June 26, 2009

Yes, I intend to fill in some gaps, I could keep going as long as the Fringe kept going, but then it was time to rest. IN a day or two, some back content will appear.

June 21, 2009

It's June 21st, 2009, which means it's 45 years since the start of Freedom Summer. I posted something about that here..

Time will tell whether I make a real entry for today. Tonight, I'll be torn between staying and watching, and going home to sleep. Tomorrow is just another Fringe day for some of us when we go in to take it down.

One Venue Manager was so enamoured with this year's poster/program cover that she commissioned a friend to draw it on her back. Fear not, like the Fringe it will fade with time, it's not a tattoo, just markers. Good thing, I can imagine copyright infringement might come up if it was permanent.

June 20, 2009

It's also not the same Fringe without Doris May who died in October, probably the oldest volunteer. No Allan Brown either, or his son one time SuperVolunteer Geoff and Elaine (I bumped into here in January, she said she was likely moving to Toronto for some civil service job). That's a big segment of the original Fringe Old Timers Club, people who kept coming back year after year. Oddly, there are people who have done their eight years, but came so much more recently that I have to think twice to realize they have been here a long time too. That's you Antoine among others.

I fiddled around a lot, the rain put a damper on some days, and I should have seen more. By now, anything you choose will mean something else isn't seen. By almost random luck, there were three shows in a row in venues right next to each other, so while I wasted the afternoon (getting there too late for some shows, and then nothing until the evening), I did get 3 shows out of the way with minor effort. I've seen at least 17 shows, which isn't bad.

I sort of saw Naughty Little Children. It was the most realistic show I've seen at the Fringe, going back to 1994. But that made it the most horrifying. It was too much like school, where I sat bored to death, terrified that the teacher would call on me. I got called up early on, and when it happened a second time, when I just wanted to watch, I actually got up and left, which was at the half-way mark. Other people seemed to enjoy it, but then it seems most people actually enjoyed school. The joke was that I always got high marks, sometimes the best in the class, and I never worked at it.

I then saw Cabaret L'Amour Fou. I admit to thinking this was a local French show until late in the Fringe, not just the title but they kept appearing in costume and the French acts seem to go for that. This was wonderful. Loud electric music, pirates, song and dance and fighting over liquor, rubber stamped tattoos at the door (but no parrots). But maybe most important, they were innovative in creating special effects. The shimmering of the water was done by shining a light through a fishbowl of water. A projection on the ceiling allowed them to have a bird flying around up there. They almost brought back the lost art of light shows. No, they didn't really use paint and oil with the overhead projector to create shimmering effect behind the band, but they used layers of drawings to make wonderful "films" in the background, doing it live and even adding a thin layer of water when they needed to show something underwater. That sort of thing could be done with computers, but it would lack life. Afterwards, someone comes up to me who I have to think to recognize, and it's Darcy who way back in late 1983 told me where I could get my ear pierced. She said it was like the sort of thing you'd put on as kids, and yes it was, but at the very same time it was also far more than that. It kept that balance of well produced simplicity, not going for the glossy that is seen as the mark of "professionalism". Even her daughter Lydia liked it, I can remember when she was a tiny premature baby and now she's an adult.

The trilogy was finished with Burlesque Unzipped. I was terribly disappointed by this, I was really impressed by it. No nudity, not tassle twirling, but four or five different burlesque pieces, threaded together with some words about the history (often as she changed into her next costume). I liked this much better than the show that brought Burlesque to the Fringe a few years ago, I can't recall the name but they felt they had to embed the burlesque into a play. One could argue that this show is an excuse to show burlesque under the guise of history, but the burlesque is more outfront. She could have left the history off and it would have still been a good show, though I think addressing the audience with the history better connected them with the performance. I usually don't like long shows at the Fringe, but this seemed a tad short. If she's telling history, I wanted to know where Josephine Baker fit into it, or maybe she doesn't. It was funny, and anyone who thinks funny isn't sexy has a serious problem, and suggesting lots but never revealing. Let the viewer do some of the work, not unlike written fantasy where it pulls you to a certain point and then leaves out the details. I did try to get to earlier, missing one performance when I bumped into someone and I'm sure discarding one performance that was too late for me (odd, since I usually do stay up late).

The Bathing Beauties sashayed down St. Lawrence again while I was there, this time in different bathing suits from the time before bikinis.

One long running audience member scored a Superpass this year. Apparently they had ten for sale on the website if you knew where to look, for a mere $150, which if you see enough beats the Gold Card (which seems to offer much less savings than when it was introduced). Anyway, he told of going to see Red Bastard and having to find the missing item deep inside the flesh. How odd, that was mentioned in one review, and then someone I know had the same "privilege". Another long running audience member recommended Red Bastard too.

Apparently the Pillow FIght did go on as planned. Nobody at the Beer Tent had anything to report, but I did later see a couple go into a show carrying pillows. Someone was, rightfully, complaining of the type of music going on that afternoon. It may have a beat you can dance too, but what else?

The Drag Races went on as planned, though the crowds seemed diminished. Usually, you can't get in the Beer Tent, can't even get too close, but that seemed less so this year. I don't watch it, but I saw no Drag Kings revving up beforehand, so I think that gender barrier still needs smashing. Someone said Skidmore had done it once, but that was heresay and likely they only wanted Bob Loblaw as an MC.

Speaking of Drag, come December it will be 20 years since the Mirror published my letter about how Santa Claus could be a woman. It was a response to a women's group looking for "Santas and Mrs. Clauses" to help on a Christmas campaign. Why couldn't women be Santa rather than the secondary role. Four or five years before, someone I knew was campainging against war toys and said she'd be dressing up as Mrs. Claus. I said "why not Santa Claus", but she missed the point. It was so cold early in that December of 1989. The thing about that letter in the Mirror was that it was published on December 7th, 1989, the day after the murders at the Polytechniqe. A letter about how women could even be Santa Claus, that surely would have riled up the killer if he'd hadn't killed himself the day before.

June 19, 2009

The Fringe isn't the same without Shaun who was a venue manager every year from 1998 through last year. I guess the weather is a factor, but the thought of having ice cream at the Beer Tent without Shaun around doesn't seem to fit. Who can forget his showing how to make ice cream floats to the volunteer waiting around to serve beer?

I saw We Call This Comedy. I went for the samosas; despite it being the last weekend, I was there and nothing else to see at that time. If I'd gone to Dracula in the Time of Climate Change it would have bumped into what I wanted to see later, it being one of those shows that thinks 90 minutes isn't too long for a Fringe show. Anyway, I was disappointed by the samosas. They sure looked and tasted like the ones you can get frozen at Loblaws, and when I was buying those I realized the problem was they were so small that the crust dominated. The larger samosas you can get at the Tibetan restaurant up near Mount Royal Ave, 2/$2.50 during the street sale, are so much bigger, the filling has a chance to affect things.

But I was glad I went. There really isn't any Fringe clause stopping any type of performance, but too often the acts do see a barrier. Another time, and this show wouldn't be stand up comedy, it would be a play about putting on a stand up comedy show. Here, the pair just do stand up, a bit of introduction where they both perform, then each takes the stage for half of the rest of the show. I preferred the food comedy of the second performer, but that's just me. He mentioned his Big Fantasy was to have a cooking show combined with comedy, something that's been done but still fits, since I suspect most people watch those shows for the entertainment value rather than to cook along. I could actually picture him in one of those Japanese restaurants where the cooking is done right in front of the customers, telling jokes while he cooked. That might make an interesting off-show, stage it in a restaurant, you pay for the meal and get the comedy from the chef for free.

Then I saw Teen Sleuth.... If I remember the explanation someone once told me, this classifies as opera, since there is no spoken word, everything is sung. It's a small little stage, yet they somehow are able to give the appearance of the main character travelling through a forest. It is a Fringe show, because on one level there is a cheapness to the costumes, yet that cheapness becomes invisible. It's something to see because the form is different from most shows, it's something to see because this level of fantasy doesn't appear that often. I can remember when D.P. Mann did a Dr. Who play in 1998, it's more memorable than when ASM did a far slicker show with Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles, but most of the time, the settings of Fringe shows are in the here and now, or take from a well known story, such as Dracula. Maybe it's my unskilled mind, but it seems a harder task to remember all the lyrics than to remember lines in a spoken play, but maybe not since they rhythm may help to remember.

Then I debated getting sleep, or staying for another show that was conveniently close, on the way home and starting soon after. I decided to see Amazones. At first, I wondered where the name came from, it was men who were doing the defense of the weak. But then the story developed, and we see the amazons. I think this wsa mostly a chance to show off martial arts skills (and as I write that, I seem to recall that's happened before at the Fringe), little rounds of demonstrations sewed together by a narrator. But having the narrator give us the story seemed to harken to some genre I can't quite place, and it sure beat just having the bits of fighting. I must say the Ninja army is bested by the Cobra army, the latter has far more cast members. This may be the sexiest show of the Fringe, because we do get to see women in a strong position, "don't mess with us" rather than "you should be quaking in your boots" (though, the former has to exist since the latter exists first). The costumes were nice too. The crowd was decent at midnight, but this show seemed to get lost. I saw them postering the first day, really had no idea of what it was about, then it sort of dropped off the radar.

