ยป Fringe Fest Failure
I just got back from a Fringe Fest show after party. First: Sorry Jared.
Apparently my Vancouver personality is still a little sharp for the Victoria sensibility. After half a two litre boot at the Rathskeller my Narcissism became simple Extraversion and I seem to have upset the artistic community.
The Fringe in Victoria has suddenly — on its second night — been denied $35,000 in funding from the provincial government. I’ll talk to my sources in Senior Policy Analyst positions, but my initial reaction was “Oh, the government’s fucked you? Welcome to Canada.”
Don’t get me wrong, I love the arts — this weekend I’m living in the gallery. Still, at the after party there was a mic, and I was scheduled to speak. There was a lot of talk about bullshit capitalism, arts funding, and the Olympics. I’m a natural contrarian, so I had something to say.
My prepared speech, which I failed to deliver before I left the venue:
Okay, the government fucked you guys. Welcome to Canada.
Rumor has it the total budget for The Fringe this year was about $350,000 and you’re talking about $35,000. Including the HST that’s approx. 15%. A Fringe show costs $9, so just double — or triple — your prices.
Remember: Your audience isn’t fellow poor artists, it’s young professionals with a craving for The Authentic.
Someone picked up on my capitalist audience-grunts and hurried me out the door before I had to face the noose. The closest I got was delivering an abbreviated speech to one of Jamrock’s friends outside the venue:
Jack: They should triple prices.
Jamrock Grrl: I can’t afford that.
Jack: Well, then you need a better job. I mean, I’m unemployed but…
Jamrock Grrl: Oh, fuck you! [Turns to gigantor companion twice her munchkin height.] Let’s go get coffee.
Right, she can afford to pay for coffee but not art. Okay, whatever: An inadvertent block of the male appendage. My bad. I have to get used to having a Victorian social circle, okay? In “The Big City” people have, you know, thick skin.
My real theory is that I ran into a female narcissist (she was a student — of course she needs a better job). We narcissists don’t brook the smallest criticism. It turns out that people like me, if not as entertaining as I am, are a bit of a pain in the proverbial.
The funding isn’t going to affect the Fringe that much as they often can get some different event funding and it brings in people and income. What the funding cut is going to affect is the Intrepid Theatre who puts on the fringe. Basically right now to make their budget they would have to fire their entire staff. So they will be starting 2010 on a small deficit and will be having more funding cut that year. This means they will most likely cancel their Uno fest which has higher ticket fees and never sells out and possibly the intrepid series. This are real theatre prices which only real theatre hardcores often go too. Fringe brings in everyone, the poor, the elderly on pension, families… people who cannot afford to go see regular priced theatre on a regular basis. If they raised the prices, fringe would fail. The low ticket prices and lots of shows to see is what draws the people in.
The heartbreaking part of it is that Intrepid Theatre has worked long and hard to develop a theatre audience. People finally know of their name other that the people who put on Fringe festival. I notice this because I tell people I work for Intrepid theatre and they no longer say “Who?” Intrepid has finally got their brand noticed and then have that brand disappear into an artless void.
Karen
29 Aug 09 at 10:21 am