Edmonton Fringe Struggles

Last year, producing a show at the Edmonton Fringe Festival was challenging. I'm not afraid of a challenge. I know if I work hard, I can make it happen. And I did. This year, on the other hand, has been downright difficult. Attendance for my show is low, some of the lowest I've had on the circuit, and I'm not sure I'm even going to break even in this town. It was probably naive to think that the high I was riding from Toronto and Winnipeg would continue in Edmonton, but I figure I would probably do as well as I did last year, if not better. All this has left me, and many others, feeling pretty Fringed and Confused. I know there may be a few reasons behind this. For instance, although I absolutely love my venue, it is located in the French Quarters, which is approximately a 25 minute walk from the main Fringe grounds. That may not seem like that much (and trust me, it isn't) but when you can choose a show located a few feet from where you are standing and one that involves a bit of walking... Well, I know which one I would choose. Also, though I don't have an official confirmation on this, I've heard that the festival has almost 30 extra shows this year as opposed to the last, which definitely could have an impact. Of course, this is also my second year in a row in town with what could be considered the "same" show. I'm thrilled some folks have decided to see the show twice, but with the number of shows to see, I completely understand if people want to see something new - even though I still consider this a fairly new version of the play. And finally, as much as I hate to admit it, the reviews stars do matter. Though the reviews for Roller Derby Saved My Soul have been amazing, for some reason the stars don't seem to match up. In fact, in some publications, the review is actually worse than the one from last year, even though my show is, arguably better than it was. But reviews are a post for another day.

Now, if you know me, you know that I have still been working my butt off to promote the show. I've been flyering a good 4 hours a day almost every day on roller skates no less, but I've noticed only a slight jump (approximately 10 new people) in ticket sales every time I do. This leads to many a frustrated feeling, including creeping doubts that maybe the show just isn't that good... Not true, I know, but it can be hard not to take it personally.

In the past few days, I've been actively working at changing my mentality about everything and looking for all the things that make me happy to be at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. So, without further ado, I am grateful for the following:

• My billet's incredible home, which she is letting us housesit until Saturday. I sleep in my own bed, have access to a great vinyl collection and there's a hot tub!
• Skating everywhere I go - for the first time ever I have officially become and outdoor skater. My billet's place is approximately 10 minutes in either direction from both the main Fringe grounds and my venue. It's been a little scary thanks to the shoddy pavement in some areas, but such a thrill to be arriving at the festival on wheels.
• The poutine at Cafe Bicyclette is to DIE for and worth the trip out there alone. I would have posted a picture but I wolfed it down too fast.
• The French media has been incredible supportive of the show in the last few days with interviews for Le Franco and Le Cafe Show (Radio-Canada).
• My incredible Fringe family for their constant love, support and commiseration. Special shout-outs to Christine Lesiak, Jeff Leard and Gemme Wilcox who are also in my venue.

There are still 3 performances of Roller Derby Saved My Soul left. Please help me make them the best ones yet!

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They discuss them with the type and later ought to write down each response to the issues.

This is really a pay for essays written good visible, artistic method to augment the number styles. Keep the modified item insight for several times to help strengthen the facts on it. Over three, turn in case of a link and add or grow them all to see who wins. Have concentration cards are made up by the kids. Get a mathematics reality poster and temporarily tape it up someplace the kids will look at it frequently ( such as from the dinner table or in the bath ). Play mathematics throw. Some include creating numbers down a piece of paper, one involves bending down fingers and count, etc.

Don't abandon the plug in a long time.

com. Multiplication. Kids love collecting things, and this is an enjoyable approach add a social component and to unite art with math. Most folks know at least one of the tricks for finding multiples of nines ( personally, I know of three that my kids all use about equally ). It may be a binder, an unfinished wood treasure chest ( accessible for a couple of dollars at craft stores like Michael's ), or anything that's secure to alter. Lay the cards face down and take turns attempting to find matches, concentration design. Play chocolate chip pay for essays written mathematics.

As you continue your negotiations refer to your list of goals.

