On the town Visiting performers talk about what makes Winnipeg’s fringe special By: Ben Waldman Posted: 5:07 PM CDT Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/07/2024 (721 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Twenty-three years ago, after blowing into the city from Montreal, the star of a one-man show about Shakespeare was lingering outside the Planetarium when he heard the tale of a two-armed bandit.

“There was a dramatic incident,” writes Keir Cutler, who can’t forget his first Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, when a neo-noir parable about art and economy was being written within earshot of the Pantages Playhouse.

Filled with unrolled loonies and toonies and five-dollar bills, the cashbox rattled away, the outgoing jangle of someone else’s income ringing through the Exchange District. Word spread quickly about the filching, initiated right before showtime, but what spread even faster was the legend of why the robbery can now be prefixed by the word “attempted.”

“A brave volunteer didn’t hesitate,” recalls Cutler. “He chased down the thief, tackled him, and got back the cashbox. When asked by the police why he took such a risk, the volunteer said, ‘It would be awful for the artists to lose their hard-earned money.’

“It was a reckless move, not recommended by the police, but it showed the deep dedication that Winnipeggers, especially its volunteers, have for the arts. Long live the volunteers: there would be no fringe without them.”

Moments like that, along with enthusiastic audience reception, have kept Cutler — whose 2001 production of Teaching Shakespeare was called “masterful” by former Freep theatre writer Kevin Prokosh — coming back again, times 17. For this year’s fest (see winnipegfringe.com for details), he returns solo with Joan of Arc Ascending, representing an ever-growing class of august performers who return to Winnipeg as often as they can in July.

The Free Press — committed to reviewing every fringe performance, even those that review us — reached out to some out-of-towners to learn more about the reasons they return, the challenges of the circuit and what makes Winnipeg special.

Bremner Fletcher

New Orleans
First fringe: 2002
Current show: Bremner Sings How to Pack a Revolution in Your Suitcase

Never Forget Your First

I came with a show called Whiskey Bars, a Kurt Weill Kabarett. It was almost my first fringe, and the show did really well and sold out most of its performances. At the end of the fringe back then, they called us into the main office to pay us our ticket sales. At the time, all the ticket sales were in cash and at the end of the festival, they gave us that cash. I remember walking away from the office with an unexpectedly large clear plastic bag of bills, feeling very pleased, but also kind of like a drug dealer.

When I’m in town, I always visit…

I love strolling through the old tree-lined streets of Wolseley, stopping for coffee and some cookies from the Tall Grass Prairie (bakery). Of course, I’m also usually putting up posters, so the coffee and cookie serve to give me energy to tape up another dozen posters!

Winnipeg’s current slogan is “Made from What’s Real.” Some people don’t like it, others do. What slogan would you suggest?

I’d say “Winnipeg: Where People Are Real” would be a good slogan. People in this city are so open-hearted and honest.

When people ask about your Winnipeg fringe experiences, which stories spring to mind?

I remember realizing that Winnipeg fringe was going to be a whole other experience from so many of the other fringes when I tried to flyer someone, and she wouldn’t take a postcard, but instead pulled out a spreadsheet of 50 or 60 shows she’d be attending, and showed me where she’d already planned my show in to her busy schedule. Now that is a fringer!

Have you noticed any changes in the city since the first time you visited?

The first time I drove through Winnipeg was in the mid-’90s, and I remember walking through the Exchange District, which was still mostly deserted. My wife and I peered into a warehouse with a For Sale sign in front and some ridiculously low price, and we thought about all the things we could do in the amazing space. And then we drove away. We still talk about that moment, when we’re talking about lives we didn’t lead, that in some alternate universe we bought a warehouse space in Winnipeg and started a theatre and a bookshop and an arts community space. I’m happy with the lives we have, but that still sounds like a pretty good alternative.

Based on your visits, what suggestions do you think the city should incorporate to improve itself?

I’ve been living in New Orleans, which is amazing but also a hot mess of decaying infrastructure and unresolved social/racial/gun violence issues, so I always arrive in Winnipeg thinking how impressive it is that you’re dealing so well with social and infrastructure issues. Maybe the only way that Winnipeg could learn from New Orleans would be to prioritize the arts in your downtown. That’s what is keeping New Orleans vibrant and thriving.

