Whos in Fringeville?

December 10, 2019

Fringemas is (Almost) Here

Yes, we draw our shows out of a hat (yes, that bin is a hat)! Photo by Bruce McPherson.

Get ready to make merry with the Fringe—we’re having the 2020 Mainstage Lottery Party this Thursday, December 12, at CBC Studio 700, and you’re invited! Have an exclusive first look at who’s coming to the 2020 Festival as names are literally drawn out of a hat!

If you needed more reasons to party with us, the wonderful Emma Cooper, who you may remember co-hosted this year’s Awards Night and was part of Rape is Real and Everywhere, is hosting this year’s Fringemas festivities. Also joining the party are comedians Matty Vu, Andrea Jin, Gina Harms, and Rachel Schaefer who will be spreading holiday cheer onstage! Rounding out the Lottery Party’s entertainment is our headliner, Lil’ Clitty, whose naughty lyrics are certainly not PG-13!

Doors open at 6:30pm, with the Party starting at 7:00pm. CBC Studio 700 is accessible for wheelchair and mobility aid users. This casual event is free, and no RSVP necessary—just don’t be a Grinch. Come prepared to have a holly jolly Fringemas!

Coming Soon: Site-Specific Applications

Did you know that Where the Quiet Queers Are was performed in an indoor parkade? One of many possibilities in the Site-Specific category! Photo by Al Ricard.

Ever wanted to create a Fringe show in a park, a dumpster, or even a tire swing? Just hold tight—applications for the Site-Specific category open on Friday, December 13, after the Mainstage Lottery has been drawn on December 12! Site-Specific shows are presented in venues outside of a traditional theatre setting, within walking distance of Granville Island or Havana Theatre on Commercial Drive. These shows also provide their own technician, lighting, and sound. Go to Eventotron to begin your application, and check out our website for more details on this category!

Lead the Fringe

Lead the Fringe like Laura has over the past two years. Photo by Al Ricard.

Want to be a leader in Vancouver’s innovative independent theatre scene and assist in further actualizing the Fringe’s vision of “Theatre for Everyone?” You can by applying to be our Executive Director today!

The Executive Director leads the organization, artists, audiences, and volunteers in building on the society’s mission of cultivating artists and audiences, advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion, and creating an open and vibrant independent theatre community. Click here to read the whole posting. The application deadline is December 13, 2019.

Get that Tax Receipt!

Save yourself from the Taxman by getting a charity tax receipt from the Fringe!

Did you know the Fringe is a charity? We rely on donations from Fringe fans to keep the Festival running, to create opportunities for emerging artists, and to connect you with the stories they share.

Not only does donating create a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart, but you also get a tax receipt. Hold a little back from the Taxman and make a donation before the year ends! Donations of $25 or more are tax deductible.

For more information or to donate click here. Or, if you’re interested in some sweet perks, click here to receive a reduced tax receipt in exchange for t-shirts, VIP tickets, and more!

The Theatre Scene

Just a taste of what Vancouver has to offer in the way of Theatre!

Pop-Up! Concert – Amplify Choral Theatre’s Where the Quiet Queers Are
Saturday, December 14
1:15pm Net Loft / 2:15pm Public Market by Blue Parrot on Granville Island
Amplify Choral will be performing a 20-minute musical excerpt of Where the Quiet Queers Are, which premiered during the 2019 Vancouver Fringe Festival. Featuring a diverse team of queer choristers and theatre makers, incorporating choral music, movement, and original poetry, it tackles a queer narrative rarely addressed, even in LGBTQ+ media.

East Van Panto: Pinocchio
Now – January 5, 2020
York Theatre
East Vancouver jokes abound in another instalment of the East Van Panto, this time featuring Fringe alumna, Pippa Mackie as Pinocchio!

Catch Wonderheads as they re-imagine a classic holiday tale! Photo by Kate Braidwood.

A Wonderheads Christmas Carol
December 20 at Kay Meek Arts Centre
& December 21 at Massey Theatre
Fantastic mask makers, Wonderheads, whose hit Fringe show Grim and Fischer won numerous awards at the 2011 Vancouver Fringe, are back in town for two nights only with the classic Dickens’ holiday story. Catch their version of Scrooge at the Kay Meek Centre in West Vancouver on December 20 and at the Massey Theatre in New Westminster on December 21.

