On the Future of Fringe: HM Scheerschmidt and the inspiration behind the Lunchtime Artist Series
Heather Marie Scheerschmidt has a profound love for the Fringe. At times it borders on the maternal.
She was, after all, the General Manager of the Ottawa Fringe Festival for two years. Before that, she had a long history of involvement in theatre and the Fringe, stretching back to the Edmonton Fringe in Alberta, where she grew up. If someone can claim to have seen it all, it’s Heather Marie.
This year, she’s trying something new—the Lunchtime Artist Series. Every day from Monday, June 21 through Friday, June 25 at noon in the Courtyard, some of the creative people behind the Fringe productions will be taking part in panel discussions that promise to be lively and insightful, revealing aspects of the creative process that aren’t normally seen. We met on the patio at the Bridgehead (coincidentally, one of the co-sponsors of the Series) on Dalhousie to talk about the future of the Fringe, the business of art, and the purpose of her project.
Heather Marie has spent a lot of time examining the role Fringe plays in theatre. There is a stereotyped perception of the Fringe; the kind of production that many people associate with it is, as she puts it, “characterized as either ‘on the Fringe’—stuff that is virtually unproduceable anywhere else, so that’s where it ends up—or as an end unto itself.” Undoubtedly, some productions do fall into those categories, and the Fringe serves to provide these shows with a chance to be produced. It also serves a third, more relevant and vital purpose, “the development of new work and new artists.”
Indeed, for the playwrights, directors, and actors who find their feet at the Fringe, it’s the crucible for new works and the testing ground for emerging talent.
The Fringe as a model is not that old; there hasn’t been a lot of formal research into the subject. Even in its short history, it has undergone a startling evolution, from a grassroots word-of-mouth festival to advance ticket sales, corporate sponsorship, and a staggering online presence.
Canada has more Fringe festivals than any other country, with Edmonton at the vanguard of the model. This is due in part, according to Heather Marie, to the touring opportunity presented by having cities spread out across such a vast territory.
How have things changed over the years? “It used to be that you showed up at the Fringe and found the longest lineup.” The general trend towards online advance ticket sales marks a distinct shift in the way people interact.
Purchasing tickets in advance means people want to know what they’re going to see is worth the money. To Heather Marie, this raises the question, “How long can you keep it non-juried?” Take, for example, the fairly recent phenomenon of Bring Your Own Venues (BYOVs), where production companies that do not win a spot in the regular lineup (the “traditional” Fringe method is to award by lottery) can choose to host their own performances away from the main venues, still under the Fringe banner. “That’s programming,” she points out, “that’s not a lottery anymore.”
Does she think that’s taking away from the essence of the Fringe?
“Purists would say yes,” she said, but she doesn’t see it as intrinsically a negative evolution. “Fringe festivals can’t survive unless they find ways of making money. They can’t survive on grants alone.”
“Sponsorship is difficult because you can’t control the content.” Corporate sponsors shy away from association with shows that could be controversial or even just weird. They’re more comfortable with popular content and shows that cater to the lowest-common-denominator audience.
Fringe festivals, and the artists involved, are constantly faced with this seeming dichotomy of artistic integrity versus economic viability, amongst other issues.
The concept for the Artist Series evolved, simply put, from the beer tent.
Rather, as Heather Marie explained to me, it came from the dynamic that arises when artists are mingling freely with the media and the general public in the Fringe Courtyard (almost universally referred to as “the beer tent”). “The Ottawa Fringe is at this perfect size where we can appreciate both sides. Here, the artists are accessible. There’s no separate beer tent,” referring to other Fringe festivals where the artists socialize separately from the public.
“So many of the shows are things that people are creating themselves,” and talking to the artists directly is a “huge opportunity to find out what drives them, what inspires them.” With the Artist Series, she intends to recreate that “networking that naturally, organically happens in the beer tent, to provide an alternative to that, separate it out from the beer tent, because that kind of networking doesn’t work for everybody.”
“It’s just an idea I pitched to Nat [Natalie Joy Quesnel, the Fringe Executive Producer] less than a week after last year’s Fringe wrapped up. I think it’s amazing that she’ll let me do it.”
Although she’s thrilled that the Bare-knuckle Debate is gaining momentum, with participants e-mailing her already very seriously into it, Ignite the Fringe has her most excited. This panel takes the familiar Ignite format (where speakers make their point in only five minutes), which she chose because she loves the model. “Every artist I’ve asked to participate has a positive response. I chose people I knew would ‘bring it.’”
Heather Marie is confident that it will be a successful series. “I can’t help but think… the things I’m interested in might be interesting to other people.”
Does she think social media is helping to preserve the grassroots nature of the Fringe? It’s hard to say. Some performers “still want to see their picture in the paper.” But Heather Marie recognizes the potential of social media tools as a promotional medium.
“What I’m doing is… obviously I’m using the same kind of methods as the Fringe in reaching people. I hope that what I’m doing capitalizes on that.” Social media provides a way that artists can “promote what they’re doing without having to perform.”
For those involved in the Fringe, Heather Marie hopes the Artist Series will mark the beginning of the Fringe day. “It’s like our morning. Except it happens to be at noon,” She mentions that it gives out-of-town artists (many of whom are being billeted with local families) something to do and something to be a part of outside of their performance.
Heather Marie makes it clear that she’s not necessarily trying to reach everybody.
“Essentially it’s an industry event,” she says, “you have to be interested in the Fringe to begin with.” Artistic integrity is paramount for Heather Marie. She recounts a potential sponsorship that didn’t pan out because the other party wasn’t interested in a “non-audience-building” event. “I wasn’t going to dumb this down.”
If the Artist Series is as successful as Heather Marie believes it will be, she plans to take the idea to other festivals. She has already spoken with (Lunchtime Artist Series co-sponsors) Magnetic North Theatre Festival, the NAC, and a few others.
For Fringe and theatre enthusiasts, the Lunchtime Artist Series is pretty much a mandatory event. Anyone with a healthy curiosity as to what really goes on from the artist’s perspective will find it a valuable experience, and time well spent. Artists from other disciplines might find something that resonates with them. Even people from outside the arts community who want a first-hand understanding of how that world works would do well to consider attending.
The Lunchtime Artist Series is Pay-What-You-Can, and food will be available on site.
Tags: Art, business, Fringe, Heather Marie Scheerschmidt, Ottawa Fringe Festival, Theatre
