Fringe Shows We Saw!

Did you know there are nearly 90 shows at the Vancouver Fringe Festival? Our cast and crew has been taking advantage of our Artist Passes to see a plethora of the offerings. We thought we'd share with you some our experiences!

Ed and Natalie with Martha the
Whale from Lost in Place

"Lost in Place" is a site-specific show over at the old Crane on Granville Island. A BEACHED WHALE, A CRASH-LANDED SPACEMAN… AND YOU! How could it get any better than that? Well it does. An original work by Seth Soulstein (Alley Theatre), he calls it an interactive fantasy about love, loss, and the struggle between giving up hope and continuing to fight the fight. I highly recommend seeing this show. You do not want to miss it. ~ Ed Moran

"Every Story Ever Told" by Ryan Gladstone is playing at Carousel Theatre. This is another must see! I don't know how he manages to do it but we left the theatre actually thinking that he may actually have just told us every single story that was ever told all in one hour. Our experience featured "Tales of the Iguana"! Your's will undoubtedly be unique!You have to go and see it to believe it. ~ Natalie Burdeny & Ed Moran

"Since You Left Us" is an outrageous new comedy by Susinn McFarlen directed by Allan Morgan playing at the Firehall Arts Centre. A story of a dysfunctional family like no other! This show had me laughing and crying all at the same time. A dog in diapers??? "SINCE YOU LEFT US is about making peace with the family you have, not the one you wish you had". In my book it was a perfect 10! Bravi tutti! Put this one on your MUST SEE list! ~ Natalie Burdeny

"The Seminar" presented by Poiema Productions is a dark comedy about "ugly people". I saw the preview for this show at the Fringe For All and immediately added it to my must see list. "ATTENTION UGLY PEOPLE! Don't let your genetics define who you are are!" is one of the tag-lines for this show. I have to say this show made me feel extremely uncomfortable. So much so, I had the impulse to leave (but didn't 'cause that would be rude!). That said, I give kudos to this cast for stretching the boundaries of theatre and staying in their outrageous characters throughout the show. It may have not be for me, but it may be for you. Give it a try! They have 4 performances left at the Review Stage on Granville Island. ~ Natalie Burdeny

"This is Cancer!" has been getting RAVE reviews and I have to agree if you see anything at the Fringe (aside from Trouble In Tahiti of course) THIS is the show to experience. I guarantee you'll love and hate Cancer all at the same time. More info on their website! 3 more shows at Performance Works on Granville Island. And if you sit up front you may get a free martini! ~ Natalie Burdeny

Ed with Seth (the Arth-ling)
from Lost in Place

Fringe is in full swing!

So the Vancouver International Fringe Festival is in full swing and VanCOCO is having a blast. Over the past few days we have had the pleasure of meeting some really awesome people; both audience members and cast and crew from other shows.

Ed Moran (Sam) and Natalie Burdeny (Dinah)
checking out the Sanny Board Forest
on Granville Island

Thursday night after our final music rehearsal we all headed down to Performance Works on Granville Island to take part in the "Fringe For All". Along with about 40 other presenters we gave the audience a 2 minute accapella snip-it of Trouble In Tahiti to entice Fringe-goers to circle our show in their Fringe Guide and come and experience Opera at the Fringe.

The most exciting news though is that we had our first performance yesterday! We had a great turnout and we were ecstatic to feel the pulse of a live audience laughing and gasping in all the right places! The entire cast and crew left the theatre after the performance pleased as peacocks! Oh, and we even signed a few autographs at the end! FUN!!!!

After the frantic strike we headed down to the FringeBar at Agro Cafe on Granville Island for a much deserved glass of wine, a few beers, and some delicious munchies. Afterward we went our respective ways to go and see the shows that interested us the most.

Ed Moran (Sam) took in an impromptu performance at the Agro Cafe Wild Canyon Stage (???) of "Say Wha" a collection of literature that once read actually insites the words "Say Wha". His favorite quote of the evening was from a magazine that said, "You are the ball bearing rolling around in the glass house inside of me"...Say Wha?

Natalie Burdeny (Dinah) and Kathy Gable (Musical Director) took in two otheer shows that evening: "You are not Dead: A Guide to Modern Living" at the Granville Island Hotel and "This is Cancer" at Performance Works. Both were equally entertaining, however Natalie said that "This is Cancer" was exceptional! She didn't know whether to love it or hate it as she laughed and shed a tear or two. "You'll feel moments of extreme discomfort and joy.... if I were to recommend a show... it would be This is Cancer!", she said.

Trouble In Tahiti has 7 more runs and you can get the full schedule on our website (www.vancoco.ca). We invite you to head on down to the Firehall Arts Centre... in the words of the surprise critic who came to our show last night... "I'm glad I came!" Don't miss it!