I think the real success we've had is because of being able to access funding.
The Canadian fringe circuit is very different from Edinburgh, for example
The Canadian fringe circuit is all lottery-based. You'll put your name in a hat and, if you're drawn, you get an opportunity to do a show. What's great is the access; the barrier to entry is much lower. You pay something like $700. You get your venue, technician, seven performances and registration in the festival. Oftentimes these festivals will house you as well.
You have this gaggle of artists that will go from city to city throughout a summer touring a show. That's what I came up in. I was doing that for a few summers.
With Edinburgh, on the other hand, the joke is that you could sell out your whole season, and we did. If we hadn't had funding, we would have lost $10,000. It is so expensive to do. The barrier to entry, to be seen on those international stages, is high.
I agree about the Saskatoon Fringe Festival. I worked for them in their first summer back after COVID, and it was a struggle. It is a struggle.
I think artists—on that circuit, anyway—will often just do the fringe festival in the summer. Some were full professional artists throughout the full year. There's no bridge between those fringe festivals and professional mainstage shows, particularly in the pay and prices.