Also I'm definitely going to be seeing:

- I already have tickets for SNAFU!, which is by the same person as Ingie's Fingies from last year but is a more adult show apparently. I talked about that here: https://social.treehouse.systems/@megmac/113035700517857035
- Edmontask when I can catch it. This is kind of a lo-fi Taskmaster but with Edmonton comedians, and every show is different. I saw this once last year and I'm hoping to see it a couple times this year if it doesn't sell out. I talked about it last year here: https://social.treehouse.systems/@megmac/113008064594288753

I know there's a show or two I've forgotten here so I'll probably add another post of things I'm expecting to see later.

Anyways that's it for tonight. :) Who knows what tomorrow brings?

And as for the venue, which I don't believe I have been in since COVID, if at all, The Sue Paterson Theatre as Faculty Saint Jean did pretty well on my co2 meter, sitting flat at about 700 ppm for the whole show, even after doors closed. It was relatively late in the day (7pm-8pm) and the audience was maybe a little north of half full.

In my books that's a very good co2 level for a closed room full of people. I think it probably has pretty good ventilation! I'm impressed.

The first show I saw was "A Lesbian in a Bear Store" at venue 16, the Sue Paterson Theatre at the Faculty Saint-Jean, and I think you'd be really into this show if any of the following topics interest you:

- queer awakenings
- adhd!
- weird family dynamics
- beanie babies
- horoscopes/astrology
- yonic paintings of flowers
- a little bit of very simple audience participation, if you're sitting near the front that affects the progression of the story in some minor ways
- jewishness and witchiness at the same time
- probably other things I'm forgetting honestly, so also shows that are about a lot of things and personal experiences.

I enjoyed it! A lot of aspects of it reflected my own life. But the parts that didn't were also interesting.

Btw you might want to mute #yegfringe for the next month if you follow me and don't want to hear about a local theatre festival in a city you don't live in.

I've gotten my fringe guide now that I've done volunteer training, and now that I've combed through it a couple of times I'm amused that there are two Macbeth musicals this year.

Ok slightly belatedly here's the last few shows I saw at the fringe on sunday:

- Who's Afraid of Winnie the Pooh was so weird. But not in a bad way? I think I'd have enjoyed it more if I'd been more familiar with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, but it worked for me anyways. Honey (the only character from Virginia Woolf to have the same name) gradually transforming into different characters was a particular highlight. The theater company that put it on, Clevername Theatre, is from Minneapolis ("the Edmonton of America" according to them and tbh I kind of agree), so if you're from around those parts maybe check them out?

- Sad Girl Songs was a returning show that I didn't catch in a previous fringe and it was exactly as billed, but a lot funnier than you might expect. The songs were delightfully sardonic and the themes it touched on important. Definitely a good show.

- Ingi's Fingies was *amazing*. Possibly one of the best things I've seen at the fringe in a long time, and a rare time of me actually catching one of the top picks of the fringe (usually I don't end up getting tickets in time to them). It was funny and creative and a really effective use of the stage to put on something technically above and beyond your typical fringe show. The company that put it on (SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles) is from Victoria and imo if you have a chance to see something by them (especially if it involves Ingrid Hansen, the eponymous Ingi), you should. (website: https://www.snafudance.com/ingis-fingies.html)

Saw Sheila the Musical this afternoon as a last minute choice before my last volunteer shift. Really amazing performances of the songs, really great drag, and the plot was ok but not really the point. There was a flashing light effect meant to represent a glowing tv that was maybe a bit strong, so flashing lights warning.

This one was its last show of this fringe, but apparently it'll be at the Vancouver Fringe in a couple weeks, so I'll link to that show page instead: https://www.vancouverfringe.com/events/sheila-the-musical/

(I'm not sure what hashtag the Vancouver fringe uses, if any, so I tried a couple things below)

Anyways, I hope there's at least someone who's derived some usefulness out of my mini reviews of shows this year, because I know not a lot of #yeg people really stuck with a move here and that makes me pretty sad. Realistically my reviews from here on out will mostly be for my own benefit though so I may or may not keep tagging them with #YegFringe.

