Edmonton Fringe 2006 – the 25th annual – has finally come to a close. We closed out all three shows on Sunday and then there was a raging after party at the pad.


A raging party complete with games of Hero Clicks.
A raging party I didn’t attend. Well, I was there, I just didn’t party. Somehow after sleeping til 3 in the afternoon (nearly missing the shows) I still wound up with a hangover that raged til the late hours of the night. No thanks to the shitty chinese food I had for my meal that day. The hangover was well worth it. It was probably a result of drinking an entire bottle of cheap wine during Montag (jacob’s show I guested in) on Saturday night. it was a two man show. Ran about an hour.
Don’t get the wrong impression though. I didn’t drink it throughout the course of the hour. No, for comedy I drank it in about 40 seconds. And it really didn’t hit me until later on and then it REALLY didn’t hit me until i started throwing rum and beer on top of it later that night. The show rocked the audiences faces off. Amy and Kirsten both congratulated me with warm praises about the show and my performance. Amy said something ridiculously flattering that I cannot remember.
Needless to say, despite the detour into hangover misery on Sunday, the fringe was amazing. I learned a lot about my show which was part of the point. I also threw caution to the wind and found out that folks really dug it. Also, my friend Lindsay gave me a sock monkey.

And when he behaved he got to hang with uncle green goblin

On some days of the fringe, I had time to check out this 2piece kids band.

They played outside next to Fat Franks the hot dog vendor.

Steve and Lee left this morning. I miss them already. Our room just isn’t the same without them.

It’s been pretty rad getting to see them this much. I’ve grown pretty attached to the fuckers.

something i forgot to mention.
I did finally get to play a theatresports show the other night. A welcome break from running tech. Tad decided to do a scene where we all improvise like someone else on stage. I was directed to improvise like Kevin. So I hang back and wait and let the scene develop. I then make a bold and brave choice for an actor, and drop trau. I enter the scene, balls in hand, in the nude. (Something Kev is totally comfy doing, I however have never)
So, my first fringe. And my first nude scene.
I give it 4 stars.

trying to not go to bed at 5 in the morning wasn’t supposed to mean i should go to bed at 630 in the morning.

must stop going to bed at 5am

One week to go.
Shows have been great. We are all learning a lot about what sorks and doesn’t in the cartoon.On Saturday we did an Improvised Cosby Murder Mystery. the Cos had to figure out who murdered someone. It really doesn’t take any explaining. Then Monday we did an “Encyclopedia Brown” type story called Wikipedia Blue and the case of the The Wrinkly Fridge. It’s basically a neighborhood kid that noses around trying to solve a useless case. Both nights hit the ground strong. Unfortunately it peetered around the 40 minute mark. Regardless the audience totally dug it. One such member had told me before the show that she came only because the Vagina Monologues were sold out. She had read about it and was expecting it to be “phenomenal.” After the show she told me it was better than expected. Which at first I thought was a dig, but then realized she meant better than phenomenal. I think Monday was also the day a review came out. 4 stars. (that’s out of 5 for those not in the fringe know) The reviewer was kind enough to say “It’s as close to a live taping of WonderShowzen as you will ever get” and “It is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before or will ever get a chance to see again.” yesterday saw me desperately trying to give away 30 free tix to that night’s performance. I got 16 out there but managed to forget to eat. oh well. The show last night was the best yet. Just a free form show allowing people to really break out and explore characters and relationships. Everyone in it was fantastic.
Tonight we will do a format called Follow The Leaver where we will follow characters that leave scenes into new ones.
I am seriously considering a Law and Order show in the mix now. Mostly because I am obsessed with it and haven’t seen it in over a month. Stupid no TNT in Canada.
There is an old lady in front of the bathroom waiting for it to become free dancing to “Hungry Eyes” which is playing at the coffee shop. Man that’s funny.

person 1 and person 2 were walking back home the other night. They were talking about how great it has been to have seen each other so often. and how after the Fringe they would see each other again even. 2 wondered if would ever tire of 1.
So, the other night 1 and 2 stopped at “the Sev” to get cigs. 1 had an unlikely craving for ice cream at midnight and decided to purchase an Oreo Sandwich. On the way home 1 explained to the group that his ice cream craving was pretty unusual for this hour and in general even. He then told of how he can have a chocolate bar for weeks because he just nibbles away at it in stages. Time went by. Cigs were smoked. And Dark Rum and Gingers made. When 2 went and opened the fridge the following conversation ensued.

2 : hey, is this coffee in here gonna be like your chocolate bar?
1 : Oh man, proly… but I guess it’s a few days old. It should proly get tossed.
2 : (giggling) I don’t think I am gonna get sick of you.

One of those dudes was me and the other was lee.
it’s up to you to decide.

Hint : That Oreo Sandwich was in the freezer for 3 days.

ok. the fringe has opened.
First thing was first. I was put in charge of the projector so as not to leave it at the venue every night. Lee and I put our heads together and came up with the most frivolous use of said responsibility, we took the basement and turned into our own little entertainment room.

