Get ready for another exciting year of local theatre—the annual Ottawa Fringe Festival is back from June 13–23, and better than ever.
This year marks the 27th Ottawa Fringe Festival, and prides itself on the opportunity and accessibility it gives local performers, creatives and audience members to see thrilling and exciting new theatre in the city.
Apt613 sat down with Executive Director of the Ottawa Fringe Festival, Alain Richer, to learn more about what folks can expect at this years’ Fringe Fest.
This is Richer’s third Fringe Festival, and he says that over the years, they’ve grown a lot.
“We’ve got 50 shows this year that will be performing over eight venues in 11 days,” he says. “That’s just over 300 performances happening over those 11 days, so we’ve definitely grown over the years.”
Richer says that they had to cancel the festival for 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but says that when the festival came back in 2022, their numbers weren’t what they used to be.
“2019 was the record year for the Ottawa Fringe Festival—the most tickets sold, most money returned to artists,” he says. “When we returned in 2022, we were about 10–12 shows less. Last year, we grew a little bit bigger, and now we’re kind of approaching the size that we were pre-pandemic.”
One of the main priorities of the Ottawa Fringe Festival is their commitment to giving back to local artists in the community. Richer says that due to the un-curated nature of the Fringe Fest, it allows artists ease and accessibility when looking to showcase their work—especially if there are new or emerging artists looking for a platform.
“People apply in what is essentially a lottery system,” he says. “Names are pulled at random, and if you’re pulled, you make it in the festival and have this really great opportunity to put on your show.”
Richer also mentions that there are both seasoned performers and first-timers who get to perform side-by-side for the duration of the festival as well as learning from one another—something he points out that, “doesn’t exist in very many places for the arts and theatre field.”
Richer is excited to expand this year’s Fringe Fest to include more social events and community spaces.
“With the support of the Donner Canadian Foundation, we are able to create an event almost every evening and then sometimes during the day on weekends at Club SAW—which is where the social hub of the festival is—that will be free for people to attend,” he says.
He also says he understands how overwhelming the festival might be for audience members who are new to the festival. There will be a team of around 30 people that are working both in front of house or as technicians, and at least 150 volunteers that are also there to support the festival and its audience members.
Richer hopes that audiences fully embrace the experience and to take a chance. Ultimately, it’s about making people feel welcome at the festival.
“We work hard to make sure that the festival is so accessible to all,” he says. “The idea here is that it’s low stakes – the ticket prices are low, and 100% of the revenue returns to the artists. You should take a chance on something that you wouldn’t regularly go to — it’s something exciting that you could try.”
For more information about the 2024 Ottawa Fringe Festival, make sure to visit their website.
