All Fringed-out
A gentleman approached me at the box office the other day and said 'are you the guy with the blog?' 'Um...yeah' I tentatively replied. He went on to tell me that my blog came up when he typed 'Edmonton Fringe' into Google and that he'd read all about my travels and stuff. It freaked me out a little and got me a little worried about what I'd written (as box office staff we have to be completely impartial and not say anything about the plays so as not to be seen as biased). So even though I'm dying to review some of the plays I've seen it ain't gonna happen.
The Fringe is now over. I had a brilliant time, squeezing in over ten plays when I wasn't working, as well as spending time in the beer garden chatting to actors and fellow punters. I was seriously impressed with the quality of the shows and the organisation of the festival generally. It was a pleasure to be a part of it. As far as I'm concerned, if Fringe theatre is all I ever see then that's ok with me. It's so stripped back and the actors can't hide behind bombastic musical numbers or ellaborate costumes and sets. It's punk rock theatre!
I was chatting to a woman who had worked at the great big Edinburgh Fringe for many years. She became disappointed with how commercialised it has become and how it's being taken over by stand-up commedians. I don't think the Edmonton Fringe is in danger of losing it's edge. I met some really great people here and hopefully I'll be around next year to get involved again.
My plan now is to head east...somewhere east. I'd like to see as much of Eastern Canada as I can in the next couple of months before heading back west to work and ride out the winter. There's an 8-week part time creative writing course here at the Uni of Alberta I wouldn't mind doing if I can get back here by late October. I have some serious planning to do. I would like to see Toronto, Montreal and Halifax but I have no real concept of the scale of this immense country yet and how long is would take to bus around. So I just bought the latest Lonely Planet guide to Canada which I'll pour through this evening.
My most immediate plan is to take a bus to Jasper and then back to Calgary to meet some relatives who are arriving from Ireland. Then it's bus and or plane east. I'm really keen to see the big oilsands operation at Fort McMurray too. That's where the real action of the Alberta boom is taking place. I've heard some remarkable stories about the place. There's really nowhere else like it on earth I hear. Finding a place to stay though is near impossible. Work is exteremely lucrative though. I've heard of uneducated people earning sums of $10,000 in two months working the oilfields. Unbelievable.
Yesterday was pretty cool. I got to meet a cousin of mine who is a Cabinet Minister for the province of Alberta. He's the Minister for Gaming. He told me all about how revenue obtained from gambling in the province is collected into a pool and distributed to charitable causes. I observed Question Time from the gallery in the afternoon. It was a very interesting day to attend because a controversial private members bill opposing gay marriage was due for discussion. The Liberal opposition used filibustering tactics to delay any discussion of the bill, knowing that yesterday was the last day of the year that private members bills could be brought forward. So their tactic was to introduce to the floor every single guest they had brought along who was sitting in the gallery. It dragged on for ages. The government members pretty much knew that they couldn't get to the bill. So my cousin decided he'd introduce his Australian cousin to the floor! I got the 'traditional welcome' which was banging of hands on the desks.
Ok, i've got some trip planning to do.
MG
On the Ipod: Cosmic Psychos, '15 years, a million beers'
(oh thank God my aunt mailed my ipod up here from Vancouver...!)
The Fringe is now over. I had a brilliant time, squeezing in over ten plays when I wasn't working, as well as spending time in the beer garden chatting to actors and fellow punters. I was seriously impressed with the quality of the shows and the organisation of the festival generally. It was a pleasure to be a part of it. As far as I'm concerned, if Fringe theatre is all I ever see then that's ok with me. It's so stripped back and the actors can't hide behind bombastic musical numbers or ellaborate costumes and sets. It's punk rock theatre!
I was chatting to a woman who had worked at the great big Edinburgh Fringe for many years. She became disappointed with how commercialised it has become and how it's being taken over by stand-up commedians. I don't think the Edmonton Fringe is in danger of losing it's edge. I met some really great people here and hopefully I'll be around next year to get involved again.
My plan now is to head east...somewhere east. I'd like to see as much of Eastern Canada as I can in the next couple of months before heading back west to work and ride out the winter. There's an 8-week part time creative writing course here at the Uni of Alberta I wouldn't mind doing if I can get back here by late October. I have some serious planning to do. I would like to see Toronto, Montreal and Halifax but I have no real concept of the scale of this immense country yet and how long is would take to bus around. So I just bought the latest Lonely Planet guide to Canada which I'll pour through this evening.
My most immediate plan is to take a bus to Jasper and then back to Calgary to meet some relatives who are arriving from Ireland. Then it's bus and or plane east. I'm really keen to see the big oilsands operation at Fort McMurray too. That's where the real action of the Alberta boom is taking place. I've heard some remarkable stories about the place. There's really nowhere else like it on earth I hear. Finding a place to stay though is near impossible. Work is exteremely lucrative though. I've heard of uneducated people earning sums of $10,000 in two months working the oilfields. Unbelievable.
Yesterday was pretty cool. I got to meet a cousin of mine who is a Cabinet Minister for the province of Alberta. He's the Minister for Gaming. He told me all about how revenue obtained from gambling in the province is collected into a pool and distributed to charitable causes. I observed Question Time from the gallery in the afternoon. It was a very interesting day to attend because a controversial private members bill opposing gay marriage was due for discussion. The Liberal opposition used filibustering tactics to delay any discussion of the bill, knowing that yesterday was the last day of the year that private members bills could be brought forward. So their tactic was to introduce to the floor every single guest they had brought along who was sitting in the gallery. It dragged on for ages. The government members pretty much knew that they couldn't get to the bill. So my cousin decided he'd introduce his Australian cousin to the floor! I got the 'traditional welcome' which was banging of hands on the desks.
Ok, i've got some trip planning to do.
MG
On the Ipod: Cosmic Psychos, '15 years, a million beers'
(oh thank God my aunt mailed my ipod up here from Vancouver...!)
posted by Matt G at 3:58 PM
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