Montreal Fringe Festival goes virtual, staging comedy, dance, storytelling from afar

"The show must go on." It's the oldest adage in theatre.

This is the approach that the 2020 St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival is taking, after having to postpone its 30th anniversary programming due to the pandemic. It's taking the spirit of the Fringe Fest online.

In lieu of Montreal's traditional fringe, which includes hundreds of in-person performances spread across venues all over the Plateau, the virtual version will bring together artists from across the country and farther afield for a series of curated, live, interactive events. 

"We're going to be fringing a little differently this year," said Amy Blackmore, executive and artistic director of the festival.

The event, called This Is Not a Fringe Festival, runs June 11 to 21 and features theatre, comedy, dance, storytelling and activities for kids on platforms like Facebook and YouTube.

Blackmore told CBC's Let's Go that this year's event is "​an ode to a festival that never was and never will be."

It's been a long three months for Montreal's theatre community, grappling with financial losses from cancelled shows and uncertainty about when performing arts spaces will be able to reopen to the public.

"When the pandemic got going, we realized it was unsafe for our artists to be rehearsing. We couldn't do it," Blackmore said.

Still, the team wanted to offer something to help bring the community together.

"We really want Montrealers to get a taste of the fringe this year," she said.

Highlights of this year's alternate fringe include Lipsync Bingo hosted by Montreal drag queen Uma Gahd and a series of talks, called the Transformation Series, facilitated by Blackmore. 

In a series called the Daily Dose of Fringe, Blackmore said, short videos will be released on the festival's social media every day at 11 a.m., featuring dance, magic tricks or storytelling performances.

There will also be a series of challenges issued to the audience, inviting them to get creative and share their work.

"We want the audience to make art with us," said Blackmore. "We're hoping people get in the spirit of it all."

Blackmore said that plans to celebrate the festival's big 3-0 are on hold until 2021, but the extra time gives her a chance to make next year's edition even better.

An opening night concert kicks off the festival on Thursday, June 11. Find more information about the festival's events here. In lieu of tickets, people who can afford it are invited to buy an optional $50 pass for the full 11 days to help support the Fringe Festival and its artists.