Double Your Prison Time

October 30, 2018

Watch and Save With a Theatre Wire Package

Let’s fix your gloomy November with a hot serving of theatre! From November 7-9, catch award-winning performer Kahlil Ashanti in his new one-man show Razor. Directed by Fringe veteran TJ Dawe, Razor is an autobiographical production about Kahlil’s stint as a midnight worker at an Albertsons during the largest supermarket strike in history, where he builds unlikely friendships with his coworkers—hardened criminals and ex-convicts. If you saw Basic Training during the Pick Plus, then you definitely don’t want to miss this!

If you enjoyed Kahlil Ashanti’s Basic Training, then you don’t want to miss his new show, Razor, about working alongside hardened criminals and the lessons he learned from them.

If seeing one show isn’t enough, we have just the solution for you: a Theatre Wire Package! Shows in the Theatre Wire Package are produced by some of Vancouver’s best independent theatre companies and Fringe Festival favourites. This year’s shows include Razor, The How and the Why, Soul Samurai, and more. And when you buy a Theatre Wire Package, you get great benefits like easy ticket exchanges, and a shareable, personal discount code! Click here to see what shows the Theatre Wire Package has to offer and start planning now!

Last Chance to Double Your Gift!

Supporting the Fringe means supporting emerging and veteran artists through an unjuried and uncensored platform! Photos of (clockwise from top left) Big Queer Filipino Karaoke Night!, FIX, and Training of the Shrew by Al Ricard.

While you can sign up to be a monthly donor at anytime, there’s only two days left to stretch your dollars even further! Become a monthly donor before midnight on Halloween, and your first gift will be doubled thanks to the generosity of Austin Property Tax Consultants. Give now and be a champion for artists and the theatre community!

Donate online here, call us at 604.257.0350 ext. 107, or e-mail our Sponsorship Manager, Chelsey Stuyt, at sponsorship@vancouverfringe.com to make Theatre for Everyone a reality every year!

Advance Theatre Applications Now Open!

Loretta Seto’s The Ones We Leave Behind was part of 2018’s Advance Theatre, and is now a full production at The Cultch!

If you’re a playwright or director who identifies as a woman/gender queer/non-binary who wants to be featured at the 2019 Fringe, you can apply now to be part of Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women! Presented in partnership with Ruby Slippers Theatre and Playwrights Guild of Canada, Advance Theatre features dramatic readings of five new plays written and directed by female-identifying theatre artists during the Festival.

Playwrights can submit their play synopsis, 10-page script excerpt, and a brief bio, while directors can submit their resume and cover letter to diane@rubyslippers.ca. Deadline for applications is February 15, 2019. Selected playwrights and directors will have the costs of their rehearsal space, promotion, venue, and all artists’ fees covered by Ruby Slippers Theatre and the Fringe.

Looking for the Fringe’s Lottery Applications? Don’t fret—watch out for it in our next newsletter!

The Theatre Scene

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

Heart of the City Festival
October 24-November 4
Various Venues in the Downtown Eastside
With 100 events over 12 days, the 15th Heart of the City Festival celebrates the richness and diversity of the communities living in the Downtown Eastside. Catch Vancouver Fringe alumni Pedro Chamale in Made in Canada?, Fringe circuit veteran Tayo Aluko in Call Mr. Robeson, and Theatre Terrific’s 2018 Fringe show Roy and Janet! Check out their festival program guide here.

The Ones We Leave Behind
October 24-November 3
The Cultch Historic Theatre
Part of this year’s Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women, The Ones We Leave Behind is making its world premiere at The Cultch Historic Theatre! The play is about the redemptive power of human connection, examined through the story of Abby Chung, a Public Trustee investigator assigned to find the next-of-kin of an elderly woman who died without anyone to claim her. During this process, she is forced to face the truth about the father who walked out on her years ago.

Rohit Chokhani’s production of Anosh Irani’s Bombay Black is part of the 2018 Diwali in BC celebrations.

Bombay Black
December 5-15
Firehall Arts Centre
Award-winning director Rohit Chokani is bringing Bombay Black to Vancouver as part of Diwali in BC celebrations! A 2017 Public Market Pick of the Fringe winner, Chokhani’s production of Anosh Irani’s Dora Award-winning play follows an Indian exotic dancer and her embittered mother, whose lives are altered when a blind stranger visits them.

Fake Ghost Tours
Online
Looking to add some spook to your Halloween night? Why not do a virtual walking tour of Gastown and explore the sights, sounds, and spirits that lurk there? Let Abdul Aziz and Shawn O’Hara of the sold-out Fringe show Fake Ghost Tours tell you the absurd and supernatural past of this trendy yet historic neighbourhood—right on your phone. And the best part? It’s free!

We’re the Best… But We Need Your Help!

October 4, 2018

Keep the Fringe Spirit Alive Year-Round!