Some sort of big shindig was happening at 13th hour, on the level of the Sweet 16 party 3 years ago. Nobody ever tells me anything, one hears others talking about it, or rumors. I wasn't going to stick around any longer, even if the venue is in the right place for going home afterwards. Expect drowsy volunteers on Saturday, they likely all stayed up until 4am.

As I was heading up to the Beer Tent, later than planned but earlier than usual. The crowd had sort of arrived at the street sale, not as much as sometimes but better than yesterday. Then suddenly, the crowd parts, and three bathing beauties in 1950 (or maybe earlier) style bathing suits sashayed down the street twirling their parasols. I'm assuming the are in Piss in the Pool, I can't figure out why else they'd be walking around like that. They weren't handing out flyers, so presumably they were expecting people to ask. Half a block up, I realized I should have taken a picture. Then later, I find them coming up, so I get out my camera, rush ahead, and get a sort of okay photo. They'd taken down their parasols, though. There was a time when the street sale was seen as competition, though maybe just for Beer Tent space, which is among the reasons given for moving to McGill. But ever since we got back to St. Lawrence, there hasn't seemed to be as much promotion as the crowd could offer. There should be a full parade in daylight up and down the street, to reach the passersby, not some Fringe institution for getting from the Beer Tent to an indoor venue, which has happened in recent years.

Later I spotted a loveable hunchback outside Mainline, I thought it too intrusive to take a photo. I said "We can fix that hump", but she missed the joke. Jeremy got it, a reference to Young Frankenstein where Victor's assistant says "what hump?" when Victor says he can fix that. I'm assuming she was in Dracula in the Time of Climate Change but maybe she was there to see the show. Having a pillow on your back might be helpful for being comfortable while watching shows.

My friend Leslie appeared, wondering where the ice skating rink was. I don't know, and apparently the InfoBooth didn't know either. That's sloppy. I don't expect anyone manning the booth to know, but this is obscure enough that it should have been mapped out and given to anyone manning the booth. I didn't even know there was a skating rink at Mcgill, undoubtedly somewhere behind the stadium with the swimming pool and the astronomical observatory, but it's only a guess. We tried to look it up on the Aspire, but I have no experience with that sort of thing so it was taking too long.

At least it didn't rain, though that threat was there. I can't say it's been a good year, too much rain, too much threat of rain, though I suppose 2000 was worse. One show, Fragments had a shifting cast (it was a dance show, and the pieces varied over the run, I saw it three times to take it all in), and they came up from New York City. Mid-week, one member shows up in a parka, and that wasn't that far off from the state of the weather. Cold and wet, that was they year I headed somewhere, it started to rain suddenly and hard, not allowing for getting to cover, and was soaked. I went home shortly afterwards, despite it being the afternoon, because I was cold and wet.

Opening night, I asked Alex Eddington if he had a franchise from TJ Dawe, ie if TJ was sending out clones to perform because demand was higher than he could satisfy. But apparently not, he liked Tired Cliches enough that he wanted to perform it himself. That may be a historical event. People have obviously staged shows that belong to others (after getting permission), and we've even had repeats (See Bob Run was done in 1997 and again in 2008), but I can't recall a time when an original show has been at the Fringe and then been restaged by another. Of course, that is likely to change, it's not just our Fringe that has grown in the past 19 years, the circuit has too. So we've had various people have success after starting at the Fringe, and it is likely to be a source of desired material at some point. The next historical breakthrough may be someone liking a Fringe show enough to perform it themselves somewhere other than the Fringe.

I got this one mid-week, and forgot about it. It's for Straight from That Side of Town. I mention it since it's in the form of a coaster, details on both sides, and if it's been done before, I've forgotten. Odd shapes make for memorable flyers (which may or may not translate to memorable shows).

Some missing volunteers are slowly appearing. Angela Potvin appeared outside the Uncalled For show on Thursday night, and was manning the Volunteer Desk today while Nathalie was somewhere else. Travel Julie appeared suddenly around that time, for some reason I thought she wasn't coming. Then the Bike Meister from last year, Giulia de Prophetus is suddenly at a venue on her bike, delivering some needed item. No fanfare before she got back in the saddle.

Having found myself an hour earlier than it really was, I took in the street sale and found a copy of the movie The Invisible Circus and it was just lying on top the rest of the DVDs, just waiting for me. Just like that Sony shortwave radio I found lying on the sidewalk a few weeks ago with the boards detached from the case. The movie is based on Jennifer Egan's book of the same name, which references an Event in February 1967 that included Richard Brautigan and Chester Anderson using a Gestetner machine for instant news, not just reporting what would happen or what had happened, but what was happening as it occurred. Coyote called it a prototypical World Wide Web in his autobiography, and it taught me as much about how to use the internet, back in 1976, as Fred Pohl and the science fiction zines. One just had to wait for the printing press. Of course, Chester Anderson had written science fiction, The Butterfly Kid so he may have been influenced by science fiction zines. I never denied this was derived from that, but at least I was synthesizing, taking something from the old and applying it to the new.

Every so often someone offers samples at the Fringe. One year Red Bull appeared as we were putting up the Beer Tent, a cold drink when we needed it, and they sure seemed to be flirting with Never Surrender. Opening night, last Thursday, someone was passing out samples of hair repair gel, just what we all need. I'm not sure they were targetting the Fringe directly, she was sort of standing by the entry to the Beer Tent, handing out the samples.

There was an episode of Gilligan's Island where they got off the island, to a nearby island, where a mad scientist lived. Eventually, they all get hooked up to a machine that transfers their minds from one body to another. I can recall the same thing happening in other sitcoms, Anyway, it seemed like that today. Jeremy was in the best mood I've ever seen him (admittedly except once or twice bumping into him going somewhere, I've never seen him except at Fringe time), working on some secret project with the help of volunteers (that would otherwise have been standing around at the Beer Tent waiting for those customers that weren't frequent in the afternoon when it looked like rain). Meanwhile, Amy seemed preoccuppied, having to pay attention to the details. She says she's eating properly, but I worry.

June 18, 2009

A bad photo, but this was taken last Thursday when all the troupes were jockeying for poster space. I actually thought this sign might be from some group protesting the Fringe, there has been at least one group back in 2000 that didn't like the Fringe getting federal funding. But then it was more likely some troupe manufacturing controversy as a Fringe promotion, Cobra did that last year, and I think there have been some other instances. But no, in this case, the show is named Perverts and this sign wasn't making commentary on the show, it was promoting the show. I saw it today, I was too worn out to really get much from it. It was certainly a full house, people even coming in late and sitting on the stairs rather than find seats.

On one level it is more out there than a lot of shows, there was real nudity, but maybe I'm jaded, it didn't really excite me. It's listed as dance, but much of it looked like one of those old exercise programs on tv in the eighties, the bouncing around in skimpy outfits (though here, there were times when they were honest and outright naked). There was monologue at times, and yes, dance, but it seemed lost to the point of the show, sex. Maybe I was sitting way too high in the seats, but I didn't feel pulled in, unlike the time one show had a simulated sex act (with clothes on) which certainly created fulfilling fantasy afterwards. But then it's probably hard, unless one actually puts on a porn show (and why haven't we seen a live sex show for real at the Fringe? If anything goes, that should be happening), the written word is probably a better choice. Anais Nin didn't write very good porn, at least not read now when there's a lot more out there, but there is something very appealing about a woman who wrote down everything in very fine detail, and maybe tried things for the sake of writing about it.

Sadly, it was another day of rain at the Fringe, we haven't seen this much rain in a long time. At least one volunteer went with the traditional yet fashionable garbage bag as rain attire.

There was a time when you could play Fringespotting, the goal being to find the first occurence of postering or flyering for the Fringe. I can recall years when it happened in mid-May, someone flyering at a Yawp or at the Fraser-Hickson Library street festival. Sometimes it would be a stray poster somewhere. Of course, there was also a time when I was adding to that, making sure there was a poster about volunteering for the Fringe up at Ben & Jerry's for their Free Cone Day in April. That's mostly disappeared (though I am seeing some posters for We Call this Comedy around Atwater since the Fringe began and I've not been anywhere else to know about any other places), it not happening until the Fringe actually arrives. Anyway, when we were putting up the Beer Tent last week, I went down to the office for something, and found the cast of Just Us flyering outside. They win the Fringespotting prize (though really, it should be a prize for whoever finds evidence of the first act to be out there), that was the earliest I saw anything this year. And they then really deserved to be mentioned here the first day, and it kept getting put back as each day brought new stimulus to react to. Some of the troupe was on stage during the Improv Jam on Sunday, I haven't heard the story of how that happened.

