u/nefariousplotz

Every year the subreddit attracts a bunch of questions about Fringe venues. Here's the information I've got about the spaces I'm familiar with: please do correct me or make your own contributions in the comments. (Especially for the site-specifics! I know absolutely nothing about most of those places!)

Raked seating means that the seats get higher as you get further from the stage. This improves sightlines, but it also means that patrons may have to climb or descend stairs to reach parts of the auditorium.

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Young Centre (Soulpepper / Distillery District)

• Venue 1 - Michael Young: a conventional theatre with raked seating; seats are padded; front row is level with the entrance, must climb steps to reach other rows
• Venue 2 - Kevin & Roger Garland Cabaret: a rehearsal studio with a temporary stage; probably a flat floor, with folding or stackable chairs
• Venue 3 - Weyni Mengesha Theatre: a black box theatre with raked seating: seats are padded; front row is level with the entrance, must climb steps to reach other rows
• Venue 4 - RBC Finance Studio: a rehearsal studio with a temporary stage; almost certainly a flat floor, with folding or stackable chairs

Washrooms: 👍 Perfectly fine
Food and drink: 👍 Lots of nearby options, but not a lot of cheap stuff unless you walk several blocks
Accessibility: 👍 Every venue's entrance is level with the building's main entrance; washrooms are on the same level; some venues have long walks and awkward corners to reach the seating; in previous years, the RBC Finance Studio has used a separate entrance, which meant you had to exit and re-enter the building to reach the washroom
Hanging out: ⭐ Plenty of seating, two large nearby parks with shady areas, interesting neighbourhood to walk around in
Transit: 👍 Several bus and streetcar routes

Local plugs:

• Fringe Patio, free activities day and night, check the website for details
• Parliament Square Park, lots of shady places to sit, great place for a picnic.
• St. Lawrence Café, an old-school family sandwich joint, with cheap food (by Distillery District standards)
• Corktown Common, a large park built for meandering. Nice place to walk and talk.
• Late-nite options: Bar Burrito (in the Canary District), Demetres Desserts ($$$ but a nice treat), Subway (on the Esplanade)

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Alumnae (King & Parliament)

• Venue 6 - Alumnae Theatre: a conventional theatre with quite old (but padded) raked seating; the side entrance (in a far corner of the lobby) provides level access to the front row; all other seats require stairs

Washrooms: 👍 Perfectly fine
Food and drink: 👍 You'll have to walk a couple blocks, but you'll find stuff
Accessibility: 🤷️ AODA accessible, but a bit of a palaver: in particular, going from the front door to the auditorium involves a grand tour
Hanging out: 🤷️ On a quiet side street, but not a lot of places to sit down or a lot to do in the immediate vicinity
Transit: 👍 Several bus and streetcar routes

Local plugs:

• There's a Dollarama and a No Frills a short walk away, if you've forgotten anything at home
• Late-nite options: Tahini's Shawarma, 241 Pizza

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Native Earth (Regent Park)

• Venue 7 - Native Earth's Aki Studio: a black box theatre with raked seating; front row is level with the entrance, must climb steps to reach other rows
• Venue 8 - Native Earth's Giizis Studio: a rehearsal studio with, possibly, a temporary stage; almost certainly a flat floor, with folding or stackable chairs

Washrooms: 🤷️ Perfectly fine, but I often find them out of something (soap, paper...) or in need of a tidy
Food and drink: ⭐ Lots of options right out the front door, including cheaper choices
Accessibility:⭐ Barrier-free access from Dundas, with minimal fuss getting into the auditoriums
Hanging out: ⭐ Lots to do, lots to see, lots to stumble upon (plus a big open lounge area)
Transit: 👍 Dundas streetcar, plus the Parliament bus a few blocks away

Local plugs:

• Sumach Espresso, an old-fashioned sit-and-stay coffee shop with a small patio
• Regent Park (the actual park), worth a wander
• Gorkha Palace (bit of a walk) for momos and hakka
• Late-nite options: Wendy's, Popeyes

