Over the past four years, The Best of Fringe has provided extended runs to some of the biggest hits from the Toronto Fringe Festival and returned nearly $50,000 in box office revenue to Fringe Festival Artists. All shows are at Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Street Theatre.
A Freudian Slip of the Jung
By Sean Fisher
Wednesday, July 14th at 9pm and Thursday, July 15th at 7pm
Fairy Tale Ending
Music and Lyrics by Kieren MacMillan & Jeremy Hutton, Book by Jeremy Hutton
Saturday, July 17th at 5pm and Saturday July 24th at 5pm
Oy! Just Beat It!
by Anita Majumdar
Wednesday, July 21th at 9pm and Thursday, July 22th at 7pm and Friday, July 23rd at 7pm
Short Story Long
By Joel Fishbane
Wednesday, July 14th at 7pm, Friday July 16th at 9pm and Saturday July 17th at 7pm
Sia
By Matthew MacKenzie
Wednesday, July 21st at 7pm, Thursday July 22nd at 9pm and Saturday July 24th at 7pm
[sic]
By Melissa James Gibson
Thursday, July 15th at 9pm, Friday July 16th at 7pm and Saturday July 17th at 9pm
Silent City
By Stagehands
Friday, July 23rd at 9pm and Saturday July 24th at 9pm
The Indie Caucus will host a Tent Talk in the Fringe HQ that is the parking lot behind Honest Eds as part of The Toronto Fringe Festival Saturday at 4pm.
All of the panelists have been members of the Indie Caucus since its inception, have had multiple dealings with Equity as both member and non-member creators, and will offer insight and advice on what the future holds in this regard for independent artists and what they can do promote positive change within CAEA.
Clearly this issue is incredibly important to all artists at different stages of their careers and there is growing anger and frustration that even after two heavily lopsided votes (96-1 anyone?), the largest turnout ever at a RAGM to address this issue, and the creation of a new committee to look into the problem – NOTHING HAS ACTUALLY CHANGED YET. Despite all of these meetings and votes, practically speaking, it is still 2005.
Below, three CAEA members who are not members of the Indie Caucus, share their hopes and throughts for reform after attending the now-legendary Theatre Passe Muraille RAGM:
Susan Coyne performs in Thistle Project's Peer Gynt. Photo by Lindsay Anne Black
Susan Coyne
I was surprised, when I was working on an independent theatre show, to hear my young colleagues talk about how reluctant they were to join Equity. They felt that joining Equity would make it too difficult for them to produce and perform their own work. This seemed very strange to me, as a longtime member of CAEA.
At the meeting, I sensed a huge frustration from the artists who spoke about the rules for producing independent theatre in Equity’s jurisdiction. There seemed to be a disconnect between what the artists were saying and Equity’s description of the problem. For the Equity officers who were at the meeting, the problem was described as a problem of manpower: given how small the number of Equity artists employed in independent theatre, a lot of people’s time was spent filling out an enormous amount of paper work. This seemed slightly to miss the point. Though I can understand that the Equity office may be shortstaffed. I would have liked to see some kind of acknowledgement that though the numbers may be small, this kind of work, with its willingness to take risks and experiment with new ideas, is the well from which we all draw. We are all, in my experience – inspired, invigorated and challenged by seeing, and participating in independent theatre, and I hope that we can find a way to not only support and encourage these companies and artists, but make it easier for them to do what they do, within Equity.
Marcia Johnson
The Ontario CPAG (Council Policy Advisory Group) Equity meeting was encouraging and inspiring. The turnout at Theatre Passe Muraile was more than respectable. I recognized friends and colleagues who have been doing great work in Toronto for years.
I am grateful to Mark Brownell and his team for putting a positive spin on the event. We were encouraged to think of solutions, not just tell horror stories. Mark did a great job of providing a context and the background for the struggle that a lot of Equity creator-producers face when it comes to working within the rules. His pie chart showed three-percent of work that Equity members do fall under these different creator-producer categories yet the majority of staff hours are used to facilitate them.
VInetta Strombergs chaired a panel featuring Equity members Rebecca Northan, Melissa D’Agostino and Michael Rubenfeld. They shared their obstacles, successes and suggestions. I was also pleased that President Arden Ryshpan and Executive Director Allan Teichman were invited to weigh in. It was all very conciliatory.
We all treated each other with respect and were constructive in our criticism. The many door prizes were a very nice touch. It felt like we were being rewarded for attending and making it all the way through to the end.
I am filled with hope that an easy to manage contract will be developed and not the (in the words of Ross Manson, Volcano Theatre) ad hoc system that exists now.
