The Fundy Fringe Festival is right around the corner, showcasing some up-and-coming artists from across the continent and their unfiltered, uncensored brands of tragedy, comedy, and peculiarity. To make it easier, we have your guide to this year’s acts.
The first night, dubbed “The Big Tease,” will serve as a preview to the festival, with each performer given 3 minutes to provide a sample of their act.
A first for this year’s festival is The Kids Fringe, a program geared toward developing a creative mind. The program will feature free workshops and activities for children aged 5-12, including mask performance, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) and literacy.
“I’m impressed with the diversity of offerings that we have including magic, circus, music from celebrated groups like Magic Circle of Saint John, The Grand Salto Theatre and The Jetpack Superheroes,” said Sarah Rankin, organizer of the festival. “We’re also excited to see artists bringing genres of theatre to the stage that we don’t get to experience often, such as horror from Aberrant Theatre and puppetry from Grey Rabbit Theatre.
“We’re happy to also be a festival that encourages homecomings for NB talent that has moved away such as Aberrant Theatre and Canadian Comedy award winner Tom Hearn.”
Take a look at this year’s featured performances:
Cigarettes and Cool Ranch – This dark, comedic storytelling show explores relationships, drugs, shame, sex, and food. (Saint John, NB)
Dani’s White Lie – A simple game of foreplay spirals into an argument that not only shakes up a relationship, but forces a gut-wrenching re-examination of tumultuous pasts. (Saint John, NB)
501 – While everyone was trying to get somewhere else, they were right where they wanted to be. In a tragically ironic twist, they were two of the only people to die. (Saint John, NB)
The Cycle – A story about a marginalized teenager who doesn’t escape the cycle of poverty and drug abuse that plagues his city and his family. (Saint John, NB)
Athena High ’96 – Robin observes Tommy’s estranged behaviour – his obsession with guns, and talk of overturning the government… (Saint John, NB)
The Magic Circle of Saint John Presents: Seeing is Believing – Get ready to be amazed, amused and entertained by Saint John’s best magicians! (Saint John, NB)
Mark Splude: GROW UP! – Jokes and stories from a short man growing up in Saint John, New Brunswick, who travels Canada for 20 years and finds himself right back where he started. (Quispamsis, NB)
Mashup The Musical – A satirical/comedic mashup of popular Broadway musical trends and characters. (Rothesay, NB)
The Host – Radio host Curt Riley defends his unpopular opinions against interstellar criticism in this dark science fiction comedy.. (Fredericton, NB)
HOUSE – “My mother is possessed by the Devil. My father is the saddest man in the world. My sister is in love with the dog. The one I love does not love me… and I’ve got nowhere to live.” (Fredericton, NB)
A Side of Rice – A glimpse into the soul of an actor; a student; a teacher; a lover; a 67-year-old; a dad. It’s a side – the several sides – of Nicholas Rice. (Toronto, ON)
SLANG – /slaNG/ Noun: a type of language that consists of words and phrases typically restricted to a particular group of people. In this case… the gays! (Toronto, ON)
Something Wrong – Andrew has always been fascinated by the supernatural… but what if the supernatural is just as fascinated by him? (Toronto, ON)
I Forced A Bot To Watch A 1000 Hours Of… – Three bots, X, Y and Z, are part of an Artificial Neural Network: a learning program made to emulate the human brain. Their first challenge? What is cat? Who is cat? Why are cat? (Nepean, ON)
Air-Heart – A solo mask show about the life and times of the reincarnation of Amelia Earhart, told through dance, circus and comedy. (York, ON)
Lungs – Does having a child make you a good or a bad person? Does the couple make the baby or does the baby make the couple? And how many trees would you have to plant to counteract the carbon footprint of a baby? (Kinburn, ON)
Orpheus’ Descent – Two Canadian soldiers sit in a trench dugout during the second Battle of Ypres, World War I. As they wait, an unexpected threat approaches. (Halifax, NS)
Nancy Drewinsky and the Search for the Missing Letter – Haunted by Senator McCarthy, instigator of the anti-Communist witch hunts of the 1950s, Robin Bady reveals her story of when her father was accused of being a Communist spy. (Brooklyn, NY)
Jetpack Superheroes – Your favourite 3-piece comedy band is now your favourite 2-piece comedy band (outside of Flight of the Conchords, Tenacious D, Garfunkel and Oates). (Berkley, MA)
The festival will take place from August 19th-24th, spanning across a multitude of venues in uptown Saint John. Individual show tickets can be purchased for $10 each, while a festival pass can be purchased for $60.