This has been a strange Fringe for me. For years I participated merely as an audience member. An important role, I know, but it is easy to be a detached assessor on that side of the stage. I then acted in two consecutive Fringes and this was exciting, thrilling, risky and crazy busy. The performing cut into my show watching! This is the first year as producer/director/playwright (From Something) so the stakes feel upped considerably. I am in awe of those who do this year after year and those who tour. My life is not constructed in a way that would support that and I do not think I would deal well with the constant state of evaluation that happens with reviews.

Now, in this ever-so-exciting Fringe I must leave for 3 days due to some family sadness. It is more important for me to be away and I trust my team to manage the show without me, but I feel lile I am being cheated out of the Fringe I should have had. There are so many shows I planned to get to that I will not. There is not enough time. I do not even know if I will make it to my other show (Zachary and the Storytelling Stones), but I will try. I feel guilty seeing it when I have not made it to my friend’s shows and the shows of the amazing artists that have travelled here.

I am grateful that I got to see Bashir Lazhar and Mockingbird Close and that I got to see at least one of Andrea’s shows (She Came From Planet X).

May all your houses be full and may your audiences cry and laugh and clap!

Tags: Edmonton, Finally Sauces, fringe, From Something

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 8:30 pm and is filed under Edmonton, General, Shows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.