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Nash can cause permanent liver injury.

Youngsters may understand mathematics concepts absolutely but if they they do not recall their addition or multiplication tables it can leave them frustrated and sensation like failures. Make celebrities that are counting. For multiples of four, double it as well as kids can learn to double the number. A few of our kids' favorite mathematics programs are Bubble T and Rocket Math, but there are not lots less. Right answers get chips. See School-House Rock videos. Wish to keep in the loop? You may also follow my boards at A Charming Homeschool and on Facebook for ages and all subjects on Pinterest. Our household has been doing this for years for dessert.

This may be pay for essays written costuming, makeup layout, audio, etc.

You can also pay for essays written pick up books of Kakuru puzzles at many stores. Instruct them how to do Kakuru questions. There are some extremely entertaining math apps for the iPod, for devices that are android and iPad, and many of them are very low cost or free. My kids like to keep an eye on exactly how many grains of grain they will have given and to practice math at freerice. Occasionally called " cross totals, " they may be accomplished in an identical way to crossword puzzles, but with numbers in place of letters. Below are some more. com has plenty to attempt. There is no discounting the importance of memorizing math pay for essays written facts.

Referrals must be sent to the amda university the scholar wants to attend.

Over pay for essays written time, they will discover them with no pressure from use. Incorrect answers really get to try the following circular. Do not obsess over the fact that the kids don't understand it pay for essays written all by heart, and don't wait to get into higher mathematics until it is known pay for essays written by them all by pay for essays written heart. Remember that some kids naturally memorize math facts much more easy than others. Children who are right brained students are often " late " in memorizing math facts however, are capable to do really advanced math despite it. Each point uses the numbers 1 - 9 with no repeats, going down and across. Display kids math tricks.

??? they can entertain people through their presentation or publishing.

Make math games. Create some artwork supplies that are amazing and put money into good card-stock or obtain Artist Trading Card sailcloths at craft stores like Michael's to have genuinely expert results. The great news is because there are plenty of interesting ways to help them memorize their math facts. They need addition to resolve them, although these fun puzzles are not dissimilar customized essays to puzzles. Give cheat sheets to them. Download-free math games and storylines.

For a lot of industries this is a simple approach to connect about work inquiries.

This website gives food to the right that is hungry when you answer concerns. pay for essays written Give some markers that are brilliant to the kids and have them enhance some thing with math facts. Younger kids especially want to perform with calculators and will unexpectedly memorize a lot of details. Use programs. Youtube has a wide range of old videos in this series, for example this one that educates the sevens. Toss a balloon or basketball round the room at your kids. These mathematical representations that are arty certainly are an excellent way to visually reinforce multiplication details. Make trading cards.

Combine all ingredients together.

Support them and calculators to perform. Encourage the children to generate mathematics reality trading cards, particularly with themes and colours that suit them ( or match each pay for essays written amount family ) then to trade them with siblings or friends who also take part. Timez Attack is liked by play video games. Get a pile of chocolate chips and ask the youngsters math queries that are arbitrary.

Use the Space, Luke

This post contains spoilers for Roller Derby Saved My Soul. Guys. I love my venue at the Edmonton Fringe Festival. Venue 48 - Rutherford School in the French Quarter is a school gymnasium converted into a proper theatre space. I always love performing Roller Derby Saved My Soul in gyms - as I learned last year in the King Edward School - because it adds this extra layer of ambiance to a sports show. Dare I say, it makes it almost site-specific. And I love me some site specific.

So what do you do with a site-specific show? You use the space. I am at floor level and the audience is on risers. This gives me plenty of room to skate around, not only the stage, but around the audience as well. I found a perfect moment in the show to use it.

But doing a show in an old building isn't all tricks and turns. There is, unfortunately, no air conditioning so the venue gets pretty warm. I was dripping buckets by the time I was done today. So, I had an idea, a way to use the venue to connect with my audience some more. Tomorrow, before my next show, I will be buying a case of water and passing it around for Roxanne so anyone who wants to can both play along and cool down. I'm excited to try something new.

