BLOG

Download your 2012 Ottawa Fringe Festival application form HERE.

If you’re paying the application fee by credit card, you can email your application to PRODUCER@OTTAWAFRINGE.COM

If paying by cheque, we need to receive the form and payment to 2 Daly Avenue, suite 100, Ottawa, ON, K1N6E2.

If you come by the office to drop it off and nobody is there, please leave the application/payment with the lovely people at Arts Court’s front desk,

The deadline is FRIDAY NOVEMBER 18th at 5pm.

The lottery will be held on Thursday November 24th at 7pm… location to be confirmed.

Good luck!

Applications for the 2012 Ottawa Fringe Festival lottery are due this Friday, November 18th 2011 at 5pm Ottawa-time.

Download it:  2012OttawaFringeApplication!

Print it and drop it off at 2 Daly Avenue, suite 100. If nobody is in the office, leave it at Arts Court’s front desk.   OR

Email it to producer@ottawafringe.com

Now what are you waiting for?!

Karla Hilton

karla.hilton@cbc.ca

ottawamorning@cbc.ca

Producer, Ottawa Morning
CBC Radio Ottawa

This letter is in reference to your decision to cancel weekly theatre reviews during the Ottawa Morning show. As Board members for Ottawa the Fringe Festival, arguably the largest international theatre festival in the region, we feel that your decision to cancel weekly theatre reviews is both misguided and will have a negative impact on the local theatre scene here in Ottawa.  It is our belief that CBC Radio’s coverage of the local art scene is unique in this city and, although the CBC’s commitment to our Festival has been far from adequate, the departure of Alvina Ruprecht and her weekly theatre reviews will create an even larger problem within the theatre community in Ottawa.

As a Board, we feel that the CBC should be moving in the opposite direction, providing more coverage of the local theatre scene – something that no other radio station in Ottawa provides.  We find it hard to believe that the majority of CBC listeners do not want these reviews since they are a large part of what separates CBC’s Ottawa Morning from every other radio station in the city.  Furthermore, Fringe performers who are touring nationally or internationally rely on quotes from reviewers like Alvina to help sell their shows in other cities.  With CBC Ottawa’s decision to stop theatre reviews, many Fringe patrons are undoubtedly worried about how to effectively promote their shows, and some may even consider bypassing Ottawa altogether.

It’s interesting: Ottawa’s local arts community is working so passionately to create, inspire and be relevant, and yet official and influential bodies in Ottawa continue to make decisions (whether intentional or not is unclear) that are enacting Ottawa’s own self-fulfilling prophesy of never transcending its reputation as a culture-starved government town.

In closing, we would like to point out the tremendous job done by CBC Radio in Winnipeg promoting their Fringe Festival.  The Winnipeg Fringe Festival is one of the most successful Fringe Festivals in North America, and we are sure that this is no small part because of the commitment over the years by the local CBC network.  In fact, CBC Manitoba had a large presence at the Ottawa Festival this year, ironically, much larger than that of CBC Ottawa, reviewing and interviewing acts slated to tour to Winnipeg.  These interviews and reviews took place daily during the festival.  We strongly feel that Ottawa should be emulating CBC Winnipeg’s commitment to the local arts scene; reconsidering the decision to cut weekly reviews would be a good place to start.

Sincerely,

The Ottawa Fringe Festival Board of Directors

A big thank you to all of the amazing performers who submitted dozens of applications to us for the September 18th early-bird deadline.  The successful applicants were:

LOCAL

Garkin Productions

Dead Unicorn Ink

20 Nothings Productions

Erudite Theatre

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Ausable Theatre (London, Ontario)

Sandrine Lafond (Montréal, Québec)

Sisterscene (NY, USA)

Katherine Glover (MN, USA)

If you still want in on the 2012 Ottawa Fringe fun, don’t despair.  All applications we receive before November 18th 2011 at 5pm will go into our lottery.  You can download your application form HERE!

Also, if the thought of touring the Fringe Festival circuit excites you, then head over to the Canadian Association of Fringe Festival’s website and download your touring lottery application. The deadline for submission is October 18th 2011.

Good luck!

I know.  I know.  It feels like the 2011 Ottawa Fringe Festival was just yesterday.  Seriously though, it wasn’t.  It was over two months ago and we need to get ready for 2012 now!  How can you talented and innovative performing artists do that you might wonder?  By downloading the 2012 Ottawa Fringe application form TODAY!

New to this year: EARLY-BIRD APPLICATIONS! Starting at 10am on Sunday September 18th 2011, the festival will accept 4 local applications and 4 national/international applications on a first-come, first-served basis.  Full details are available on the application form.  Excited?  I know we are.

If guaranteeing your spot in the 2012 festival this early in the season is not your thing, then make sure we get your completed form and payment by November 18th 2011 to be entered into our lottery.

So, what are you waiting for?  Download your application form HERE!