How timely to hear that Amy becomes producer of the Fringe. Just last week, I gave her a multitool, and she'll now have use for it. That's the fifth I've given away in a year, buying one for myself each time they go on sale, and then ending up giving them away each time. And while it wasn't quite deliberate, each time it was a woman, trying to equalize the tool differential between men and women. I should have bought more last week when they were on sale, but never made it to Canadian Tire. Of course, now that she's a big producer, she should have a bigger model. And I wonder if we can find a goldplated one to give to Jeremy for his retirement?

I actually saw Janis Kirshner for the first time since last Wednesday. I asked her who she was writing for, she said something I missed, and then there was something about the blog not working or she didn't get the details, so it seemed like whatever she's written, wherever, isn't getting out. She was rushing in to the Uncalled For show so I couldn't get clarification. That show was quite packed, I think some people didn't get in.

The saga of Jimmy Priests missed connection continues, and they are swearing it's not them. The next installment is here, followed very closely by yet another reply.

Someone is looking for a date to go to the Fringe with, or maybe it's the same guy who posted an ad earlier in the week, let's see a show at the Fringe Festival - m4w.

I'm going to rant. Someone at Hour accused me of ranting, when she basically has come into the discussion really, really late. I note today that she writes about the Piss in the Pool show but then admits to never having seen it. Yes, this site is invisible, but I put up a notice here for the first three installments of the show, and I think every year posted some comments after seeing it (and before the second performance). I pointed to old media articles, and at least one year I even pointed to what I'd said the year before, to give some idea of what it was about. At least one year, I scanned their flyer and stuck it up.

Meanwhile, I know I emailed Wants and Needs the first year about the need to make use of the internet, and never got a reply. Their webpage (which came later) was awful for a long time, awful in the sense that it was a marker, not being used for news. Even now, they could do a whole lot better at conveying information about who's in this installment of the Pool show. If someone like that Hour "reviewer" had been paying attention, they'd even have known of the time I found out Cat Lipscombe was performing in last year's show because I bumped into her at the Beer Tent. She'd also know that I didn't go last year because they'd been pressured to put it inside the Fringe, where it gets in the way of the regular shows. She'd also have seen my commentary, after all the group never answered when I emailed, about the time they did a Short and Sweet show last year, and I couldn't find anything about who was performing. Then the day after, I see a poster at Studio 303 (which hadn't been there the weekend before), carefully listing the performers. I did searches, and still didn't find anything about the show. I did find what old school networks some of the performers were connected to, irrelevant information when there is important things to know.

Here we go, winding up for the pitch. With Bozos like that, it's no surprise that old media is in bad shape.. They give the job to people who have no background, no real interest, so they can't add anything to the discussion, they can merely paste in the press release. And then on the internet, the groups cling together so they reinforce each other, never venturing out into the world and ignoring people unless they are A)known to them and B) have a badge. Sure, a lot of this here is trivial, but then I don't have any access to press releases or the artists ahead of time (I tried that once). A bit of something significant buried under the trivial trumps fluff dressed up as importance any day. I never even had to be good at it, since nobody else was doing it. I don't have to gush about something, I've gushed through deed about the Fringe from the day I first posted about it in 1995, posting about how vital it is to use the online world to get the word out, and about how two of the dance pieces had already been at Tangente.

From dark Fringe history, and posted in part since I don't feel like I have as much energy (but maybe it's just I'm trying to do more):

Message 4 96/06/21 8:21 PM
Subject: Michael's reports
From: Gaetan Charlebois
To: Fringe Fest

I think Michael is doing a better job than anyone in keeping
us informed. If I worked for a daily, I would wish I had his energy
and curiousity.
Thank you Michael for keeping us all informed.
Gaetan

That's why I'm the Dean, albeit invisible, of writing about the Fringe online. I was 36 then, I'm about fifty now.

One thing I saw a poster for last week, and then forgot, is that John Oswald will be performing elsewhere in Montreal on Friday. He's the originator of Plunderponics, cutting and pasting music together to create something different. He gave a lecture at McGill one very rainy day maybe a decade ago, and he was close to finish when it was discovered much of the audience was interested because of the album Grayfolded which took numerous records of the classic Grateful Dead song Dark Star (maybe originally best known for being on their Live/Dead album that turns 40 this year) and stitched them together into some larger piece. I've never heard it, but that song has been at the Fringe every day this week, and the last time Mari Osanai was here at the Fringe, after coming for most of a decade, I gave her a copy of Live/Dead. One story about John Oswald is in this article in this week's Mirror, where the details of the show can be found.

We forgot Cindy Davis's birthday on Sunday. I didn't see her though, maybe with Tristan not working the Fringe she didn't put in her usual annual appearance. She was in a show back in 1997, and was a venue manager for a couple of years, and then her career sort of took off so we barely see her, except for the occasional time she plays a sarcastic assistant on Rumors or a small part in a movie. I haven't even bumped into her around town in a couple of years. There was a time when I kept a list of Fringe Birthdays, but people moved on so the list becomes stale, and as the Fringe gets bigger, it's harder to learn of who has a birthday during the Fringe. I do know Gaetan Charlebois birthday is sometime in June, usually during the Fringe.

June 17, 2009

I saw Este: Pulsion Morte ou Accouchement Libere. In some ways the contortion is hype, a good way to lure in an audience (and it was packed tonight, though maybe because it was Volunteer Night). What I saw was a slow meditative dance, with music that you've never heard so you aren't distracted by it (sometimes it's hard to tell whether you like a dance piece, or are reacting to the music that it plays against). Her ability to move her body is just in a different way from other dancers, the novelty of seeing the contortions rapidly disappears and then you just see her movement. I was impressed by the way she involved the crowd, however briefly, and her use of the seating as performance space. It's a standout, though if it won the 303 Prize I'm not sure how it could be replicated, we don't have that arrangement of seating (and I'm not sure I'd trust performing on the benches at 303 that one I dropped on my toe two years ago came apart pretty easily). Of course, the 303 prize is illusionary, not only can it not offer much, you get a longer run at the Fringe, but there is nothing stopping any of the other pieces from landing at 303. Someone has to win the prize, but really, anything that's worthy is going to show up again over there.

Time is running out. At the beginning of the week, there seems so much time for all those shows. Then mid-week, it hits that it becomes harder to see shows, since the opportunity has been missed and now you may have to choose between two shows at a specific time that you want to see. Plus, the Ottawa Fringe starts on Thursday, and some acts are likely to finish up their run here early so they can get over there. (There was the year Montreal and Ottawa completely overlapped, and at the mid-point there was a swap.) The rain will impact, as will the street sale. Suddenly, there are only four more days and that's a pretty short time.

I finally have a badge! One of the technicians gave it to me. It's for A Line in the Sand though I hadn't noticed that before, I thought it was party favors from Dancing in My Unbirthday Suit since it fit's their motif and when I first saw the badge, it was with them.
Now I'll get respect, people will see me, people will read, they'll pay attention. They'll know I have something of value, because I now have a badge.

The Gazette says Jeremy will retire after next year's Fringe. It might be better to report after the fact. A decade ago, there was a story about his retirement, talk of taking over the Orlando Fringe, and it seemed pretty definite. It was 1999 exactly, I remember the next year being surprised to find Jeremy in the office, which may account for why he's never acknowledged that internet report in 2000. That's what makes people invisible. I have no time to look for the clipping, but it is findable.

I guess I sensed something, since this is Amy Blackmore's second year as Assistant Producer and that's a record. She will be the first woman producer since Shannon Webb was co-producer in 1997 and 1998. (That role disappeared, when Patrick became staff after being an artist and Venue Manager; he became the Office Manager.

Then you have to go back to 1995, when Fringe Founder Kris Morra ended her run after the Fringe that year, handing the reigns over to David Gobeil Taylor, I remember him as "Gruff", did it for one year and then seemed to suddenly disappear right before the 1997 Fringe when Jeremy took over. Taylor was the theatre critic at The Mirror that Fringe, Gaetan Charlebois, "Skeeter", having moved over to Hour, where he started the daily Fringe Diary.

If we're talking about women in roles of power, we haven't had a woman technical director since Heather (and I can't remember her last name) ended her run in 2000 or 2001. At least the Volunteer Coordinator reverted to female last year, in the early days it seemed to be a woman's role, Deidre Brown, Shannon Webb and someone else who did it for 2 years before Tristan took it over.

When Ira Dubinsky, "Scooby", was around (he's now some assistant to the head of the NDP, and can often be heard Friday mornings on CJAD when Tommy Schnurmacher does a political roundup), it almost seemed like he was being groomed to move up. But then there was also talk that he was scheming for that role. It was the year of the "Murder Mystery". Legend has it he had expected to be assistant producer a second year (and I'm too lazy/tired to look up which year it was, sometime in the early 2000's), but mysteriously didn't get the job at the last minute.

