The Fringe Theatre Human Library is OPEN.  

From September through July every year, we commit to offering mentorship supports to our independent theatre community (sorry, pals – we don’t have the capacity to open the Human Library in August during the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival just yet, but we’ll work on it!).

About the Human Library
We don’t just want artists to visit the Fringe Theatre Arts Barns. We want them to inhabit it. Wake it up. Fill the quietest corners with all the noise of artmaking. Creative thinkers, doers, appreciators, and anything in between belong here. Fringing is for everyone.  

This is a space for brave ideas and great artistic risk. This is where chance encounters grow into meaningful collaborations, where messy first inklings become brilliant realizations. 

Fringe Theatre believes in mentoring artists and fostering their careers at all stages. Mentorship is woven into our very organizational fabric, and mentorship at all levels is key to a healthy arts industry. 

As part of our ongoing commitment to opening the Fringe Theatre Arts Barns as an accessible creative hub, we are opening The Human Library on the first Friday of every month starting April 1, 2022. 

The Human Library hosts real people, real conversations, and real connections.  

Here’s how it works:  

• Mentors dedicate up to 4 one-hour slots on the first Friday of every month between the months of September and July during Fringe Grounds Cafe hours (11am – 8pm) to be a “human book;” 
• Artists register online to “take out” a “human book” for one hour; and 
• The Mentor and Artist chat over coffee (on us!) at Fringe Grounds Cafe for up to one hour per session.  

We respect and celebrate that Mentors and Artists have big, busy, beautiful lives outside the context of the Human Library. Within the context of the Human Library, we ask the Mentor and Artist please dedicate one hour to each other. How or if the relationship grows from there is up to the Mentor and Artist!  

Mentors interested in signing up may schedule dates and times here. We ask Mentors please dedicate a minimum of one up to a maximum of 4 hours per Human Library day. Artist sessions are 1-hour long. Mentors may make themselves available for up to 4 sessions per day.

Artists interested in participating may book their mentor through the button below. Mentor slots are available on a first come, first serve basis. Artists may book one mentor per day. 

Please note: we are currently only accepting bookings with a mentor on the first Friday of the month between the months of September and July from 11am-8pm.  

Please refer to the Mentor Schedule to see available time slots. Reminder, mentor slots are available on a first come, first serve basis!   

Questions? We have answers! Email us at hello@fringetheatre.ca.