Taking it to the Next Stage
Perhaps the biggest challenge faced by a company producing a successful show at any of the Canadian Fringe Festivals is how to translate that success over to the independent or mainstream theatre scenes. I think it’s fair to say that a split exists between the Fringe festivals and the broader theatre communities and it is possible for individual companies and artists to fashion entire (and very successful) careers around the Fringe circuit but rarely appear in other theatre contexts.
The "Fringe of Toronto Theatre Festival":http://www.fringetoronto.com/ (aka the Toronto Fringe Festival) has come up with an innovative way of bridging this gap. The Next Stage Festival – a separate event from their annual summer festival – starts today and will run until January 18th. The purpose of Next Stage is to showcase the work of eight companies who have appeared across the Canadian Fringe circuit, presenting what the Festival organizers term “the cream of the crop from the Fringe”.
The major difference between this event and the main Fringe Festival is that Next Stage is curated. Companies who have created an “artistically successful” show at any festival that is part of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (which even includes some festivals in the USA) are invited to apply. Once accepted, there is no cost to participate. According to Adam Kirkham of Next Stage, the Festival does everything within their power to help individual shows succeed. This includes providing funding for rehearsal space, travel assistance for out-of-town companies as well as access to marketing and publicity resources.
This year’s Festival features: Kate Hewlett’s *Humans Anonymous* which asks the question “can five over-caffeinated humans stumble their way to a fear-free future?”; *L’Ange Avec les Fleurs* which is described as a Junk Melodrama about one clown’s journey to become a man; *The Rake’s Progress: Do you Know Where Tom Rakewell is?* which is an adaptation of Igor Stravinsky opera and the engravings of William Hogarth; *Take it Back* from Montreal, which was featured at last year’s "Dancing on the Edge":http://plankmagazine.com/review/pdote-take-it-back-joy-explosion-0 in Vancouver; *Yichud/Seculsion* which takes it title from the Jewish law that requires a newly married couple to be alone together for a short time immediately following the wedding ceremony; *First Hand Woman* by Sarah Michelle Brown is set within a woman’s heart and mind and unravels the secrets of a love story gone bad (it also promises spontaneous, simulated orgasms (if only I could get to TO in time)); *Don’t Look* by Daniel Sadavoy and Rebecca Applebaum which is about two Star-of-David-crossed first cousins, who’s innocent shiva makeout session forces them down a path of shame and regret (and, let’s face it, we’ve all been there) and *Reesor* a combination of live music, performance, shadow-puppets, baking and a man in a bear suit which tells the story of a town in Northern Ontario.
You can learn more about all the shows by going "here":http://www.fringetoronto.com/NSTFPress/index.htm
This amounts to an exciting opportunity for these companies. Last year’s inaugural Festival attracted more than 4500 patrons and four of the eight shows were picked up by major North American theatres, including an off-Broadway opening for *Bash’d* and four Dora nominations for *A Quiet Place* (including Best Production in the independent category). This success has led the organizers to claim that Next Stage will soon become synonymous with the “future of theatre”.
While this is indeed a bold assertion, there is no doubting that Next Stage is a cunning initiative. While the randomness and risk-taking (from the audience perspective) is removed, the ethos of experimentation and Fringe culture remains in the work presented (as can be seen from the above show descriptions). Not only does it provide a sort of “best of” from across all the Fringes, it also allows those shows to be featured outside the general mayhem of the Fringe. They are given an opportunity to be taken seriously and that’s an invaluable opportunity for any theatre artist.
“After 20 years, the Fringe is really in a place to claim its leadership role and continue to represent our constituents in new and innovative ways,” explains Kirkham by e-mail. “My hope over the next few years is to see the Fringe become the voice for emerging and independent arts, a nexus of creative voices that cumulatively are stronger and louder than when alone, and whose ranks include artists and patrons as advocates for culture in our city. The Next Stage Festival is a major step towards that vision.”
The Toronto Fringe is not stopping with Next Stage. They are planning a range of new initiatives which they hope will enhance the opportunities they can provide to the companies they work with, including:
_The Fringe Evolution Fund_: to encourage remounts of successful Fringe shows, grants will be provided to help cover production costs for shows re-produced by the original company within five years of first appearing at the Toronto Fringe;
_The Charrettes_: inspired by design salons of the 19th century, a series of five meetings with relevant stakeholders to propose solutions to problems facing the performance community;
_Office Residencies_: making use of the Fringe Festival office “down time”, they will welcome small companies into their offices to help bring producing out of the kitchen and into a creative hub with other arts administrators;
_OTIC’s (Online Ticketing for Independent Companies)_ : subsidized access for small companies to the Fringe’s new online ticketing system;
_The Fringe/Paprika Festival Partnership_: working with the Paprika Festival to make sure their youth get out to the Fringe as well as inviting one production to perform at the Fringe in 2009.
For now with Next Stage, the organizers promise the usual anarchy that one expects with the Toronto Fringe, including free nightly entertainment and (please note) a fully-heated McAulsan Beer Tent.
Never one to turn down a heated beer tent, Plank will be attending the Next Stage Festival. Stay tune as we keep you up to date with developments.