St. Albert's record-setting Fringe year

The machinery is in place to crank out the 33rd annual Edmonton Fringe Festival. All that's needed is for the curtain to rise tomorrow for an expected explosion of zany acts.

This year's theme is Fringed and Confused, a throwback to the first Fringes where curious patrons strolled onto the sites eager to join the adventure.

“The '70s were about building community. And the Fringe Festival is about building community. People wanted to be together and share an experience. In the '70s I was a kid, but people have talked about that early sense of belonging and we wanted to foster that,” says program director Murray Utas.

Irrespective of the theme, the Fringe successfully creates a convivial atmosphere where no fourth wall exists between artist and patron.

Because the whole affair is concentrated in two small areas of Edmonton – Strathcona and the French Quarter – patrons get to share a cup of java or a beer with their favourite actor, and directors and playwrights strike deals over a plate of curry chicken.

The Edmonton Fringe is the biggest and the best in North America and part of the buzz this year is its latest growth spurt. About 210 independent, non-juried shows will be featured throughout its 11-day run with a thick St. Albert streak.

Last year, the Fringe sold a record 117,000 tickets, a jump from about 5,000 the previous year.

“It's an outdoor event and people get caught up in the magic, especially if there is good weather,” Utas says hoping for another spike.

Since all shows are unjuried, it's Fringer beware. Most productions deliver a high level of skill, however poorly prepared material does occasionally surface.

A quick scan of the program guide reveals everything from a slough of repetitive romance productions to shows dealing with family problems, religion, zombies, aliens, politics, social issues and taboo subjects.

The Fringe is definitely a mirror reflecting society's multiple personalities, and the choice is almost overwhelming.

In addition to the guide, organizers have introduced a new app that promises Fringers a better handle on what they'd like to see.

This year 44 shows have hired artists from St. Albert, Morinville and Sturgeon County. Patrons can get their first peek at the Performance Parade and Opening Night Celebrations starting tomorrow, Thursday Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the ATB Financial Park. As Utas is happy to say, “Keep on Fringin' man.”

Below is a list of all local artists:

• St. Albert Children's Theatre alumnus (SACT) Josh Languedoc wears the playwright's hat as he premieres Case Study, an examination of two scientists that sign up for a top-secret government project on violence.

• St. Albert actors Meaghan McKinstry and Ellen Bradford fire off a few zingers in Scrap Paper, a slapstick comedy about the ultimate stage mother and her playwright son.

• Cory Christensen, a Sturgeon County employee at Barricades and Signs, takes time away from his day job to star in Little Monsters, a play that looks at the perfect parent.

• St. Albert actor Bob Locicero pours out his comedic talents in Tobit, a biblical jewel inspired by the Dead Sea Scrolls.

• In another period production, St. Albert playwright-director Rick Kiebiech reprises The Reluctant Return of Donald Drake as a '40s radio program.

• In the musical Zanna, Don't! St. Albert director Steven Angove along with local actors Maddy Knight and Sarah Ormandy poke a few barbs at sexuality in a world where homosexuality is the norm and heterosexuality is illicit.

• St. Albert actor Liz Allchin returns to the Fringe with Band Age, a charming comedy that sings the misadventures of a seniors' band.

• Matt Alden, one of SACH's great success stories, jumps off the deep end in Off the Book Musical, a fully improvised musical.

• Former St. Albert actor Elisa Benzer takes pen to paper tackling love and romance in Letters to Laura.

• Every parent likes to pass on pearls of wisdom to their children. St. Albert based playwright Craig Sherburne makes it public in Letters to Lochlan.

• Vintage is big right now, and former St. Albert singer Beth Portman delivers Postcards from a Paper Moon: A Delivery of Song, a musical trek with a 1920s to 1940s vibe.

• Fresh from the National Theatre School, St. Albert's Stephen Tracey takes a starring role in The Love Game, an absurdist play that explores the boundaries of love.

• It's the 10th anniversary of Real Time and playwright-director Matt Alden resurrects this comedic cyber courtship of a geeky computer nerd and a wild rebel.

• The Ä‚Ä˝ber busy Sarah Ormandy stars as the leading lady in Gumshoe, a meta murder mystery that works as a play within a play.

• Laugh, cry, boo or hiss. The 11 O'Clock Number: An Improvised Musical invites it all with St. Albert actor David Johnston and SACT improv instructors Byron Martin and Brianne Jang.

• Former St. Albert director Louise Large tackles Sundogs, a drama that starts when a notorious UFO conspiracy theorist is reported missing.

• Foxy Sturgeon County actress Nadine Veroba (Cleopatra) turns tables on her fans starring in Famished: a Victorian Zombie Musical.

• St. Albert raised opera singer Melanie Gall, now a resident of the Big Apple, swings back to vaudeville with Red Hot Mama: A Sophie Tucker Cabaret.

