The Fringe is on a Mission!
(We’re just trying to turn it into a statement.)
Just some of the volunteer interviewers: (l to r) Lianna, Pam, David, Beverly, Robyn, Debby, and Regina.
This past April, the Fringe began a process of reviewing our Mission Statement, which will lead to a three-year strategic plan. The current mission is “Theatre for Everyone,” but this statement works better as a Vision Statement. A Mission needs to encompass a means to achieve the vision, hence the need for the review.
The process began by bringing a team of dedicated volunteers together to conduct “Appreciation Interviews” with various stakeholders that are part of the organization. They interviewed artists, volunteers, former and current staff, patrons, government, and people in the theatre community, asking what they consider the Fringe’s values and what they personally value about the Fringe, what the Fringe’s core factors are, what their best experiences have been, and what their dream Fringe would be like.
The interviewers then met to compare notes and find the common themes and experiences. What turned up wasn’t surprising, although seeing that the different stakeholders valued similar things was rewarding.
So what were these commonalities you ask? Some core factors included inclusivity, supportive environment, our CAFF mandate, and community involvement. Values included openness, risk, acceptance, fun, and opportunity. Best experiences encompassed chaos, willingness, and peer support.
The stakeholders’ dreams were fantastic. It’s clear that they desire the Fringe to take over the city in every way you can imagine. They’re imagining more outdoor events, increased artist development, and stable funding.
The results were passed along the Fringe’s board, whose job it is now to develop a revised mission statement and apply that to a three year plan. Stay posted for updates!
Seasonal Staff!
Every year the Fringe is graced with a team of seasonal staff that brings the Festival together. This year we asked them to write two sentence bios of each other during staff orientation. Here are the results! Welcome to the Fringe team guys!
Christina Price at our Fringe Iron Chef Cookoff
Christina Price
Christina Price Interim Festival Manager
Christina is an Olympic Games “refugee” who used her creative talents in the ceremonies department. She has travelled and worked in countries such as Japan, where she was famous for being the only blonde haired, blue eyed person in a 100-mile radius of the village she lived and worked in. A veteran Fringe volunteer, Christina is thrilled to put her event and not-for-profit experience to work for the Festival while Isabella is on maternity leave.
Vanessa Griffiths
Artist & Audience Services Coordinator
Vanessa is a former pilot, indie record label manager, and big time traveler. Her parents are planning to move to France and, as a result, Vanessa is planning future trips to France and Spain.
Shellbie Wilson
Volunteer Coordinator
Shellbie was lured from Ontario to the West Coast with an Olympic job at Whistler. After being overwhelmed by Vancouver’s beauty she decided to stay and now brings over eight years of experience working in non-profits to help produce the Fringe Festival.
Joannie Bouffard
Volunteer Coordination Assistant
Joannie came to us a year and a half ago from rural parts of la belle province where, despite claiming to be Québécois, her picky tastes mean that she won’t consume cheese, beer, or wine! A very enthusiastic person whose past jobs have always Involved volunteers, her one main concern in life these days is placating the victims of her expressive, spontaneous arm swings.
Tanja Reinkens
Events Coordinator
Tanja has been working with non-profit organizations for as long as she’s been working. She is known for being slightly obsessed withdogs, babies, and candy!
Wade Kinley
Hospitality Manager
Wade is a burgeoning playwright and will begin work on his MFA this September at UBC. If that doesn’t work out, he’ll be a helicopter pilot with the LAPD and chase criminals with a giant flashlight in the sky. That or a dancer. Playwriting better work out.
From l to r: Shirley, Wade, Emily, Shellbie, Vanessa, Earl, and Joannie
Shirley Hsu
Design and Marketing Assistant
Shirley is currently studying Communications and Business Marketing at SFU. She splits her time between Vancouver and Taiwan, where last year she was the junior editor of Choc Magazine, a fashion magazine for girls.
Earl Von Tapia
Marketing and Communications Intern
Earl is a self-professed geek who is thrilled to be the Fringe’s “Social Media Guru” this year. An SFU grad that is infamous for his work at its student paper The Peak, he also enjoys gaming and the occasional Timmy’s coffee.
