Nancy's Must-See List at the 2014 Calgary Fringe Festival

I never got around to doing a Must-See list for the Winnipeg Fringe because, with over 160 shows, there were just too many that I wanted to see for me to write about. I honestly couldn't narrow the list down. Now in Calgary, with 27 shows in the festival, that list is much more manageable. We're now half-way through the festival so I have seen most of these by now and can pretty much guarantee you a good time at the theatre. So without further ado, you should see:

Roller Derby Saved My Soul

Duh.

Promise and Promiscuity: a new musical by Jane Austen and Penny Ashton

Probably one of my favorite shows from the Winnipeg Fringe this summer. You don't have to be a Jane Austen fan to love this one.

Mr. & Mrs. Alexander: Sideshows and Psychics

Just saw this one a few nights ago and it was not what I expected. Come for the magic, but stay for the wicked cool story.

Kitt & Jane: an interactive survival guide to the near post-apocalyptic future

Consistently on my list of shows to see regardless of the festival you find yourself at.

The Dark Fantastic

Probably my favorite of all Martin Dockery's solo shows. This is the one that made me realize he is not only a great story-teller but an incredible artist as well.

Paleoncology

One of my favorite shows from the Montreal Fringe. Simply gorgeous. Watch out for the dust in your eyes. *sniffle*

Who Killed Gertrude Crump?

Little know fact, I was a huge Agatha Christie fan growing up. And then there were none remains one of my favorite books. So a show based on her stories, along with the divine Tara Travis AND puppets? No brainer. Also NO SPOILERS!

The Sama Kutra

Met these clowns on Manitoulin Island. Any show directed by Mike Kennard is tops in my books.

Smartarse

Rob Gee is one of my favorite people on the Fringe. His show Fruitcake consistently sells out on tour. Looking forward to checking out his other work.

A Mind Full of Dopamine

Heard amazing things about this one in Ottawa and Rory Ledbetter is one of the best people you can meet on the circuit. Add to it that I have a personal connection to the source material which makes this show tops on my list.

Chase & Stacey's Joyride

Chase Padgett is that genius behind 6 Guitars & Nashville Hurricane. Stacey Hallal is the sassy improviser who toured last year with Ruby Rocket. Together they are a dynamite team who are sure to make you smile.

The Balding

All the way from Montreal, you will cringe-laugh through this show in the best way possible.

Oh and one little bonus: on Thursday I head out to Cochrane, just outside Calgary, to perform a one-night only presentation of Roller Derby Saved My Soul at an event called Fringe on the Ranche. This double-bill includes my show as well as Me and My Monkey. I will be seeing that show there that night, but you can also catch it at the Calgary Fringe for a few more days.

If you have any favorites, be sure to let me know what to see in the comment section below!

Night and Day - Thank you, Winnipeg!

My first experience at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in 2009 was... not great. I did learn a whole bunch from it, but it took me much longer than a year to come back. In fact, after that particular Fringe experience, though I left things on a positive note, I was burnt and stopped writing for well over a year. It wasn't until late 2010 when I picked up what would eventually become Roller Derby Saved My Soul. So it was with some trepidation that I found myself back in Winnipeg. Yes, RDSMS had been doing very well all over the place, but once bitten, twice shy. Though I had gotten a great 4 star review from CBC Manitoba upon my arrival (they had reviewed the show in Toronto), the 3.5 stars from the Winnipeg Free Press (they reviewed the show in Montreal) did not inspire confidence. And so, I hit the ground running or flyering as the case may be. Actually, the interesting thing about going through my old blog posts in Winnipeg meant that I came across this one that includes some valuable tips about flyering a line-up. Tips that I realize I still use today.

My first show? Sold out in minutes.

I was shocked. 1:45 p.m. on a Friday? Really?

Still. I kept flyering. Connecting. Letting people know, one on one, about my show.

And then, about midway through the week, I found out that I had won "Patron's Pick" for my venue, which meant I would get an extra performance on the last day of the festival. I celebrated with more flyering. In fact, I was still flyering well into the last weekend of the Fringe, when other performers had long since stopped and told me there was no need to do so since my run was "selling out".

The thing is, unless I know for a fact that all my tickets are sold out, I will not stop. And since most festivals keep a certain percentage of tickets available at the door and my advance tickets were never sold out, I saw no reason to stop. Obsessive? Yes. But deep down, I was still that girl from 5 years ago...

Looking back on it all now, I am grateful for both of my experiences. Not that I wish a similar experience on anyone, but I don't think I would appreciate my success in Winnipeg as much if I hadn't bombed so hard the first time around.

So thank you, Winnipeg Fringe. Let's do this again sometime.

Experiencing Technical Difficulties with Mump and Smoot

Back when the thought about doing a documentary about Fringe Festivals was just in the conception phase (those were the days!), a number of folks told me one thing: You have to interview Mump and Smoot.

Mump and Smoot is (are?) a Canadian clown duo who got their start in the very early days of Fringe. In fact, they performed at many inaugural Fringes like Toronto, Saskatoon and Orlando. The team and I were incredibly excited to meet with them and, as luck would have it, the Gods of Timing would be in our favour as both John Turner & Mike Kennard would be together, at what was once known as the "clown farm" on Manitoulin Island, in the brief window we had between the Toronto and Winnipeg Fringes.

We left Toronto on the Saturday afternoon following my last performance and drove well into the night, arriving at our Cabin in the Woods™ well after midnight. Considering not getting murdered by evil spirits or escaped convicts a victory, we woke up to a beautiful sight before us.