Winnipeg Fringe Festival launches 36th year with new pay-what-you-can model for kids shows
Festival wants to make the arts accessible for families, manager says
Winnipeg's Old Market Square will be bustling with free shows, food vendors and activities for kids as the 36th annual Fringe Theatre Festival kicks off on Wednesday.
This year's festival, which runs until July 30, includes shows by 143 performance companies at 31 venues. It's the festival's second year back to in-person gatherings following COVID-19 health restrictions.
The manager of the festival, Tori Popp, says the best part about the Fringe has always been new plays crafted by a mix of local and touring artists, including works that have never been produced anywhere else before.
"That's always exciting for Fringers — new and returning — to see something they've never seen before," Popp told host Marcy Markusa during a Monday interview with CBC's Information Radio.
A new pay-what-you-can model for children's shows is a way to make the arts accessible for Winnipeg families, she said.
An interactive Sherlock Holmes experience is also new to this year's festival, and allows attendees to solve a mystery through a scavenger hunt across the Exchange District.
The Winnipeg festival, which has been running since 1988, holds the title as the second-largest in the North American circuit of independent fringe theatre festivals.
One performer says what makes Winnipeg's Fringe Festival unique is its close-knit community.
"I think you're able to get all sorts of art that is in Winnipeg, in Manitoba, in Canada as a whole in this festival, in a small area in such a short amount of time," Victoria Exconde said.
Exconde is part of the all-Filipino cast for Ma-Buhay! A New Musical, which offers festival goers a sneak peek of the show before its world premiere at Winnipeg's Rainbow Stage next year.
The story is based on reality show singing competitions such as American Idol!, and Exconde said it centres on the Filipino-Canadian experience.
"I find that being Filipino-Canadian, you really are trying your hardest to find your Filipino culture within you, and with your family … while still being in Canada," she said.
Jeffrey Kohut, associate producer for the set of the musical, says the production is highly collaborative and was a way to invest in Filipino artists.
"Our real main purpose was to create a path for emerging [and professional] Filipino artists to professional theatre."
Kohut, who has been involved with the festival on and off since 2007, said it has a closer sense of community than those in larger cities.
"It's more centralized, geography wise, where all the venues are generally within walking distance, so there's a real sense of meeting people."
'Take a risk'
As a producer, his favourite part of the festival has been getting to know and work with new generations of talent, and watch as they find their footing in Winnipeg's arts scene.
"It's just a great way to actually develop as an artist," said Kohut.
Popp's suggestion for first-time Fringers is to "take a risk" and see a show.
"Try something you don't know if you'll like, because you never know what's going to come out of it," she said.
"You're seeing something snappy that might change your mind about something in the world or might really excite you."
All tickets are available for purchase in advance of each show, according to Popp, and can be found on the festival's website.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Issa Kixen and Jim Agapito