Maev Beaty performs in Volcano's The Africa Trilogy. Photo by John Lauener
Maev Beaty
So I begin with a confession. I have been an Equity member for several years now. I have produced, written, acted, festivaled, deputied, worked under Guest Artist, Co-op and Indie. I have also complained, been denied, been scolded, been furious and yes, I have been helped. But I have also heard of hypocrisies and confusions that made my hair stand on end. So what is the confession? I have never been to a meeting, rally or parade. I have paid my dues and bitched in bars, but I have never actually tried to involve myself in or be an active witness of the actual machinations of CAEA.
But boy do I love Facebook. I really do. I use it for networking, education, alternative news sources, entertainment and reunions. And thanks to Facebook I finally became involved in my Association’s future. I received probably 40 reminders about the big CAEA May 17th meeting from probably 20 different sources. And it worked. I went. And I am so glad I did.
I deeply appreciated how pro-active and transparent the organizers were and how efficiently the evening was handled. As a ‘newbie’, I never felt condescended to or confused. There was minimum complaining and a lot of honesty. In fact, there was a lot of honesty about dishonesty. A major recurring theme of the evening was that producer/members frequently lied on contracts or simply worked outside them. There are many reasons for this course of action, chief among them being the hassle of negotiating the overly complex and confusing contract options, and the feeling that they were being seen as exploitative and suspicious by CAEA staff. This information came out in the evening not as a complaint, but as a clear sign to staff and council that our system is flawed and requires re-examining. Nobody WANTS to lie. But we need to change things so that’s not the easiest solution.
So – what kind of change? There were several suggestions of improvements and adjustments made that night. Below is the short list of the solutions I was most excited by:
Eradicate the graduated system that forces companies to have a limited number of times they can use certain contracts before they must use another.
Get rid of the quota of CAEA members that must be in your production when the producer/originator of the project is a Member/Engager.
Create a menu prototype for contracts, with choosable options for each module and then provide a sample template that matches your chosen contract to help you fill it out. (it could all be done online – colour coded menu pieces that you pick and choose)
Create a clear series of riders that could be easily ‘tacked on’ to that contract that deals with issues such as Touring or using dancers, non Equity or International performers without making them join the Association
Make the Fringe Waiver applicable to ALL SummerWorks productions.
Change is GOOD. Yes it was my first CAEA meeting but it sure won’t be my last.
If you’ve ever applied to The Toronto Fringe before, you probably recall how Fringe applications are due in January with a draw sometime later in January at The Tranzac….
THIS IS NO LONGER TRUE. YOUR APPLICATION IS DUE TODAY!
To apply to the Toronto Fringe 2010 lottery, log on to fringetoronto.com and find the information under ‘For Artists’. Artists may apply online or download a hard-copy application form and drop it of by end of the business day.
Participating companies are provided with a venue, production & publicity support, and 100% of the ticket revenue generated by their show. The Festival will run from June 30 –July 11, 2010.
For more info: www.fringetoronto.com, 416-966-1062.
Toronto Fringe Festival Executive Director Gideon Arthurs announces major changes to the Toronto Fringe at a press conference held on Monday November 9th.
Long story short:
The Randolph Centre for The Arts, which houses multiple theatrical spaces will now be a Fringe venue and the administrative and box office hub for The Fringe during the festival.
Up Bathurst Street:
The Fringe Club and social hub for the festival will no longer be the Tranzac. It moves to the much more massive area behind Honest Eds. It will have a heck of a big patio as well as food service and they’re going to use the famous lightbulb filled sign on Bloor to invite the public in to this new Fringe theatre corridor in dramatic fashion.
The big question:
Does this mean last call at the Toronto Fringe will no longer be 11pm? No promises on this front yet – but it appears possible as it is not adjacent to a residential area. Even if you don’t drink, the fact that you have to go home or onto a sweaty dance floor at 10:45pm has plagued Toronto Fringe organizers and participants for years.
The Panasonic Theatre has more seats than Bread and Circus. (But less DIY charm?)
Yep. It’s true. My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, the little show that couldn’t stop selling out the tiny Bread and Circus at the Fringe is moving to the Panasonic Theatre on Yonge St.
“The new fall production “will be expanded and reworked to include new songs, more characters, a larger cast and a bigger band. Like the original, it will be directed by Andrew Lamb, and will star Shaw and Stratford festival veteran Lisa Horner as David’s mom.”
Congrats to everyone involved. The Mirvish people seem to have incorporated the talking point: “Drowsy Chaperone” heavily in their PR strategy about the surprise pick up. Let’s hope they’re right.
With Studio 180’s production of David Hare’s Stuff Happens already in the Mirvish season, is there starting to be a genuine path from indie to commercial success in this town?
