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What's a Fringe? Three festival veterans take you through Canada's coast-to-coast theatre party

Canadian fringe festivals are unique because of how accessible they are to both artists and audiences. Today, three festival veterans join Tom Power to tell us more about it.
CBC Radio ·
Poster walls are common across all fringe festivals, where performers have the chance to visually promote their individual shows. These posters take over the fence outside Arts Court in downtown Ottawa. (Amanda Logan/Ottawa Fringe)

Every summer, all across Canada, packs of performers hit the road carrying nothing but clean socks and a dream. They go city to city, performing in shows they've created that tend to push the limits of what theatre can be. These gatherings are called fringe festivals.

Fringe festivals are unique because of how accessible they are to both artists and audiences. Today, three festival veterans join q's Tom Power to tell us more about Canadian fringe festivals and the community they foster.

Patrick Gauthier is the festival director of the Ottawa Fringe Festival, S. E. Grummett is a performer and creator who's touring the fringe circuit this summer for the third time, and Vanessa Quesnelle is a performer and creator in her ninth year of touring.

You can find out when a fringe festival is coming to your city at fringefestivals.com.

Click 'listen' near the top of this page to hear the full conversation.

— Produced by Emma Godmere

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