Fringe binge

>> Picks, pans and predictions for the 10th anniversary fest

by AMY BARRATT

The Montreal Fringe Festival is, by definition, unpredictable. And yet, watching short previews of 30 of this year's offerings at the Fringe-for-all last week, it all seemed strangely familiar. I think that's because, although no two Montreal Fringes are alike, it's only really the balance that tips from year to year.

One year the festival may be weighted slightly toward mask or clown work, another may have more than its share of young women sincerely exploring their female essences, or "dramas" about slackers who play loud music, yell and get really wasted for our viewing pleasure.

It's the 10th anniversary of the Montreal Fringe and the rules have not changed. There is no screening process according to merit--it's strictly first-come, first-serve. Partly what gives our Fringe its character is that it's such a crap-shoot. You get the full range, from professional-quality production to shows that are laughably bad. All tickets are still priced under $10 and there's plenty of buzz to be had with your suds in the centrally-located beer tent.

In the case of at least one show, that déjà vu you're feeling isn't just a feeling: Keir Cutler--and it seems to me the Fest should have a rule against this--is bringing back the same show, Teaching Shakespeare, for the second year in a row.

New Yorker Susan Jeremy (1998's Was That My 15 Minutes?) is back with another one-woman show titled P.S. 69. You'll have to go see the play, about a substitute teacher, to find out if the number of the public school in the title is an oblique reference to Ms. Jeremy's sexuality.

Some Fringers were disappointed with Japan's Mari Osanai at last year's Fringe, but die-hard fans (and she has many here) will want to check out the contemporary dancer's fourth Fringe offering, hollow place, at Théatre la Chapelle.

The following is a fairly random guide to some shows to watch out for at Fringe 2000.

Arrhythmia

Local playwright Alexandria Haber has had her hits (Birthmarks, The Full Molly) and her misses (The Farm), but this play, whose title is the technical term for a heart murmur (I sense a metaphor coming on) has a lot of promising elements. Alain Goulem directs a cast including Jennifer Morehouse, Eric Davis, Jane Wheeler and Robin Wilcock.

Tripping Through Oz

I saw this show during a brief run last year and can heartily recommend it. It's silly, character-based comedy by those wacky Mask On! girls and a few friends. The pop culture references make it classic Fringe fare.

Tin Fish

The three-minute excerpt involving dead fish was a highlight at the Fringe-for-all.

Being Terence Bowman

A familiar face from the Vestibules as well as the On the Spot improv troupe, Bowman steps out on his own for the first time. He describes the show as "somewhere between stand-up and theatre" and "a tour of my brain." The material is all new "except for one bit that dates back to 1985 that, for nostalgia's sake and because it's funny, I decided to keep." Fans who remember Bowman from the days of Sunday Night Comedy at Station 10 may recognize the bit.

52 Pick Up

Montreal Fringe patron saint T.J. Dawe returns with an accomplice. Winner of last year's Spirit of the Fringe award, Dawe has been a crowd-pleaser two years in a row, first with Tired Clichés, then Labrador. Hailing from Vancouver, this show, co-created by Dawe and Rita Bozi, is literally never the same twice. It consists of 52 short scenes about a relationship, "one scene for every card in a deck." At the beginning of each performance, a deck of cards is thrown into the air, then picked up, and the scenes are performed in whatever order the cards fell. So Fringe.

girls! girls! girls!

Not what you're thinking. This is a legitimate, if edgy, piece of theatre. The script, by Toronto playwright Greg MacArthur, looks to be clever and funny, even as it deals with gruesome stories straight from the headlines about school shootings and teens beaten to death by their peers. The production is directed by Peter Hinton and features some of our best young actors, including Alison Darcy, Julie Tamiko Manning and Laura Teasdale. The company name, Teatro Comaneci, is indeed an homage to Nadia. Teasdale's character in the play, Splitz, is a gymnast, and an extremely competitive one.

Mad Dash

Although he is only 20, Joe Cobden has been a street performer for 11 years. Currently a theatre student at Concordia, he has already made his mark on the professional stage (Centaur's The Beauty Queen of Leenane). Mad Dash is sketch comedy--we're promised 30 plays in the space of 60 minutes--performed by Cobden and fellow Concordians Sarah Blumel, Ken MacKenzie and René Primeau.

Woody

Somewhat in the vein of Tintin Untold, Woody could be subtitled, Pinocchio, The Later Years. Toronto writer-performer Michael MacLean plays the "aging former puppet" who reveals that, on that fateful day he told a lie, it wasn't only his nose that grew.

Là ou il est dit...

I liked what I saw at the preview. Two appealing young performers, Fabien Fauteux and Simon Arame, in an original play about young Québécois actors trying to make it in New York. Their recreation of a scene from Pulp Fiction was priceless.

In honour of its 10th anniversary, the Fringe presents 10 x 10, a series of one-nighters celebrating Fringes past. Check out:

*Me, Myself and MacHomer: A Ricktrospective This "mockumentary" about Fringe darling Rick Miller features cameos by Stephanie Baptist, Michel Perron, and many beloved Miller characterizations. Monday, June 12 only, at 10 p.m.

*Me Mom & Morgentaler: From Here to Maternity A film about everybody's favourite local band and their rise to... well, go see the movie. Tuesday, June 13, 11 p.m. at Cinéma L'Amour.: