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Rutherford packing it in?
After nine consecutive Winnipeg fringe appearances, California performer Randy Rutherford says this could be his last year here.
"Winnipeg is my favourite fringe, but I'm just not making any money," says Rutherford, 58, who is remounting his musical monologue about going deaf, Singing at the Edge of the World, in Venue 10.
"Nobody is guaranteed to make money unless they're TJ Dawe!"
Rutherford has staged four other one-man shows, all of them based on his own life and times, at fringes here and elsewhere.
Singing at the Edge of the World earned a five-star review from the Free Press.
"The fringe has been very good for me creatively," says Rutherford, who is also a painter.
"But getting a hit is luck. You need the right venue with the right show times and a good review early enough for it to make a difference."
Attendance down slightly
Total indoor attendance through the opening weekend stands at 28,004, compared to 28,365 at the same point in 2007. That includes Saturday's 7,249 tickets sold, a number that surpasses the previous high of 7,119 set last year.
Box office revenue, which is returned entirely to the performers, stands at $177,729. There have been 44 sell-outs so far, the same number as a year ago.
"We're basically neck and neck with last year," says executive producer Chuck McEwen. "It's a couple of sell-outs to make up the 361 tickets we're behind and we're back on track. Then we will be on pace to take a shot at the record."
Sound & Fury trio off to Scotland
Sound & Fury will make its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival following its Winnipeg run.
The American trio are bypassing their usual stop at Canada's biggest fringe festival in Edmonton in favour of attending the world's largest in Scotland next month. It will present past favourite Cyranose inside and Testaclese & Ye Sack of Rome on the outdoor stage.
"In Edmonton and Winnipeg we have all this people who keep coming out to our shows every year and know our humour," says Shelby Bond, who plays the title role in Sound & Fury's latest fringe offering Sherlock Holmes & the Saline Solution. "I hope our comedy is good for people who don't know us."
The troupe is investing $30,000 in their Edinburgh bid to get noticed among the 2,0000 productions in Edinburgh and perhaps get picked up for a European tour. It's a big investment in their future.
"We have to see if we can do it," says Bond. "You can't do Canadian fringes forever. Flying to Canada is not much of a risk for us any more."
Stiles picks up CRUMBS
Comedy loves company, it seems.
Comedian Ryan Stiles (Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The Drew Carey Show) arrived in town Sunday, fresh from visiting the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, to catch some Winnipeg fringe action.
After enjoying a meal on the patio at the King's Head, the six-foot-six actor caught Morro and Jasp Do Puberty, a show by clown duo Amy Lee and Heather Marie Annis, and had a show by fellow improv kings CRUMBS on his agenda for later in the evening.
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