Infinity
January 7-19, 2020
The Cultch Historic Theatre
Fringe alumni and co-founder of the Electric Theatre Company, Jonathan Young stars in Hannah Moscovitch’s Infinity. In this absorbing drama infused with science and classical music, three exceptional minds collide like charged particles in an accelerator. And The Cultch is offering Fringers a deal! Get premium A and A+ seats for just $39 when you use promo code: VOLCANO. Valid for performances on January 7-15, this offer ends on December 17.

Packaging Applications and Departures

November 7, 2019

Artist Applications for the 2020 Fringe Now Open!

We draw the Mainstage Category winners out of a hat! Photo by Bruce McPherson.

On your mark, get set, Fringe! Applications for the Mainstage Category at the 2020 Vancouver Fringe Festival are now open!

Artists who become part of the Mainstage Category are placed in a venue supplied by the Festival, including a technician, basic lighting and sound, Box Office services, and inclusion in the Fringe Festival Program Guide. Mainstage Artists receive approximately six performances during the Festival from September 10-20, 2020. Apply by entering your contact information and a $55 application fee on Eventotron. Applications close at the end of day on Sunday, December 8.

That’s it! As an unjuried and uncensored Festival, you don’t need to have a complete show, script, or outline when you apply to be part of the Fringe. We’ll ask you for more information once you’ve been accepted. In the meantime, make sure to save the date for our Lottery Party on Thursday, December 12 at CBC Studio 700. where we’ll draw the winners from a literal hat! For more details, make sure to visit the Artists’ page on the Fringe website.

Looking for other ways to be a Fringe Artist? Applications for Bring Your Own Venue (BYOV), Site-Specific, and the Dramatic Works Series will be available after the Mainstage Lottery is drawn. Additionally, if you’re a female-identifying playwright, you can submit to Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women until February 15. Read more about Advance Theatre here.

Announcing Executive Director Laura Efron’s Departure from the Vancouver Fringe

Laura has led the Fringe through two successful Festivals. We’re sad to see her go and wish her the best of everything! Photo by Al Ricard.

The Vancouver Fringe Theatre Society’s Board President, Sharon Sutherland, and the Fringe Board of Directors announced on October 30 that Laura Efron will leave her post as Executive Director the at the end of the year to pursue other professional and personal interests.

Laura led the organization through two Festivals, during which she successfully returned the Vancouver Fringe to a surplus position, increased financial payouts to artists, and significantly moved forward with implementing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion work—this included launching the TD Fringe Forward Award in partnership with TD Bank Group and Neworld Theatre. As well, the Vancouver Fringe was again voted by Georgia Straight readers as the Best Performing Arts Festival each year during her tenure.

“It has been an honour to immerse myself into an organization that is so surrounded by enthusiasm and community support,” Laura said. “I am proud that I was able to play a significant part in providing thousands of people with the opportunity to share stories and experiences that were inspiring and impactful. I feel confident that the current team including the board, year-round staff, seasonal staff, and dedicated volunteers will move forward and continue offering excellent Festivals and making other positive impacts within the arts community.”

We’re sad to see Laura go and wish her the best with her future endeavours.

The Fringe’s Board of Directors will conduct a search for an innovative Executive Director to lead the Fringe into its next frontier. The job posting will be circulated shortly and expects to announce who the new Executive Director will be in the new year.

Fringe 101: Everything About the Fringe

Learn the nuts and bolts of the Festival at Fringe 101 on November 21! Photo by Neil Bryan.

How do you get into the Fringe? Mainstage, BYOV, Site-Specific—what’s the difference? What is the Fringe anyway?

If you want to know the answers to these questions and more, join Fringe 101 on Thursday, November 21, at Mount Pleasant Library Meeting Room from 6:00-8:30pm! Fringe 101 is a free information session where you can learn the different ways you can be part of the Festival, what to do once you’ve been accepted into the Fringe, and how to make the most out of your Fringe! Plus, we will be joined by Fringe veterans who will share their experiences with you and answer your burning questions about Vancouver’s Best Performing Arts Festival!