So maybe I should retire next year too, this is my last Fringe before I turn fifty. One of the oldest volunteers, whatever way you want to take that. We could have a 50th Birthday Brownie Blowout Bash, lots of brownies every day. I'd thought of it for this year, since this Fringe is closer to the Big Day than next year's.

It looks like Slackware 13.0 will soon come out, no wonder I didn't yet put Slackware on the Aspire One.

Hour has a bit up about Pony Up here. I mention it because it was in 2000 that Sarah Moundroukas first came to the Fringe as a volunteer, the year the Beer Tent first hit the current location. I recall her having a lot of Fringe Bucks at the volunteer party, so she must have put in a lot of hours. I think she volunteered again the next year, but I can't remember. And then later I bumped into her, and she told me she was forming a band, and that band was Pony Up.

Someone has posted in missed connections about RE:SWEET SWEET (SWEET) JIMMY PRIEST - w4m - m4w which suggests Jimmy is a bad date. Then there's this reply that defends him.

Someone, I think a volunteer, writes here about seeing 20 Fringe shows so far, that's really good, and how it makes her feel a need to be creative. That's neat, that's what it should be, not merely entertainment that you sit back and enjoy.

I had this commented out, to finish, and then lost track of it. So now Santropol Roulant has had their two days of collecting donations at the Fringe. They are planning a move sometime in the next year or so and Mike Boone writes about it in The Gazette here. So maybe the the daily donations on the two days they were the designated charity will go to the move, or maybe not. Maybe they will have a separate fundraiser for that. I wonder if their current kitchen location will revert to an ice cream shop, or even a bookstore like it was before that? I miss the days when the group had an outside garage sale at the end of August or early September, a fun event with various activities, and often a good time as people arriving for university were looking for things for their new apartments.

Meanwhile, we miss other things because everything has to be during the same week. None of that Science Festival at the Old Port. None of the Aboriginal Festival, I got to that once, either because it didn't overlap or because I wasn't spending all my time at the Fringe back then). My great or great-great-grandmother was Okanagan, fitting since few realize there's an actual tribe, they think it's just an apple and a valley. I guess that explains why my grandfather, who I only saw a few times when I was young and that was a long time ago, had an unusual face. I'm sure at the time I chalked it up to him being old. And all those garage sales being missed, right at the time when everyone wants to clear out stuff right before July 1st Moving Day.

June 16, 2009

I saw no indication of Bloomsday today. One year I bumped into Byron Toben away from the Fringe on the way home, and he'd been to some activity for that day.

The Theatre and Symposium apparently went off as planned. Nobody specifically invited me. For the record I wrote this two years ago:

A few years back, someone with the Quebec Drama Federation said something about how we can't use the Beer Tent to discuss things, and I find it interesting that they no longer set up at the Fringe. Maybe if we were talking about this instead of gushing about how big the Fringe had become, we could do more to actually get more paid admission to the shows that are the actual Fringe.

Things were obviously much nicer without the rain, some volunteers having miraculously had a day off on Monday returning today with the sunshine.

I saw As Duas, though I got there just as the door was closing, having bumped into someone at a critical moment, the five minutes almost making me late. This is a duet, I guess there was one part where only one of the performers was dancing, but it was multiple pieces strung together, with no real breaks between the two. The changing of clothing framed the different pieces. The different pieces had different style, kind of running a spectrum of dance. It sort of reminded me of Traces from last year, which was really Tango with a contemporary dance sensitivity, I guess because it was strong duo work.

Speaking of Traces from last year, their flyer was a photo of someone's back, I think Carmen Ruiz's, in a pose very similar to what's on the program cover and poster this year. If I could take the time, I'd find that flyer and see. Certainly, that was a naked back last year on her flyer.

Then I saw Pipa, sort of lost over at Theatre La Chapelle since it's dance but most of that is at Tangente. Actually this seemed fusion, it was dance but with a strong spoken word component, and at times I was thinking it was more one of those monologue shows, with some movement tossed in.

I've decided the question to ask is not "Did you like it?" but "Why did you choose that show?". "Like" is subjective, but except for "I have a friend in this show", the answer to why someone might see a show might reveal some detail that you've missed. A pair of volunteers were quite taken with the show based on a Picasso script (and I can't figure out which one it was at the moment), and they went because of the Picasso angle, and said something like the presentation was quite visual, sort of representing his art. That's really what you want to hear.

When we were setting up last Wednesday, I saw Janis Kirshner as she headed towards the PR table. I couldn't wait around to talk to her afterwards, I did stall, having to get back to the Beer Tent with something. I'm assuming she is reviewing, but the only outlet I can think of is the Mirror if they go with adding extra reviewers to cover the Fringe before their deadline that must have been Monday. I guess we'll see on Thursday when the Weeklies come out. Janis had shows multiple years at the Fringe, but it's been quite some time since she last performed at the Festival.

I'm not catching up with the old entries, so I'm putting this photo here. It's from when we were setting up the Beer Tent last Wednesday, a not very good example of when we play Donkey Kong. It's one of the more fun parts of setting up, since we can roll them. However, at one point it almost seemed like some beer kegs would get away, rolling down St. Lawrence Blvd causing havoc, but we caught them in time. Monday we take it all down again, and they likely are looking for volunteers. I've done it since 1997, so anyone can do it. The setup last week was the easiest ever, for some reason we got a lot of volunteers (and for some reason, I was the only male until later in the day) which made it so easy. I goofed off a fair amount, taking it slow, knowing that I would have shown up anyway and worked till it was all done no matter how few might have shown up. By the time I'd finished nailing down the mat over the cables, it was 6:30pm and everything was finished, a record. Last year, we were finished about 8:30, maybe 8pm, the year before 8pm. And some years I've left about that time and the setup was still going on.

There's another missed connection, SWEET SWEET (SWEET) JIMMY PRIEST - w4m - 23, though really I think it's more like a mash note. They could have simply waited to talk to him afterwards, hardly a missed connection. I was thinking it was plant, but Sweet Sweet Jimmy says no. Some of them, one could play Finder of Missed Connections print them out and deliver them to the obvious object of desire.

Sometimes artists really have to stretch if they want that audience.

Maisonneuve Magazine is having a makeover according to this. Who can forget the year they were a sponsor of the Fringe (well I'm not sure the exact year, I'd have to look it up), with Deborah tabling at the Festival and then handing out loot bags to the Volunteers the last day.

One member of the Fringe Oldtimers Club that I almost forget is Amy Blackmore. She showed up about 2000 to volunteer, I think because her friend Nancy Brown (who was a long running volunteer in her own right, also the youngest venue manager one year) was volunteering. Or maybe Amy just hung out with Nancy that year, it's hazy. Then in 2001, she was in So Cruel, Teenage Wasteland She volunteered a bit more, but I seem to recall a year or two when she didn't appear. Then, she took the Dance Program at Con-U, and of course had a show two years ago, Hardcore Pussy, what a surprise it was to see someone known for some years as a volunteer suddenly in an adult show, and wasn't that bikini great? She was Assistant Producer last year, and they liked her enough that she fills that role again this year. I can remember when they'd import people for that role, I think it was a work program to show the other Fringes what life was like in the Big City. That's not a great picture, taken when we were putting up the Beer Tent, but I can't take the time to look for a better one.

Another long running volunteer, among the longest, is Kristi Kouchakji. She was around from when I arrived, and I'm sure from before that. Worked the infobooth in 1995 when it was a Pepsi Wagon (don't ask about that story), did the Beer Tent at least one year, worked the counting house multiple years. Then she stopped, she'd put in an appearance (unlike so many who just drop off the face of the earth after they stop volunteering), volunteering a bit one year and then maybe not the next. She's back in the counting house now, keeping track of the money.

But wait, Ed Fuller is doing the Beer Tent this year. I can remember him performing at some event at the Beer Tent in 1996, maybe that Tall Tales thing the Gazette was running, but I don't recall him working the Beer Tent before. He's taking Shaun's job (Shaun had done the daytime beer ticket sales since 2000, and hasn't appeared this year). He was a performer at the Fringe back in the days of the primordial ooze, then seemed to disappear, reappearing with a show some years back (that won the Theatre St. Catherine award) and then being a venue manager a few times. He has to rank among the oldest of the Oldtimers.

Rene-Marc, the now long running Rover who made it to the Board of Directors (the first time a volunteer has made it to such lofty heights) had been absent this Fringe. Finally he appears today, in full gear and able to show the rest how it's really done.

