Guelph Fringe Festival artistic director Kevin Nunn likens the festival to a buffet: lots of variety at a low cost.
"You get to see a quality, live, intimate show for less than the price of a movie," said Nunn of the festival.
The second annual Guelph Fringe Festival takes place Oct. 13 to Oct. 16, featuring eight performances at three locations: Silence on Essex Street, Heritage Hall on Essex Street and Red Papaya restaurant in Old Quebec Street."We definitely learned a lot from our first year," Nunn said. "Fringe festivals are gaining popularity worldwide. We're definitely not done growing here."
Last year's Guelph festival featured six plays in one location.
"We had a lot of interest in people wanting to come here now that we're part of the circuit," Nunn said, adding that they had inquiries from as far away as Iran.
One of the core elements of fringe festivals is that they are unjuried, so acts are chosen randomly or through a BYOV system, where a performer can arrange their own venue and join the festival.
"We try and keep prices as low as we can," Nunn said.
Admission to each the performances, which run roughly an hour, is $10 with all the money going to the performer. Cash at the door.
"If you're a theatre aficionado you can see eight shows here for what it would cost you for an average seat at a manor production in Toronto," he said.
Fringe festivals use smaller spaces, cast and technical elements than most regular theatres. They can often be one-person shows.
This year's performances are:
Life As A Pomegranate: A comedy about a quirky woman determined to make her biggest dream happen, until life steps in.
Bound To The Rocks: "Woman and Man are stuck. Woman and Man bring out the ugly in each other. They hear what they should do from their parents. They hear what to do for their kids. Each time they try to do something, their history ties them down."
The Emergency Monologues: True stories from Morgan Jones Phillips about his 13 years as a paramedic in downtown Toronto.
Dead Cat Bounce: A comedy about relationships, winning, losing and taking chances.
Cul-de-Sac: A man narrates the events leading up to his murder while trying to understand them himself.
The Good Thief: A "Tarantino-esque tale" of a botched petty crime and a man's guilt and shame.
SAOR: Carlyn Rhamey: A woman's "comedy-of-errors" based on awkward and humiliating real-life experiences.
The Elocutioner: Jay Wilson recites poems and tells stories — some classics and some locally written.
For more information and show times visit the festival web site.