It was nice to get back to fringing in earnest, and it was really nice to volunteer. I think doing so made me enjoy going a lot more, as just going to see shows had become a lot more isolating than it was in my early days of going.

I hope anyone following along on this tag or my posts directly has had a great fringe so far, and that they've enjoyed the shows they've seen, if any! And fyi if a redhead trans woman in an orange bandana and a flo mask on or around her neck scanned your ticket at any point during this fringe, that was almost certainly me. :)

(I might be wearing a black fringe bandana for my shift tomorrow though)

And since it's the last weekend, here's my list of shows that I saw and liked a lot that still have tickets for sale this weekend, which means that imo they are at least a little underrated:

- Sacred Ties: The Art of Rope (https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:5745/) has a bunch of showtimes and might not be at all what you think from the description. I think anyone could enjoy it, not just people who really like rope stuff. It has a *lot* of showings left, since they've been doing 2-3 per day every day of the fringe and that continues this weekend.

- Center of the Universe (https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:5726/601:36764/) is a really sweet play about a teenage girl with ADHD and trauma, but it's not sad or angry. It's really just about self-acceptance. It has one more showing Sunday at noon and I think she deserves a bigger audience.

- You're Driving Me Crazy (https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:5799/) is just a lot of fun. It sounds so serious in the description, but it was a wild ride that made me laugh a lot. It has two showings left, on Saturday at 7:15 and Sunday at 4:30.

- F*cking Trans Women (https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:5781/601:37178/) was beautiful and a little raunchy and made me laugh and cry. As I said earlier in my log I'd really like more cis people to see this show. It has one more showing on Saturday at 2PM.

- Binding (https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:5907/) was again, a really beautiful show about a trans experience, this time one not entirely aligned with mine. Another shorter one, it packs a lot of punch for a small package and manages to derive a lot of humor from some mild clowning stuff. It has two more showings on Saturday at 5:15 and Sunday at 2PM.

So yeah. If you can't get tickets to all the Edmonton Journal Five Stars and want to see something a little more off-kilter and unique that maybe struggled to find its audience, these are my picks. :)

I'm running a bit out of steam I'm just going to quickly summarize the last couple venue CO2 readings without screenshots. I might edit them in later.

The Space (venue #36) didn't do so hot. I saw two shows there back to back, and while the CO2 started off not too bad (750ppm), by the end of the much more full second show 3 hours later (with a 1 hour gap in the middle) it was up to 1500ppm. That said, not the worst I've seen.

Cite's main stage (venue 13) did better by comparison, but it was a small crowd for that show. It was around 700ppm the whole show and was completely flat. That it didn't rise even a little bit is pretty promising though.

Center of the Universe (https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:5726/) was fun. Also a little serious. Definitely more audience interaction than I expected, but not in a bad way. Although I'm less the hyperactive sort of adhd, it was still very relatable to me.

I think she has one show left and I think it's worth seeing! It's relatively short, too, at only 45 minutes. So if you're picking out some last minute picks this one's worth a look imo.

Haven't had a chance to write up thoughts from last night but since it's almost the end of the fringe just brief thoughts on the two shows at The Space:

- Sacred Ties (https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:5745/): a lot less kinky than I expected and honestly just really an awesome display of physicality and I highly recommend it if you enjoy aerial acrobatics type shows. It's different every time, so I can't make any promises but I thought it was fantastic and you should go see it even if you wouldn't normally be into debaucherous stuff! It's not every day you see someone literally tie and suspend themselves from a crossbeam!

- Fringe Benefits (https://tickets.fringetheatre.ca/event/601:5751/): burlesque that's maybe too much if you're very vanilla and maybe not enough if you're really kinky. If that sounds intriguing to you then go see it heh. There was a splash zone in the front row lol.