I first learned of the Vancouver Fringe Festival from a distant cousin who lives in the Vancouver, Canada area. It wasn’t until I actually arrived in Vancouver last weekend that the magnitude of the event became evident. Late on Monday afternoon I found myself on Granville Island, the eye of the storm, during the 31st annual Fringe Festival celebration. The 11 day event features over 80 shows with more than 700 performances by 89 artists. The event schedule was the size of a large newspaper and a short perusal led me to the conclusion that one could certainly watch theatre "until the cows come home".
One of those performances was a one act musical titled “Loco-Hero-Joe” starring Sue Sparlin as “Glama”. The musical was the brainchild of local Vancouver artist Darcy McFadden, whom I had the pleasure of meeting, and the story portrayed the life of the legendary Vancouver lifeguard, Joe Fortes.
The production proved to be an absolute delight as I was led through the span of Joe Forte’s life through anecdotes and music. The brilliant cast of three consisted of a very young inquisitive woman named “Notes” who was intently interested in history. She was interviewing an older woman “Glama”, who was a very small girl during Joe’s time. “Glama" was played by my cousin Sue Sparlin. Joe Fortes died in 1922 and the character of “Joe" was played by writer and creator Darcy McFadden, who appeared as a ghost quite early in the performance. Turns out however that “Joe” was actually visible to both “Glama” and “Notes” and the ensuing conversations and musical tributes centered around the life, times and accomplishments of “Joe”.
If memory serves me right Sue mentioned she had 249 lines of script to memorize along with 12 musical numbers. She drew me into her sassy character right from the beginning and had me totally immersed in the story from the get-go.
Being unaware of either the Vancouver Fringe Festival or the individual known as Joe Fortes, it was a delight to learn of the local history and also fun to spend time with my cousin.
Unfortunately I was only there for the 1 night so I have a feeling a return trip to Vancouver is on the horizon for 2016.
Vancouver Fringe Festival information