The theme this year is Gone Fringin’: Venture into Our Neck of the Woods. Describe your neck of the woods in one sentence.

For the last years, my neck of the wood has been a little street just outside the French Quarter in New Orleans, where the sound of music is constantly in the air, brass bands parade past my door, and everyone says “Hey Baby, Sugar, or Honey, how you doing?”

Describe your show in five words or fewer.

Amazing, beautiful, scarily relevant 1920s songs.

Brett Hogan

Blumenort
First fringe: 2019
Current show: Precarious Endangerment

When I’m in town, I always visit…

My default is Bodegoes (restaurant).

Winnipeg’s current slogan is “Made from What’s Real.” Some people don’t like it, others do. What slogan would you suggest?

“Winnipeg: The Arts Create.” Or as you stated in the question, “Some people don’t like it, others do.”

When people ask about your Winnipeg fringe experiences, which stories spring to mind?

The stories that hold the most weight to me are when we get an opportunity to introduce a theatre newbie to the wonderful world of independent theatre. Theatre is so much more than the touring shows, Broadway and Shakespeare. It’s a wonderful thing when you can introduce someone to a whole new world that pushes, challenges and reveals so much about the world, themselves or an idea.

How many kilometres (or miles) do you have to travel to get to Winnipeg? How are you getting here?

I don’t have too far to go; I live in southern Manitoba, so it’s about 70 kilometres there each day.

Based on your visits, what suggestions do you think the city should incorporate to improve itself?

More accessibility and infrastructure downtown. You have many thriving festivals, events and teams that utilise downtown, but they stay isolated to themselves. It would be nice to see a thriving, walkable downtown.

What’s the most challenging part of performing on the fringe circuit?

The time away from family is the hardest. Having two young kids at home means I question it every season. In addition, there’s also a financial risk that comes with every festival, as the shows have to pay out of pocket in advance for many commitments. Most of us still have bills to pay (most).

There are a lot of magic shows this year. If you could pull off one magic trick, what would it be?

Seeing as I am one of said magic shows, I hope I can pull off all of them. In my style of performing, failing to do so could result in a serious injury.

The theme this year is Gone Fringin’: Venture into Our Neck of the Woods. Describe your neck of the woods in one sentence.

Quiet, reserved without much action or excitement.

Describe your show in five words or fewer.

Magic, escapes, danger. Brett Oddly.

Ingrid Hansen

Victoria, B.C.
First fringe: 2012
Current show: Ingi’s Fingis, presented by SNAFU

When I’m in town, I always visit…

I love the cemetery with the half-gone church.

Winnipeg’s current slogan is “Made from What’s Real.” Some people don’t like it, others do. What slogan would you suggest?

Hahaha it sounds like the slogan for a meat factory? But also, I get it. Winnipeg is down to earth. “Winnipeg: Hotter and Colder, Badder and Bolder.”

How many kilometres (or miles) do you have to travel to get to Winnipeg? How are you getting here?

It’s 2,400 km. WestJet, bay-bee.

When people ask about your Winnipeg fringe experiences, which stories spring to mind?

I got told to move along by a mall cop while taking a nap on a bench in Polo Park mall one afternoon after late-night fringing.

Based on your visits, what suggestions do you think the city should incorporate to improve itself?

More brunch.

What’s the most challenging part of performing on the fringe circuit?

I get caught up in the swirl and forget to recharge. That and finding vegetables. We need a farmers market pop-up veggie stand at fringe.

There are a lot of magic shows this year. If you could pull off one magic trick, what would it be?

Always being able to know where the closest public bathroom is. I guess that’s a superpower and not a magic trick.

The theme this year is Gone Fringin’: Venture into Our Neck of the Woods. Describe your neck of the woods in one sentence.

Green, lush, damp, whales.

The fringe can be exhausting. Share your secret to keeping your energy up.

I pack healthy snacks. Every day. Nom nom nom. And I put my feet up. I watched a hardcore octogenarian fringer (audience member) take a solid nap on the benches in the MTC box office lobby one year and thought, “Yeah, she knows what’s up.” Naps.

Describe your show in five words or fewer.

Everything’s a puppet. But funny.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com

Ben Waldman
Reporter

Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University’s (now Toronto Metropolitan University’s) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben.

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