The projection screen is a 4×8 piece of styrofoam. The same thing we are projecting the cartoon on (only with the cartoon there are 3 of them)
We’ve spent most of our nights hunting zombies til the wee hours of the night.

Let’s see. Crumbs and Theatresports opened on Friday night, I opened on Saturday night.

All 3 shows had fun times. I’ve been running lights for Crumbs and TheatreSports. Something I have never done before but am rather enjoying. There are only 4 lights, so I can’t screw too much up. Maybe when I get back I will run lights for a show or two back at the garage.

I went dancing at Halo again Friday night. It was pretty bizarre. If last week was hot night, this week was chubby girls in jean skirts night. It was also show up broken night. There was a guy in a neck brace, a girl with a foot cast, and a guy on crutches. You have nice hair girl was not there to compliment my coif again, In her stead was you’re hot and cute girl. I wasnt aware that combination was even possible which I guess goes to show how drunk she was. Obviously I was standing in between a really hot guy and a cute guy and she sort of saw reverse double and it all combined into one.
I’m sure that was the situation.

The rest of this week is filled with 3 show nights. But at least we aren’t building and breaking down the venue every night. At least not until Friday night.

Friday night I went to a BBQ.

It was mostly a bunch of actors talking about shows they NEED to do together. Oh and I have the perfect director! I just ran into so and so. blah blah blah. Hey, guess what, I’m a big actor! Look at the great big actor on the stage! I yell the loudest! Look at me!

once I was through with all that, I hightailed it to Halo for a differen’t kind of pretentious crowd. Hipsters. I got there and realized I had no cash to get in and the ATM wasn’t working so I worked out this deal with someone where she’d pay for my entrance and then I’d buy her a drink. She said not to worry about it and handed me 5 bucks. Only in Canada. Later on in the night someone surprised me with a random compliment about my hair. Good work stranger. Way to boost my self-confidence into the normal range.
That’s not to say that there aren’t people in my life that pay me swell compliments. Nice ass, hey faggot, y’know. But the random compliment from a stranger is pretty nice. In fact, while in Winnipeg I thought of this great way to make people’s days by paying them “no strings attached” compliments. you look for nothing in return, you pay it and wish them a nice day.

Mark was kind enough to draw some amazing characters for the cartoon so I spent most of Saturday getting those into the computer and programmed into the show. He supplied me with a Bruce Banner that can turn into the Hulk, an Anime girl complete with gigantic knockers, and Quint from Jaws.

Sunday was a relaxing day that ended with a game of Hero Clicks.

It involves little superhero action figures that you do battle with, of course using dice. What nerd game would be complete without dice. mark put together a ragtag group of Canadian superheros, Jacob pieced together an unstoppable force, and myself, I went with the classic random assortment of characters that get their asses kicked before anyone else.

I moved into another room that night. So now instead of the zombie, I have skeletons.
This is who I look at if I am on my back.

And this is my friend to the right of me.

I had to get up yesterday around 9am to head over to Fringe Headquarters to get my artist package. I then got to fill out a bunch of forms while cranking up on caffeine. One group of forms is a set of comp sheets. You have to fill one out for each show with the password you will be using. Not knowing I would be filling this password out ad nauseum at 9 in the morning, I chose “Joe Don Baker is Mittens.”
Monday night was also tech rehearsal for Jacob’s show Montag. it takes the idea of improv having unlimited resources and asks, “what if we had restricted use of these infinite means?” The show is about an entirely different mode of presentation and approach that he has been working on in Austria.
I had to jet early to try to succeed at the impossible, scoring tickets to the sold out Wolf Parade show for 4 of us. It was a task we thought we only had a 3% chance of succeeding at. When we arrived at the club we miraculously got 4 of the last 15 tickets available.

All in all it has been a crazy few days considering the fringe hasn’t even started yet. Steve and Lee get here today, tomorrow is tech and workshops.
Also, I popped my graphic novel cherry. I’m reading one called Walking Dead. It has zombies and takes place outside of the A-T-L.

Well, i’m back in my second home again. Edmonton. it’s comforting to be somewhere that you can almost consider home. It makes being on the road and away from home that much easier. First stop : Next Act(of course). Myself, Marc, Belinda, and Jacob got some food and drinks last night. I went to pay my tab (leftover from the Ganza) and it was gone. vanished into thin air.
I’m staying with Marc and Belinda. in the bottom floor of their pad. Surrounded by all these awesome action figures and toys and a crazy amazing zombie marc made.

Also, they have an Ewok for a dog.

Lines at airports aren’t long because of terror alerts or restrictions for carry on items. No, they are long because of all the people acting like little fucking children when asked to remove a bottle of water from their carry on luggage. Then these same fuckers spend the next 20 minutes complaining to anyone who will listen which, you guessed it, holds up the line even more. C’mon people. Seriously. Let it go. It’s a tube of toothpaste.

Playoff beard coming along nicely