• With more energy than a long-lasting battery, Matt Alden also takes time out to lead Kidprovisors and is a regular cast member of Die-Nasty at the Fringe.

• SACT alumna Kate Ryan is wielding a reputation as a go-to Fringe director and this year she's mounted It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's Superman! Starring in this extravaganza is SACT music director Rachel Bowron and SACT alumnus Garrett Ross.

• Former St. Albert resident Jenny McKillop stars in a new Stewart Lemoine production. The Euphorians is about a Viennese psychiatrist who is driven to distraction by a woman who may not exist.

• Maralyn Ryan, founding artistic director of SACT, directs members of the Youth Performance Troupe in the classic Canadian jewel Anne of Green Gables.

• Bebe Trembath, 14, daughter of St. Albert juvenile book author Don Trembath, follows in Dad's footsteps as a storyteller in Anansi and Friends, a look at four lively African folk tales.

• St. Albert saxophonist Charles Stolte, one the area's most electrifying contemporary musicians, brings a pulsating vibe to the NME Fringe Players nightly performances.

• With roots in both St. Albert and Morinville, C.K. LePerle is part of a full cast presenting Not a Stand Up Show, a mix of sketch, improv, music, obscenities, clever quips and special guests.

• St. Albert's Chase Jeffels stars in two shows – a remake of Stewart Lemoine's What Gives? and The Real Inspector Hound before heading to Toronto for more studies in acting.

• Triple threat artist Erin Hutchinson is the playwright, director and a performer in Murder Mine Musical, a dramatic tale of an opera student who loses his voice and morphs into a serial killer.

• Robyn Kumish and Andrea Mchenry, both graduate Paul Kane High students, play supporting roles in Vanity of Vanities, the story of Jesse, a young man suffering from the lasting effects of a tragedy.

• St. Albert actor Russ Farmer stickhandles the lead role in the modern day musical I Love You Because, a gender reversal on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

• Two St. Albert Catholic High alumni now living in Edmonton, Scott C. Bourgeois and Leah Anderson, continue their Twitter fueled #YEGprov with new games and past favourites. Bring your smartphone.

• The legend continues at McCrackin 2: The Whackining as Jim McCrackin, hit man seeking redemption tangos with the clandestine villain played by Cliff Lee, a long-time face at St. Albert's Surface Flow Control.

• Nobody does it quite like former St. Albert resident, award-winning stand-up comic Barbara North. She returns with another zany trip though life in Why Didn't Oprah Tell Me?

• An army of St. Albert improvisors explode onto IMPROV CITY: a Crowd to Thrill showcasing the gamesmanship of Josh Languedoc, Sean Bedard, Jeremy le Riche, Ali Yusuf, Scott Pedrick, Tyler Dettling and T.J. Eggleston.

• One of SACT's most sought after alumni, Bridget Ryan presents Here's To the Ladies Who Laugh Cabaret, part musical theatre, part stand-up and part storytelling.

• A graduate of the St. Albert Catholic High drama program and Citadel Young Acting Company, Alexandra Dawkins stars in Enid and the Death Wish, an urban spotlight on mourning.

• St. Albert actor Olivia Latta, a co-director for Tin, surfaces with two freight-hoppers stowed in a shipping container awaiting departure.

• St. Albert actress Madeleine Knight struts her stuff in The Hollywoodland Burlesques, where gossip is a commodity and everyone pays a price.

• Once again Byron Martin, Brianne Jang and Candice Fiorentino reveal that romance laced with subterfuge just makes a muddle in Sweet Lies.

• Jamie Cavanagh has taught improv through St. Albert Children's Theatre. However, 3…2…1, a comedy-drama involving death allows him to flex serious acting chops.

• Once more Melanie Gall lets her voice soar with Summertime: A Gershwin Concert that features memorable hits such as Someone to Watch Over Me and Love Walked In.

• Christine Lesiak, who made her St. Albert Theatre Troupe debut this past season, reprises the one-woman show Ask Aggie – The Advice Diva. Marissa Kochanski, set designer for SACT, was design consultant and wrote some of the lyrics.

• The St. Albert Troupe, No Tomatoes Theatre (Lauren Boyd, Andrew Boyd, Dylan Rosychuk and Keat Machtemes) have scooped up The Frogs, Stephen Sondheim's adaptation of Aristophane's Greek comedy.

• Once again St. Albert actress Jessica Fedorek steps into the world of the undead in Brains 2.0 The Great Regression.

• St. Albert theatre company Musicalmania! has gathered a significant number of local actors for their premiere of Days of the Klondike directed by St. Albert thespian Maureen Rooney. The plethora of actors featured include leads Maria Kolasis Harrigan and Julien Constantin with supporting actors Kaleb Stolee, Meghan Dunlop, Halle Forsythe, Dr. Connie Poon, Julia and Dave Sorneson and three generations of Skogstad men Ian, 70, Kevin, 40 and Adam, 9.