There’s Still More

September 20, 2018

The Public Market Pick of the Fringe is on now through Sunday!

We’re bringing back Fringe favourites for one performance only! Check out the Public Market Pick of the Fringe, which is on now until Sunday, September 23. Last night, we kicked things off with Paco Erhard’s 5-Step Guide to Being German 2.0. Here’s a sneak preview of the rest of the shows coming up:

You only have until Sunday to see our Public Market Pick of the Fringe winners! Photo by Al Ricard.

Classy Little Bitch Productions’ SELF-ish returns to the stage tonight at 8:45pm! Afterwards, you don’t want to miss two double features: on September 22, starting with the multi-awarded show, Poly Queer Love Ballad will be on at 6:45pm, followed by Squeeze My Cans at 8:45pm; and finally, on September 23, Unscriptured will start at 6:00pm, followed by The Lady Show at 7:45pm!

The Pick is on through Sunday, September 23, at Performance Works on Granville Island. Tickets are $25 and are available online or at the venue 45 minutes before the show starts. Click here for more details.

Don’t Forget to Fringe More

The Birdmann and Egg will be closing Pick Plus with The Birdmann FINALE. Photo by Phillip Dovey.

If you’re getting the post-Fringe blues, don’t fret! There’s still the Pick Plus! Running now through to Friday, September 21, Pick Plus features a handpicked selection of past Fringey hits from Vancouver or from other Fringe Festivals. Pick Plus is perfect for those craving to Fringe even more!

Last night, Nico Dicecco hit the stage with 50 Shades of Vinyl, which Two Cents & Two Pence describes as “an incredible naughty tribute to Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe.” Tonight, Habitats, a poetic work featuring a clown and an acrobatic stilt dancer, will be showing at 7:00pm. And we have a double feature coming up on Friday, September 21: first, Kahlil Ashanti’s Basic Training comes on at 7:00pm, while The Birdmann FINALE starts at 8:45pm.

They’re all happening at Performance Works, so you don’t have to go far! Tickets are $25 each and are available online or at the venue 45 minutes before the show starts. Find more information on our Pick Plus shows here.

How to Get 20% Off Pick Plus Tickets

Thanks to Pick Plus, you get four more Fringey shows (on top of the Public Market Pick of the Fringe) this week! We’ll sweeten the deal even more: what if we told you that you can Fringe more AND save money?

That’s right—if you buy tickets to three or more Theatre Wire Package shows—which includes Pick Plus shows, you’ll save 20% off your tickets! (Discounts will apply automatically, but you must purchase your tickets via the Theatre Wire site.)

Soul Samurai is part of the Theatre Wire Package. Did you know that it was also part of the 2017 Fringe? Photo by Jordan Ting.

And even though we close the curtain on our Pick Plus shows on September 21, you can still see independent theatre year-round thanks to Theatre Wire.

If you need a little more Fringe in your life, you can check out Theatre Wire shows by Fringe alumni and local independent theatre producers. When you’re ready, just add tickets to three or more Theatre Wire Package shows (click here to see all the eligible shows) to your cart, and the discount will be applied automatically. If you have more questions about the Theatre Wire Package or Theatre Wire in general, e-mail us at boxoffice@theatrewire.com!

Thank You Volunteers!

Volunteers are the backbone of the Festival’s success, and we couldn’t be more grateful for all their help. Rain or shine (but especially rain!), these volunteers worked hard to make sure the Festival was running smoothly. This year, we had a stellar group of volunteers coming from all over the world, including Germany, Iran, China, New Zealand, India, and Indonesia!

Thank you to our volunteers for making this a great Fringe! Top left photo by Al Ricard, top and bottom right photo by Nandia Syabrina, and bottom left photo by Jenna Owen.

Our Volunteer Department and the entire Fringe team is very thankful for all the volunteers’ work. Assistant Volunteer Coordinator Nena Pierre says, “This year in particular, the Fringe volunteers really held this Festival together.” And Volunteer Supervisor Hillary Kaplan adds, “Our already incredible volunteers really stepped up and went above and beyond, and we couldn’t be more grateful. We can’t express our gratitude enough.”

We would also like to thank the sponsors who support the Fringe’s Volunteer Program: Phillips Brewing and Malting Co., Wards Cider, Foodora, Road 13 Vineyards, The Keg, Mobi, Hardbite,  Boston Pizza, Habibis Mediterranean Foods, Clif Bars, Georgian Bay Spirit Co.,Rush Order Tees, and Shear Comfort Seat Covers Ltd.! Thank you for giving our volunteers a great Fringe experience!

But Wait! There’s More Fringe!