I've been downgraded from Lifetime Volunteer to merely Volunteer, which may be a good thing, I was thinking I'd be cursed forever. I did get a lower number, way down to the low double digits rather than a three digit number that was likely the upper limit. Good thing I didn't get it tattoo'd on my arm. I'll wait for an RFID tag. And then all the volunteers will be issued GPS tracking so they can't get lost. I once distracted a volunteer back in 1996, not by much and it didn't seem very long, but they sent a rover over pretty fast to make sure nothing had happened.

My all time Improv Story is real. Back in 1996, we had a Freenet (internet access for all) that we'd waited three years for and which lasted all of four months. As it was closing down, I was vocal about it, and I get email from someone like the general manager, telling me it wasn't a game. But that was the point. A game has rules well defined before you start, you don't know who will win but you know that someone will and the general route to that point. Real life isn't like that, it is a constant stream of stimulations and reactions. That project failed in part because they set the project in stone really early on, and didn't react to slow funding, or the changing internet, or even once online how the internet changes things when all members by definition have access. They expected people to rush to it, which didn't happen, and then they had no solutions because they weren't open to outsiders. They expected people to interact the old way, advertise meetings and then people go to the meetings, rather than using the medium to interact and bring in new people. By that point, I'd seen it in many groups, unable to change because they were lumbering under false assumptions or too small a body of people, yet needing to react because the stimulus changed things.

I remember going to see McGill Improv a few times a year later, intrigued by how the audience can influence what's on stage, interested in it as a means of showing that stimulus and reaction. Some of them grew up to be Without Annette and now Vinny and Marc have started teaching improv at Montreal Improv. Vinny was featured in the Mirror some months back, they fussed over it being about learning to perform, when the broader market is to help people use improv techniques in other parts of their lives. If something changes, do you react, and how do you react? Or do you continue on the way things have been? Besides, it's not unlike all the dancers and choreographers who make a living selling dance and yoga lessons to people who never plan to perform, they get something out of it, the exercise, the experience, the social angle.

My reaction to contact improvisation in dance has been to wonder what would happen if I started rolling around on the stage. I can remember the first time, it was at Tangente when they had Sunday afternoon improv shows once a month, and someone rolled really close to my feet. It wasn't that I had a desire to perform, I just wanted to react. I've never gotten a good answer from anyone about how they'd react if I did, it's a fine line that they might not want the audience to cross over. On the other hand, one time I was watching some where Lynn Snelling was performing, and she saw me said "You look familiar" and dragged my chair with me on it into the middle of the floor. How embarassing, yet that was fair since I wanted to roll, albeit on my terms. Then a couple of years ago, I was watching some where Andrew Harwood was performing, and i'm sure someone had told him my bit about wondering, since he comes into the audience, says something like "wow, what a view from here, I wish I could perform on stage"

It hadn't been that much before that I'd mentioned to Suzanne Miller about Dhors that had been at Studio 303, where the audience was seating became the stage. How do you react when someone places their head on your knee? Do you touch it? Do they trust you do not do anything because they feel protected by the barrier between the performers and the audience, or were they hoping to invoke something? I have no idea, Magalli Stoll who was sitting next to me didn't either, though she understood my hesitation about "disrupting" the performance. On the other hand, when Suzanne had her baby, he's now four years old, I said having a small child was like improv, you can try to enforce rigid standards, or try to react, so if a child notices how neat it is to see paint spilling off the kitchen table, you can either stop it, or put paper down and let the experience run out.

June 15, 2009

It was a dismal day in Fringeville today. All day long, it looked like it was going to rain, then maybe not, then yes it does. When I left for the Fringe, later than planned (though no later than I really expected), it was so dark I thought I should wait a bit for the rain to pass. It looked like it would rain suddenly and really hard, but last only a short time. I took the bus instead, it never really rained until I got off. It's no fun being wet at the Fringe.

The Venues were in relatively good shape, though most of the tables had to go inside, which is no fun since one has to be quiet. They were having quite the fun down at the Just For Laughs Cabaret, where the table is it's a full room with nothing else happening, and the actual performance space down the hall, so they could be comfortable.

The Beer Tent was in much better shape than I expected. Lots of volunteers still there, and in good spirits, and even selling the occasional beverage. There were people at the tent too, though it's hard to tell whether they were there for the fun or simply had no place to go that was drier. It's one thing to come from home to see a specific show, but it's a washout for the luring of an audience or waiting around for a show, especially once you're wet. Jeremy got up on stage to do a song and dance to entertain the troops, but sadly low light and trying to keep the camera dry resulted in no useable photos.

I made my rounds, and then came home, I got too wet to enjoy seeing a show, there wasn't anything that important on, and the temptation of getting extra sleep was too much.

One really important thing. Without Annette have used their website over the past few years to supplement the not so great Fringe website, some years doing reviews. I was waiting to comment because I expected reviews, but they don't seem to be doing that this year, maybe too busy. I haven't even seen Vinnie, well not since that time in April at the used book sale in Montreal West. But they have had some posts about the Fringe, including a map of places to eat for cheap, which is pretty useful and reminds me of when I first started this and thought peripheral information should be part of package (why not lure people up from Vermont? But they may want to know what the weather is like that day, or want to know about where to eat to make it a nice day trip). I'm waiting till Thursday when the Street Sale begins, and then we can get 2 samosas for $2.50 at the Tibetan restaurant in the block below Mount Royal.

Here's a photo to brighten the day, even if the day is over when I write it. This is some of the cast (and friends) of Dancing in My Unbirthday Suit waiting outside Tangente for their time to go set up inside.

Some naughty little girl has been chalking up the sidewalks everywhere, the only chalking I've seen this Fringe so far. I'm sure there's a show somewhere that would supply a good spanking. The rain of course will have washed all of this away, forcing the naughty little girl to do it all again. I'm sure much of the postering isn't looking good, either.

So will we see men (such as from The Importance of Being Ernest at left) in the Drag Races on Saturday? Maybe it's changed, but time was you couldn't enter unless you dressed as a woman, which eliminated all those women who wanted to go in drag. This caused disappointment in the heart of one Venue Manager, and certainly has made me think that maybe it is a No Girls Allowed mentality, even as they feel they can portray women. I actually found this book last fall as a joke for Miriam, because that drag race discrimination made me realize there is a level of that playing out, and it made me see how little there was for lesbians. I was really glad that the Edgy Women shows were back at Studio 303 last year, glad to make that space and put the chairs away afterwards.

The planned outdoor activity had been Shameless Self-Promotion Day which according to the blurb must have been a variant of the Fringe For All, acts getting on stage briefly to try to lure the audience in. It sure wasn't happening when I got there, which was earlier than the ending time. I had tried to find out whether the QDF event had gone on, and no wonder nobody knew what I was talking about, that's on Tuesday. So I don't know whether the event happened or not. Of course, that's how much the Fringe has slid, time was someone would come rushing into the Beer Tent naked or in costume, trying to get an audience right before show time. That sort of thing has mostly been swept out of the way, to make room for Big Events, which seem to go beyond luring a new crowd to the Beer Tent to raise money through beer sales.

The Fringe should never be a comfortable place, and this sanitizing does that. People have forgotten that Fringe promotion is not part of the act, it's a very real attempt to work around the problem of getting people into shows. That it often is entertaining or enjoyable in itself should be reason for people to look forward to it.

I didn't notice it until today, and I'm not sure why I noticed it now, but Toys is Winston Spear's show. He's a well known comedian (born in Montreal) that is a familiar name even to me. That should be a vector for promotion of the show, he should have been on Peter Anthony Holder's show on CJAD. Indeed, I'm sure I recognize his name from mentions by Peter, if not on the overnight show, when he did a comedy show on the station. Usually in recent years, there has been a Fringe related bit on Peter's show, but nothing so far.

I can recall a time when a company was only allowed to enter the submission process once, I'm sure it was specifically stated on the entry form. Yet, according to some of the old media accounts (and maybe they are misreading things, I can recall when a show titled "U.S.E." (for Unusual Side Effects was said to come from the US), there are two groups with two shows each.

Apparently venues are hard to come by right now. According to this post some Quebec Writer's Federation reading is taking place at the Comedy Nest because the Fringe has taken over most of the small to medium size venues.

Allison Cordner was a Venue Manager at the MAI some years back, and appeared in the news today as a neighbor near that shooting in Little Burgundy.

June 14, 2009

Cat Lipscombe (she had two dance shows at the Fringe some years back as Mange Mes Pieds) and did the Kick! anthology type shows for a few years, made her annual visit to the Fringe, the third year running that I've bumped into her. She brought her now 8 month old daughter this time, who grabbed my Superpass and wouldn't let go. It's hard to believe it's been most of a year since she was born, a year ago when Cat told me she was due in October that seemed so far off. And how tardy I am, I even found some books for the baby last summer and still haven't dropped them off. She says she's not in the Piss in the Pool show this year, though I don't see why not, a baby may require attention, but it doesn't change you that much. It was all of four years ago that Lys Stevens (a number of Fringe dance shows) showed up with her three week old baby at the Beer Tent, so small few realized a baby was there. Vinny turned 4 last month, and now has a sibling only a month or so old.

