Edmonton International Fringe Festival
Encyclopedia
The Edmonton International Fringe Festival produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures (FTA) is an annual event held every August in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada.
In 1982 Chinook Theatre's artistic director Brian Paisley
received $50,000 from Edmonton's Summerfest to put together "A Fringe Theatre Event" in Edmonton’s Old Strathcona District. Inspired by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scotland, the Edmonton Fringe (the first in North America) offered 200 live performances in five theatre venues.
More than 1,500 performers take part in the festival each year. The fringe festival is the largest in North America based on indoor ticket sales. In 2011, ticketed attendance was 104,142 to indoor shows, with an estimated outdoor site attendance of 576,000.
Admittance for performers to the festival is determined by application to a lottery held each November. The emphasis is on theatre
, but performances can and do feature almost every form of art
and entertainment
. The festival itself takes place in Old Strathcona
which has a number of permanent theatres (the Westbury Theatre and PCL Theatre in the Transalta Arts Barns, the Walterdale Playhouse
, the Varscona Theatre
, Catalyst Theatre
, etc.) and a number of other venues (Acacia Hall, King Edward Academy, etc.) which are converted by FTA into temporary theatres to host theatre companies. During the festival, the streets and alleys of the neighbourhood are also filled with street performers and masked or costumed actor
s promoting their plays.
In addition to the hundreds of national and international artists who travel from around the world to bring their shows to the Edmonton Fringe there are also hundreds of local performers who participate each year. Many of the local performers have been with the festival since the early years. Performers such as Ken Brown
, local magician Ron Pearson
, Rapid Fire Theatre
, Die-Nasty
, Teatro la Quindicina
, Panties Productions
, Mump and Smoot
, The Wombats, Ribbit Productions, The Dan Show, Nikolai, Ryan Stock
of Insane Entertainment, Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie
and Tim Waterson
have appeared at the festival regularly.
Unlike the Edinburgh Festival
s, where artists are responsible for finding and running their own venues, the Edmonton Fringe implements a system in which for a relatively low application fee, the festival provides artists with a venue, a set number of performances, two technicians, and front-of-house and ticketing services and general festival marketing. Artists may also arrange for their own performance space independently as a "Bring Your Own Venue", similar to the Edinburgh Fringe model.
The Edmonton Fringe is a founding member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals.
]
In 1982 Chinook Theatre's artistic director Brian Paisley
Brian Paisley
Brian Paisley was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is most famous in Western Canada for his contributions to the development of Canadian theatre, most notably as the founder of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival, which he modeled...
received $50,000 from Edmonton's Summerfest to put together "A Fringe Theatre Event" in Edmonton’s Old Strathcona District. Inspired by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scotland, the Edmonton Fringe (the first in North America) offered 200 live performances in five theatre venues.
More than 1,500 performers take part in the festival each year. The fringe festival is the largest in North America based on indoor ticket sales. In 2011, ticketed attendance was 104,142 to indoor shows, with an estimated outdoor site attendance of 576,000.
Admittance for performers to the festival is determined by application to a lottery held each November. The emphasis is on theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, but performances can and do feature almost every form of art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
. The festival itself takes place in Old Strathcona
Old Strathcona
Old Strathcona is an historic district located in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Once the commercial core of the separate city of Strathcona, the area is now Edmonton's main arts and entertainment district, and in 2007 was named Alberta's second "Provincial Historic Area"...
which has a number of permanent theatres (the Westbury Theatre and PCL Theatre in the Transalta Arts Barns, the Walterdale Playhouse
The Walterdale Playhouse
The Walterdale Playhouse is an amateur live performance venue in the Old Strathcona neighborhood of Edmonton. In 2008 the venue celebrated 50 year of theater. The theatre is mainly run by donations and volunteers in the community.-History:...
, the Varscona Theatre
Varscona Theatre
The Varscona Theatre is a live performance venue in the Old Strathcona neighborhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A former firehall, since 1994 the Varscona has been operated by a consortium of small theatre companies, including Rapid Fire Theatre, Shadow Theatre and Teatro la Quindicina...
