Documentation from the 2025 Fringe Awards Ceremony.
2026 Fringe Award Jurors Announced
ON THE EDGE Fringe’s annual Fringe Awards ceremony will take place on August 16, 2026 at 5:00 pm in the Betty Speers Theatre (Capitol Centre). There are five awards to give out, three of which will be adjudicated by our amazing 2026 jurors! This year’s jurors are Loretta Di Eugenio, Jerome Black, and Joshua Bainbridge and the three awards they will be handing out are Outstanding Production, Outstanding Original Work, and Jurors’ Choice. You can find out more about each award on our Fringe Awards page or by clicking the button below.
Now let’s meet our Jurors!
Loretta Di Eugenio is the founder of Theatre Making North Bay. A theatre maker, director, producer, actor, and curator, she creates community-engaged performances that celebrate connection, creativity, and cultural heritage.
She holds an MA in Theatre Making, a BEd in Dramatic Arts, an Honours BA in Drama, and is a Certified Drama for Wellbeing Practitioner and Movement Therapy Practitioner.
Loretta curates human exhibits, workshops, and performance art with White Water Gallery, facilitates Drama for Wellbeing at a local psychotherapy centre, and leads a play reading program for seniors. Her community initiative, Playing in Public: Creative Expression and Connection, received the Ontario Community Changemakers Award for its innovative approach to activating public spaces and fostering community learning, inclusion, and creativity.
Her company, Theatre Making North Bay, is rooted in the belief that theatre can build belonging, spark conversation, and strengthen communities.
Jerome Black is a director, performer, dramaturge, and avid audience member from the Niagara Region. He is co-chair of the board at Firehall Theatre, the longest-operating community theatre in Niagara Falls. By day, he is also a teacher with the District School Board of Niagara, where he previously oversaw and supported all aspects of Music, Drama, Dance, and Visual Arts for K-12 as the Consultant for the Arts. He holds specialist qualifications in, of all things, Mathematics and Dramatic Arts. Jerome has been a regular at North Bay’s On the Edge Fringe Festival since year one, and he is pleased to return this year to celebrate the thriving arts community and culture in the near north.
Joshua Bainbridge is an actor, writer, director, and playwright. His original works include The Life and Death of John the Milkman; I Live with Him Every Day; Sit, James; Barefoot on the Moon; and most recently, Happy Jack’s Motel. In winter 2013, Josh’s production of Glengarry Glen Ross won him the honour of Best Director at the 2014 QUONTA Festival. At On the Edge Fringe, 2017 Josh adapted, directed, and played the titular character in Macbeth winner of both the Audience Choice and Juror’s Choice Best of Fringe awards. Joshua has been the resident director for Theatre Canadore for the past three years directing Frankenstein, Clue, and Radium Girls. In film and television, Josh’s most recent roles include The Last Assassins (Best Actor, Braga Cine Fest Festival) and supporting leads in the upcoming films UGLY, What We Have Left, and Shore of Secrets. As well as Guest Starring in the upcoming comedy series ‘Mericans. Look out for FRIGHT WEEK this October, where Josh stages productions of Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man, Halloween week at the Capitol Centre.