Emily Atkinson
Festival Intern
Emily is an honours poli-sci student at UBC. She loves living in Vancouver, but misses the snow she grew up with in Ottawa. She likes Mexican food, oatmeal, vacuuming, reading, and chocolate. She has excellent vision.
Time to Volunteer!
Every year the Fringe relies on over 400 volunteers to ensure that we actually have a Festival! And it’s time to start recruiting! We need you. We love you. Join us. It’s not a cult . . . although many volunteer do become addicted and end up wanting to help out long after the Festival is over.
But back to the Festival. We need people to do all sorts of jobs. Everything from hosting an artist in your spare room (billeting), to distributing our program guide, to driving to and from Granville Island and the BYOVs, to decorating our Opening Night, to helping build venues, to selling tickets, to bartending, to accounting assistance, to . . . well you get the point. The list goes on and on.
Sign up to be a volunteer today using our online registration form. Not only will you help make the Festival run smoothly, but it’ll look great on your resume, and you’ll also get special Fringe benefits (like getting to see shows for free!
Auction Items
It’s almost time for the Fringe! And our premier fundraising event, our Opening Night, starts the Festival off with a bang on September 7! We’re currently in the planning phase and are searching for donations to our Live and Silent Auctions. Here’s an example of just some of the things we’re hoping to include:
Electronics: smart phones, iPhones, computers, TVs (new items only)
Destinations: trips and transportation
Tickets and Passes to: sporting events, theatre
Health and Wellness: spa packages and gift certificates, gym memberships
Fine Wine, Beer, and Spirits: from your personal collection
As a thank you for donating you’ll receive a tax receipt as well as recognition in the 2011 Festival Program Guide, your businesses name and logo on our website, a complimentary t-shirt, and if you donation’s value is $50 or more, two complimentary tickets to a 2010 Fringe show. But most importantly, your in-kind donation will help ensure the continued success of the Fringe!
For more information, contact our Events Coordinator, Tanja Reinkens, or download this form.
Wild Horse Canyon sponsors our Live Music
We often drink Wild Horse Canyon wine when we clean our office on Fridays. Hey, we love our sponsors, and when they’ve produced wines that have won 38 awards worldwide (including a Double Gold Medal at the International Eastern Wine Competition in 2007 for their 2005 Merlot), it’s an easy decision to make.
dbl dragon
But what we really love about Wild Horse Canyon is that they’re sponsoring the stage at the St. Ambroise Fringe Bar at Agro Café this year! Our Hospitality Manager, Wade Kinley, has been hard at work booking musical talent to entertain us on the Wild Horse Stage. “The music styles range from blues rock to synth pop to bluegrass to indie folk to cabaret to pirate rock. Everybody’s really different,” Wade says.
So far, the Wild Horse Stage lineup includes the Greff Band, the Reckoners, Fine Mist, Wintermitts, Jasper Sloan Yip, Maria in the Shower, Creaking Planks, Viper Central, and Dbl Dragon (w/ DJ Tristan Orchard).
In addition to sponsoring the new Wild Horse Stage, Wild Horse Canyon is holding a contest to win a Vancouver International Fringe Festival Experience Package for Two! The contest closes July 31, so be sure to enter online here.
Tasty Treats
The Fringe’s theme this year is “All You Can Eat Theatre” and our artists are keeping it up with their food related stories! Valerie Mason-John, who’s producing and starring in Brown Girl in the Ring, which will be staged at Havana, sent us this poem.
The Vinda-Loo
Hypnotized by the buffet table
Eyes bulging at the sockets
Dislocated at the jaw
As she salivates
Over a curried heaven.
Strobe lights waltz before her glazed eyes
As she munches her way through paradise.
Cream cakes smudged all over her face.
Italian spaghetti whipping her chest.
Rice hail stoning onto her lap.
Chicken bones pegged to her toes.
The graphic is in this photo.
The graphic is in this photo.
The graphic is in this photo
A recycled tip spilling around her feet.
Her binge far from being complete.
She continues to compulsively eat.
Ice cream friezes her in slow motion
As frozen foods slalom down her throat
Thawed by skidding litres of diet coke.
She belches on its giddy gas
Purging head first
Into yesterday’s Vinda-Loo.
