Notes from the Fringe
by Sharon Eberhardt

I had heard the stories of fringe festival shows going on to amazing success: Urinetown, moving from the New York City Fringe to Broadway, and Thom Paine (based on nothing) going from Edinburgh to a long run off-Broadway.

But I had also helped out on or sat through enough poorly-attended, stifling hot, poorly scripted and under-rehearsed Fringe productions to make me start to think I’d be happy never going to another Fringe.

Then I started to write a play a new way, performing it myself. I met regularly with a rehearsal partner, a wonderful San Francisco-based performer-writer, Randy Rutherford, who was preparing for a tour of Canadian Fringe festivals. He explained how the Canadian Fringe circuit was different from some American Fringes: unlike New York, which has a selection committee, Canadian Fringes are unjuried. Unlike San Francisco, the only Fringe I knew aside from New York, 90-minute pieces are allowed. In some cities, the whole town comes out for the fringe, the major papers review several shows, and performers can sell-out 150 and 200-seat houses—and several of the theaters are air-conditioned. A person can almost make a living at it.

Still, I was skeptical. I continued to work on my piece, intending to one day turn it over to another performer, but when I performed, I really liked it. Another respected performer and director suggested getting more acting experience, perhaps in a fringe festival. His rationale was that it is a way to go before audiences without wearing out friends and family. The Fringes have some built-in audience, and if you don’t do well in Saskatchewan, it is unlikely that word will filter back to San Francisco.

My friend Randy recommended some festivals that he was planning to attend. I missed the deadline for Edmonton, the largest theater/art festival in North America, but did apply to festivals in Winnipeg, Regina and London. Winnipeg has a lottery system, and I was not selected. Regina, Saskatchewan and London, Ontario, two smaller Fringes, are both “first come, first selected.” I filled out the one-page applications, sent my application fee and $350-500 (Canadian) check, and was in.

My show, Savage Arts, is a one-woman play based on the true story of a Native American witchcraft trial that took place in Buffalo, NY in 1930. A story of Art, Passion, and Murder, it is told through the eyes of a naive housewife fascinated by the French artist at the center of the witchcraft trial.

I made postcards and posters, bought plane tickets to Regina, Saskatchewan and London, Ontario, and got sweet emails from the local volunteers who would put me up in their apartments during my stay.

And it was a wonderful experience. Okay, the audiences were small, especially in Regina, the 2nd largest city in Saskatchewan, where the Fringe Festival was only in its 3rd year. It was hard performing for just the tech guy—even harder doing the show for two people on a Wednesday at 5 pm. The last two shows, with 30 and 42 people in attendance, made me feel like I had a hit.

Then on to London, Ontario, a more established Fringe. My friend Randy promised that I would have big audiences here. My first show had 15 people! They laughed in all the right places, just as people in San Francisco had, something that hadn’t happened in Regina. And they gasped at the right places. Unfortunately, Cirque du Soleil was in town for the first time ever, and receipts for the Fringe dropped across the board. My audience went down to 12 people, then seven. My heart started to drop.

Until I read the online reviews. I knew I should not do this, in case I really lost heart. But the online reviewers loved my show. They urged others to come see the work, called it top-notch, off-Broadway caliber, engaging throughout. One even noted the erotic heat generated in the cold air-conditioned room. Audiences crept up over the remaining three shows, peaking at 40 on the final night. Between that and seven rave reviews online, I felt pretty good. The director of the festival said I deserved better houses than the ones I had and hoped I would return next year.

Best of all, after twelve performances, I knew the characters and the show in ways that I had never known them before. I made small changes to the script and huge changes in my performance.

My friend Randy, trying to make a living in his eighth year on the Fringe Circuit, was disappointed at his 2/3 full houses, but it was hard for me to imagine a more gratifying experience. The people who came to my show were passionate about it. In each city one person saw the show twice. I was able to come back to San Francisco and confidently approach two artistic directors asking for a run, forwarding my Fringe Festival audience reviews. The Fringe experience definitely gave me the courage to ask for a run, and I think it helped me get one, scheduled for January-February at The Marsh, San Francisco.

I highly recommend a fringe festival as a way to develop work. It is much less expensive than self-production, and performing away from your usual theater networks gives you freedom. For me it was a chance to try out a new role, as a performer, in front of people who don’t know that I am “really” a playwright. Without the experience of performing 12 times, I am pretty sure that I would have turned the play over to an actor by now.

No, my show did not become the next Urinetown, Thom Paine, or One Woman Star Wars Trilogy, but it is still mine, and still evolving. And I am working on ideas for my next adventure on the Canadian Fringe.

Sharon Eberhardt’s SAVAGE ARTS will be at The Marsh Theater in San Francisco, January-February 2008. Her play, BECCA AND HEIDI has been produced by Shee Theatre, San Francisco, Alleyway Theatre, Buffalo, NY, and Collective P.A.S.T. at chashama, NYC. Her one-acts have been performed around the country.