The Komatus Are In Old Strathcona
The Komatsus are rolling in Old Strathcona, which means that the Fringe is close upon us. In fact, it’s just 7 days away. This means that it’s time to pick your Fringe Program, and figure out what shows you want to see.
Deciding ahead of time is more important than ever this year. No longer will you be able to buy tickets at the door. You’ll only be able to buy tickets from the main box office, or from the official ticket stations scattered around the main festival grounds. This isn’t a big deal for hardcore Fringers, since most of them buy their tickets in advance anyway.
Essentially, the new ticket system means that you won’t have to wait in line for hours in order to get tickets at the door, if the main office is sold out. In my opinion, this is a good thing. It also means that you can buy tickets farther in advance than in the past. In fact, they’re already on sale.
Unfortunately, the new system also means that more spontaneous festival goers won’t be able to just show up at the door and get tickets at the last minute. I’m not as happy about this, but I think the benefits outweigh this disadvantage. In fact, I’m kind of excited about getting my tickets ahead of time. I missed out on a few shows that I wanted to see last year, because I didn’t get tickets soon enough.
Hell, I almost didn’t get to see the show that some of my friends were in (Finer Noble Gases), because they went and got themselves a great review in the Journal, and tickets were selling like wildfire. In fact, that was a situation where I think I did end up lining up for hours to make sure that I got tickets.
I’ll be picking up a Fringe Program sometime in the next few days, and I’m already committed to at least one show, given that my friend Patrick Pilarski is going to be performing in a play again this year. If you have any shows to recommend to me, even before I have a chance to look at the Program, let me know, and I’ll do my best to check them out (and, of course, review them here on River City Writer).