edmonton, and Victoria Fringe Festivals this year.
Thanks again to those of you who came out. We’re excited about the 2010 Festival and hope you are too!
Creative Appetizer
We’re proud to welcome Jimmy, our cartoon mascot, back to the Fringe for the third year in a row! This year, Zuzia Juskiewicz, Jimmy’s creator, has created an assortment of foodie characters that Jimmy just can’t get enough of at a theatre buffet. And you guessed it, it’s “All You Can Eat Theatre” at the Fringe Festival this year! Some of us in the office keep waiting for Jimmy to find a lady friend, but clearly, he doesn’t need her with this sort of selection at hand.
Here’s a little appetizer from our buffet. You’ll see these foodie actors on posters and in our program guide starting at the end of July!
Don’t forget to get all the theatre you can eat at the Fringe September 8 to 19!
Tasty Treats
Notice a food theme? Our artists are keeping it up. This tale of not-really-overeating comes from Colin Godbout, whose show, Unplugged Cop, songs by Sting and the Police, will be staged at the Vancouver Police Museum:
Colin Godbout during his 2009 Fringe show, TransCanada '69.
I grew up hearing rumors about my cousin routinely getting kicked out of buffets for overeating. That wasn’t on my mind when I walked down Ottawa’s Bank Street one sunny afternoon. I wanted to replenish my fading appetite, so when I passed a restaurant advertising “All You Can Eat Salad Bar” it seemed just the thing to stave my starvation. I approached the salad bar, noticing that the plates were very small (not much larger than a coffee cup saucer). I was about to serve myself a fourth plate when the waitress glared at me. Pointing to the sign, I told her, ‘It says all you can eat.” She muttered something to the effect that I had eaten enough. As I was leaving she covered the phrase “All You Can Eat” on the sign with a hastily prepared note saying “3 Plates Maximum.” Imagine if they’d served my overeating cousin!
Aquabus Likes It
You can take your bike on the Aquabus' Cyquabus!
Jody Collins from Aquabus Ferries dropped into the Fringe office recently to review their sponsorship contract with us. While he was here, we got him to randomly draw three shows from the 83 you can see at the 2010 Fringe. Then we asked his opinion based on their show descriptions.
The first show he picked was Teaching Shakespeare, a show about an actor teaching a Shakespeare class and not being very good at it. Jody’s reaction: “I like it!”
The next show was One Man Show, which isn’t actually a one man show, but instead, it’s about what happens when there’s more than one man in a one man show. Jody’s reaction: “I like it!” He laughed lots too though.
The third show he drew was Shadows in Bloom, Gemma Wilcox’s show with 20 characters (including a plant!). Jody’s reaction: “I think I’ve seen that one.” (We think he saw Gemma’s The Honeymoon Period Is Officially Over last year.)
Jody admits he “could reach in there and like them all.” We know he likes the Fringe, and so does everyone at Aquabus Ferries. That’s why they’re offering our patrons free rides during the Festival! Just be sure to show your tickets or receipt and you’ll get same day ferry service free! Now that’s love.
