Vancouver International Fringe Festival Starts Today

The Vancouver International Fringe Festival launches this week with over 600 performances from 83 shows at over two dozen venues around the city. It's a highlight of the season for well-seasoned theatre veterans and rookie theatre-goers alike.

What makes Fringe unique is that it happens all over our city. From seven main-stage productions to tiny pop-up "bring your own" venues. It involves everyone from Granville Island to East Vancouver and showcases such a variety of talent in our region.

"It’s fueled by people who, for whatever reason want to ‘put on a show’," said Robert Ouimet, a producer of Dead Man's Cell Phone that opens at the Firehall Arts Centre tonight.

On and off over the years Ouimet has produced shows with his wife and their selection this year is something new to the Fringe Festival.

"In our case, my wife, Eileen Barrett, is an actor and she’s got a great eye for new scripts, and obviously she’s always looking for great roles for women." The duo have previously produced IceCream and How I Learned to Drive, which garnered two Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards.

Ouimet said that he and his wife are not a theatre company. "Most people doing shows at the Fringe aren’t either – they’re often writers or performers who simply want to have their work seen."

Browsing through the catalog for this year's festival you'll spot everything from workshops to one-woman-in-a-raccoon-suit shows.

He added that at Fringe, "Everyone chips in and does their bit – our director built set pieces in his garage and everyone totes furniture and helps out." From my experience so far, even with running contests on my own blog, the theatre community rallies like no other when it comes time for the Fringe Festival.

"If you go to the Fringe, you're going to see a huge range of stuff. That's what makes it so much fun," said Ouimet. "All for less than the cost of a beer and burger."

Tickets for most shows are about $10 and you'll need to purchase a one-time $5 membership. The Vancouver International Fringe Festival is on now until September 19th.