, Catalyst Theatre
Catalyst Theatre
Catalyst Theatre is a theatre company in Edmonton founded in 1977. Catalyst Theatre creates and tours new work developed under Artistic Director Jonathan Christenson in collaboration with Resident Designer Bretta Gerecke...
, etc.) and a number of other venues (Acacia Hall, King Edward Academy, etc.) which are converted by FTA into temporary theatres to host theatre companies. During the festival, the streets and alleys of the neighbourhood are also filled with street performers and masked or costumed actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s promoting their plays.
In addition to the hundreds of national and international artists who travel from around the world to bring their shows to the Edmonton Fringe there are also hundreds of local performers who participate each year. Many of the local performers have been with the festival since the early years. Performers such as Ken Brown
Ken Brown
Ken Brown or Kenny Brown is the name of:*Ken Brown , Professor of History and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast*Ken Brown , American filmmaker, photographer, cartoonist, and designer...
, local magician Ron Pearson
Ron Pearson
Ronald "Ron" Samuel Pearson is an American actor, comedian and world record juggler.He started his career as a stand up comic at night clubs, a warm up guy on numerous shows...
, Rapid Fire Theatre
Rapid Fire Theatre
Rapid Fire Theatre is an improvisational theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The company’s goal is to provide affordable, high-energy improvisation and alternative theatre to audiences in Edmonton and beyond, while providing exciting opportunities for its participants.-History:The...
, Die-Nasty
Die-Nasty
Die-Nasty is a live improvised soap opera, running weekly in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada since 1991. Die-Nastys improv comedy format features a continuing storyline and recurring characters, live music, and a director who sets up scenes for the audience in voiceover.The cast of Die-Nasty...
, Teatro la Quindicina
Teatro la Quindicina
Teatro la Quindicina is a theatre company founded by Canadian playwright Stewart Lemoine in 1982 at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. The company is best known for producing Lemoine's original works but also produces a new comedy by an Edmonton-based playwright each season...
, Panties Productions
Panties Productions
Panties Productions is an all-female Canadian theatre company from Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 2002 by Jocelyn Ahlf, Belinda Cornish, Jana O'Connor, Celina Stachow and Dana Wylie. The company has since produced six original plays and earned nine Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award nominations...
, Mump and Smoot
Mump and Smoot
Mump & Smoot are a Canadian clown duo created by Michael Kennard and John Turner, directed by Karen Hines. Also referred to as 'clowns of horror' they've produced interactive, improvisational plays aimed squarely at adult audiences.-Background:...
, The Wombats, Ribbit Productions, The Dan Show, Nikolai, Ryan Stock
Ryan Stock
Ryan Stock is a Canadian based TV stunt man from Edmonton, Alberta who has a show on the Discovery Channel called "Guinea Pig". Stock and his fiancée Amber Lynn Walker travel around Canada and the United States and perform stunts which involve electrocution, automobile crashes, and intentional...
of Insane Entertainment, Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie are a Canadian comedy group from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Childhood friends Wes Borg and Joe Bird met actress Cathleen Rootsaert at a weekly Theatre Sports comedy jam to form the initial group. Later, Neil Grahn was recruited...
and Tim Waterson
Tim Waterson
Tim Waterson is a Canadian drummer who formerly held the world record for the fastest number of strokes on a bass drum, with a record of 1,057 single and 1,407 double strokes per minute....
have appeared at the festival regularly.
Unlike the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
s, where artists are responsible for finding and running their own venues, the Edmonton Fringe implements a system in which for a relatively low application fee, the festival provides artists with a venue, a set number of performances, two technicians, and front-of-house and ticketing services and general festival marketing. Artists may also arrange for their own performance space independently as a "Bring Your Own Venue", similar to the Edinburgh Fringe model.
The Edmonton Fringe is a founding member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals.