Here we go again!

ON THE EDGE Fringe is back for another amazing, exciting, and off-the-wall week of Fringe fun in the heart of downtown North Bay! This is our 11th Fringe Festival, and we have so many great shows and events lined-up we don’t even know where to begin!

We’ve tried to put all of the information about this year’s festival on this page in a somewhat logical order, but if you have questions about anything, feel free to contact us. You can also find up-to-date information on our Facebook and Instagram pages as well. We have 12 Fringe shows, 3 Duality presentation, and loads of Fringey X-tras to keep you busy this August. We’re also trying out a few new things this year, and you can find out more about that below.

New for 2024!

Here are some of the new things we’re implementing for this year’s festival:

No ticket sales at the doors – For 2024 we have decided to centralize our box office which means that all Fringe show tickets and festival passes will be sold exclusively through the Capitol Centre. The tickets and passes may be purchased in-person, over the phone, or through their website (www.capitolcentre.org), and to keep transaction fees low, the festival is encouraging folks to pay with cash or debit if possible. Patrons are also encouraged to purchase their passes or tickets in advance to avoid long line-ups. Seating is still first come, first served for all shows and events, so plan accordingly!
Tickets are $14/show and Festival Passes are $120 – We have decided to increase our ticket and pass prices this year to keep up with increasing costs and to bring us more in line with the other Canadian Fringe Festivals. The Fringe artists will still receive 100% of the ticket proceeds (minus the surcharge we keep to cover transaction fees) as well as an equal split of the pass sales.
New Venues – We have added a new venue this year, The Warehouse, across the road from the Capitol Centre in the old H.E. Brown building. We will also be shifting our Fringe Lounge upstairs to the Spotlight Lounge in the Capitol Centre, and using the Martini Lounge, which was previously used for the Fringe Lounge, as a venue for John Arthur Sweet’s Duality project Just Between Ourselves.

We have tried our best to ensure that these changes aren’t too disruptive or inconvenient, and ask everyone to be patient with us as we iron out the wrinkles this year.

You can download a pdf of the schedule by clicking the button below.

2024 Fringe Shows

Click the links below to find out more information about each of the shows in this year’s festival.

All Time Greatest Hits!!

Company: Floater Studios
Runtime: 60 minutes
Venue: The Basement
Genre: Comedy, Spoken Word/Storytelling
Audience Level: Parental Guidance Suggested

Are You Listening?

Company: Projet Ambidanse
Runtime: 45 minutes
Venue: Betty Speers Stage
Genre: Dance/Physical Theatre
Audience Level: General Audiences

BODIES

Company: Can’t Stand Sitting Productions
Runtime: 55 minutes
Venue: WKP Kennedy Gallery
Genre: Spoken Word/Storytelling
Audience Level: Parental Guidance Suggested

Cornflake

Company: Dense & Stage
Runtime: 50 minutes
Venue: The Warehouse
Genre: Dance/Physical Theatre, Multi-Disciplinary, Theatre
Audience Level: Mature Audiences

How to Lose Friends & Irritate People

Company: Jessica Pigeau
Runtime: 60 minutes
Venue: The Basement
Genre: Comedy, Spoken Word/Storytelling
Audience Level: Parental Guidance Suggested

Partners in Crime

Company: Big Business Theatre
Runtime: 60 minutes
Venue: The Basement
Genre: Theatre
Audience Level: Mature Audiences

The Death of Me

Company: Paint the Stage
Runtime: 50 minutes
Venue: The Warehouse
Genre: Comedy, Theatre
Audience Level: General Audiences

The Greatest Betrayal

Company: Vague Idea Production
Runtime: 50 minutes
Venue: WKP Kennedy Gallery
Genre: Comedy, Theatre
Audience Level: Parental Guidance Suggested

The Quickest Gun in the North

Company: Bird on Stage Productions
Runtime: 60 minutes
Venue: The Warehouse
Genre: Theatre
Audience Level: Parental Guidance Suggested

The Worst Date Ever

Company: Good Pine Productions
Runtime: 55 minutes
Venue: Betty Speers Stage
Genre: Comedy, Theatre
Audience Level: Mature Audiences

Treading the Boards

Company: Dressing Room Collective
Runtime: 45 minutes
Venue: Betty Speers Stage
Genre: Musical Theatre/Opera, Theatre
Audience Level: General Audiences

Who Drinks Mocktails on the Beach?!

Company: Painted Fern Productions
Runtime: 60 minutes
Venue: WKP Kennedy Gallery
Genre: Comedy, Musical Theatre/Opera, Theatre
Audience Level: Parental Guidance Suggested

2024 Duality program

For this year’s Duality program, we have three exciting presentations lined-up! We’re going to kick things off on August 13th at 8 pm with a performance of ALL MY R(el)ATIONS by Aanmitaagzi Story Makers at the green space by the Dionne Quints Museum (181 Oak St. W). This is an outdoor presentation so make sure to dress appropriately for the weather and bring a chair or blanket to sit on. Then, from Thursday to Saturday, John Arthur Sweet will be engaging audiences through his new durational theatre piece Just Between Ourselves in the Martini Lounge in the Capitol Centre (150 Main St. E). The final Duality offering we have this year is a two-night run of So.Glad Arts‘ show Creepy Boys at The Warehouse (150 McIntyre St. E) on Friday at 9:30 pm and on Saturday at 8:30 pm.

For more information about this year’s Duality presentations, please click on the button below.

Fringey X-Tras (in chronological order)

As if 12 Fringe shows and 3 Duality offerings weren’t enough, below is a list of the other events taking place as part of this year’s festival.

Conspiracy of 3 Literary Reading

August 14th @ 6:00 pm
The Spotlight Lounge – 150 Main St. E

Admission: Free

Join Denis Stokes and Conspiracy of 3 for featured poets and singers plus an open mic!

The Conspiracy of 3 is the longest surviving literary readings series in Canada. The conspiring has been occurring for over three decades on the second Tuesday evening of every month—virtually without a single cancellation. The series takes its name from its format of three approximately 20-minute sets. For this event, the first two sets will be devoted to two featured writers, while the third set will be an open mic session where anyone can share a brief literary work, poem, or spoken word piece with the audience. Everyone is welcome, so come join the conspiracy!

The Highwaymen Ride Again

August 15th @ 9:30 pm
The Warehouse – 150 McIntyre St. E

Admission: PWYC donation to ON THE EDGE Fringe

The winners of the 2023 Best of Fringe Audience Choice award are back in town for another journey to the fantastic realm of magic and mayhem in this unscripted adventure comedy! Audience members will be asked to take up the 20-sided Die of Power and roll to determine the fate of our heroes as they face goblins, orcs, dungeons, and dragons. Experience all the critical hits, the critical fails, and the off the wall improv as the Highwaymen ride into chaos for one night only!

Featuring Joshua Bainbridge, Morgan Bedard, Matt Lishman, and Rob McCubbin, this event is intended for General Audiences and may contain the following content or themes: Alcohol Use, Audience Interaction, Depictions of War/Military Aggression, Loud Noises, and Mild Language.

***Seating is limited!***

Movement Workshop with Projet Ambidanse

August 17th @ 11:30 am
Betty Speers Stage – 150 Main St. E

Admission: $15 or PWYC

Projet Ambidanse is back for the second year in a row with a new workshop exploring repertoire and movement creation exercises from their new show Are You Listening?. In this two-hour session, participants will experience different ways of moving, touching on ideas of improvisation, weight-bearing contact work, and spoken dialogue. Movers of all abilities and experience levels are welcome! Join us as we dance, talk, play, and most importantly, listen!

About the artists:
Hannah Surette, Annie Spence, and Clara Chemtov are emerging contemporary dance artists from Montreal and Toronto. They have presented dance works in various venues and festivals around Quebec and Ontario. In 2020, Hannah and Clara formed their collective, Projet Ambidanse, which has since created stage choreography and dance films that have been featured in several international film festivals. Last year, the collective presented Everything but the Kitchen Sink at ON THE EDGE Fringe, winning the Juror’s Choice Award. They recently completed a successful run at the 2024 Montreal Fringe Festival, earning nominations for Best Choreography and Best Production by Emerging Artists. They can’t wait to bring their newest creation Are You Listening? to the amazing North Bay community!

2024 Fringe Awards Ceremony

August 18th @ 5:00 pm
The Martini Lounge

The annual Fringe awards ceremony is one of the high points of the Fringe festival. Each year we bring in three industry professionals to determine which artists or companies will receive awards. We also have an audience choice award that is given to the show with the most votes. We all gather in the Martini Lounge after the last show of the festival ends to find out who has won. A full list of our Fringe awards can be found by clicking the button below.

Important Locations

Looking for ways to help or support the Fringe?

There are many ways to get involved with the ON THE EDGE Fringe Festival. Check out our Support page to find out how you can help make Fringe the Fringey-est it can be!

2024 Festival Funders

ON THE EDGE Fringe wishes to acknowledge the Government of Canada, through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Summer Jobs program, and the Ontario Arts Council for their generous support of this year’s festival.

Star Sponsors

Limelight Sponsors

ON THE EDGE Fringe thanks all of the amazing artists, staff, volunteers, patrons, funders, sponsors, supporters, the Fringe community, and the community of North Bay for helping us to make this festival happen. Stay Fringey, everyone!