Fringe Festival

SO fun!
what more could you ask for? we sat on a patio eating dinner while a play, a funny, interactive performance, went on around us! for $ 10 bucks it could not be beat! We were part of the stage… as were the homeless people on the other side of the road… they def added a funny element to the experience! :D

The Fringe is one of my favorite festivals in the city because every year offers new, amazing and exciting experiences that will stick with you. It also brings money directly to the artists putting on the show, a very important element which is hugely important and a big part of their messaging.
In the past few years I have attended the Fringe I have seen everything from uproarious comedy shows, improvised plays, musicals and dramas. There is a little bit of everything and with so much to choose from it’s unlikely that you will not find anything that strikes your fancy. The local weeklies also do an amazing job of covering the shows and pointing out the hits and misses. Several particularly inventive past performances include a play acted entirely within a car (obviously to a limited audience size) and a play performed on the back alley between the two Honest Ed wings.
One thing that pleases me particularly is the addition of Comedy Bar as a venue for the lineup, which I hope will guarantee a larger focus on the truly amazing comedic talent the city has up on offer, and lend a little more legitimacy to what is often considered a less important art form.

the fringe fest is a great way for small companies to get their visions to the stage. it costs in the neighbourhood of about 700 dollars to apply and for that you get one of the major venues for theatre around the city. Some venues are more choice than others obviously, but they do assign you to a theatre based on your productions requirements.
as a viewer it affords you the possibility to catch hundreds of shows, if you like, in about 10 days for very cheap. a lot of the theatres are within walking distance from each other, if you like to walk. plus its summer during the fringe (july) and itll be nice out.
if you know people involved in a show, then of course, theres an easy pick for you, but if not, theres only so much insight you can get from a small blurb about the other shows. so the catch 22 here is that if you just pick your shows right away and take a chance on whether theyll be good or not then itll be easy enough to get into see them, and not have to wait in line for so long/​arrive early. alternatively, you can wait a few days or so until either some reviews come out, or until theres talk about a particular show or two and then brave the lines in exchange for a great show. OR try to go at strange times where most people wont be available.
the waiting that you might do, however, can be tempered by beer and refreshments, not at all the venues mind you, but the Factory Theatre is one place that sells beer.
finally, to schmooze with the performers, directors, stage managers, and the occasional viewer, you would head down to the tranzac club, which is pretty fun during the festival; they sell burgers, dogs and beer outside barbeque style.