Suddenly, I feel rushed. It’s all going by too fast. We’re wrapping things up and it’s only Friday as I start to write this. Our own scribes are supposed to be done by this evening, leaving Murray enough time to edit, and post the final weekend wrap up on Saturday. And catch some zzz’s as well, I hope.

(No doubt he will have acquainted you with deadlines with regard to when this all stops and we turn our attention Awards-ward. Hmm, awk-ward.)

To be eligible, a show must have caught our attention by 6:00 tonight. After that you’re SOL.

Chances are that attention came from Jenny’s own reviewers—who were just stellar this year and covered this fringe like a blanket. Considering there are only six of them, what they’ve accomplished amazing! Almost every one of the 135 reviews of 129 shows were written by one of: Lisa, Ray, Kaitlyn, Murray, Arden or Calantha. Be nice to them. Buy them drinks. They deserve it.

Still, it’s not quite the Fringe forum it used to be, and still could be. I don’t know how we slipped off the Fringe radar. Maybe we failed to Shamelessly Promote our move from paper to online-only access vigorously enough, and, without the physical presence of the Jenny, we succumbed to the rule of out of sight, out of mind.

I’m pretty sure the beer tent folks don’t miss Jenny’s physical presence on the damn floor.

And of course we are no longer the only outlet to solicit reviews, with every TV and radio station, print press, facebook page and even the damn program inviting all and sundry to review what they’ve seen.

Now, lest you forget, asking the folks who buy the tickets, volunteer, or provide the entertainment, to jump in and share their opinions, accolades, and Fringe experiences is the whole Jenny oeuvre. It’s exactly what it was meant to do.

But it doesn’t work without you. Next year jump in and add to the conversation.

And as Jenny is buried by the explosion of our own populist concept, becoming just one of the review soliciting herd, we know we have one thing nobody else does—the fabulous:

JENNY AWARDS!—Party on down (up?) to the King’s Head at 10(ish), Sunday night for our 27th hoot and holler fest, where performers and their fans can whoop and howl (briefly, please) at the mention of themselves or their favorites shows. The noisiest buggers win a Jenny award.

Jenny Awards are gracing book shelves, closet floors, and touring van dash boards, gathering dust and ketchup stains on every continent except Antarctica. True some of the earliest—purchased trophies of a gold woman holding a wreath, (I think)— and later, our first hand made, jig-sawed, hot pink & gold wooden donkeys, were what went to South America a couple of decades ago, rather than our current delightful, stuffed little equine effigy.

This is your chance to start or add to your herd. Just follow the:

Jenny Awards rules:

  • A show or company has to have had some mention in the 2018 Jenny;
  • Only one nomination per show/company;
  • Someone from the winning company has to be there to accept. No proxies! We don’t send it on to absentee winners. We give it to the 2nd noisiest bunch, as determined by the rating the sound levels from various points in the house.
  • The judge’s ruling is final.
  • The judge can be bribed.
  • I’m the judge.

If you know you’ll be moving on down the highway before 10 on Sunday night, please let us know so we don’t nominate you and face dead air, or even worse, cacophonous support for a no-show. Let us know, by emailing Murray at jennyrevue@gmail.com.

Better yet, tell us in person. We’ll be massing on the King’s Head patio, starting at 10 PM tonight (Sat) to hammer this thing together. Just look for the too generously proportioned woman with the black hat, and big red walker. That’s me. With luck, I’ll be surrounded by Jenny scribes, and other interested parties, compiling Jenny categories that defy description. I know. I have to describe them

So, get ready for the last show of the Fringe. Step right up and try to win a beautiful little Jenny. Best of all, admission is free!

Coral McKendrick
Editorial Goddess Emeritus

The last few days of the Fringe are upon us and I just want to give a big shout out to all our staff who put in a ton of time and effort in putting together the Jenny this year. Many thanks as well to our loyal readers, supporters and contributors.

Don’t forget that the Jenny Awards will be on Sunday the 29th at 10pm (ish) upstairs at the King’s Head. Tomorrow and Sunday the website will feature another column by Coral, who will explain the inner machinations of the Jenny’s in more details. Another new and timely cartoon by Dave Pruden makes me think about how fast these 12 days go by.

Murray Hunter

Now another article by Jenny Coordinating Reviewer Ray Yuen

As you can imagine, being a Fringe reviewer means spending a lot of time in front of The Cube at Old Market Square with my Surface, typing away while enjoying a beer and a free show. “Free” is the key word here. Even though it’s no pay for the viewer, most of the acts are put on by professional actors, artists and musicians.

Guess what! It’s “free” for them too, meaning they don’t get paid for performances in The Cube. When I hear about people “going to the Fringe,” many of them refer to watching a free show at The Cube; many “Fringers” have never entered a theatre. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon/evening with the family without having to spend a dime for the entertainment.

Art by Dave Pruden

But it’s not free.

Someone has to pay—and if no one pays, it’s the performer who pays with their time and their effort. I often hear the performers tell the audience that pass-the-hat is the only way they get paid. Sadly, I don’t see many people tipping into the hat.

The performers suggest $10 as an average donation for watching the show. I know: $10 sounds steep to drop into a hat, and maybe it is. Consider though that the average price of a Fringe show per person is $10-$12. The $10 doesn’t sound like a lot anymore—does it? Especially if you’re a family/group of four and you only pay once. That’s $2.50/person, less than a cup of coffee.

I’m not suggesting that you should pay $10. If you casually walk by and stand around for one song, did you get $10 value? Maybe not. Perhaps when the performers ask for $10, it sounds intimidating, especially since you’ve only been there for five minutes. It shouldn’t be intimidating. If you intended to drop $1, drop $1. Just because they suggest $10, it doesn’t mean you’re obliged to pay it. Most of these people are struggling performers; they’re very happy for anything you can give them. How many times have you walked by a busker and dropped a loonie? Just by passing them in a mall and ingesting 15 seconds worth of music?

For the people who sit through the entire show, the prompt is for you. You enjoyed an entire performance. If the suggestion is $10, you should pay $10. If your group went into a show, you’d pay $10 each. If you go to a show outside of Fringe, your $10 wouldn’t get you in any door.

Many of these performers do not live in Winnipeg. This is not a hobby for them; this is their livelihood. They do not come home to a regular paycheque. They need to put away enough money to get to their next gig in the next city.

In today’s environment of fiscal restraint, one of governments’ first hacks always comes off the arts. Funding and grants get cut all the time and if you as the customer aren’t willing to pay, where does the money come from? We all agree that the arts have a very important place in our lives. This isn’t something that we can afford to let die.

The shows may be free, but please pay the performers—their time and their art are not free.

Ray Yuen
Coordinating Reviewer

HAMLET (the rest is silence)

Echo Theatre—Dalnavert Museum & Visitors’ Centre

One of the rooms in the Dalnavert Museum was the setting for the show and set the mood nicely. Kevin Klassen performs as Hamlet who is re-living the events of the play after he has died. The words are supplemented by images projected behind him. What was also very interesting is they project images of the characters Hamlet is addressing or talking about in two picture frames on the wall behind him. Very well done. Bravo.

A couple notes, it is a small room with tight seating (those little folding chairs with round seats), so if you are uncomfortable with enclosed spaces or being seated right next to other people, you may not enjoy it. Also, due to the small venue (20 seats) if you have not yet purchased advanced tickets, get there early (at least 1 hour before show time) to buy the 10 or so remaining tickets.

Murray Hunter

SLAM! 2

Winnipeg Poetry Slam—Red River College – Roblin Centre

I attended the Slam last year, the first for The Fringe, and had a blast. That put this year’s slam as a target right in the center of my radar. For those who don’t know, a “Slam” is a “performance poetry competition using elimination by audience judges.” Each poet recites two poems and five judges hold up scores after each performance.

During last year’s Slam, I attended one of the first performances, which featured poets in the opening round. This year, I chose to attend a later performance of Slam 2, meaning that most of the poets have been eliminated and we dig into the semi-finals. That should put the best-of-the-best onto the stage—and they don’t disappoint.

For both of my attendances, I got to be a judge, which adds to the experience. If you want to be a judge, be sure to arrive early and find the host. So long as you have an appreciation for poetry and you’re not biased to any competitor, you are eligible. As a judge, I juggled criteria in my mind:

  • How good is the delivery? Is there emotion? Does the recital run smoothly?
  • How good is the poem? Is it too much like prose? Does the topic have relevance?

Judging is not cut out for everyone but if you want to take it on, it’s a lot of fun. If you don’t want to judge, that’s fine too—just come and enjoy the show. These people are very talented and a pleasure to watch.

During halftime, they invite you to write and recite your own poem (voluntary of course). This year’s theme is limerick.

To enjoy these poems, you need not attune—
C’mon down, in the eve or afternoon!
Watch the poet and the ham
Battle it out in the Slam!
I had a great time! Reviewed by Ray Yuen.

