12 Fringe Festival shows with a Concordia connection
Photo from Fringe Festival production L'appel du vide.
Concordia students, faculty and alumni have always had a strong presence in the Montreal Fringe Festival. This year's Fringe, which runs from May 27 to June 16, is no exception. Here are Fringe shows with a Concordia connection – go and catch some great theatre!
1. Attempts in Flight
Concordia connection: Director Alessandra Tom (BFA Theatre Performance, Minor in Political Science, Current Student).
Quick pitch: "Seven performers examine the magic that lives inside the seemingly mundane through the presence of nine plain boxes. Supported by music, dance, poetry and movement, what begins with a simple image suddenly transforms into so much more."
2. Burning Bridget Cleary
Concordia connection: Production Manager, Michelle Soicher (BFA Theatre Major, 2016 – With Distinction) and Designer, Zoe Roux (BFA Design for the Theatre, 2016 – With Distinction)
Quick pitch: "The true story of a vibrant young woman in 19th-century Ireland, cornered by her friends and neighbours and the man who vowed to honour and protect her, who all have reason to believe that she is in fact a faerie changeling. Ahead of her time and held back from escape, can Bridget prove she is no monster without resorting to monstrous means?"
3. Culver
Concordia connection: Director, Julia Weisser (BFA Theatre Acting, current student); Assistant Director/ Dramaturg, Camille Fecteau (BFA Performance Creation, current student); Stage Manager, Danielle Eyer (BFA Performance Creation, Minor in English Literature, current student).
Quick pitch: "Two co-workers get drawn into very different online worlds in the wake of the #MeToo era. Can they survive this test to their relationship, or are they on a collision course?"
4. Exits
Concordia connection: Director, Madie Jolliffe (BFA Performance Creation, current student).
Quick pitch: "A queer coming-of-age story. Rachel ran away from home with nothing but a well-read copy of Moby Dick. She has no idea who she is or what she’s doing, but when she meets a girl painting graffiti in an alley downtown, she’s convinced she’s found her saviour."
5. I Christopher
Concordia connection: Writer/performer Claudio Tamburri (BFA Theatre Major, 2017; Current student, Independent Studies)
Quick pitch: "I Christopher deals with the struggles of finding and maintaining a job with our lead character Christopher on the autism spectrum. The struggle also goes into depth in asking questions such as what’s his role in society? What can he contribute to society? Can he be loved or accepted in a world that’s moving too fast for him to catch up? Christopher is played by Claudio Tamburri, who has not only written this production but is making his solo performance debut at the 2019 Montreal FRINGE."
6. L'appel du vide
Concordia connection: Actor, Natasha Perry-Fagant (BFA Theatre Performance, 2013 – With Great Distinction); Stage Manager: Isabel Gelfand (BFA Design for the Theatre, current student)
Quick pitch: "While battling her own demons, a grieving witch performs a frightening ritual she believes will bring about the end of the world, and bring herself peace. Fresh off its near sold-out run at the Festival de la Bête Noire, this haunting English-language, one-woman show returns to the stage!"
7. Lear in Limbo
Concordia connection: Director, Daniel Coleman (BFA Theatre Major, 2010); Puppet Director/Designer, Morgan Nerenberg (BFA Theatre and Development, 2014)
Quick pitch: "A young puppeteer, her two older sisters, and their aged father relive Shakespeare’s tragic tale of King Lear in modern-day Montreal. High drama, a dash of music, a splash of puppetry, and a sprinkling of comic relief all come together to bring the story vividly to life."
8. P B & J (The Breakfast Club for a new generation)
Concordia connection: Director, Anne-Marie St Louis (BFA Theatre and Development, 2017 – With Great Distinction); Designer, Katherine (Kate) Stockburger (BFA Theatre and Development, Minor in Women Studies, 2018 – With Distinction).
Quick pitch: "P B & J is a BREAKFAST CLUB ADAPTATION for contemporary youth. THE FOUR WORST BULLIES OF THE SCHOOL are in detention, locked together in a sticky classroom and must learn to confront their DIFFERENCES… and perhaps even free themselves from the STEREOTYPES that define them. Will they find middle ground?"
9. The One
Concordia connection: Director, Samantha Megarry (BFA Theatre Performance, 2013 – With Distinction); Writer/Actor: Miriam Cummings (BFA Theatre Performance, 2013 – With Distinction; Current Student, Independent Studies).
Quick pitch: 'A woman in her early (late) twenties searches for love in real life (online) while developing the world’s most authentic (fake) dating app. A comedic-drama examining the rules of engagement in the world of swiping, insta-sharing and #relationshipgoals. What is vulnerability in 2019 and are we open to experiencing it?'
10. The Peers
Concordia connection: Collaborator, Rahul Gandhi (BFA Theatre Acting, Current Student, 2016).
Quick pitch: "The Shakespeare-parody-mashup of everyone’s dreams that nobody asked for. Come for the gut-rumbling laughter, stay for the thumb biting, and leave when it all falls apart. The show… it must go on."
11. The Trophy Hunt
Concordia connection: Movement Director, Vanessa Rigaux (MA of Arts, Media Studies, 2012).
Quick pitch: "Join the hunt for something wild and you just might find it. Using mask, movement, and music, this secret site-specific expedition tackling the perils of Big Game Hunting kicks off a National Consortium of artists creating a different interpretation of Trina Davies’s new play across the country this summer. Discover the secret location when you pick up your ticket. The hunting party departs at 7pm sharp, weather permitting."
12. Collision
Concordia connection: Director/ Choreographer, Tiera Joly Pavelich (BFA Contemporary Dance, current student).
Quick pitch: "Collision is a choreographic work created by Tiera Joly Pavelich in collaboration with and interpreted by Gabriela Guerra Woo which will explore the themes of loss, resilience and recovery proceeding the life-altering effects of concussions and traumatic brain injury (TBI)."