Interview with Brian Paisley, Fringe Edmonton Founder, for Dreamers and Doers.

Q:  Talk about the beginnings of the fringe.

A:  The fringe began about 1982.  It was an accident, the theatre scene in Edmonton at that time was extremely active.   So you have this incredible array of theatres active in Edmonton and a long history of theatre that was well established with the audiences. 

A kind of fluke happened in 82 – I have to go back a couple of years to the 75^th anniversary celebrations when they were on just before I arrived in Edmonton.  There was a lot of money given to theatre and promotion.  One of the things that happened was the Northern Lights theatre in the river valley – in 1982 the economy had turned around a bit – I had been in town about a year and a half and the Northern Lights had their grant cut in half because the city said we just cant afford this anymore.  All of a sudden there was this gap in the summer time where they weren’t going to have Shakespeare in the park – they were going to have some opera and some children's theatre in a huge tent – but they had nothing for the rest of the theatre community.  So what they did was – the person who was running it at that time said to me - do something with this money – come up with an idea that involves as much of the theater community as is possible 

The Chinook theatre at that time was in the basement of the Princess cinema – I was walking down Whyte avenue and saw a couple of vacant buildings – Whyte avenue was much different than it is now – it was much sleazier and grubbier looking sort of place.  The idea came, why not just spend money on venues for theatre and just invite people to bring shows. 

We did that.  I floated the idea –everybody said sure – why not.  They gave me a cheque for $50,000 with my name on it.  So it was like ok – I just got to spend this money.  We created 5 venues that year – I talked to people I knew in the theatre community.  I thought we’d get maybe 20 shows – we got 45.  I think we sold like 7500 tickets.  The next year it became logical to do it again.   But what happened was the audience doubled – the second year about 15,000 people came.  By the time year three rolled around the street got closed down and away we go.  What happened the first five years was the audience doubled – in door audience doubled every single year.  We were joking about by the year 2000 rolled around we will have half the world here.  Not so much of a joke anymore.

The fringe was a phenomenon that happened because of all that was there in place.  I was very fortunate – I was in the right place at the right time – with the right idea too.  The ingredients were all there to begin with.  You cant come in and create a festival out of nothing.  The festival is created because the theatre community is primed the audience is primed and in those days the government was primed. 

The fringe – dare I say – I think it has become a kind of a place where the alternative artist the alternative performing artist can find a proper professional home.  The one thing they always pride themselves on here is providing the best technicians the best infrastructure for theatre.  The money was directed toward creating a place where they could be free to do what they wanted to do. Give the artist as much freedom as you can – get out from between the artist and the audience.

Q:  How can you explain this success in the land of oil and cowboys?

A:     When people talk about Alberta – yes there is the oil – yes there is the cowboys- yes there is hockey and the arts.  Oddly enough – now that I am outside it and looking back at it – I really think Albertans don’t realize how rich a fabric of arts they have got here – everything from theater to dance to music to filmmaking – and occasionally its appreciated but in an ongoing way not so much.  It bows to the oil it bows to the cowboys it bows to hockey sports – but the persistence and the quality level of artists in Alberta is so high and so well regarded in the rest of the country and the rest of the world that when you say Edmonton to people – you know they will come up with Gretzky and the Oilers and that sort of thing but you know what they will also come up with - theatre and the fringe and that kind of thing as well.  It depends on what kind of tourist you are talking to.  But certainly from outside the province Alberta's wealth is perceived as being artistic as well as being liquid and in the ground.

However I have to say that it has dribbled away.  Its dribbled away because people have left because of a lack of ongoing support –people have gone somewhere else with less money  with less resources with less support  - simply because the opportunities are there.  I’m looking around for another generation coming up – ask me if the fringe could start now – I would say probably not. 

Q:     Winspear and the Citadel….icons that could happen today?

A:     When the activity level started to level off and drop off a bit – they was another momentum – create the edifice.   The edifice complex is high in Alberta.  Lets build a big centre lets build a big theatre lets build this lets build that  - and if we build it somehow the artists will come.   Everybody is energized by seeing this structure in front of you.  But the real need for money is in the day to day running of that theatre and the day to day support of the artists who will maintain it and keep it alive.  There is no question in my mind – the Citadel the Winspear -  the halls in Calgary – beautiful buildings – no question about that.  It’s the artists that need the ongoing support – it’s the maintenance of the building at a practical level and it’s the artists at the aesthetic level.  You have to give those people the support – it has to be seen to be as important as oil and hockey and cowboys and everything else that is Alberta.  Otherwise you are going to look 20 years down the line and see beautiful buildings and guest artists.  

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