Vancouver Fringe Festival celebrates record-breaking attendance and award-winning shows

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      The Vancouver Fringe Festival has announced it broke its record for ticketed attendance this year. The event welcomed more than 35,000 attendees, who contributed to the fest wracking up the highest revenues to artists in its history (over $250,000).

      The Fringe is also celebrating its prize winners, who were on hand at the annual awards night on Sunday.

      Among the winners, the Georgia Straight's Critic's Choice Award, handed out by writers Colin Thomas and Kathleen Oliver, went to The After After Party and The Orbweaver: A Dark and Twisted Folktale About a Mildly Farfetched, Highley Illegal Immigration Across Metaphysical Borders.

      The After After Party also took home the Cultchivating the Fringe Award”, handed out by the Cultch via the Fringe as a tribute to a show that demonstrates 'unique potential".

      RAGMOP Theatre, the company behind Falling Awake, won the Joanna Maratta prize that honours those who best exhibit the original founding spirit of the Vancouver Fringe Festival.

      Deneh’Cho Thompson, who pennedThe Girl Who Was Raised by Wolverine, won the new play award. The prize means the Playwrights Theatre Centre joins the Fringe in offering dramaturgy for the winning script and a spot on the main stage at the 2016 Vancouver Fringe Festival.

      The BC Touring Council award, which goes to the artist with the best potential for touring the province, went to Hip.Bang! (Hip.Bang! Improv and Hip.Bang! Presents the History of Romance). The winner gets mentorship, marketing support, and the chance to showcase the work at Pacific Contact, BC Touring Council’s annual tradeshow and booking conference for the performing arts. 

      The Vancouver Fringe’s board of directors handed its Artistic Risk Award this year to Cameryn Moore of the show Nerdfucker.

      The volunteers' choice prize went to The Orbweaver: A Dark and Twisted Folktale About a Mildly Farfetched, Highley Illegal Immigration Across Metaphysical Borders.

      And the Spirit of the Fringe Award (nicknamed SOFA) went to Bon Dos Remedios, from Walk the Talk, for best demonstrating that "Fringe attitude".

      The organization has also announced its Fringe holdovers of hit shows that will have repeat performances after the festival. From Wednesday to Sunday (September 21 through 25), the Public Market Pick of the Fringe will be held at Performance Works on Granville Island. Shows include Charlatan!, And Bella Sang With Us, The After After Party, Curious Contagious, Sink or Swim, and Carry On: A Musical, several of which received rave reviews in the Straight.

      Meanwhile, the Pick Plus series returns from Thursday to Sunday (September 22 to 25) with a series of Fringe hits from either the past or from other Fringe fests that didn't make it here.

      Shows include One Woman Sex and the City: A Parody of Love, Friendships and Shoes, a saucy Sex in the City sendup from TJ Dawe and Kerry Ipema, and Fringe favourites Peter n’ Chris with a new show called Peter vs. Chris. Also on the roster:The New Conformity and God is a Scottish Drag Queen IV. Info is here.

       

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