Ray Yuen

The Most Unlikely Comedian

Autistic Productions—Forth

Adam Schwartz is a really funny comedian. Normally I start reviews with a synopsis but I feel in this case that would sell Adam short for some people. Adam has razor sharp comedic timing. He knows how to handle hecklers like a pro. He takes all of his flaws and turns them into slightly self deprecating but endearing jokes. He has an impressive background with a masters degree and it shows. Adam is a great comedian.

Adam also just happens to have autism. This hour long play follows Adam’s journey as a new stand up comic and what it’s like to be in show business when your a little bit different. I laughed and cried. With this ground breaking awareness show, Adam is redefining who theatre is for. He makes it more and more accessible with every show he does. It was true that he stumbled a few times and yes he is hard to understand sometimes but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he is wickedly funny. I really liked this show and learned a lot. Definitely a must see.

Kaitlyn Kriss

AWKWARD HUG

Cory Thibert—Red River College – Roblin Centre

Most people I know hated their parents at some point in their lives as kids. I certainly thought my parents were dicks through my childhood. Then one day, you grow up and realise why they did the things they did—except my mother, she’s still a dick.

For Cory Thibert (Coby), the relationship, maturation and illumination with his family form the basis of this exploration. Along this journey of discovery, you board his adolescent bus and travel through tunnels of sorrow, bridges of laughter and alleys of anguish before reaching the depot of insight. Every aspect of this trip is thoroughly enjoyable as you ride Thibert’s expert story-telling and flawless execution; he’s simply one of the best narrators I’ve seen all Fringe.

Ray Yuen

The F Words: Fab, Funny, Fierce!

Yvette Dudley-Neuman—School of Contemporary Dancers

Yvette is widely imaginative in her use of sets and props. She uses three silks to channel her inner Greek fates that twist and turn her life about. The silks are used throughout the show to represent many things. She made me laugh and cry as I felt for her moments of loss, self doubt, and worthlessness. I liked how she differentiated the characters. She completely changed her body and became someone completely new.

The writing was decent but I found some of the songs and scenes regarding ‘alone time’ to be way too forced. They were awkward and quickly became unfunny especially the grandma masturbation song. They were not fun to sit through and I just wanted them to be over. They do have a place and purpose in the show but I felt they could have been handled better.

This journey that is unapologetically feminist, is certainly not for everyone but it’s a fun way to spend an hour.

Kaitlyn Kriss

A Canadian Bartender at Butlin’s

Red Light Letter Productions—John Hirsch Mainstage

Something this good can be remounted after enough years; and it has been long enough for it to be fresh. Fringers in the know won’t miss a chance to see Fringe God, T.J. Dawe. He is just a masterful storyteller mixing intelligence, humour, timing and his youthful, humble manner just adds to his appeal. He has the base of his show relating his menial job experience at a one star British holiday resort; but sidetracks to share other hilarious and eerie misadventures. He is the master at what he does and is always a must-see. He is also just an all-round sweet guy and a gentleman in real life. When I was turned around in the dark at the Cabaret, he insisted on escorting me right to the door of the ladies, even though he was performing. Just a sweetie!

Lisa Campbell

Old-ish

GoodSide Productions—Red River College – Roblin Centre

Susan Freedman tells it like it is. She is a lady in her 70’s with a biting humour and grace. Loaded with an arsenal of stories from her past she weaves a story about coming to terms with ones age. With an amazing attitude and an incredible amount of sass, she is now who I strive to be in my coming years.

I loved her ‘take no crap’ attitude. I came into this thinking at 25 the material would be literally beyond my years, boring, and slow. She was anything but those three things. I found the concept of coming to terms with death relatable, she was hysterical, and she had snappy fast paced dialogue. I never would have gone to this show normally but I’m glad I did! She epitomizes this years mantra of ‘take a chance’. Shes a seasoned pro who knows what she’s doing and you won’t be sad you saw this piece. Definitely a hidden gem of the fest.

Kaitlyn Kriss

One Man Pride and Prejudice

Chicken For Supper Productions—Asper Centre for Theatre and Film – U of W

This solo show by Fringe veteran Charlie Ross (of One Man Star Wars, etc.) is less about Jane Austen’s work and more about showing off Charlie’s chops on stage. He had the audience from the get-go, so it’s safe to say they were familiar with his work and wanted more. His costume is divine, though without the promised lace. This show is a romp. Silly, all over the place but it is entertaining enough and fun. If you are wanting a serious rendition of Austen, this is not it; but you will be entertained nonetheless. Ross is a wonderful performer.

This venue is stacked with winners, so stay the day and catch some of the best the Fringe has to offer.

Lisa Campbell