My Body of Work

Holly M Brinkman—The Rachel Browne Theatre

In my younger years, I sang, and I had a voice. Like many things in life, you use-it-or-lose-it. With the singing, I could belt out a good scream. Aside from song, when does a good scream come in handy? For a teenage boy? Where else but the strip clubs! Today, you don’t see many but in the 1980s, every bar became a strip venue over lunch hours. They were everywhere and they were good for “a scream.”

Then I grew up and there was no reason to scream anymore—not until today. Forty years ago, my scream rattled windows. Today, I sadly found that the best I could muster was the mewling of a cat. For this show, I wish that could belt out screams like I used to. The final 10 minutes of the show are THAT MUCH FUN! Oh, and so are the first 50 minutes.

Ray Yuen

A Review of Venue 17

Why is The Colin Jackson designed with a main section—treated as a typical end stage audience and a groundling aka plebeian section?—In The Colin Jackson this consists of 3 rows on the side (audience right, stage left) who are largely ignored. If I’m going to be treated as a plebeian (I Googled it) in the side seating then at least cut my ticket price. The groundlings at Shakespeare’s Globe paid a penny back in the day; now they pay £5. (I was there last summer.)

If a show is blocked & designed strictly for end stage then please do not sell those 20 side seats. Take the financial hit; don’t sell them and instruct your ushers not to let people sit in them.

If those 20 side seats are in use, then stop ignoring that they exist in the staging of your shows. Side glances do not count as blocking for a side audience. Performers/Directors get a map of the venue’s configuration in advance. The Colin Jackson is a diamond-shaped partial thrust. The centre line in that theatre is the upstage right corner to the downstage left pillar. In a thrust, it’s imperative to play the angle.

I attended The Family Crow on July 22 and was seated in the side audience in the upstage back row. I found myself comparing the two sections of the crowd and it was like two audiences having two opposing experiences in the same room at the same show.

The side vibe was palpably low. Those 20 people were comparatively checked out. Not at all experiencing the same play as the main section audience. We paid the same ticket price and got a lesser effort. We experienced exclusion.

My husband had a single seat in the main treated-as-end-stage section and he enjoyed the show. So did the family seated in front of him, so did the perpetually smiling person seated to his right, so did most of the main treated-as-end-stage section of the audience.

If I wasn’t instantly agitated by feeling excluded and sensorially bombarded by blinding light, I might’ve enjoyed the show, too. (You’ll have to see The Family Crow from the side audience to understand.) The side audience at The Family Crow gets a frustrating pendulum-swing experience of I-can’t-see-it’s-way-too-dark and Ah!-it-burns!-too-bright! (Ugh. I miss the old incandescent lightbulbs.) As a Neurodivergent “AuDHD” person, I found the lighting very assaulting. Often it was aimed right into our underling eyes

And as a Neurodivergent person reviewing a physical space, I feel I must also make mention of PTE/Portage Place’s terrible ventilation system. Bring a parka, a bikini, and wooly socks—you need to dress in layers for that building.

I’ll be sure to get in line much earlier if I’m seeing more at Venue 17 to ensure better sight lines. I didn’t get there earlier because the trek from The Exchange District to Portage Place was chock full of barriers including locked entry doors on the Ellice Street side of the building and other time-consuming encounters along the way (but that’s a review of our three levels of government best left for another forum.)

Happy Fringing!

Kim Zeglinski

Washed Up

Awkward Cheese Co.—MTC Up the Alley

This solo comedy written and performed by Chelsey Grewar touches on the feeling of being ‘washed up’ as your life enters a new phase. The format is a little different than most solo shows as there are short stand-up sets between each scene (with a couple second blast of the Seinfeld theme to mark them). As a Gen Xer, I am kind of at the next phase of change, but could still relate. Some great observational comedy here, regardless of how long you have been an adult.

Murray Hunter

Bruce Ryan Costella’s: RAT MAN HAPPY PLACE

Bruce Ryan Costella—Creative Manitoba

I was creeped out before this even started; as the audience is met by a startling sight upon entering. His costume and makeup perfectly conveyed a filthy, rat-like being, freshly emerged from the sewers; that you would RUN across the street to avoid.

If you are adventurous or a ‘weird adult’ as the program states, you will love this! The premise is that he is on trial for petty theft in the City of Winnipeg. There’s lots of audience participation, so don’t be shy! We elect a mayor and we are the jury. He spins the tale of a post-apocalyptic world, like Neverland; where all the adults had died from Covid-not Covid. They inhabit Disneyland and make it their own. He’s forced to leave, thus ending up in our fair city. There’s a lot of deeper meaning if you want to go there. Bruce is a wonderful actor with a perfect production that was thoroughly enjoyed by all. He deserves full houses.

Hint: find the elevator if you want to avoid a heart attack. Those are Lots of stairs!

Lisa Campbell

Everything is Super Wow

Spec Theatre—The Studio at Le Théâtre Cercle Molière

If you’re looking for something funny and weird (bonus points if you’re into cycling) then this is a perfect show for you! A one man show by ira cooper about a cyclist who has been biking for hundreds of days with some rather curious companions, filled with puns and bike jokes and relatable stories. It’s silly, strange and very endearing. I enjoyed the creative storytelling, and unexpected moments of clarity and wisdom written into the dialogue. Lots of fun!

Calantha Jensen

How I Met My Neurodivergent Friend

Autistic Productions—Théâtre Cercle Molière

For any fans of Adam Schwartz and his stand-up comedy, the intertwining of his usual work with stories of his childhood and later development gives a great look behind the curtain. While the particular jokes that tie the show together could likely do with a bit of tightening to make the flow between sections better, the overall stories and anecdotes of childhood misadventures between school and developmental classes more than makes up for it.

Josh Fidelak

August Quarterly Report

Tattooed Egg—Artspace Boardroom

It’s shows like this that are the reason I love Fringe so very much. A completely interactive show where the audience attendees are either board members or stakeholders in a yogurt company and have gathered for a quarterly meeting. For anyone who has ever sat in a meeting of any kind really, this is a show you won’t want to miss. It is so funny, so engaging and relatable and really quite sweet. Highly recommend coming early to score a seat at the boardroom table with a “yes and” attitude to be more involved in the show!

Calantha Jensen

Keeping The Moon

It’s All Relative Productions—The Rachel Browne Theatre

Reba Terlson is on an introspective emotional journey in this self-written one woman show. Luna is dealing with the death of her mother, whom she had a complex relationship with. The story works through the phases of the moon, which has played a large part in her and her mother’s lives, and the astrological importance of each phase. The scenes include flashbacks to different times in her past to fill out the story of the relationship between her and her mother. An ongoing timed medication break runs through the show, and hints at one of the other points of friction between her and her mother. She finishes the journey with some contemporary dance to express the change in her life.

It was a well done performance.

The American Songbook Experience

Melanie Gall Presents—MTYP – Mainstage

You always know what you’re going to get with Melanie Gall, as her devotees well know. What a wonderful experience! This might be my favorite so far; and I’ve seen all of her shows.

This one is very personal; as she weaves expert renditions of American classics with a moving tale of her musician zaida, and his life long true love story with his wife. The beautiful, black and white photographs added so much depth and emotion to the show production. Many in the audience could be heard weeping at the end. If that’s not success, I don’t know what is. She deserves every bit of it. Brava!

Lisa Campbell