Draw back the curtains: Regina Fringe Fest is back

The 17th annual Regina International Fringe Theatre Festival starts Wednesday.

The festival runs until Sunday, with shows during the afternoons and evenings around Regina.

Performances include opera singing, optical illusions, storytelling, acting, banjo playing and everything in between.

Jem Rolls jokingly said he’s been touring with the Fringe Festival for more than 100 years.

“The great thing about the Fringe is you don’t have to fit into any category,” said Rolls. “There’s no rules. There’s no categories or boxes to tick off. You’re not jumping over hurdles for people apart from the audience. The only ones we have to impress are the audience.”

His performance is called ‘Maximum Crusoe’ and is about being stranded on an island. It’s a mixture between storytelling and standup comedy.

Karen Hall is a classical musician with a twist.

“I often call it an idiot show,” she said with a laugh.

This is her fourth year at the Fringe Festival. Her performance combines cello with comedy.

She went to clown and jester school in Los Angeles.

This training is more about performance art than learning a circus act, but she can juggle and balance odd objects like a “typical” clown.

Her show pokes fun at the hard truths of being a non-traditional classical music performer.

“It’s really difficult,” said Hall. “I’ve had my interpretations criticized many times and so it’s wonderful to have built my absolute dream job and to have found a festival circuit of other fringe-y bazaar acts who are looking for homes for what they do.”

Her act is called ‘Delusions and Grandeur,’ in which a solo cello recital meets a clown show.

Karen Hall. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)
Keith Alessi

It’s been said that music can save lives. That was the case for Keith Alessi.

He had a lifelong dream to play the banjo and he was going to pick up the hobby once he retired from his job.

“But then I got a cancer diagnosis and they told me I was going to live a year,” said Alessi.

That was in 2016. So far, he continues to beat those odds.

He thought that was a good enough reason to quit his job and finally learn to play. He wanted to tell his story, so he joined the Fringe Festival tour in 2018.

“I found emotional and physical healing in a circle of musicians,” he said.

His performance is called ‘Tomatoes Tried To Kill Me But Banjos Saved My Life.’ Its a mixture of banjo picking, storytelling and comedy.

There are 15 performances each day at four different locations: The Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Unitarian Church, SaskExpress Theatre and the Artesian.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15 or online for $13.