This year, for the first time The Best of The Fringe will be at The Berkeley Street Theatre with the support on The Canadian Stage Company and NOW Magazine. Big step up from the old Diesel Theatre stand up comedy chamber that used to host these post-Fringe hits!
Hipcheck – The Musical
Book by Shelley M. Hobbs, Music by Rob Torr; Lyrics by Shelley M. Hobbs and Rob Torr
UPSTAIRS AT BERKELEY: Friday July 17 – 7pm · Saturday July 18 – 7pm · Wednesday July 22 – 9pm
My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding
By David Hein and Irene Carl
UPSTAIRS AT BERKELEY: Wednesday July 15 – 9pm · Thursday July 16 – 7pm · Friday July 17 – 9pm
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories
Based on the Book by James Finn Garner; Adapted by Jessica Beaulieu
UPSTAIRS AT BERKELEY: Wednesday July 15 – 7pm · Thursday July 16 – 9pm · Saturday July 18 – 9pm
Head First
Choreography By: Holly Treddenick and Sabrina Pringle
BERKELEY MAINSTAGE: Thursday July 23 – 9pm · Friday July 24 – 9pm · Saturday July 25 – 9pm
As You Puppet
By William Shakespeare and adapted by Hank’s Toy Box Theatre
UPSTAIRS AT BERKELEY: Thursday July 23 – 7pm · Friday July 24 – 7pm · Saturday July 25 – 7pm
A Singularity of Being
By T. Berto
BERKELEY MAINSTAGE: Thursday July 23 – 7pm · Friday July 24 – 7pm · Saturday July 25 – 7pm
Morro and Jasp Do Puberty
Written and Performed by Heather Marie Annis and Amy Lee
UPSTAIRS AT BERKELEY: Wednesday July 22 – 7pm · Thursday July 23 – 9pm · Friday July 24 – 9pm · Saturday July 25 – 9pm
Tickets are $16.50 each and are available starting July 14, 2009
416.368.3110 or www.canstage.com.
The Berkeley Street Theatre – 26 Berkeley St.
The obvious choice, this is the one publication that guarantees they will review every fringe show. Also has a handy sorting system that lets you see what has been reviewed lately, well, or has the most comments. The comments section also has an “agree” or “disagree” function for the first time this year. This could end up being a key community tool to call bullshit on people involved with the show posing as uninvested parties with impartial feedback.
The Now review site looks a lot like last year, but has a few more conveniences for the non-informed fringe-goer . Someone has taken the time to condense the plot of each show to one sentence, there is a calendar to visualize the day that each show is playing, and the venue map is right there as well. Critically, there seems to be consensus that getting 4 or 5 Ns from Now is alot harder than EYE so becoming a Critic Pick in this section is usually great for a show’s box office.
As a member of the online community we’re psyched about this one as Torontoist has 3, count them 3, reviewers hitting the Fringe this year. Because they’re not beholden to review everything, or the constraints of the printing press, it looks like these could end up becoming the longest and most detailed reviews of the Fringe. Also, possibly most importantly: no star system. Read the review if you want to know if it’s good lazybones.
Getting your Fringe show reviewed by the Star seems pretty tough to do, but they always do review a few, and this year they do have a specifically dedicated page online. They use a strange system that we’ve only seen used for Fringe or Summerworks where shows are rated, “not recommended”, “recommended”, or “highly recommended”. Anyways, it has the highest circulation of any newspaper in the country so I guess they can do whatever they want really.
Uh oh, hard times for The Sun and theatre coverage. First they announce that although they don’t have a specific plan to review shows readers can write their own reviews which will be posted here:
http://www.torontosun.com/fringe/
As of publication this page was blank. Just completely white. No text. Nothing.
The stiff upper lip of the Globe editorial board likely prevents any print coverage of fringe shows here. Fortunately, Globe critic Kelly Nestrucks has a blog, Nestruck on Theatre, where he did cover some of the action last year. This makes a lot of sense as Kelly is an online Fringe review pioneer. (Anyone remember Alison Broverman and Kelly Nestruck as the National Post’s “Theatre Eaters” in 2006?) It’s kind of unfair to list this as we have no idea what will happen in this space for sure.
Did we miss a place for Fringe reviews? Leave a note in the comments and we will update the post.
The cast of Praxis Theatre’s upcoming production of Tim Buck 2 at the Toronto Fringe Festival reacts to a suggestion by Praxis GM and performer Margaret Evans that the show could be something less than totally awesome.
“After the years and years of weaker and waterier imitations, we now find ourselves rejecting the very notion of a holy stage. It is not the fault of the holy that it has become a middle-class weapon to keep the children good.”
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