It’s the most wonderful time of the year! 10 days of theatre, fun, and scandal. I am so excited.
I’ve been involved with the Ottawa Fringe Festival in one way or another since 2001. I started out as a volunteer; I directed a multicultural, bilingual, spoken word romance in 2005; and I’ve covered the festival for various publications.
This year I’m involved with the festival as both a reviewer and a performer. Hello, conflict of interest!
As a reviewer, I will be writing for Fully Fringed, a brand new initiative that aims to review every single show at the Ottawa Fringe Festival. That’s 63 local, national, and international productions altogether. The Wellington Oracle and Apartment 613 have joined forces to create this fantastic website that will feature the work of 15 informed and enthusiastic local theatre critics. Mainstream print newspapers no longer have the means to cover Ottawa theatre as much as they might like (as much as I might like…), so the fabulous social media folks will be taking the lead this time. Go team!
Another new initiative at this year’s Ottawa Fringe Festival is The Jessie. You’ll be able to find this gossip sheet at all Fringe venues and scattered around the Fringe Courtyard. Produced by Evan Thornton and co-edited by Sterling Lynch and yours truly, this newsletter will tell you everything you wanted to know – and didn’t want to know – about the Ottawa Fringe. Please send gossip tips to thejessie2010@yahoo.ca.
Finally – as you can see in my Upcoming Performances section – I will be performing with amazing spoken word artists from the Capital Poetry Collective in the BYOV (Bring Your Own Venue) in the basement of the Royal Oak at 161 Laurier Avenue East, near the University of Ottawa. Tickets are $10 at the door, and all shows start at 9:15pm. Contact me directly if you want to take part in the Open Poetry Show on Saturday, June 26. All poets are welcome!
Here’s the full schedule:
June 19 and 20 : “Attack of the Dreadlocks” John Akpata and Prufrock
June 21 and 22 : “The Copper Conundrum” Danielle K. L. Gré goire, Rusty Priske, and Kevin Matthews
June 23 : BWANAGEEK – The Life and Work of Steve Motherf@*!ing Sauve (A Rambling Nerd Epic)
June 24 and 25 : “The Adorkables” Nadine Thornhill, Jessica Ruano, Faye Estrella, Thomas McKinlay
June 26 : Open Poetry Show: mixed bag of spoken word artists
*** Watch video interviews with the artists on Ottawa Tonite ***
There are dozens of incredible shows at the Ottawa Fringe Festival this year. And you only have from June 17 to 27 to see them! Check out the website http://www.ottawafringe.com/ for descriptions of the shows, or pick up a brochure on site. No matter which show(s) you choose to see, I guarantee you will have an amazing time.
the most exquisite moments 