Mid-festival Fringe report

Okay, so I’m writing this between filing four new Fringe reviews for The Toronto Star — check out the review hub here, updated regularly with reviews from Joshua Chong and Alexa MacKie — and seeing three more shows tonight. I’ve also been reviewing some comedy shows for Parton & Pearl. You can find those reviews here.

What have I liked?

Fave shows

So far my favourite shows have been (in no order): Emilio’s A Million Chameleons; Adam Bailey: My Three Deaths; SEX GODDESS; David Lynch’s Seinfeld; Oh! I Miss The War; and The Adding Machine.

I also really liked Songs by a Wannabe, Something to Look Forward To, Bitty-Bat and Friends, A Cigarette That’s Good for You, This Show Will Change Your Life and People Suck!

You can find reviews of all of those at the links above.

We’re having a heat wave

At this point, about 20 shows in, I’m a little bleary-eyed, existing almost entirely on pizza slices and cold brew coffee. Covering the Fringe is totally, completely, 100% about the shows and the talent, but in order to receive them properly you need to make sure you eat, stay hydrated and have access to a washroom before and after a show.

This year, it’s also been about the air conditioning.

My goodness. On Saturday (or was it Sunday? I’ve lost all sense of time), lining up outside the Young Centre for a mid-day show at the Michael Young, I was so glad I had allowed more time than usual. The show, Iris (Says Goodbye), was already getting lots of buzz (Steve Fisher sent the word out on social media), and so I arrived early enough to find a standing spot in the shade under the little overhang. A minute later and I would have been stuck standing in the sun, and even wearing a hat I know I would have passed out. I was already feeling queasy, and I think that section has a slight incline. I balanced myself against one of the building’s supports. I noticed others doing the same thing.

Venues

I don’t know if the RBC cash contributed to its namesake Studio’s AC situation, but after basking in the heat I’ve loved nothing more than to cool down in the eerily dark RBC Studio space for a show.

Who else has been disappointed with the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse? After a few years off the Fringe grid — and what I assumed were major renovations — it became a Fringe venue again this year. So I was expecting something state of the art. Nope. Not only is it the same old ratty venue, but they have taken out a middle aisle, making it more difficult than ever to get in and out.

Coming out of the Helen G or one of the two venues at the Tarragon (the Solo Room and the Extraspace), it’s hard to know you’re even at the Fringe. Sure, there’s a little box office area, but — unless I’m mistaken — there’s nowhere to even buy a snack or cool drink. I used to love that little area in front of the Tarragon where you could sip a drink, leaf through the program book and have a snack.

The fact is, the festival spirit has all migrated down to the Distillery District. On opening weekend, it was great to see the neighbourhood full of activity. The Italian Contemporary Film Festival, or ICFF, held a late-night screening, where people lounged on plastic sofas with headphones giving them access to the film sound. The next day, on the same stage (the south end of the main square), I was killing time between shows and saw the Fringe’s Rachel Kennedy (whom you know from her pre-show announcements with co-lead Laura Paduch) introduce a singer plugging their Fringe show. I took a seat in the shade and enjoyed the vibe.

I like that the Alumnae Theatre isn’t very far away. (For some reason I find this venue claustrophobic, and the seats in really bad shape.) And even the VideoCab space, with its in-the-round seating (there’s truly not a bad seat in the house) is a walk away. Also: I’m finding more interesting food options, especially ones with outdoor patios, in Riverside. Now, imagine if Canadian Stage opened up its Berkeley space — even the upstairs one — for the Fringe.

I have yet to visit the Fringe Club, right next door to the Young Centre; it looks much smaller than the previous Clubs. I wonder what the capacity is. But I do like that all along Tank House Lane you see theatregoers discussing the festival. And at the gates on Mill St. and elsewhere are volunteers holding up signs saying, “Ask me about the Fringe.” Great idea.

Why I love the Fringe

The Fringe is so special because, at a time when it’s harder than ever to break into the Toronto theatre scene, or maintain a career in the business, you can put on a show, get people to come and make your mark.

I had no idea who Riel Reddick-Stevens, the hugely gifted writer/performer of SEX GODDESS, was before seeing her show, and now I’ll recognize her name if and when she does something else.

Where did David John Phillips, the performer and co-writer of Oh! I Miss the War, come from? I knew exactly one of the sketch comics in A Cigarette That’s Good For You before seeing the show, and now I want to see each of them in other things.

Tim Walker, whom I featured in my 10 Artists to Watch list last week, is simply astonishing in The Adding Machine. But so are his co-stars Breanna Dillon, Jen McEwen, Dani Zimmer and Jamar Adams-Thompson. These are artists who should be working all the time but — at least as far as I can tell — aren’t.

I can think of a number of shows that are so polished that they would easily fit into theatre seasons during the rest of the year. I’m sure I’ll see a bunch more by the time the festival concludes.

So yeah, I guess that’s why I love this time of year, heatwave and all. Long live the Fringe!