For months, lovers of fringe theatre have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the newest addition to Ottawa’s artistic stage: a four-day undercurrents festival, to be hosted by the Great Canadian Theatre Company.
Media outlets, generating buzz throughout Ottawa since GCTC announced it would host the festival, have dubbed the show a sister to Ottawa’s Fringe Festival.
Paul Gauthier, artistic associate for the GCTC, says while the technicalities of the show may be similar (a specified running time and shared lighting, for instance) undercurrents possesses immense differences.
“One of the challenges off the top was that we didn’t want to seem like we were trying to be better than The Fringe. They’ve been incredibly enthusiastic supporters of us,” says Gauthier.
The distinguishing factor between the two festivals is the level of talent permitted to participate.
The Fringe, which Gauthier calls a “theatrical buffet,” uses a lottery in which 60 randomly selected applicants take centre stage at the summer festival.
“There’s going to be stuff you like and inevitably stuff you don’t like, you take your chance,” says Gauthier of Fringe Festival.
Conversely, the shows debuting at undercurrents have been meticulously hand-picked by Gauthier and artistic director of the company, Lise Ann Johnson.
“We juried our shows, taking the best of Ottawa fringe and other ‘fringe style’ shows to bring them here,” he says.
“The biggest challenge we’ve faced was finding the shows . . . we had upwards of 30 applications for the festival,” explains Gauthier, “It was a good problem to have I suppose.”
Gauthier considers himself fortunate to have a job which lets him travel throughout Canada and abroad to experience the best that theatre has to offer. “There’s great work that people can’t go see,” he says. “It’s a great way to exchange ideas and art with both the theatre community and the broader Ottawa community.”
Dean Gilmour, artistic director of Toronto-based Theatre Smith-Gilmour, is directing Spent, one of the shows appearing in undercurrents. Gilmour says the benefits of travelling outside of one’s community extend beyond commercial exposure.
“The opportunity to come to Ottawa is wonderful for us as creators because we can be surprised by the reaction of the audience,” he says, “Every single audience tells you something new about your show if you are willing to listen.”
Billed “theatre below the mainstream”, undercurrents will feature three locally-produced shows and three shows from St. Catherines, Montreal and Toronto.
Margo MacDonald, writer and performer of one such show, Shadows, describes undercurrents as a “next step festival.”
“You would have to try and raise a huge amount of money to rent a bigger venue than The Fringe,” says MacDonald. “Having an in between festival that will take the best of what is locally created to showcase it to a larger audience
. . . this is something that everyone is very excited about.”
MacDonald says that because tickets for the festival have been reasonably priced, a wide range of audiences can experience the diverse talent.
“The audience is getting a mix of shows that have already been looked at,” says MacDonald, “And you’re guaranteed it’s going to be the best.”