Theatre Under the Gun may not have dead bodies… but the Fringe will!

January 30, 2019

A**holes, Chocolate, and Necrophilia:
2019 Lottery Results

Top: Fringe Bar Manager, Ian Wardle and Raffle Coordinator, Raes Calvert draw balls at the Fringe Lottery Party. Middle: PTC Fringe New Play Prize winner Lili Robinson and producer Shanae Sodhi tell us about Mx, the show they’re bringing to the 2019 Festival. Bottom: Local artist Nathan Narusis thanks the Fringe for the opportunity to put on his show after having his name drawn. All photos by Bruce McPherson.

The luck of the draw has decided—for the 35th year—which Artists are going to be on the Fringe Mainstage yet again!

On Monday, January 14, Katie-Ellen Humphries from the 2018 Public Market Pick of the Fringe winning show, The Lady Show, welcomed everyone to the Lottery Party at The Backstage Lounge and opened the event with her own comedy act. Before drawing names, Executive Director Laura Efron announced the winners of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals’ touring lottery–who are guaranteed spots in a minimum of five Fringes on the circuit, and selected Vancouver. These include Fringe alumni Bill Santiago, who’s returning with The Immaculate Big Bang, and Squirrel Suit Productions’ Carlyn Rhamey, who’s stepping on the stage again with a yet-to-be-titled show.

The International category got the (literal) balls rolling. Rob Gee, who was at the 2018 Fringe with Forget-Me-Not: An Alzheimer’s Whodunnit, is coming back to the Fringe Mainstage with Kevin, King of Egypt! We also look forward to welcoming Exit Productions, who specialize in game based theatre, with How We Think We Think!

New and familiar faces from the North American category will be performing on the Mainstage this September. Gemma Wilcox from 2018’s Magical Mystery Detour will be back with a show called Blood, Bones, and Chocolate, while The Coldharts from 2015’s Edgar Allan are returning with The Unrepentant Necrophile. We’re looking forward to have Vancouver Fringe first-timers, such as Julie Gieseke with Borderline A**hole and Lil Theatre Company with Tymisha Harris: La Baker Cabaret.

We were also excited to introduce the winner of the Fringe New Play Prize! Selected by Playwrights Theatre Centre, multidisciplinary theatre artist Lili Robinson and producer Shanae Sodhi got on stage to talk about how her upcoming show, Mx, which explores what it means to be mixed-race and Black in today’s world. She will be receiving dramaturgical support from PTC and a guaranteed spot in the 2019 Fringe Mainstage!

We ended the party by drawing the Provincial category! Everyone cheered on Publius Productions’ Nathan Narusis, who was the only winning local artist in the room that night. The comedy show Rape is Real and Everywhere will also be coming to the Mainstage for the first time after a successful national tour in 2017. Familiar faces like Nyla Carpentier (21st Century Tricksters), Shawn O’Hara (Field Zoology 101), and O Albatross’ Cory Thibert (Awkward Hug) will return to the Fringe this September.

Thanks to everyone who partied with us, and especially to the comedians and storytellers who took the stage with their acts between draws: Fringe alumni Fatima Dhowre (The Lady Show) and Al Lafrance (I Think I’m Dead), and local comedians Matty Vu and Carmelahhh.

See the whole line up of artists (and the waitlists) here. And save the dates to see it all, September 5 to 15, 2019.

Two New Reasons to Apply for a Bring Your Own Venue

Can you still be part of the Fringe even if you missed the Mainstage Lottery application deadline? Or if you’re way down on the waitlist? The answer is: YES!

Our two new pre-approved BYOVs! Top: PAL Studio Theatre. Bottom: What Lab.

Pre-approved Bring Your Own Venues (BYOV) are currently accepting applications! These venues have worked with the Fringe on rental costs for artists and to ensure the Festival has the capacity to include them, while giving artists more opportunities to be part of the Festival: Arts Umbrella, Carousel Theatre, Firehall Arts Centre, and Havana Theatre. BYOV applicants must apply directly to these venues, which have their own criteria and process for accepting shows. Once an artist has been accepted by a venue, they can then apply to the Fringe as a BYOV artist!

But we have even better news: we’re excited to announce that we have two new pre-approved BYOVs! What Lab in East Vancouver and PAL Studio Theatre in the West End are now accepting applications for BYOV shows! As with our other pre-approved venues, you must apply to them directly. Go to our website for more details on these new locations.

The Site-Specific and Dramatic Works categories will open later this February. In the meantime, if you’re a playwright or director who identifies as a woman, genderqueer, on the femme spectrum, or as nonbinary, there’s still time to apply for Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women! Advance Theatre submissions are due February 15.

Theatre Under the Gun’s Fringe Connections

Fringe alumni are all over Theatre Under the Gun this year! From left to right, top to bottom: Valerie Cotic, Al Lafrance, Jeff Leard, Cory Thibert, Devon More, Chris Ross (in yellow circle), David Bloom, Travis Bernhardt, Matthew Kowalchuk, Omari Newton, Claire Love Wilson, Jackie Blackmore, Keara Barnes, and Amy Shostak.

If you love the unpredictable nature of the Fringe, then you’re going to love how unpredictable Theatre Under the Gun is going to be!

With an inspiration package that may include random items such as a cabbage, a badly painted portrait, or an inflatable snowman—and only 48 hours to create a show using those items—seven Vancouver theatre groups will perform their time-pressured creations on February 9 at as part of Theatre Under the Gun. Get your tickets here and get ready to be surprised!

Sounds Fringe-y enough? Wait til you meet the artists, many of whom you’ll recognize from past Fringe shows!

