Volunteer Anne Ryan Talks about thirty-year friendships she’s made through Fringe.
“That was the real reason: that I felt like I could belong — I think that’s the key word.”
“August is the Fringe,” declares Anne Ryan. For her and so many others, it’s the crown jewel in our summer of festivals and has been for a long, long time.
For Anne, it started back in 1984. She volunteered for the Festival as a way to see some theatre with like-minded people—something that had been lacking in her life at that time.
“I missed that. My soul missed that,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘Well, I can go and volunteer. I will meet other people who will enjoy theatre. I can go and I can sit in a theatre by myself, or I can invite somebody in my little team to go with me.’ That was the real reason: that I felt like I could belong—I think that’s the key word.”
This summer will mark Anne’s 40th year volunteering with the Festival! She’s one of the thousand-strong Volunteers who make this massive Fringe vibrant and possible.
“I still have friends I met 20, even 30 years ago at Fringe,” she says. “It all started when a small group gathered and I wanted to get to know them better. That approach has worked and held us together for all these years.”
Anne has typically worked in VHQ (Prowse Chowne Volunteer Headquarters), helping coordinate the Volunteer action. But last year, she started volunteering online, too—answering questions being sent in from the web. Anne notes that one
of the most curious things about that experience is that questions aren’t always coming from Edmonton. She’s had people from as far away as England asking about the Festival.
“They were coming from some other country to Edmonton knowing that Fringe was on and wanting to go and see some shows,” she says of the inquiries she received. “It was from all over the world.”
No matter where they arrive from, when the audiences arrive in Old Strathcona, Anne and the rest of the Volunteers will be ready to greet them, direct them, and support them across Fringe as they take in shows that reveal the big ideas Artists are exploring in the here and now.
“I think, if we pay attention, Fringe is a window into what’s ahead for us,” Ryan says. “For me, the Artists are the ones who see the future, and they are the interpreters for us.”
Check out our Volunteer page for more information. And who knows – you could volunteer with us next year!