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Videocabaret (Queen & Carlaw)

• Venue 10 - Videocabaret: a black box theatre with raked seating; theatre will be set up in the round (show happens in the centre of the room, with the audience seated on all 4 sides); front row is level with the entrance, must climb steps to reach other rows

Washrooms: 🤷️ It's fine, but you may not be able to access it during the show.
Food and drink: ⭐ Tons of choices along Queen
Accessibility: 🤷️ Front door requires a ramp, which staff will have to manually set up for you
Hanging out: 👍 There isn't much AT the theatre itself, but the vicinity's pretty good. (In particular, check out Jimmie Simpson Park.)
Transit: 👍 Queen streetcar plus a bus on Carlaw

Local plugs:

• Ôi BÁNH MÌ for Vietnamese sandwiches and snacks: go have a picnic
• Masa Deli, take-out breakfasts and lunches
• John Chang Neighbourhood Park, for when you want to sit on a bench and answer emails
• Revolver Pizza, slices and pies
• Late-nite options: A&W, Osmow's Shawarma, The Roy Public House

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Factory (Bathurst & Adelaide)

• Venue 14 - Factory Theatre Mainspace: a conventional theatre with raked seating; a side door off the lobby provides level access to the front row; all other seats require stairs
• Venue 15 - Factory Theatre Studio: a black box theatre with raked seating; the front row is level with the entrance, must climb steps to reach other rows

Washrooms: 👍 Perfectly fine
Food and drink: 👍 Lots of options along King or Queen, but you'll have to walk a block or two to get there
Accessibility: Mainstage 🤷️ (requires a slow elevator plus a secondary entrance to the auditorium), Studio 👍 (bit of a hike, but not too difficult level-wise)
Hanging out: 👍 You won't find much to do for free, but you'll find stuff to do nevertheless
Transit: 👍 Three streetcar routes

Local plugs:

• Tut's Egyptian Street Food, if you're bored of shawarma
• Dollarama (King and Portland), in case you've forgotten something at home, or you just want a cheap snack
• Beast Pizza, if you're feeling fancy.
• Late-nite options: McDonalds, Freshslice Pizza, Chubby's Jamaican Kitchen, Wheat Sheaf Tavern (for nostalgia)

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Theatre Passe Muraille (Queen & Bathurst)

• Venue 16 - Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace: a conventional theatre with raked seating; the front 3-4 rows are level with the entrance, must climb steps to reach other rows

Washrooms: ⭐ Absolutely aces
Food and drink: 👍 You're one block off Queen West, Lots of options
Accessibility: 👍 The front door can be a pain in the ass, but once you're inside, you're good
Hanging out: 👍 You're two blocks from Alexandra Park / Scadding Court, which also has a public library (so, by all means, go sit in the A/C)
Transit: 👍 Three streetcar routes

Local plugs:

• Alexandra Park / Scadding Court, worth a wander
• NomNomNom Poutine, allegedly the most authentic you'll find this side of the border
• Nord Lyon, a French-style bakery with excellent pastries (and a French brunch buffet, if that's your jam)
• Java House, which hasn't changed in 30 years: even the prices are a little retro
• Late-nite options: Wendy's, Sirra (Indian & Hakka), Bucket Biryani, Java House

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Sweet Action (Trinity Bellwoods)

• Venue 17 - Sweet Action Theatre: a black box theatre which usually has raked seating; the first 1-2 rows will be level with the entrance; if the rake is installed, all other seats will require stairs; folding chairs

Washrooms: 👍 "Pretty good but tired", per the comments.
Food and drink: ⭐ You're two blocks off the Ossington strip; a little further to Queen or College
Accessibility: 🤷️ An older building which can be a bit of a puzzle to navigate
Hanging out: ⭐ The building has an indoors seating area, and Trinity Bellwoods is right there
Transit: 👍 You'll have to walk a few blocks to reach transit, but you've got two streetcars and a frequent bus to choose from

Local plugs:

• Trinity Bellwoods Park, worth a wander
• Papi and Rosita, affordable medium-fancy Mexican
• Bellwoods Brewery, your dad's favourite for a reason
• Coco Cafe, for Caribbean in a hurry
• Pizzeria Badiali, go see why the NIMBYs are all mad
• Late-nite options: Burger Republic, Neon Tiger, Chadon Beni, The Lakeview (for nostalgia)

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Tarragon (Dupont & Bathurst)

• Venue 22 - Tarragon Theatre Mainspace: a conventional theatre with raked seating; the middle row is level with the entrance, must climb or descend steps to reach other rows; people who can't do stairs will not be able to use the main exit (you'll exit through the lobby instead, and might have to wait for the auditorium to clear first)

Washrooms: 👍 A little worn down, but perfectly fine
Food and drink: 🤷 You'll be walking a couple blocks for limited speedy options (great neighbourhood for a 2-hour meal, not so great for a 45-minute break between shows)
Accessibility: 👍 On the whole, pretty good; be aware that the men's washroom is upstairs (an elevator is available)
Hanging out: 👍 there's usually a little sitting area out front of the theatre, plus some benches along the parking lots north of the tracks
Transit: 👍 A 10-minute walk from Dupont station, or you can take the Bathurst bus

Local plugs:

• Typist Studios & Coffee: overpriced, but pleasant enough, especially on a hot day
• Gordo EX, serving Venezuelan staples for 20 years
• Krispy Kreme Café, nobody has to know
• Roti Cuisine of India, especially suitable for vegetarians
• Late-nite options: Subway, McDonalds, Tim Hortons, Pizza Nova, Vesta Lunch (for nostalgia)

Everybody should try the opera once, for the same reason they should try Ethiopian food or watch a Hitchcock movie or read some poetry or see the ocean. And if you've never been, you should consider going while there's a 75% discount.

If you just want cheap tickets, visit the Canadian Opera Company's website, pick the Tuesday or Thursday performance, and enter promo code TOXICBUTMAKEITOPERA. There are $25 tickets available in rings 4 and 5, and $50/$75 tickets available in the orchestra section and ring 3. (In all cases, this is about a 75% discount off full price.)

If you need more convincing...

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What is opera?
Opera is extremely emotional performance. The emotions are arguably even more important than the singing. Opera is where you go to see portraits of joy and sadness, love and betrayal, aspiration and devastation: to taste these emotions without fucking up your personal life.

Of course, there is also singing, and it's a kind of singing that may make you wonder about the limits of the human body. Someone can stand on a stage and not just sing beautifully, but sing clearly enough to carry over the sound of a 50-member orchestra, all the way to the back of the fourth balcony, without any amplification. Incredible.

More generally, westerners have been enjoying opera for 250+ years, and they weren't wrong. The things that drew people to opera in 1920 are still present today, and they might grip you, too.

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Why THIS opera?
The 75% discount is actually for two short operas, presented as a single performance:

• "Bluebeard's Castle", an adaptation of a French folk story about a wealthy man with a sinister reputation, and what becomes of his new bride.
• "Erwartung", an original story about a frightened woman searching for her lover in a forest.

The whole performance takes about two hours, including a 30-minute intermission. And both of these stories are quite small, with only three named characters between them. (Which also makes them easy to follow.)

I will warn you: "Erwartung" is weird. Like, weird weird. It's got weird music, the story is weird, the staging is weird, it's just weird man. It's also about half an hour long. You'll live.

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I don't speak Hungarian
Both operas are presented with English surtitles. Reading surtitles can be a bit of a drag, but it's opera, not stand-up comedy. The language often moves fairly slowly, and you don't need to understand every single word in order to follow the story.

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I don't own any fancy clothes
There is no dress code. About 10-15% of the audience will be wearing jeans. There will be hoodies, and t-shirts, and probably a couple of dads in seasonally inappropriate shorts.

Some people do dress up: you may see some people in gowns and tailored suits, and if you want to do the same, you won't feel out-of-place. But you don't have to.