More familiar faces appear, though some are "merely" going to shows rather than volunteering. But others have disappeared, and aren't likely to appear for reasons unknown.

Someone's smitten with a drummer that was performing at the Fringe on Saturday, drummer at Fringe fest, june 13th - w4m - 21. Someone else is Looking for Fringe Fest companion! - m4w - 20 (complete with a list of shows he wants to see, and some he might tolerate). He's got that wrong, you go to the Fringe to pick up someone, after all it's been in the Mirror's Best of Montreal a few times in the Best Pickup Spot category. I don't know how valuable the Fringe is for that, but the very makeup allows for people to interact, waiting in line for a show, talking over the Buzz, meeting the artists. Traditionally there was even the common bonding experience of bad venues and distance from food. That level of interaction doesn't normally happen in people's lives except with those you know. It gets really weird after the Fringe, since suddenly there aren't familiar faces everywhere you go. Yet because there is a high density of familiar faces, a strange face might as well be familiar (and sometimes it's hard to remember which is which). The man with the missed connection for the woman just off stage, the woman lusting after the drummer, they merely think they can't approach the objects of their desire, they don't realize the boundaries are different at the Fringe. On the other hand, it's not about a direct pickup, but of the opportunity to approach. Some have volunteered because they are new in town and don't know anyone. I've bumped into Pat Donnelly at a few places around Westmount because we've both been around the Fringe.

There is an interesting development. I was suspicious of one Missed Connection, the subtle title a reference to a show or maybe not. But then they get replies (were those planted too?) to reinforce it, and of course when something I write here gets played back there, that's a giveaway.

Wait a minute, maybe I'm reading that post from the guy looking for a Fringe date wrong. Maybe the Fringe posted that one, subtle advertising complete with the Fringe logo. I can't imagine it being from a troupe, since too many shows are listed, though maybe Uncalled For they seem to have campaigned a few years ago to get the Fringe listed as Best Pickup Spot and that seemed to be after my mention of doing it earlier.

Someone's caught on that there's money to be made from the Fringe. The photocopying place somewhat below Rachel (a Fringe Venue was up above it a couple of times) is offering some sort of Fringe deal for flyers and posters. Next thing you know, the pizza slice place on the corner will be offering a discount if you show a ticket stub. Then there will be Fringe brand tape to put up posters with (the joke about a tape company being a sponsor is years old now), and gadgets that every Fringe performer must have (and then the audience will buy too so they can be just like their favorite artists). Long running Fringe Artists can do the ads, "When I tour the Fringe Circuit, I always pack in an MEC brand knapsack".

Boredom seems to have set in already. One volunteer was drawing intricate patterns on her lower leg, helped along when some guy showed up with a more varied selection of colored markers. The poster for this year is obviously a bad influence, though it is so much nicer than last year's.

There's some open wifi connection at Tangente, it too does not seem to be anything organized.

Despite the usual plans I didn't get to the Fringe until later in the afternoon, I bet I'll never get to the Brunch. I did see one show, A Line in the Sand which is sort of illusionary since it's listed as from Alberta, yet those involved are mostly recent graduates of the Con-U dance program. There often is a show put on by recent grads of the program, often quite similar to the end of term shows for the program, where everyone has to choreograph a piece. Here, all three pieces are choreographed by one person, which loses the anthology nature, but certainly gives it an overall theme and maybe gives it a better quality overall. I liked the first piece, but then the live electric guitar accompanying the lone dancer sounded a lot like Embryonic Journey. I'm blank at this point about the second piece, while the third piece made good use of sand or wheat I don't know which. It wasn't a gimmick, but it did make the piece memorable. The thing is, taste varies, what I like doesn't mean someone else likes it (or vice versa). The vision they had is something that appeals to me, while something else of the same quality I could be indifferent to.

And one problem is that if you don't get the audience in early, then you may struggle all week to get that audience. There's one show that has a nice glossy flyer, but made no impact. Then today, a Venue Manager points out that her assistant is in the show. The woman was volunteering, but didn't seem to be using it as an opportunity to flyer. Knowing she's in it forces one to take a closer look, a contortionist accompanied by electroacoustic music. I imagine the music is primary with the contortionist secondary, but I'll have to go see the show to be sure. The Fringe is for that, get a slot and show your home movies, or play flamenco guitar (with some flamenco dance as a bonus), or do something way out. How do you promote that? It takes so much effort, since you either have to bring in an audience, or work really hard to inform the people around the Beer Tent about what it is about. Yet, it is a good Fringe show, something that is hard to define, and isn't likely to be seen again. You go because it's at the Fringe and thus the ticket is only $8 (ten with the service charge), to sample something new. It's out of the realm of most people's experience, good or bad isn't really a factor (I sure couldn't judge), but you go to learn, to see something new that may add a piece to your view or understanding of the world. I'd rather see something novel than something like I can see on TV any night of the week. Silly me, I wrote all that and forgot to mention that the show is Este: Pulsion Morte ou Accouchement Libere

Meanwhile, I bumped into Gillian Rae-Fournier again, and she's disappointed by the lack of buzz for Toys, but that too requires that someone who's seen it to have something they can say (which isn't always the case). That's why it's so important to get a good audience in early, be it volunteers for free or making the tickets cheap, so you get a crowd that will include people who get excited about the show, and then talk about it. I've seen troupes disappointed by the small audience, and they've assumed it's the show, but if nobody is buying tickets, then it's low visibility for the show, not an immediate reflection of the show. Far better to get a full house the first showing, and then everyone hating it, than a trickle of people through the run where nobody is clear what's at fault, the promotion or the show. Silence is ambiguous.

I keep forgetting. I went over to Con-U last week to see if the summer issue of The Link was out, and it was. Usually there are some Fringe related articles in that issue, but none this year. I wonder if they decided against it, or no one thought of that outlet? Anyway, the cover article is about Anticipation the Science Fiction World Convention that is happening here in Montreal in August. The article is The wait for Worldcon. This is the first article I've seen in the local papers. It's so expensive, it's so tempting. Thirty years ago, it was a prime time for science fiction, a lot of older material back in print as the boom took off (boom in interest in the genre, boom in paperback books), so you could read the classics and lots of history and autobiographical books about the field. Fred Pohl (he has a blog at The Way the Future Blogs) taught me a lot about how to use the internet, back in 1978 when his autobiography, The Way the Future Was was published. Of course, nothing about the internet in there, but lots about fandom in the ealry days and all the zines, that set a standard for self-publishing, and this isn't anything different from self-publishing. The first WorldCon took place in 1939, to take place at the same time as the 1939 World's Fair, so the Montreal edition will celebrate the 70th anniversary. It's a chance of a lifetime, it isn't likely to happen here again for a long time (and never has been in Montreal), but it's so expensive, and my attendance would be more like a voyeur, to see what it's like rather than out of deep-seated fandom.

June 13, 2009

The weather hasn't been so great, then wham, it's June and it's the Fringe and it is, and then we miss all kinds of things. So many garage sales, and no time to see them this weekend. The Mount Royal street sale/arts festival, and I'm not going to get up there either.

The disaster of the oven was premature. All went fine this morning when I cooked more cookies to make up for the burned ones last night. I made extra, it being a long day, but then didn't get to the Fringe until late in the afternoon. A recursive problem, since if I'd not made the cookies I would have gotten there with lots of time.

Things aren't quite settled. It used to be that you could count on a venue manager to be at a specific venue throughout the Fringe, but that's still settling out.

One change this year is that the tickets are being printed on demand. For all previous years, except maybe the year of 2000 when Admission handled the tickets, all the tickets were printed ahead of time. Tiny slips of paper in the early days, then larger tickets on stiffer cardboard, complete with the logo for that year. That resulted in large boxes of tickets at the box office, and it was always amazing to see the shrinkage as the festival progressed. But all those tickets that didn't get sold were a liability, something that has to be physically handled, so this is likely a good step up. On the other hand, one long time Fringer mentioned that they have only one printer for printing tickets, which presumably can slow things down at critical times. They'd still have to print tickets to send to the venue for the last hour before show time ticket sales.

One thing to note. According to a memo I saw (and I don't know if it's promoted anywhere), some Fringe tickets can be had for a discount via www.atuvu.ca. I don't know what the story on that is, but anyone looking for cheaper tickets might look into it.

Not everyone using a laptop is writing about the Fringe. Someone was seen working away at the cafe at the MAI and he was "merely" trying to arrange his viewing schedule. In the old days, when shows ran from noon to midnight every day, and of course there were only about fifty troupes, it was relatively easy to see all the shows if you had the money and were inclined. Legendary Fringer Maev Brennan would come to Montreal just for the Fringe, be a venue manager half the day and then see shows for the other half. She'd even buy a $20 used bike every time she came to town, to get around faster. She'd get to most shows, and memory says when she didn't see all, it was beyond her control. She'd get to a show to see that it was cancelled, she being the only audience to appear.

