goestoshow

Today I took a break from active fringing and didn’t see any new shows. I only re-saw Tudor Queens, which was entirely worth seeing again. So I think it’s time to talk about something other than the day-to-day process of Fringing.

Since the Varscona broke away from the main Fringe venue list a few years ago, the number of BYOVs have exploded. This year, for the first time, there are several BYOVs that are following directly in the Varscona’s footsteps and staging multiple shows as if they were normal venues. And this year, also for the first time, the number of shows I’m seeing in BYOVs is competing with the number I’m seeing on the normal venues. As of two days ago, BYOVs were ahead 8 to 7. Today, normal stages are ahead 10 to 8. In the waning days of the Fringe, this may reverse again.

I’ve always had fairly mixed feelings about this explosion of the BYOV. I worry a bit that BYOVs being outside the lottery system will result in less adventurous performance at the Fringe, as I don’t think stages like New City or Wunderbar are really that interested in staging performances that don’t sell one or both of beer or tickets. I’m aware that many other Fringes outside of Canada actually use the BYOV model for everything (notably, to my understanding, the Edinburgh Fringe that started it all), but I always really enjoyed the random egalitarian nature of the Fringe. Now, though, you can argue that almost as many shows are ‘juried’ in some sense than are unjuried, and that’s a trend worth questioning.

If it were just that, I would consider it an acceptable thing. Giving people that kind of choice is not against the spirit of the Fringe, so that’s ok. As long as the lottery and the main stages don’t go away (though I think it might be nice if there were a couple more of them, but I imagine the costs of that would be difficult to justify), this is evolution I’m ok with.

No, my real issue at this point with BYOVs is a purely practical one. Though many do an excellent job of providing a really solid space, comparable to most of the main venues in nearly every way, some of them can be a little bit frustrating. It’s not at all uncommon to have the venue be oversold to the point that people are being shoved into corners as standing room where they probably can’t see anything at all.

In fact, I seriously question some of the capacity numbers in the guide (which, I assume, are used to decide how many tickets the central box office sells before handing off sales to the venue). One BYOV in particular lists its capacity as 80 for a space that I’m pretty sure isn’t any larger than my living room. I think you’d have to have people dangling from the ceiling to fit them all in.

I get that without the Fringe itself subsidizing the venue, costs have to be recouped somehow, but it’s kind of ridiculous how frustrating some of these venues can be when they get oversold. Say what you will about Acacia Hall, the Phone Museum, or the King Edwards (and believe me I have), I’ve never felt like I was being stuffed into a sardine can in any of those. When I go to BYOVs, it often seems like I do.

Maybe it’s not practical (volunteer resources and money stretched thin as I expect it is), but it might be nice if the Fringe put in some extra oversight into the BYOVs now that they’re so much more prevalent.

Am I way off base? Anyone agree with me? This is a rapidly evolving piece of the Edmonton theatre scene, it seems to me, and now is the time to question its value and point out areas for improvement.