St-Ambroise Fringe Festival

There will be no fat lady singing for the end of MainLine Theatre. The company was pleased to announce on Dec. 21 that they had surpassed their fundraising goal of $15,000, taking in a total of $20,000 in donations.

MainLine Theatre, a not-for-profit company supporting independent theatre in Montreal as well as hosting the annual St-Ambroise Fringe Festival, found themselves in need of funds near the end of 2012 and sent out a desperate plea through Facebook, press releases to the media and their subscriber mailing list. According to Amy Blackmore, who is currently stepping in for former artistic director Jeremy Hechtman, funds were needed due to changes in the management, increased overhead costs and a decrease in revenues at the end of 2012. A passionate community responded and MainLine surpassed their goal, ensuring that it wouldn’t be disappearing anytime soon.

“The funds will be enough to hold MainLine over until the end of the FRINGE in June. It’s essentially buying us time to rethink the model and move forward with a new way of operating. I will be working directly with the board of directors on a sustainability plan to ensure that the company will be sticking around for years to come,” said Blackmore.

The monumental success of MainLine’s fundraiser speaks volumes about Montreal’s feelings toward independent theatre. The overwhelming generosity displayed this past December goes to to show that many Montrealers will fight to keep theatres around the city alive and thriving.

A number of theatre companies, such as Tableau D’Hôte Theatre, SideMart Theatrical Grocery, Pumpkin Theatre and Fallen Angel Productions, call MainLine home. The fundraiser’s success speaks to how much the Montreal community appreciates MainLine for not only being the home of the St-Ambroise Fringe Festival, but for providing a place for innovative theatre to develop in the city.

“I think it goes to show how much the community cares not only about theatre, but about the space. We received hundreds of donations ranging from $4 to $3,000. Some students from Concordia passed a hat around in their classes to raise money to save ‘their’ home. MainLine belongs to the community, it’s their house,” said Blackmore. MainLine also hosts the annual Student Gala, now in its third year.

MainLine is still working out plans for the future — plans which now exclude Hechtman, former executive and artistic director of MainLine Theatre. Hechtman announced his resignation in a note posted on Facebook at the end of the fundraiser, explaining that, “Recent decisions by the board of directors have made it impossible for me to continue running MainLine Theatre according to my own artistic vision. And the board agrees. Therefore, the time has come for me to announce my departure from MainLine.” As previously mentioned, Blackmore will be taking over the duties of Executive and Artistic Director for the time being.

The Board of Directors and Blackmore are looking to facilitate a number of changes in the coming months that will hopefully keep MainLine out of the red, and continuing to provide a space for innovative, independent theatre. Blackmore for her part is hoping to maintain the same laid-back feel and professional standards that Mainline has become accustomed to. However, she would also like to recruit different disciplines of art to stage at MainLine. For instance, MainLine recently hosted its first ever visual arts exhibit and will be hosting an Art Matters event in March. Blackmore, a former student of contemporary dance at Concordia, is also trying to encourage more dance productions at the theatre.

Additionally, Al Lafrance will be filling in as interim general manager until the end of July.

“I am really excited about it,” said Blackmore. “He is a talented young administrator who really believes in the company. We are lucky to have him.”

Coming up in the 2013 season, MainLine will be hosting the Bouge d’ici Dance Festival (Jan. 11-19), the Student Gala (Feb. 14-16), Bang It Out by Cameryn Moore (April) and Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris by In Your Face Entertainment (March).

The 2012 St-Ambroise Fringe Festival runs June 4-24

If you’re not planning to attend Montreal’s St-Ambroise Fringe Festival this summer, then you’re making a huge mistake.

With ticket prices as low as $12 or less, shows that cater to a wide range of tastes, easy to access venues, and performers from across the globe, this is a Montreal festival you’d be well advised not to miss.

“Fringe is a place where you can see absolutely anything. It’s accessible to everybody,” said festival artist liaison, Victoria Laberge. Fringe shows are selected by a lottery system, she explained, which means absolutely anybody can have their show chosen to be in the festival.

“It’s fun because you get to see such a huge variety of comedy or drama or music. I think it’s pretty representative of the multiculturalism of this city in that people from all over the world come perform here,” said Laberge.

But there are over 700 performances, so how do you decide? Well, therein lies the difficulty. Fortunately, there are several ways to pick and choose your shows. Attendees with specific wants in mind can search by performance type on the Fringe Festival website or pick up a copy of the show guide, available on newsstands throughout the city.

This year's festival offers over 700 different performances

For a live overview of the shows offered and a good time to boot, check out the Fringe Festival’s Fringe For All, which kicks off the festival with each company getting two minutes of stage time to promote their show. Also consider The 13th Hour, which is a live talk show/dance party which will take place at the end of each festival day. It features performers from many of the shows and offers the chance to catch up on the events of the day and see more show previews.

If you still can’t make up your mind, maybe the Fringe Festival’s audience review system, ‘Buzz on the Beer Tent wall’ or ‘Netbuzz’, can entice you with its reviews straight from the auditorium. You can find out which shows are sizzling and which shows are shorting out by reading reviews submitted by audience members online or on the wall of the Festival’s beer tent.

There are three different components to the Fringe Festival; ‘Fringe after Dark’ which includes all nighttime events, ‘Fringe in the Park’ where all the events are free and feature performances for the whole family, and ‘Fringe A-Z‘ which is all shows playing throughout the month and can be found online and in the festival guide.

You can also become involved in the wheels of the festival by volunteering. Fringe prides itself on providing 100% of ticket sale revenue to its artists, which means they operate largely on volunteer power. Volunteering is a great way to meet the people involved with the shows and earn Fringe Bucks, which allow you to see shows for free.

The St-Ambroise Fringe Festival, runs from June 4 to June 24. For more information, visit their website at www.montrealfringe.ca or call 514-849-FEST.