Become a monthly donor before the end of October and your first month’s donation will be matched thanks to the generosity of Austin Property Tax Consultants!

If you sign up to be a monthly donor until the end of October, your first month’s donation will be matched! Photo of montly donors, Russ and Elaine, by Jane Levene.

As we look towards our 35th Festival and our year-round commitment to Theatre for Everyone, we’re looking for people like you—who believe in the Fringe—to become monthly donors. The Fringe is uniquely able to support local emerging artists and Fringe favourites through an unjuried and uncensored platform and by giving the ticket revenue directly to the artists—but we need your help to make it all possible!

During the Festival, we had a generous matching donation from Austin Property Tax Consultants, and we’ve been lucky enough to be able to extend matching through October! When you become a monthly donor, your first month’s donation will be doubled!

Monthly giving is easy, cost effective, and sustainable. You can give any amount you’d like, and your donation can come from a credit card or your bank. Support the Fringe and Fringe Artists by becoming a monthly donor today!

You can donate online here, call us at 604.257.0350 ext . 107, or e-mail our Sponsorship Manager, Chelsey Stuyt, at sponsorship@vancouverfringe.com to start supporting Fringe artists and the Fringe today!

We’re Vancouver’s Best Performing Arts Festival

We did it—again! Thanks to your votes in the 23rd Annual Georgia Straight Best of Vancouver, we’ve won first place in the Best Performing Arts Festival category for yet another year—our 15th year as the first place winner! Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you for all your votes! Fringers are truly the best community one can have.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: Karen Jang from FIX. Photo by  Adrian Ruigrok.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: Sara Vickruck from Poly Queer Love Ballad. Photo by  Al Ricard.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: Laurel Trueman from Hardly Trying and James Melcher from One Step at a Time. Photo by  Al Ricard.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: Adelina and Sonia Suvagau from Box of Freedom. Photo by  Al Ricard.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: Fiona Ross from Is That How Clowns Have Sex? Photo by  Al Ricard.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: Carlyn Rhamey from The ADHD Project. Photo by  Al Ricard.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: One of the artists from TrudeauMania. Photo by  Al Ricard.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: Jennifer Pielak from Inside Voices. Photo by  Al Ricard.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: Denise Yeo and Garth Martens from La Palabra en el Tiempo. Photo by  Alvin Roxas.

Just some of the 2018 Artists who contribute to the Fringe being named the Best Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver!: Gemma Wilcox from Magical Mystery Detour. Photo by  Nandia Cahlandari.

Speaking of Fringers, we want to hear from you! Were you at this year’s Festival? Please fill out our Audience Survey! Not only does the Survey help us get to know you better, but it also helps us report to our funders and donors!

Looking to re-live the Fringe? We’re uploading photos from this year’s Festival on Facebook. Check it out and don’t forget to tag yourself!

You Can Tour the Fringe

Do you want to take your Fringe show from coast to coast next year? Then the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals Touring Lottery might just be for you!

Awkward Hug, this year’s winner of the BC Touring Council Award, was also one of the shows selected through the CAFF Touring Lottery! Photo by Shawn Major.

The CAFF Touring Lottery makes Fringing easier for artists by giving selected companies a guaranteed spot in a minimum of five Fringe Festivals of their choosing across Canada and/or the United States. To be eligible for this Lottery, artists must have previously participated in a CAFF Member Festival. Click here to start your application process, and submit by October 24, 10:00am (CST). Make sure to check out CAFF’s website for more details on the CAFF Touring Lottery. And if you’re hoping to apply to put on a show at the Vancouver Fringe, sit tight. The application period will be announced via the Fringe newsletter in the coming months!

Explore New Horizons with Diwali in BC

Now in its second year, the second Diwali in BC will ignite the province with theatre, dance, and cultural celebrations during the festival of lights. Behind the event is Jessie Award-winning director (and Fringe alumnus) Rohit Chokhani, who aims to expand Diwali festivities across British Columbia over the next five years. This year, Diwali in BC’s programming extends to Vancouver, Coquitlam, Vernon, Maple Ridge, and Nanaimo.

Rohit Chokhani’s production of Anosh Irani’s Bombay Black will be remounted in three cities as part of Diwali in BC. Photo by Michael Levy.

Some of the events include a staging of A Vancouver Guldasta and The Believers Are But Brothers at The Cultch’s Culture Lab, a Bharatanatyam interpretation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Shyama at York Theatre, a celebration of Diwali in Coquitlam, and for the first time Diwali in BC will be in Vernon and Maple Ridge. Chokhani’s 2017 Public Market Pick of the Fringe-winning show, Anosh Irani’s Bombay Black, will also be staged in Coquitlam, Nanaimo, and Vancouver.

For more information on Diwali in BC’s full schedule and to buy tickets for the events, click here.