When one imagines a festival theatre production, huge elaborate sets and musical numbers usually come to mind. Actors leap off constructed towers and glide through the air on ropes while the others sing an up-beat ode to their unrequited love.
However, this isn’t the case for every theatre show.
Ottawa’s Fringe Festival explores the side of theatre that involves smaller productions with smaller stages. That said, these productions are never seen as less entertaining than their big counterparts.
This year, Ottawa’s Fringe Festival celebrated their 15th year of production. Since 1997, they have been letting artists put on shows in Ottawa.
From June 16-26, audiences had the opportunity to see theatre shows all across the city in different venues, some of which the productions brought themselves.
This year, there was a heavy focus on comedy, with shows such as Something with Virgins and Chainsaws, Fucking Stephen Harper and Einstein’s Bicycle.
Rob Salerno was the man behind Fucking Stephen Harper, a part documentary, part one-man show about how he was charged with sexual assault against the 22nd prime minister of Canada. Salerno, who has been involved in the Fringe circuit for seven years, said that it’s a great venue for small artists like himself.
“It’s the best way as an independent artist to get a show out independently with limited resources. Realistically, it’s one of the few ways to make a living doing theatre,” he said in an interview.
The Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF), of which the Ottawa festival is a member, donates all the ticket proceeds to the actors from their respective shows, according to the Ottawa Fringe Festival website. In addition, none of the shows are subject to jury approval or censored. This means that shows that might not ordinarily make it into a festival would now have a chance to play as well.
Even shows like The Interview, a dark noir-type story about an old man whose roommate in a retirement home gets murdered, find ways to include comedy into their performances. Dan Barran’s performance as the senile Mr. Anderson had people giggling throughout the show, even if for other moments the giggling was replaced with heavy silence during emotional moments.
Other shows like Something with Virgins and Chainsaws base themselves purely on comedy.
Dan Dicaire is the director of Something with Virgins and Chainsaws, an improvised horror-comedy. Everything in the play is built off of audience members’ suggestions, which has led him and his six-person troupe to ridiculous plot lines, including journeys to slay zombie gourds.
No matter what the show, Dicaire said the festival showed that comedy doesn’t need a big stage, just a willing audience.
