Sunday Feature: Sarah Segal-Lazar on the Island Fringe

Sarah Segal-Lazar, Will Roney (playing George-Etienne Cartier)

The 2013 Island Fringe PLAY List
by Sarah Segal-Lazar

Sarah Segal-Lazar is the founding Festival Director of The Island Fringe Festival. In her not-so-spare time, she is also an actor, playwright, and singer-songwriter. Her show Talk, Mackerel, which she wrote, composed, directed, and starred in, will be part of the Wildside Festival at Montreal’s Centaur Theatre this winter. An island-dweller through and through, she spends her time between Montreal, PEI, and New York. www.SarahSL.com

I’m sitting at a coffee shop, where I opt to work instead of the Island Fringe office. 1) Coffee shops have bathrooms. 2) Coffee shops are not a billion degrees. 3) Coffee shops have coffee. I’ve just come from an interview on CBC radio about an event we’re having in the name of Fringe called “Scribbler Skeletons: Shameless Readings of Childhood Writing.” Like all shows in the Island Fringe line-up, it’s admission by donation. I hope they remember to say that in the post-interview segment.

Review: (Montreal) Chairs - A Parable (Fringe)

If Sammy Met Dave

by Sarah Segal-Lazar

In a world where three men spend their lives sitting on the ground, one man will dare to stand up. Welcome to CHAIRS: A Parable. 

The play starts with three filthy and sullen men sitting on the floor. Behind them, a simple yet stunning set, made up of debris. As the men sit and stare at the wall, we understand quickly that they have never strayed from this place, apart from gathering food. The play is reminiscent of Beckett. If Vladimir and Estragon had had a third companion while waiting for Godot, things might have ended up differently; power dynamics might have shifted. With three, someone is always the odd-man out.

The Sunday Read: Sarah Segal-Lazar - an update from The Island Fringe Festival

“Hello deadline, my old friend.”
Top 5 Songs from The Island Fringe Festival’s summer mix-tape

by Sarah Segal-Lazar

The Island Fringe Festival is less than a week away. Creating the IFF has been a lot like participating in a bicycle marathon across the Alps; you push with everything you’ve got to get up the hill and then find yourself zooming down, watching everything flash past. And then the next thing you know, it’s another uphill climb. Except that in the case of the IFF, that finish line is the deadline.

In the last article I wrote about the IFF, I alluded to my tendency to categorize my life by movie genres. “This week was a rom-com, last week was a Hallmark made-for-TV movie,” and so forth. But it’s now summer and sitting in front of a screen is hardly appealing. (I know this because I do, in fact, spend most of my day in front of a screen.) And so, in honour of summer and all of the beach bods romping around PEI, I’ve decided to honour the heat with an homage to the Top of the Charts. After all, what’s summer without a little pop radio? And the nominees for the IFF’s official theme song are:

The Sunday Read: Sarah Segal-Lazar on creating the Island Fringe in PEI

What to Expect When You’re Expecting (to Plan a Fringe)

5 Things to Know When Creating a Fringe Festival

by Sarah Segal-Lazar 

1) You are insane. And there is a very good chance that you have too much time on your hands. Either that, or you have masochistic tendencies. But if you have a career in the arts, then chances are that you’re already dealing with all things mentioned above. 

Allow me to clarify: creating The Island Fringe Festival has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It’s given me the opportunity to team up with some incredible members of the arts community on PEI. It’s something that I’ve wanted to see on the Island for years. And in creating a site-specific Fringe Festival, it’s allowed me to help put up theatre in local, non-traditional spaces that I love. The frenetic energy that comes with planning a Fringe is just part of the Fringe package.