September 17, 2018

Thanks for a Great 2018 Fringe!

Just a few photos from the 2018 Fringe! Clockwise from top left: Volunteers on Hat Day, photo by Al Ricard; the 2018 giant poster in the twilight, photo by Alvin Roxas; some happy Fringe Members, photo by Alvin Roxas; Patrons checking on the Master Schedule, photo by Nandia Cahlandari.

That’s a wrap! And just like that, the 11-day Festival is over. We hope you had a great time “playing” with us at the Fringe! Thanks to your support, artist payouts are up by more than 18% over last year! A big shout out to the Phillips Fringe Bar for keeping the drinks flowing, and to the musicians and DJs who gave us the tunes to swing or sing to.

We want to thank all our sponsors for generously supporting the Festival: our Presenting Partners CMHC Granville Island, the Georgia Straight, and TD Bank Group; our Signature Partners Phillips Brewing and Malting Co., Global TV, 980 CKNW, Wards Cider; our Leading Partner, The Status Bureau; our Supporting Partners Foodora and Road 13 Vineyards, Blenz Coffee, The Keg Steakhouse and Bar, Thunderbolt Signs, Finisterra Travel; our Sustaining Partners Mobi by Shaw Go, PrintPrint, BeatRoute Magazine, Hardbite Chips, Dockside Restaurant; our Boosting Partners Boston Pizza, Habibi’s, Clif Bar & Company, Sober Guys, Rush Order Tees, Nita Lake Lodge, Georgian Bay Spirit Co., Shear Comfort, and Make Vancouver; and our Hub Sponsor, Cubeit Portable Storage!

And a very special thank you to all our volunteers! Truly, a big part of the Festival’s success is because of them. We are extremely grateful for all their hard work! We hope you had fun, and we hope to see you volunteer again next year!

Want to see some highlights? Come back soon to our Facebook page, where we’ll be uploading some of our favourite photos from the Festival. Don’t forget to tag yourselves—see you next Fringe!

Announcing the Public Market Pick of the Fringe!

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE FRINGE!

Vancouver just can’t get enough Fringe Theatre—that’s why there are Fringe holdovers after the Festival! From September 19 through 23 the Public Market Pick of the Fringe will be held at Performance Works on Granville Island. Pick shows got people talking in lineups, at the Phillips Fringe Bar, and online—and they received rave reviews—so we just have to bring them back for another performance!

And without further adieu, the Public Market Pick of the Fringe winners are:

	5-Step Guide to Being German 2.0 Wednesday, September 19 at 8:45pm Wanna be German? Of course you do. German comedian Paco Erhard will teach you how. The first ever stand-up show to hold a mirror up to real modern Germany, Canada, and the rest of the world. You will laugh. “It’s crowd-pleasing entertainment that has been packing houses for years.” —the Georgia Straight
	SELF-ish  Thursday, September 20 at 8:45pm 30-something Korean-Canadian Esther examines herself in the aftermath of a recent tragedy and navigates her relationship with family and other characters in her life. “The heart of the show is a killer—thanks largely to Bang’s witty and transparent performance. Emotions pass over her like weather. She’s a star.” —Colin Thomas’s Fresh Sheet
	Poly Queer Love Ballad Saturday, September 22 at 6:45pm Nina, a polyamorous bisexual poet, meets Gabbie, a monogamous lesbian songwriter. They struggle to reconcile their fierce mutual attraction with their opposing perspectives on love. A charming and poignant exploration of polyamory, queerness, and relationship. “The tenderness and rapture of this story made me weep big, nostalgic tears..” —Colin Thomas’s Fresh Sheet
	Squeeze My Cans Saturday, September 22 at 8:45pm Cathy Schenkelberg’s journey as a Nebraska Catholic girl from a family of 10, through the rabbit hole of the infamous cult of Scientology, represents an everywoman’s story of a young adult searching for her place. “Schenkelberg is a dynamo of a storyteller, and her bravery is admirable given that this can’t be an easy story to tell.” —Winnipeg Free Press
	Unscriptured Sunday, September 23 at 6:00pm A completely improvised church service for a religion made up on the spot from Travis Bernhardt, creator of the award winning Charlatan!, Unpossible!, and Chris & Travis. “[Travis Bernhardt is] charismatic enough to get the entire audience to participate.” —Vancouver Presents
	The Lady Show Sunday, September 23 at 7:45pm Putting the JOY in feminist killjoy! Sketch, stand-up, monologue, satirical news, and more starring Diana Bang, Morgan Brayton, Fatima Dhowre, and Katie-Ellen Humphries. “I was in such high spirits leaving this performance and the positivity and hilarity has stuck with me.” —Theatre Addicts

More Fringe Just For You!

