Why there’s nothing like the Fringe to see new talent

As professional theatres and arts organizations struggle to survive, it’s good to know the Toronto Fringe is still around. There might not be as many shows as in previous years – 77, I think – but there’s been no lack of things to see.

When I passed by the Fringe Patio the other day between shows, it was thrilling to find so many SOLD OUT signs pasted across performances on the big board.

That got me thinking about how few places there are to break into this crazy industry. Many artist development programs exist, and most theatres have some sort of writers’ program attached to them, which usually result in a reading or two.

But there’s nothing like the Fringe to get real-world, audience-paying, put-up-a-show-in-a-couple-of-months theatre experience. Because of the lottery system, newcomers get to perform alongside stage veterans.

As usual, I’ve made a few lovely discoveries this Fringe. The whole creative team behind Gringas, for instance – including playwright/actor Mercedes Isaza Clunie, director Zoe Marin (whom I’ve had my eye on since seeing her in Do You Think You’re Better Than Me at last year’s Fringe), and actors isi bhakhomen, Katarina Fiallos, Rachel Quintanilla, Alejandra Angobaldo, Gloria Freire and Julianna Olave – shows enormous promise.

The way Isaza Clunie sets up this story of seven Latina-Canadian women reconnecting with their roots at a Spanish-only summer camp in Muskoka is masterful, and each character’s story, clearly staged by Marin, feels urgent and truthful. The ending could be tweaked a bit, and I was curious to get a bit more information about their instructor, but this show deserves further development and another life. It wraps up this Sunday (July 14), then travels to the Hamilton Fringe, where it won first place in the festival’s new play contest. (The play runs there from July 19 to 28.)

Another happy discovery was the work of Srutika Sabu. I reviewed her show 1 Santosh Santosh 2 Go: Tosh Finds His Groove in the Toronto Star (see the Star’s full online package here) and though I didn’t award it a critic’s pick I pointed out that Sabu showed great promise and I couldn’t wait to see what she did next. Note: a couple of days later, I saw Sabu – who trained and worked as a physician – flyering a Fringe line, and discovered she had only been doing clown for a year: astonishing. See info here.

I was familiar with the talented actor Veronica Hortigüela before this year’s Fringe; she was the smarter-than-she-appeared influencer fiancée in Paolo Santalucia's Prodigal, and part of the lovely ensemble in Gregory Prest’s Bremen Town. But I wasn’t prepared for how she and Annie Luján would so completely and uproariously hijack the intimate Tarragon Solo Room for their show Monks, about two bored monks procrastinating while they should be counting lentils before the abbot returns to their monastary.

Bits from their show, including recreations of storms and one endearing donkey (complete with every pun you can imagine), as well as their fearless audience engagement, will make me chuckle for the rest of the year. Think Bridesmaids meets Monty Python. The show runs until Sunday.

I’ve long been a fan of Assembly Theatre regulars Cass Van Wyck and Anne van Leeuwen, and I took note of Kaitlin Race’s breakthrough performance last year in Bone Cage, which Van Wyck directed. But I had never seen a show by Evan Bawtinheimer until this Fringe’s Patty Picker, a clever script that playfully showed off all the artists in ways I hadn’t witnessed before. I reviewed the show, which closes Saturday, here.

I saw Neha Poduval’s Aala Tamasha Aala early on in the festival, but more than a week later I’m still haunted by both the show and by the heartbreaking performance of Tushar Tukaram Dalvi as a security guard who once had dreams of dancing in India but gave them up because of his strict father (Amlan Das). I wouldn’t be surprised if some smart company – Cahoots, perhaps? – picked up this show, directed by Himanshu Sitlani with lots of nuance, for their season. The show closes Saturday.

And who could forget the charming team behind Saskatchewan – An Aspirational Polyamorous Adventure, which I called “a big, sexy, group hug of a Fringe show” in my review? While I was familiar with the two older actors’ (Maria Syrgiannis and Dan Willmott) work, the four younger performers (Naima Sundiata, Ben Chinapen, Hiketaka Ishii and Simon Sarnowski) were pretty new to me, and their chemistry, connection and commitment to their characters was hugely impressive. The show closes Sunday.

Another thing that’s great about the Fringe? Since it’s become so expensive for regional theatre companies to tour, the festival provides a good opportunity to see what’s going on across the country.

So what a treat to see Rat Academy, by Edmonton-based company Batrabbit Productions, created and performed by Dayna Lea Hoffmann and Katie Yoner, in collaboration with director Joseph McManus. Their show closes Saturday but then likely heads to other Fringe spots.

And I’m not sure where writer/director Blair Moro and the cast of Cabaret of Murder (Bella Ciccone, Katie-Rose Connors and Paulina Pino Rubio) is from, but I’m glad they played the Toronto Fringe. Their show, while at times disturbing, hit like a sledge hammer and got dark laughs from difficult true-crime stories. The show closes Saturday.

The Toronto Fringe continues until Sunday (July 14). See the Toronto Star’s full coverage here.