Fringe Fest 2017 was one for the record books - Annotation
This post discusses a print document:
Sumi, Glenn. "Fringe Fest 2017 was one for the record books." NOW Magazine. N.p., 18 July 2017. Web. 29 July 2017. https://nowtoronto.com/stage/toronto-fringe-festival-2017/fringe-festival-2017-was-one-for-the-record-books/
Glenn Sumi’s overview of the 2017 Toronto Fringe, not only highlights his festival favourites, but he also depicts Fringe as being more accessible through its content and trending topics such as #FringeFemmeTO. He argues the diversity, the Fringe Tent move, and the financial success all establish this as one of the most memorable Fringes ever. Sumi utilizes figures and “culturally diverse” plays as signifiers for a changing tide in Toronto Fringe and the wider theatre community.
This source is extremely relevant to my research regarding the “factors” that influence a festival’s identity that Hauptfleisch outlines. Particularly, analyzing at a source such as NOW Magazine, who has a partnership with the Fringe and how that affects the biases the media can have in changing the public’s perception this festival. The coverage of the Fringe by the veteran theatre reviewer, Sumi, is more akin to a festival cheerleader, leading me to believe Fringe organizers may be using this partnership to shape their festival’s identity. I want to research further the effect this relationship has in the ‘Fringe model’, and if so, how consequential it really is.
Another thing worth analyzing is the discussion taking place in the comment section of this article. Many people are upset that NOW brands themselves as fairly representing the whole festival after only seeing sixty of the 160 shows. The discourse surrounding the social hierarchy of the which shows are reviewed is worth looking into, especially in a lottery system that brands itself as giving each show equal opportunity. How much influence does money have in the social hierarchy of Fringe, in comparison to ‘traditional’ shows being produced at Canadian Stage and Mirvish? It seems these comment sections could be a great way at attaining the reception of the organizer’s structural decisions.
The concise nature of this article does not lend much discussable content as an interview might. If I were to use this source, it would have to be interpretational, which would mean there would need to be a plentiful amount of evidence to back up my assertion at that point in the essay. However, this article did force me to recognize the media’s role in a festival, something I had not considered in detail before.
Works Cited
Hauptfleisch, Temple. "Festivals as Eventifying Systems." Festivalising! : theatrical events, politics and culture. Amsterdam; New York: Rodopi, 2007. 39-45. Web. 12 July 2017.