Why don't you come play with me?

Are You Ready For This? No, Not Really.

Holy shit. It's mid-August already? After the sheer busy-ness that was the Winnipeg Fringe, Calgary was a much welcome breather. Calgary was probably my smallest festival on the circuit; only 27 shows and nothing starting before 5pm on weekdays. The staff/volunteers are amazing, I met some incredible roller derby peeps and I even had a great opportunity to perform a one-night only in Cochrane. I also got my weakest reviews for the show from the mainstream print media and the rest of my houses were definitely on the smaller side of what I was used to. That said, I did sell out one performance in a 116 seat venue, got a lovely 5 star review from a local blogger, and met up with some local producers who might want to bring in the show next year. So, all in all, the experience was a positive one.

Plus, I got to spend a day in Banff where apparently my ass has never looked better in shorts.

But the adventure continues and after a 3 hour drive, we find ourselves in Edmonton, days before the biggest festival on the circuit. And I... don't feel ready one bit. I feel like I've missed important deadlines, I've got no media coverage whatsoever and my posters and flyers aren't ready yet.

I'm incredibly grateful for my beautiful billet's home, which is offering me an oasis in what I'm building up to be a giant storm. I need to remember to breathe, to stay healthy, and to have fun. I think that last one is the most important one for me right now. This thing I'm doing? These people I'm seeing? This is fun.

If you see me around this week, just remind me of that once in a while, ok?

Ready... Set... Fringe!

My Own Personal Reboot

There isn't a day that goes by that my Facebook feed isn't inundated with announcements of film franchise reboots. Now, the cynic in me knows that this is a blatant cash grab toying with our feelings of nostalgia, but the artist in me has started thinking differently. I think we just love to tell stories and every time we just want to see if we can add our mark to the tale and make it "better". When it comes to film, the internet goes into an uproar whenever a reboot is announced. Didn't Spiderman just come out last year? Why should I see this again?

But in theatre, the attitude is different. I've seen 7 different productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Not because it's my favourite Shakespearean play - that would be A Comedy of Errors, which I've seen twice and is actually a reboot of The Brothers Manaechmi - but because I wanted to see what could be done with it this time. Like kids around a campfire telling ghost stories around a couple making out in a car with a serial killer on the loose... how's it going to end this time?

Which brings me back, as most things do these days, to Roller Derby Saved My Soul. My former stage manager is sure to grown when I say this, but I'm still doing rewrites. I still want to tell a better story. As some of you know, I undertook some pretty massive revisions of the script this past spring. And yes, I am happy with them, but... There were still a few areas that were bugging me.

The completionist in me hates going on tour with what I might consider an "unfinished" product, but the artist in me has been patiently waiting for inspiration to strike. After all, creating your own work is a fluid process. Yesterday I performed in the lovely community of Cochrane while on break from the Calgary Fringe for a special event called Fringe on the Ranche.

I was really proud of that show. It felt like my strongest performance to date and plenty of new discoveries were made. This morning, after chatting with my new documentary team member who had just seen the show for the first time, it finally hit me. I knew exactly what I wanted to change and I have the perfect opportunity tonight at the Fringe to try it out.

I'm scared, of course, but what is art without exploration? I just want to tell a "better" story.

What Is Success?

The other night, while flyering, I ran into a couple who told me their friend saw my show, loved it and had already come up with her roller derby name - Green Widow. I thought it was a pretty cool name, making the mental association that it was some kind of Black Widow reference. They said they were pretty sure she was going to try out for roller derby now and thanked me profusely for helping her out. I told them they were being too kind, but the woman kept going, saying that it was really nice to see their friend getting interested in doing stuff again... As she got chocked up telling me this, I finally clued in: Green Widow - as in "new" widow. Not knowing what else to do, I gave the woman a hug, told them I looked forward to seeing them at the show and walked away in a daze. Small houses? Bad reviews? Fuck them all.

The knowledge that something I created had the power to do that? Priceless.

When it gets rough, and it always gets rough, these are the things I need to remember.

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.