The Party’s Over…
From Marcus Fernando
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Loading ...Greetings, Ex-Fringers!
Well, here we are on the morning after the night before. The last performances have performed, the sets have been cleared, the traders have moved out, and there is only the Tumbleweed of redundant show-posters blowing in the wind to remind us of the fun we’ve all just had. Sad…in a way, but so it must be!
After all, think of what happens now. All of those performers go somewhere else. Some stay in Edmonton, or Alberta, or Canada. Some (like us) go abroad to many far-flung parts of the world. Some might be taking their productions elsewhere, for more audiences to enjoy. Others might be heading back to more “conventional” jobs….whatever they might be. It’s wonderful, isn’t it? All these many and diverse people came together in one place at one time to contribute to the great theatre party that is Edmonton Fringe Festival. For a while, everything was intense, fast-paced, even manic…but now it all returns to normal.
What should we call this day after the final day? The “Post-Ultimate” day, possibly? A day of sadness (possibly), tidying up (almost certainly), Rest and Recuperation (hopefully) and travel (maybe). As I write this, The Dragonwagon II is parked outside, with sets and costumes from both productions still in the back. No, that’s not quite true. The picture frames from “Red Wine and Canvas” we decided to break up and bin, rather than store. We needed to have a good think about this, as we hope to bring the full-length version of the show to Canada next year (out of Fringe time), if our sponsorship goes ahead. So, we’ll need to make up some new frames now. But it was still considered better than trying to store them.
As for the rest of the Dreamscape ephemera: well, the costumes will travel back with us. We’ll try to keep everything together, so that we can easily resurrect either show if required. But you know how it is…bits of costumes get used for other shows, other pieces were borrowed and have to be returned….and some just end up getting worn in “civvy street”!! Yes, there’ll always be a need to do more costume shopping at the Charity Shops!
The projector will stay here in Canada, to be used for future productions. Now that we have it and know it works, we have the option of adding slide or film projection to future shows. Excellent! And we shall certainly keep our Walmart bedsheet projection screen in storage here!
The Dagger will also stay over here. I’m not entirely sure what (if any) future application it might have, but I’m not going to try to take THAT back on the plane! And that’s it…nothing else to carry back. Well, that’s not quite true: we have our reviews (good and bad), which we will add to the Dreamscape Portfolio, along with posters, programmes, ticket stubs and the like. It’s nice to be able to flick back through the history of Dreamscape…and it will be something to show our child…if they’re interested!
So…a little bit of history is going back with us. Another page in the Dreamscape Chronicle, fitting neatly into the space between the Past and the Future. You know, maybe it isn’t really sad. It’s just another wonderful step of the Great Adventure!
A la Prochaine!
FERNANDO
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About Marcus: I trained in archaeology and drama: how wierd is that?! Launched into the big bad world of acting, and 25 years later I'm still at it, and still running our theatre company "Dreamscape". However...on the way I also ventured into journalism. Worked for the BBC for a while as a radio journalist, and trained in photography.Still doing that. In fact I have a photographic gallery in Croatia, which I run with my partner Tina. Writing?..oh yes. I've written several plays, two screenplays, some short stories, a series of political sketches...and my e-mail newsletter "The Canada Chronicles' is still going after 10 years. Oh...and I'm British, but don't hold that against me. |
Tags: Alberta, Croatia, Edmonton, England, Fringe Festival, International, travel