Now, it's far harder. Not only are there around one hundred different shows, but they are compressed most days into the late afternoon and evening hours, in more venues, and of course there are the off-shows. Even a decade ago, I'd joke (well I was half serious) that the Fringe website should have software to enter the shows you wanted to see, and it could calculate the best schedule. Instead, people do it by hand. If the information was availble in a more useful form, then people could drop it into a spreadsheet. So if you want to see the optimum number of shows, you have to work at calculated it all. It's complicated by needing to know when the previous show ends, and the length of the shows aren't on the grid. Plus, sometimes the length of the show is wrong, and if that was up to date it could make a difference. I've been to shows that ran short, and that's useful information, since it may mean you can squeeze in a show. I think it's less likely to run long, since the show has to be out of there for the next show to come in and set up. But there was that off-show two years ago, The Haunted Womb Tour, that started late and ran late; they didn't have to worry since no other show was at that venue (it was one of two dance shows that won the Tangente Prize that year, and finally had a run at that venue a few months ago).

The most shows I saw was about 35, and that was mostly to see how many I could take in. I'm not sure where I found the time, it would have been 2000. But I can't plan, I don't want to be committed that much. So mine is a far more random process. Realistically, there is a descending order, the shows I really want to see, that are easy to get out of the way early, the shows that are sort of tempting, and then whatever else might fit in. Of course, I may intend to see a show and not get to it, while getting to a show because someone was going there or because there wasn't something I wanted to see at a given time and something close by was about to start.

Way back in 1997 I was talking about public access terminals because of how they could rearrange society. Have people involved writing about what was happening as it happened, when the most groups or people do is write about something to happen (to bring in people) or to a lesser extent write about it after the fact. It would have been so easy to have a public access terminal at the Fringe way back in 1997, when CAM Internet was a sponsor, and so much activity was in the Shatner Building at McGill, which would have had the needed connectivity. But nobody told me CAM was going to be a sponsor, even though it's possible I caused that. I actually had a laptop at the Fringe around that year, but since there was nowhere to plug it in, I never bothered to use it. It was a 1985 Radio Shack Model 100, hardly any capability, but quite portable.

12 years later I actually have a laptop that can be used at the Fringe. I was so tempted to buy a "netbook" last year, but couldn't decide. One afternoon during the Fringe I even went off to a store, but couldn't bring myself to buy that suddenly. I bought one at the end of September. A nice conversation piece.

Anyway, I discovered today that there is open wifi at Tangente, though it looks like someone simply left their router open, on purpose or not. Over at the firehouse/art gallery venue on St. Dominique near the Beer Tent, there is access from something called mesh-mtl.org but I don't recall hearing about it before.

The Beer Tent is supposed to be covered be covered by ilesansfil.org and access can be had that way, but either the signal is weak or too many are using it, because I found an awful lot of churning when I tried it the other night. Of course, since their schtick is to convince businesses and groups to share their internet access (after paying ilesansfil an annual fee for the privilege and paying ilesansfil for the wireless router), that ends up being share among users.

Some years back, there was an attempt to wire up the whole of St. Lawrence Blvd, or at least the chunk up to Mount Royal or so, the Merchant's association driving it. Last fall, there was news that they were going after some more commercial method, I forget the details, and I don't know how that changes things if at all, or even how that project is progressing.

One thing of note, you need an email address to receive a password after signing up to ilesansfil. But then you need wifi access to check your email, so it looks like you have to sign up before you get to the Beer Tent, or find someone who already has access.

Speaking of prizes, I have no idea yet who's on the 303 Prize jury. I haven't seen anyone who would be a potential candidate. One just had a baby so isn't likely to be judging this year. At least there's no dance festival in Ottawa this year (it's every two years); last year one jury member was at that until mid-Fringe and then had to rush about, and of course it has at times sent dance writers to Ottawa rather than the Fringe.

I saw four shows, despite my getting to the Fringe so late. I decided I would take in shows at the same venue, to get them out of the way. Hence I saw Aciduite/Aciduity, which is among a small number of shows with ticket prices lower than $9. It's only six dollars, and it gets better since it's also 45 minutes long. Once again, this is one thing the Fringe is good for, to sample new things, and the less risk for the audience (in terms of ticket price and time used), the better. People could sample this show because they don't go to dance, and this won't cost them much. You don't learn by seeing an occasional show that someone has told you is good, you learn by seeing a broad collection of shows that give context to each other. Far better to do that when tickets are cheap, and use that collected knowledge to see expensive shows. Or sample something different, and then realize you like it and want to see more of the genre the rest of the year. It's a fairly standard piece, but they do play with lemons, four dancers and one spend much of the time running in place. It's well done, I didn't find anything jumping out at me. They were hanging lemons around the Beer Tent on Thursday, and when I bumped into one I thought it might be for The Accident. It was only later that they went back and taped flyers to the lemons to make it clear.

Then I had to wait around for the next show, but that was made easy by the cast of the next show and their friends waiting around outside. It was Dancing in My Unbirthday Suit, by Inertia Productions that of course won the Spirit of the Fringe award last year (that gave them a free slot in this year's Festival). They have really played up the birthday angle, as I stood there outside Tangente they put a birthday hat on my head, only when I took it off later did I realize it's more like a flyer, complete with all the details of the flyer. When we got our tickets, we got loot bags, with the program, a lollipop and a horn, and some flyers from other shows. Someone got a superball, so contents varies. It was something to play with till the show started. I can't help but imagine the press gets special loot bags, "look I found a $20 in here!".

I said last year that dance often isn't funny, as if the choregraphers don't want to go with humor. On some level, this piece goes too far. I'm not sure, I think it hits my limit of how much humor should be in a dance piece. It was funny, and the audience (which seemed to be a good number) was laughing throughout. But they are trying something new, and anything new requires time to adjust. If I was judging for Studio 303, and there was talk of that the first year, this would be a contender because they are playing up the humor and I'm not sure I like that. In other words, it is different, and different is good. They opened with a dancing birthday present, and it was interesting since all you could see were the feet and the lower limbs, the box forced us to watch those feet when we often otherwise don't. Last year, they had different pieces by different choreographers stitched together with a spoken word artist, this year it's more like one longer piece, though you can see changes. The birthday theme remains throughout. Because it is funny, this is likely a good sampler, since anyone can enjoy the humor. They say it's for 13+, though I didnt' really see anything that should limit the younger, and indeed much of the piece would be appealing to the young (besides the obvious that the movements of any dance piece reflects much of a young person's life).

Then it was wait around a bit longer, to see Toys. I'm not sure if I'd have gone to it if Gillian Rae-Fournier wasn't helping out. Two years ago, she was the stage mistress at Studio 303, and this past season she was technical assistant, recently being officially inducted as a technician when someone gave her the tools of office, a multitool and flashlight. She was also responsible for all those socks at the Beer Tent last year, having been stage mistress for Alan Shane's show about putting socks on. Anyway, Toys has a lackluster title, and I'm not sure I'd have been lured in, at least not this early, if Gillian hadn't said "you'll have to come".

The thing is, once in, it's a whole lot better than that simple title suggests. It's classified as Other in the program, and that it is. I don't know what it really is, but yes, it was fun. Lots of toys, especially toys that light up. It seems to be a mix of still playing with toys when you're well into adulthood, and references to Devo or maybe more the band the guys put together in the movie Revenge of the Nerds, and maybe some gimmick like The Blue Man Group tossed in. It looks like technical types putting on a show, it's well done but the theme suggests that. On the other hand, it may be skillful art, artistic types creating a show that looks like technical types putting on a show. There is certainly a lot of choreographed movement in this one, though not really quite dance. And that woman sitting in the middle seat of the front row seemed good natured about being used as the point to hold a measuring tape against. There was little or no talking, which can be a nice treat if you're seeing a lot of shows. It's worth seeing to figure out what it's about, you will be entertained along the way.

I thought I had time to get over to see Uncalled For presents: Today is All Your Birthdays but somehow I didn't get there in the allocated 15 minutes. Jeremy got his cookie fix though, since I was hiding out at shows, I wasn't to be found earlier. He wsa going in, but somehow kept hanging around outside after the show had been on for fifteen minutes.

June 12, 2009

After spending some hours on Fringe-related things at home, it was so tempting to stay home and sleep. I didn't get going till about 7pm, so I missed the earliest shows. Everything seemed smooth, often the first day there are mix ups with new volunteers and such.

I saw Dreamcatchers the latest work from inFluxdance, this being their fourth year in a row at the Fringe. I was disappointed by last year's piece, but it was a duo rather than the large group pieces they did the previous two years (which probably got too expensive travel wise, which is a good reason why we rarely see large numbers of dancers on stage at the Fringe). However, I'm also aware that when I see something matters, I saw one dance piece last year and liked it far more the second time than the first. That's no different from books, you need to be in the proper mood for any given book, but you don't always have that choice when seeing live performance.

