If you’re feeling those hot flashes and feel you need a performance fix, it’s not that time of life – it’s that time of year.
I don’t mean the start of the usual July heat wave – in fact, it’s supposed to be pretty temperate for the next 10 days – but rather the start of the Fringe, Toronto’s biggest annual theatre and dance blowout, this year celebrating its 21st birthday.
The festival is growing (150 shows this year, at 27 venues) as well as growing up, but don’t expect it to become staid or predictable.
A largely lotteried event, the Fringe gives anyone a chance to perform. What I like best about the next 12 days is discovering hidden talent: writers, performers and directors I’ve never heard. I make a mental note to watch out for future works by the best of these artists. Sure, not every piece is a gem, but the level playing ground defined by the selection process is a vital way to showcase new talent.
Here are some thoughts on the first day of the marathon.
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE
Even if it’s not that hot, be sure to have water and drink it staying hydrated is the only way to run from one venue to another – the festival is staged all over town, remember – and keep up your energy.
And don’t forget to program a dinner break. Sometimes I work out a day’s plan and find that I’ve organized six shows in a row with only the time to travel from one to the next. Uh-uh. The food’s as important as the water. (I reshuffle my schedule to be sure that I eat, and always carry protein bars, fruit and nuts. OK, also the occasional chocolate chip cookie.)
BE THERE AT INCEPTION
If you don’t want to start off with a play, how about beginning with the birth of a play?
The annual 24 Hour Playwriting Contest kicks off tonight, 7 pm, at the beer tent (292 Brunswick, next to the Fringe Club). That’s when the 60 applicants – sorry, they’ve already been chosen – will be given four items, locations, objects or concepts they have to work into their script, which is due in (no surprises here) on Thursday at 7 pm. The winning script, chosen by jury, gets a reading July 12, 9:30 pm, at the final free late-night Fringe Club party.
PATRON’S PICKS
If you find yourself closed out of the show you really want to see because there are no more tickets, don’t worry. The hottest production at each of 11 venues – decided by ticket sales – gets an extra performance the final day of the festival they’re announced on Friday, July 10, and all tickets for those performances are available for advance sale. Unlike other performances, where ticket sales go to the company, the Patron’s Picks shows split the box office between artists and the Fringe.
COME AND GO
There are always some last minute changes in the festival schedule, with some companies dropping out and others being added. These changes can happen after the printing of the Fringe schedule. (You have one, don’t you? If not, you can get it at the venues, Book City outlets, TheatreBooks, Pages, TOTIX and other places.)
Two shows at the Royal St. George’s Auditorium have cancelled and others taken their slots. My Name Is Shelby, I Like Bugs and The Romantic And The Realist are no longer in the festival. Instead, a freckle, a flicker by Tamara Chandon replaces My Name, while Waiting For Dad by Aaron Corbett subs in for The Romantic.
Also, the first performance of Spiral Dive, Episode One (at St. Vladimir’s Theatre), scheduled for tonight (July 1), has been cancelled. The show now premieres Friday at 3 pm.
Our Fringe preview issue (tomorrow, July 2) provides you with 21 good reasons to attend this year’s festival, and the following week (July 9) we’ll gather up reviews of the shows we’ve seen.
Of course that material will be online as well, but for more up-to-the-minute coverage, check out nowtoronto.com/fringe for next-day reviews and updates of what’s hot and what’s not at the Fringe. We’ll be catching shows for the entire fest and giving you not only late-breaking news but also the occasional insight into what’s happening as enthusiastic audiences line up and excited artists get ready to go onstage. [rssbreak]
