Letters – Letters to Jenny – 2015

Dear Jenny,

In response to Shawn’s column in issue #4, I would like to share my story as well.

Fringe has always been about the art, the risk, the opportunity, the growth and about seeing and sharing shows that could teach me what not to do or could feed my soul for another year. And somewhere along the way Fringe became.

Fringemass – the most wonderful time of the year.

Fringemass was the best time to be in the best place on earth – until last year.I was in a great show and worked very hard with great people. But a few hateful assholes did everything they could to ruin it. I was harassed, threatened, stalked, had my car vandalized and broken into and they got my home address from my insurance. All of their actions that meant for us to quit only furthered the need for the show to continue. But it really wasn’t easy for me.

Still, the place I felt safest last year was down at the fringe site. Because of staff, volunteers, technicians, performers and patrons I couldn’t have been more surrounded by love and support. I have long heard the words “family and community” to describe ourselves but it is very powerful to see how fierce and awesome a family we can be.

What many people don’t realize is after the Fringe and the media ended the story continued. There were incidents for months afterward and the online hate that found me was pretty horrific. (More than one person really wants dogs to rape me).

I am still working through some emotional stuff surrounding the whole thing and as a result this year has become difficult. I have been teetering on becoming that sad aunt who maybe doesn’t feel like having Christmas this year. It’s the most wonderful time of the year and the thought of it can make the worst emotions swell up and take over. And I became terrified that while the assholes failed in closing our show last year, they succeeded in stealing my Fringemass.

But true family accepts you as you are. And I have learned that if you become the weird sad aunt at Fringemass dinner (in the beer tent with curry), you get a genuine “how are you doing,” an offer of a hug and as much or little space as you need.

The Fringe may have been changed for me this year but it can’t be stolen – Our fierce and awesome Fringe family is the true meaning of Fringemass.

Theresa Thomson


Dear Jenny,

I had a very frustrating experience at the 9 PM performance of Tape on Saturday. I listened to the pre-show recording about “turn off all cell phones; if you leave you can’t return.” Then I watched two different patrons get up at two different times, (one at the 50-minute mark, and one at the 65-minute mark), wander across the front of the floor-level stage—they were actually onstage with the actors—and past the ushers sitting in the audience, and leave, letting the door slam shut behind them, Each walked back in, five minutes later, the door slamming behind them again, and walked across the stage back to their seats.

The ushers just let this happen. I volunteered as an usher at the Winnipeg Fringe for 8 years and the Edmonton Fringe twice and I remember sitting by the door at the back of the venue with an obstructed view of the stage, because your priority was to keep people from walking in during the performance—not to just watch the show. That was a bonus. I feel these volunteers need to receive more training. The usher should have followed the patron to the doorway and informed them that there was no re-admittance upon leaving, and stayed by the door to ensure there were no re-entry attempts.

Josh Knazan