Chris Ross and Travis Bernhardt of the 2017 Public Market Pick of the Fringe winning show, Chris & Travis, are teaming up with five other artists to compete as We Are An Ad Hoc Group.

Tight Corset Theatre Company’s most recognizable face is Jackie Blackmore, whom you may recall as one-fifth of Strapless from the 2013 Festival.

2017 Fringe hit, Almost a Stepmom’s Keara Barnes will be competing with her team, Your Favourite People.

Sour Dog Theatre features Claire Love Wilson, who was part of our DareU Program in 2015, and Amy Shostak, was in the 2018 Fringe show, Gossamer Obsessions.

Palimpsest’s participants include former Fringe staffer, Matthew Kowalchuk as well as David Bloom who was in the Fringe’s 2016 sleeper hit, The Nether, and then again in 2018’s Blackbird.

Speaking of Blackbird, it was directed by Omari Newton, who’s competing in Theatre Under the Gun with his newly founded theatre company, Dope Hearts Theatre.

And finally, there’s the all Fringe-star team, Cause for Concern. You may recall Al Lafrance from our last Lottery Party! He was also in the 2018 hit, I Think I’m Dead. Jeff Leard was key to the Fringe Cabaret Series in 2017/18, not to mention his 2016 show The Jupiter Rebellion: A Zach Zultana Adventure, among others. Valerie Cotic made an appearance in Mars at the 2015 Fringe. Devon More was in 2016’s Berlin Waltz and in 2018’s Flute Loops. And rounding out the team is Cory Thibert, whose 2018 hit, Awkward Hug, won the BC Touring Council Award.

Regardless of who you’re cheering for, there’s a Fringe connection—and they’re super talented! All the more reason to come see their talents in action at Theatre Under the Gun on February 9! Tickets are just $25. Don’t forget, this is a one night only event!

Come Party With Us!

January 8, 2019

Mainstage Artist Applications Due Today!

Puppeteer Adam Proulx won a spot in the Mainstage Lottery in 2015 and brought Baker’s Dozen: 12 Angry Puppets to the Fringe! Photo by Clayton Wong.

Are you hemming and hawing about applying to the Fringe? Make up your mind now (or before the end of today!), because the application deadline for our Mainstage Lottery is almost here! You have until 11:59pm (PST) to apply via Eventotron. And if you want to hit other Festivals in one sitting, click here to see a list of other Fringes still taking applications! Remember: you don’t have to know what your show is yet to apply!

Want to learn more about applying for the Festival, including how much it costs, if your show will be censored, and how much money you can make. You can also read our Frequently Asked Questions. You can also watch these videos from our Fringe 101 sessions, where we talk about that, as well as some artists’ experiences during the Festival!

Be Our Guest at the Lottery Party on January 14!

Come party with us as we draw our Festival line-up! Pirate Kathy draws a number from a magical hat held by Robyn. Photo by Bruce McPherson.

It’s that time of the year again—and you’re invited! Get your lucky charms out for our Lottery Party, happening on Monday, January 14 at the Backstage Lounge on Granville Island. Be the first to know which shows are coming to the 2019 Festival as we draw their names out of a hat!

Doors open at 6:30pm, with the Party starting at 7:00pm. Get ready to be merry—in between celebrating the Lottery winners in our International, North American, and British Columbian categories (yes, we’ll be drawing them in that order!), we’ve prepared some live comedy for you throughout the night. Stay tuned for more details!

This casual event is free and 19+ only, so remember to leave your kids at home. No RSVP required—just bring yourself and be prepared to have fun with us! Please note that the Backstage Lounge is accessible for wheelchair and mobility aid users. See you at the Party!

Announcing the 2019 Fringe New Play Prize Winner!

Playwrights Theatre Centre (PTC) and the Vancouver Fringe Festival are excited to announce that Lili Robinson is the 2019 Fringe New Play Prize winner for her play, Mx! Premiering in the Festival from September 5-15, she will be developing the play with PTC’s Project Dramaturg Joanna Garfinkel.

In Mx, Lili Robinson questions what it means to be mixed-race and Black in the world today. Through the lens of a character stuck in the in-between, Lili’s work follows the clown protagonist ricocheting through representations of Blackness from historical to present-day. Cracking open notions of racial identity in a mashup of disciplines, Mx will reflect on these colonial narratives.

Congratulations to multidisciplinary theatre artist Lili Robinson, who will be bringing Mx to the Fringe Mainstage this year!

This exciting new play is created by multidisciplinary theatre artist Lili Robinson, who graduated from Studio 58’s acting program. Her artistic practice, which explores the creative space where poetry, music, and physical theatre collide, is mirrored by her intersectionality as a queer, biracial Black woman. In addition to having worked as an actor with Boca del Lupo, Theatre Replacement, and The Troika Collective, she is also currently working as an assistant director to Mike Stack at Theatre Temp. She debuted her first play with Chimera, co-written with Heather Barr, at Studio 58’s FourPlay in 2018. We’re also looking forward to a new play that she will develop through the Emerging Playwright Mentorship with Carmen Aguirre at Rumble Theatre, as well her stint as the Artistic Producing Intern at Theatre Replacement!

Joining Lili is producer and director Shanae Sodhi, who is one of the establishing members of the Student Diversity Committee at Studio 58, which aims to increase access and opportunities for diversity and inclusion within the program. Currently an Associate Producer Intern with Green Thumb Theatre and Associate Producer at Diwali in BC, look forward to him assistant directing Anita Rochon on 4000 Miles at The Belfry Theatre in March.

Keep your eyes open for Mx at a Mainstage venue this September!