Culture is a hot topic in this Montreal election, so citizens, get your burning questions ready for the candidates! Following two administrations characterized by corruption, cultural destruction, and disrespect for citizen initiatives, Montrealers are praying that the next one isn’t yet another dud. While transparency and professionalism are both hot topics in this election, so is Culture […]
Optative Theatrical Laboratories is going to the Buffalo Infringement Festival, easily Western New York’s largest and most popular arts festival, and arguably the world’s most independent and authentic one! With absolutely no corporate interference, artists can breathe freely and get important work done within a supportive community. It’s an artistic paradise that doesn’t normally exist under the […]
When Montreal artists protested the trademarking of the word “Fringe” in 2004 with a cheeky-sounding “infringement festival”, they never expected their activist gesture would blossom into the international movement of rabble-rousing festivals it has become today. Rejecting corporate models that co-opt culture to reduce artists to advertising and spectators to consumers, the infringement festival promotes […]
Optative Theatrical Laboratories is pleased to announce two free walking tours for the 2013 edition of Montreal Jane’s Walks! Joining the tried-and-true Red Light District Walking Tour (with Donovan King and Velma Candyass) is the brand-new, controversial and untested Infringement Walking Tour! So, if you like theatre on the streets and don’t want to spend a dime […]
The dream of touring a performance seems more out of reach than ever for artists, but with the infringement festivals, there is hope! Because the cost of touring is often seen as prohibitive, many artists (and their works and performances) stay put in their home communities. Not only are there expensive travel and accommodation costs associated […]
Peace Park, a cultural crossroads for the city’s underground community, celebrated its 18th birthday on November 20th in style. The party was organized through social media by MQC, producers of the critically-acclaimed skater documentary Peace Park (2012). Spearheaded by skateboarder David Bouthillier, the film documents not just years of skateboarding on the park’s granite ledges, […]
This Hallowe’en season, on Sunday, October 28, horror-experts Donovan King and Karen Spilak are pleased to offer Haunted Mountain, a spooky walking tour up the slopes of Mount Royal. Beginning on the Plateau at the rumoured-to-be-haunted Barfly, the ramble visits various haunted sites on the mountain, including locations where ghosts have been sighted. Theatrical guides will […]
Exhaustion is becoming a common theme at the World Fringe Congress, and after only 2 or 3 hours of sleep I was back at it again, blogging and getting ready for the final day. My mission, in addition to wrapping-up the Congress, was to actually get out there and see some Fringe shows to help me reflect […]
Day 3 of the World Fringe Congress began with the World Fringe Fair, a showcase of all the Fringe Festivals present for the general public. We each got a small table, so I set up my infringement materials, including Buffalo Infringement Festival’s 2012 programme, a small booklet explaining the mandate and history of the movement, the […]
The second day of the World Fringe Congress, Friday August 17, had a jam-packed schedule of panel discussions, break-out sessions, and a reception chez the Lord Provost (Edinburgh’s mayor), leaving absolutely no time to attend any shows at the Fringe, Forest Fringe or Free Fringes. The themes I narrowed in on were seemingly contradictory. Fringe […]
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