By Lauren Wagn
The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival takes over The Exchange District and beyond from July 19 to 30, hoping to bring indie theatre, music, food and fun to more Manitobans than ever before. This may not be their biggest festival ever, featuring only 143 performing companies, which is slightly lower than their record of 186 different shows in 2017, but the Fringe’s latest accessibility initiatives strives to make Fringe for everyone.
“The Winnipeg Fringe welcomes everyone to attend and to make it possible for all to enjoy. Our accessible options are an absolute must,” says Festival manager Tori Popp. One such way that Fringe is welcoming more people at this year’s festival is by programming one ASL-interpreted performance everyday.
These ASL-interpreted performances encapsulate the breadth of the Fringe’s programming and audiences, featuring kid-friendly shows, comedies and dramas. In the festival’s program, each performing company can also note whether their shows are accessible to those who are hard of hearing, deaf, learning English as a new language, have low-vision or who are blind.
Shows at the Fringe vary from highly visual experiences with limited dialogue to performances that focus entirely on storytelling. By denoting in the program which shows may be accessible to different folks, the Fringe makes it easier for people to find art that is suitable for them.
New to the festival this year is Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC) door tickets for all Kids Venue performances as well as two PWYC experiences. PWYC allows festival goers to choose how much they can budget towards a show. The Kids Venue features six family-friendly shows to choose from. The Fringe hopes that the new ticket price will help more families bring their kids to a play for the very first time.
The new PWYC experiences include an interactive, Sherlock Holmes themes scavenger hunt and an open mic night. Some Fringers may have only ever attended Old Market Square, taking in music and buskers, and these experiences can be the next step into the theatrical side of the festival.
Popp believes that offering these options will help even more people discover art, saying, “It’s important for folks to see Fringe art, to support new artists, to find something that inspires them and by keeping ticket prices affordable and offering Pay What You Can experiences, we can broaden the community of patrons who are able to access the festival and take part in that discovery.”
While the PWYC tickets are new, the Fringe is no stranger to affordable art. On top of the free entertainment offered at Old Market Square, the Fringe keeps general prices at $12 a ticket and the performing companies have the choice to offer a range of discounts including $10 door tickets for seniors, students and those attending matinees. Fringers under 25 can purchase $10 door tickets for every performance. The savings continue with Select 2 for $12 performances. This year, 54 performances are being sold at this special price.
With all these initiatives, Fringe hopes to lower the barriers that many people face when it comes to accessing art. Visit winnipegfringe.com for details.
