Dawe Tips Hat to Trial and Error
This Fringe veteran says the experimental theatre showcase is good for the art.
TJ
Dawe has seen a lot in his young life, and has experienced the metamorphosis
of the Montreal Fringe Festival from a slapdash collection of absurdities to
the well-run machine it is today.
Dawe, at the tender age of 27, has been touring Canadian fringe festivals for eight years, and has participated in five Montreal Fringes.
"The first year I came to Montreal (1998), this was held on the campus of McGill," Dawe said, reminiscing over lemonades in the festival's beer tent at St. Laurent Blvd. and Rachel St.
"Moving to this (Plateau) neighbourhood has made the Fringe better. There's more walk-by traffic, the venues are better and the crowds have grown every year."
The audience has also expanded beyond the local theatre crowd, Dawe said, and the people who attend Fringe events have become much more discerning.
"This year, a lot of shows were sellouts even before the reviews were out," Dawe said. "People have been reading the program and remembering who they saw last year and would like to see again. I think that's fantastic."
The advent of prizes like the Frankies given out by the Fringe and the coveted Best of the Fest prize from Just for Laughs - which Dawe won last year, and allows performers the chance of exposure in a showcase at the comedy festival - have also upped the quality of the shows.
"Festival appearances like Just for Laughs give you greater credibility," Dawe said. "It definitely opens doors."
He just returned from the Piccolo Spoletto Festival in Charleston, S.C., and he got a call from MTV, although his roommate forgot to write down the number so he never called back, he said with a laugh.
In Dawe's latest show, Tracks, based on Jack London's The Road, he plays a train-hopping hobo from the 1890s.
Unlike his comedy last year, The Slip-Knot, which was autobiographical, Tracks is a drama - Dawe is not an alcoholic, nor has he ever jumped on a moving train.
The appeal of the Fringe, Dawe said, is that people are hungry for experimental theatre and are demanding new pieces that are different from the tried and true that populates subscription theatre. People who buy a series of tickets want a Neil Simon or a Tennessee Williams play for their money, he said.
"Fringes foster the creation of a lot of new plays, and that's a great thing for the art," Dawe said. "The plays are shorter, more affordable and not old chestnuts. For a playwright, this is heaven. We get to try out new material that would take years to get a (traditional) theatre company on board."
"The Fringe is the future of theatre."
Anne Sutherland
Montreal Gazette
June 22, 2002