There will be food and refreshments during the event, as well space for informal conversations. If you’re interested, RSVP here and let us know about your dietary restrictions and accessibility needs.

Submit to Be Part of Advance Theatre 2020!

Sis Ne’ Bi-Yïz and ūtszan were part of Advance Theatre 2019, and just recently finished their runs at the Heart of the City Festival!

Be part of the 2020 Fringe by submitting to Advance Theatre, a five-day, five-play festival featuring dramatic readings of new works written and directed by diverse female-identifying Canadian artists! Presented in partnership with Ruby Slippers Theatre, Playwrights Theatre Centre, Playwrights’ Guild of Canada, and Savage Society, Advance Theatre responds to the under-representation of women, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary artists in the theatre industry.

Interested playwrights can submit their play synopsis, a brief bio, and a 10-page script, while directors can send a resume and cover letter by February 15, 2020 to diane@rubyslippers.ca. Selected playwrights and directors will be notified by May 30, 2020. Selected plays will have the cost of rehearsal space, promotion, and artists’ fees covered by the Fringe and Ruby Slippers Theatre and dramatic readings of the plays will be presented as matinees during the 2020 Vancouver Fringe Festival. You can learn more about Advance Theatre by clicking here.

Watch and Save With a Theatre Wire Package

Get spooked with Aenigma Theatre’s The Turn of the Screw, now playing at Studio 16!

Halloween may be over soon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get an extra dose of horror in November! Aenigma Theatre’s The Turn of the Screw, based on Henry James’ provocative tale of suspense and horror, will terrify you! Playing now till November 10 at Studio 16, this adaptation of James’ classic novella follows a young governess in Victorian England who travels to an isolated Manor to care for two recently orphaned children. If you saw Aenigma Theatre’s production of The How and The Why in 2018, then you know you don’t want to miss out on The Turn of the Screw!

And if The Turn of the Screw has you wanting more theatre, you can get a Theatre Wire Package for more savings and more perks like a personalized discount code and easy ticket exchanges! Plus, when you build a package of 3-5 shows, you can get 20% off your tickets! In addition to The Turn of the Screw, this Package can also includes Roller Coaster, Ain’t True and Uncle False, and more shows produced by Vancouver’s best independent theatre companies. Click here to see the full list of shows that are included in the Theatre Wire Package and buy your tickets now!

The Theatre Scene

Just a taste of what Vancouver has to offer in the way of Theatre!

Heart of the City Festival
Now – November 10
Various venues in the Downtown Eastside
The 16th Heart of the City Festival illuminates the vitality of the Downtown Eastside’s community and its diverse and rich traditions, knowledge systems, ancestral languages, cultural roots, and stories. Vancouver Fringe alumni Taninli Wright, Yvonne Wallace, and Rohit Chokhani recently finished their runs of  Sis Ne’ Bi-Yïz: Mother Bear Speaks, ūtszan, and Diwali in the Downtown Eastside, respectively. You can catch Theatre Terrific’s remount of Workin’ at the Festival’s final weekend. Check out more events from this 12-day Festival in their program guide.

Fringe favourite TJ Dawe is back with Roller Coaster, a monologue that’s sure to take you for a ride.

Awkward Hug
November 8
Centre Stage at Surrey City Hall
Winner of the Fringe’s BC Touring Council Award in 2018, Awkward Hug by Cory Thibert is back for one night only! This coming-of-age story with a twist uncovers some hard truths about Cory Thibert’s family when the Ottawa Affordable Housing Unit informs his parents that they have to move out of the only home he has ever known.

Roller Coaster
November 13-15
Performance Works
TJ Dawe, solo show meister and Jessie Award-winning Fringe veteran (he’s been touring since 1994!), is back with a one-person show about why we go to war, who our real gods are, the bizarre phenomenon of Donald Trump’s presidency, and the end of the world. PLUS! This may be your last chance to see TJ on stage! He’s moving to LA in January for at least a year!