2009 Winnipeg Fringe Festival Lottery Results

The 22nd annual Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is all ready to go after last night's lottery in the MTC Warehouse lobby. Executive Producer Chuck McEwen and festival staff drew from a total of 205 applicants to fill the 117 spots in the 12 main festival venues. Those selected join ten troupes chosen through the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) Touring Application Lottery and seven companies drawn for the Kids Venue indoor category, for a total of 59 local, 35 national and 23 international companies. Companies not selected in the lottery may apply as a BYOV (Bring Your Own Venue) starting in January.

Selected applicants include new international companies Nephesh Theatre (Tel Aviv), flaming locomotive (Morley, Australia) and Dance Naked Productions (Portland) and returning favourites Eyewitness Theatre (Manchester) and Gemma Wilcox (Boulder). They were joined by national companies Crowning Monkey (Toronto), Unwashed Grape (Montreal) and Madonnas and Magdelens (Calgary). Local companies performing in the 2009 Fringe include returning companies Gearshifting Performance Works, InterVisceral Productions and The Struts and Frets Players, along with new faces such as Ferocia Couture Productions, Xanadu Productions and Ergo the Neighbourhood Productions.

Before the lottery, Chuck McEwen told the crowd that the theme of the 2009 festival will be announced on February 13, before the first of two Fringe fundraising performances by 2008 Best of Fest winners Die Roten Punkte at the Gas Station Theatre. For more information about the fundraiser, please go to www.winnipegfringe.com.