I first came across the Calgary Fringe Festival in a magazine and truth be told, I wasn’t immediately interested in it. However, after a few days, I thought that it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try and applied to be a volunteer (the volunteer sign-up process was online and easily accessible). As this was my first time hearing about this event, I was hesitant to volunteer for more than a few shifts. While my volunteering date approached, I researched the festival website (as most of my friends were unfamiliar with this festival). The Fringe consists of acts from over the world (this year, the farthest act was from Tokyo), but mostly acts came from Canada and USA. The Fringe also occurs throughout Canada, and the world. In Calgary, Fringe runs from August 2-10, and consists of a variety of acts with different themes. The Calgary Fringe is held in Inglewood, where the Calgary Sunfest is also held.
The shift descriptions looked forbidding (in that they carried a lot of responsibility). I chose the shift that seemed the least threatening: Information Booth Attendant (at the corner of 9th Ave and 12th Street). When I got to the booth, I had to man the laptop while another volunteer looked after the cash box. There was an easy-to-use program on the laptop making it easy to register ticket and button sales. 100% of the ticket sale profits, excluding the small tax fee, go to the performers, the Fringe button sales contributed to run the Calgary Fringe organization, a button was needed to attend any show. I was a little apprehensive going into my shift but it was surprisingly easy to perform and the easy-going atmosphere of the people around me was infectious. The Calgary Fringe program coordinator herself, Michele Gallant worked beside me in the booth. There was another volunteer helping out with the maintenance of the website. All of the volunteers, excluding me, had volunteered many times before and were quite cheerful. The volunteer atmosphere was quite jovial.
I was surprised by the amount of people who bought day-of tickets until I learnt that many of the acts were covered by local newspapers and news outlets before and throughout the festival. While selling tickets, the runaway hit of the Calgary Fringe Fest was Fruitcake: Ten Commandments of the Psych Ward by Richard Gee (from the UK). Gee talks about his decade long career as a psychiatric nurse in the UK. He had applied for eight years to get into the Calgary Fringe but was unsuccessful. Acts are chosen randomly and not based on popularity. This was his lucky year and his show ended up winning the Best of Fest.
Another instant hit for all ages was the play Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII, where the part of the King and each of his six wives was played by one lady: Tara Travis. I met her when she bought a ticket for another act, and she was sweet and understanding in person. Another outstanding show was Nashville Hurricane by Chase Padgett, which chronicles many losses, the ability to get over the hurdles, and find happiness.
After my shift, I received a ticket to see An Apocalypse Survival Guide: Undead or Alive? Jamie Northan and Delia Barnett took the audience through the steps of preparing oneself in the case of a zombie apocalypse (how to choose teams, where to meet, types of weapons etc.). As Jamie (playing Wade the motivational speaker) asked hilarious questions he gave out “Wade” bucks. During the show, the audience practiced being zombies and dodged Wade’s bullets (from a nerf gun). Near the end of the show, a zombie walked until he was shot down. Then, the 5 people with the most Wade bucks formed a team and they were the ‘humans’ that had to escape from the audience, who were zombies. In the end, the act+game consisted of about 90 minutes and it was very fun. Mayor Naheed Nenshi attended the opening day of this act and tweeted that it was excellent.
Overall, the Fringe was fabulous and really fun and I hope to participate in it to a greater extent next year! Plan early if you want to attend Fringe 2014, many shows sell out close to the festival dates. I recommend volunteering, to get the full amazing experience.
Links to check out:
http://www.calgaryfringe.ca/