They had three dancers this year, and it seemed livelier, though the troupe's style of dance is generally lively. I mentioned that to Rose at one point, and she agreed, I think she said Montreal dance is often "dark". They used video for good effect, adding to the piece rather than having it there for the sake of video. I guess the days of gratuitous video in dance is gone. At 40 minutes, there wasn't a point to wonder when it was going to end.

inFluxdance has fake tattoos once again this year, though don't do like I did and put it over a hairy surface, they don't apply well there. They are all wearing snazzy tshirts and jackets this year, you can't miss them once you recognize the symbol.

I then saw Dance Animals. This is a far different work, it being more like broadway musical dance than contemporary dance. And the novelty is that all or most of the performers are not dancers (but many are known improv troupe members). They all did well. The interesting thing is that the choreography is intended to be fumbling, for comedic effect, so it masks any flaws of the dancers. Except for a few monologues between pieces, it is dance, yet the intent seems to be for comedy, right down to the tall men in tights complete with the Lord of the Dance thin bands around their heads. One negative thought was that these are familiar faces, kind of like an all-star lineup of local Fringe performers, and while that is amusing, it also reflects a sort of self-referencing slant to the festival. There have already been shows about the Fringe and/or Fringe touring, which of course makes for good fodder for a show, but then leaves the notion of where they'd get their material if they weren't at the Fringe in the first place. Some of the humor of Dance Animals is because we know the performers, but that counts on an audience that has already been to the Fringe.

The Brunch that is supposed to happen every day at 11am, I wonder who will be up that early?, while the chambre music is free, the coffee and goodies that make it a brunch rather than a concert are not. That isn't mentioned in the program, but the woman tending the InfoBooth made a point of mentioning it. I assumed the food would be free, so likely I'm not the only one.

Last year, a couple came to manage a venue. Not the first time this has happened, it guarantees that the venue manager has company and an assistant, which isn't always the case. They're back again this year, getting a good venue. Not far from the Beer Tent and there is an overhang above the door so they can be outside even when it rains. It's no fun having to move everything inside if it starts raining, and once inside, they usually have to be quite quiet because of the show in progress. Anyone, one of the couple came over to me on Thursday to make sure I'd know which venue they'd be working. They had quite a spread of food from home today, I guess none of those pizza slices for them.

I came out of Dance Animals at midnight, and the crowd was already gathering for the The Thirteenth Hour. Maybe it wasn't so much impatience for that, but the beer being turned off at the Beer Tent. It's much more convenient for me down at the Just For Laughs venue, but even then I'm not really tempted to wait around till 1am and then the show, when I could be home and sleeping. I guess the young don't worry about that. There was a time when that sort of thing happened at the Beer Tent all the time, that it now has to be programmed and relegated to the thirteenth hour says something about the Fringe.

There's already a Missed Connection related to the Fringe, Fringe Fest Ass - m4w - 25. If they're starting so early, maybe there'll be quite the flood. I keep hearing voices talking to me through those missed connections, but then the better ones are like the i-ching, cryptic enough to be interpreted by many.

One group has posted to the events section over at Craig's List, FIDEL the show: Montreal Fringe Festival. I can remember when I tried to build up a good cluster in the local newsgroup, the groups seemed uninterested. Nobody seems to grasp that everyone is served by having a common space rather than all these balkanized spaces. No, maybe it doesn't scale up well, but that was never the factor, everyone wanted to create their own spaces, so there's all kinds of duplicate material.

Disaster seemed to strike late in the evening. When I finally got home, after standing around talking to people rather than getting home promptly, it was time to bake the cookies. But suddenly one tray burns, I assumed I hadn't set the timer promptly after putting them in. But a second batch burned, after only five minutes. The thermostat must be bad, so the oven is getting way too hot. I give up, by then it's four am. Maybe no more cookies this Fringe.

June 11, 2009

NOTE: I'm putting this up now, but I've not caught up so I'm not finished writing about June 11, or even started the thrilling adventure of June 10 when we put up the beer tent. Come back later and read it, I hope to do it later today.

Since the beer had been delivered yesterday, and everything was pretty much ready, there was no reason to go in early. I had planned to go to the Mount Royal street sale, which too often coincides with the Fringe. It's a better street store wise, and of course they combine it with an arts festival. But I never got out early enough, and likely I'll not get there this time.

Never go into the Fringe without proper sleep. If you start with a sleep deficit, it will only get worse, each day losing more sleep and getting more things to do that end up being added to the things that haven't been done yet. I swore I'd take care of things early, and get extra sleep in the last week before the Fringe, but that didn't happen. My ambivalence kicked in, if I go there are things to do early, but if I don't go those preparations are wasted. And I realize the Fringe is the cauldron, until I can feel it I'm not in the mood, once it's there the raw material is there to create. So then I rush at the last minute to get things ready, losing sleep along the way.

Novel would be to go to the Fringe one year and not go to any shows. Or stay home completely and see what happens, likely nobody would miss my absence. Or not make the cookies, which I've made every Fringe from 1997, and which doesn't use up that much time but it wears on me. I get home, I waste time, then make the cookies and end up losing sleep as a result. Of not write any of this down, that's the other time waster. What a novelty to go to the Fringe without having any of those chores at home, yet I'm not sure if I go to the Fringe at this point to see the shows, or to do those other things.

I was really stiff from yesterday, worse than I remember other years, even if I didn't seem to do that much. At least I didn't lift a beer keg the wrong way like last year, my back hurt through most of July.

So I got to the Beer Tent about 5:30pm, the line up had already started. I note that last year the line up started at 4:30 and by the time it opened then, there was quite a crush for the people at the front of the line. This year it seemed calmer, the line up was there at 5:30 but not that much, though it grew from there. Again, a fair number were in costume, or at least show-related tshirts. There was a whole Cobra army, I gather from asking one that they are all pretty much in the cast. I assumed some might be family or friends. Everywhere you looked there were members of the Cobra army.

First in line was the cast of Tuning Venus complete with tshirts, and while I'm not sure of the connection, one venue manager was helping them out. Second in line was Inertia Productions, who won the Spirit of the Fringe award last year, which meant they did not have to pay for their slot this year. They are doing Dancing in My Unbirthday Suit (there usually are titles that clash, and hence don't confuse it with Uncalled For's Today is All Your Birthdays). So they had those cone hats often seen at birthday parties. I am impressed, usually the dance acts sneak in later to put up their posters unseen. I'm not joking, you often don't see them yet later the posters are there. If you come late, you won't find space. Especially not after the Big Guns have taped together posters into whole panels, to really stake a claim. Oddly, I posted no posters, nobody was there that I knew and needed help. That's odd, usually it happens.

Before the 2009 Fringe

Skidmore had a bus tour/show early in June. Back in 2000 she had a single shot Fringe show, where she played Bob Loblaw, the sleeziest man I know (and got flack from a religious group). I could have sworn I saw Bob's cousin or even sister in Hot, Hot Gossip last summer. The lead character, the "Super Lesbian", had quite a resemblance to Bob. I can just see the two of them going out on the town to pick up women together.

If it's June 2nd, then it's thirty years since I was first arrested, petty trespassing for climbing over a fence at a nuclear power plant. Bob Cummings, who had been on the first Greenpeace voyage, to Amchitka in 1971, telling jokes about little Gideons sneaking into hotel rooms to leave bibles, and jokes about saltpeter in the food and poison in the Kool-Aid, or the classic joke about John Dough the anarchist baker. I stopped eating meat that weekend, something I wanted to do but needed someone to say "I'm not eating that, I'm a vegetarian". I wouldn't have eaten that mystery meat anyway.

It then also has to be thirty years since I got my computer, a Mos Technology KIM-1, with all of 1K of RAM, and not much else. It was late, not only four years since home computers first hit, but ten years after I first wanted my own computer.

Paul Caskey put in an appearance at Studio 303 towards the end of May, I think the first time he's been to a show since moving to Halifax some years back. It also seemed to be the first time Suzanne Miller had had a piece at one of the Danse-Vernissages since Paul left. Paul was talent-scouting for Live Arts Productions there, which is a major dance presenter in Halifax, glossy (though maybe not as many seats) as Place des Arts

We were stuffing envelopes at Studio 303 on Dec. 18th, and one thing had a brief bit about Doris May dying in October. The notice that ran in The Gazette is here. She was the very embodiment of The Fringe Old Timer's Club, having helped out for at least 8 editions of the festival, and of course being over thirty before the Fringe began here. I only saw her each year at the Fringe, yet there seemed to be other spaces we had in common. It was only a few years ago that I read somewhere that she was involved in Studio 303 in the early days, and while I got there late, I've been to most of the shows there since October 1993.

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