Feeling sad without the Fringe? Well, we just have the perfect thing to cheer you up: EVEN MORE FRINGE! Pick Plus is back with four shows especially handpicked for your enjoyment.

Happysad Theatre will be kicking off Pick Plus with 50 Shades of Vinyl – A Canadian Parody. According to Vancouver Presents‘ Mark Robins, Nico Dicecco “is a consummate storyteller. Never feeling forced, every word and gesture had a purpose in telling the sometimes ridiculously funny, and bawdy, stories.” His show will play on Wednesday, September 19, at 7:00pm!

Up next is Isabelle Kirouac and Nayana Fielkov’s Habitats! Winner of the 2017 Vancouver Fringe Festival Joanna Maratta and Mollie Bradley Awards, the show combines physical comedy, dance, circus, and shadow puppetry. Check out their show trailers here and see how Habitats is inspired by Fellini and Lewis Carroll. You can see them on Thursday, September 20, at 7:00pm!

Returning to Pick Plus is Kahlil Ashanti’s Basic Training. A theatrical mix of storytelling, redemption, and comedy, BroadwayBaby.Com comments that Basic Training is “imaginative and quick-witted… his acting is superb.” See him onstage on Friday, September 21, at 7:00pm!

And finally, the Pick Plus wraps things up with The Birdmann FINALE. A celebratory climax of past tours, CBC calls it a “show like no other.” Will this be The Birdmann and Egg’s last tour? There’s only one way to find out! You can watch them on Friday, September 21, at 8:45pm!

Catch them from September 19-21 at Performance at 1218 Cartwright Street. Pick Plus tickets are available for $25 each. But if you choose three or more of these shows and/or any of the Theatre Wire Package shows, you can save 20%! And if that’s not enough, you also get extra perks like a discount code for future shows that you can share with friends and family. For more information, visit TheatreWire.com!

And the Award Goes To…

Every year, the Fringe Awards Night honours the best and Fringey-est from the Festival! Held on September 16 at Performance Works, this year’s ceremony was hosted by Nathania Bernabe (Soul Samurai) and Sara Vickruck (Poly Queer Love Ballad). Here are the night’s big winners:

Congrats to the 2018 Public Market Pick of the Fringe Winners!

Volunteer Choice Award: Poly Queer Love Ballad
BC Touring Council Award: Awkward Hug
Joanna Maratta Award and Mollie Bradley Award: Hysteria
The Georgia Straight Critics’ Pick Award: Poly Queer Love Ballad
The Spirit of the Fringe Award (SOFA): Charlie Petch from Mel Malarkey Gets The Bum’s Rush
Artistic Risk Award: (Tied!) Red Bastard and Hip.Bang! Presents Surveil
Cultchivating the Fringe Award: Big Sister
Public Market Pick of the Fringe: SELF-ish, 5-Step Guide to Being German 2.0, Poly Queer Love Ballad, Squeeze My Cans, Unscriptured, and The Lady Show (Click here for more info and to buy tickets!)

The Fringe Raffle winners were also announced!

Congratulations to Adam O’Neill for wining the $100 Foodora gift card and a 2019 Fringe Kick-Ass Pass; Stacy Ashton for winning the weekend getaway for two at the Nita Lake Lodge and dinner for two at Aura Restaurant; and Simone Avram for winning the Grand Prize, an eight-day adventure to Guatemala for two from Finisterra Travel!

Congratulations to all the winners! And to everyone, for a great Fringe yet again!

How to Win the Fringe New Play Prize

Has Fringing made you think of putting on your own show, and you need some guidance doing it? Today’s your lucky day—Playwrights Theatre Centre is now calling for applications for the Fringe New Play Prize!

Sara Vickruck and Anais West won the 2018 Fringe New Play Prize for Poly Queer Love Ballad. Could you be the 2019 winner?

Now in its seventh year, the Fringe New Play Prize gives BC artists a leg up in the process of creating and producing with material support. The prize package includes eight months of dramaturgy, free creation and rehearsal space, a free spot in their theatre production seminar series, and best of all, a spot in the 2019 Fringe Mainstage!

To learn more about the 2018 Fringe New Play Prize winners Sara Vickruck and Anais West from Poly Queer Love Ballad, click here to watch their interview with PTC, where they talk about developing their show and share snippets of Poly Queer Love Ballad.

Make sure to get your application in no later than October 1, 2018. The winner will be announced during the Fringe Festival Lottery Party this winter. For more information on the Fringe New Play Prize, click here!