This summer, I wanted to catch a few more Toronto Fringe shows than I have over the last few years. When I hear how some Fringegoers can reach 20 or 25, I'm impressed and marvel at how they manage to do it.

It's essential to support those artists who participate in the Fringe. Not all theatre and performing artists are complacent. They want to continue learning about their craft.

What better way than going to see other artists do their stuff?

Playwright Ronit Rubinstein recently got in touch with me via email. Her upcoming show isn't her first time performing at the Toronto Fringe, but it has been a very long time since 2008. Ronit says it feels like a miracle she's able to perform this summer.

The title of her upcoming Fringe show, "Things My Dad Kept' intrigues me. For one, Ronit calls it more of a storytelling piece than a play.

In the piece, Rubinstein intersperses the story of discovering her father's archive with hilarious anecdotes about their relationship and a gripping account of how her father and his family survived the Holocaust. The show is determined live at each performance, based on paper airplanes thrown by the audience.

I'm intrigued even more.

The audience gets to throw paper airplanes. What's with this?  Or do we have to attend to find out the significance?

Ronit shared in the email:

"I've always believed that if an audience is going to go to a live performance, we need to provide them with some magic that could only happen at a live show, something they couldn't get by just going to the movies or staying home and streaming."

Engaging and involving an audience as a storyteller is crucial. However, a performer does not want to make an audience anxious or put on the spot.

Thus, the need for paper airplanes:

"The paper airplanes feel like a fun and safe way to help make this show we are ALL creating together."

'Things' delves even further into grief, which is something we all carry in our lives.  For Ronit, grief is a universal human experience and through 'Things,' she will share her own story of grief. Rubinstein believes audience members will bring their understanding of grief with them. When they bring their experiences, Ronit believes audiences shape the show, too.

The show also explores memory and how it can resurface when we least expect it or slip away when we're not thinking about it. Memories do not come in chronological order. There is no set order for the launching of paper airplanes. There is no set order for their landings. So, there is no set order to 'Things.'

The show is also about Ronit's father, who was an electrical engineer. He worked on telecommunication projects. For a while, he worked on a frigate, and Rubinstein said she was incapable of comprehending that part of him.

As an English major, making paper airplanes is as close to engineering as Ronit jokingly says she gets.

But where she completed her undergraduate degree is impressive. Ronit completed her bachelor's degree in English and Theatre at Princeton University.

Wow!

Rubinstein also shared who some of her mentors and influences were at this time. She fondly recalls in her first year at Princeton, the teacher who had the most impact on her was playwright R.N. Sandberg. Ronit planned to major in Psychology and Music when she first went to Princeton. After taking a seminar with Sandberg, she set out on another path, majoring in the two new subject areas.

Janet Kish has also been an incredible mentor to Ronit. I concur with Ronit's summation. I know Janet as a theatre adjudicator through the Association of Community Theatres – Central Ontario Division. Kish taught for many years in the Toronto District School Board. She and Rubinstein were paired for a one-year mentorship by the Canadian Senior Artists Resource Network back in 2017. Kish has also been a tremendous support system, assisting Ronit with dramaturgical support for several scripts.

Yet, the world of the artist and playwright does not necessarily mean gainful, regular, and steady employment.

Ronit has another side to her life to pay the bills.

She teaches and tutors for a test preparation company, helping students achieve better scores on standardized tests such as the SAT, GRE, and GMAT. She has been doing that for a long time and immensely enjoys the work:

"It's rewarding to help people achieve their academic goals, and it keeps me sharp. It's also work that uses a totally different part of my brain than writing and creating do."

Regarding the theatre and performing arts industries in Toronto, Rubinstein believes that every art form that seeks to remain relevant must continually evolve. For her, there's an innately human itch that gets scratched when someone sits in an audience with other people and laughs, cries, or feels feelings together. If artists want a healthy theatre community, with shows that are well-attended enough to sustain them, theatre companies and actors must appeal to all potential audience members in this diverse city of Toronto. Everyone needs to see themselves and their experiences reflected on stage as well.

As a Canadian playwright, Ronit's following comment intrigued me further:

"I know that I am biased, but I have been extremely heartened to see how many Toronto theatre companies are proudly proclaiming they are producing NEW CANADIAN WORKS in their upcoming seasons. Although this is in response to Donald Trump, I am still grateful for the explicit focus on producing Canadian writers for Canadian audiences. It's critical for writers to be nurtured."

If things go well for 'Things My Dad Kept' this summer in Toronto, Ronit hopes to tour the show to other festivals. (Hamilton Fringe, are you listening?) Her dream of dreams would be to have a theatre company produce 'Things' someday with a more elaborate set and slightly longer run times.

As we concluded our online conversation, I asked what was next for Ronit Rubinstein.

She may try to go on her first proper vacation in years. When she's in Toronto, she can often be seen performing on local storytelling shows, such as Replay. She has also been toying with the idea of starting her storytelling show to showcase her favourite tellers.  Perhaps the fall might be the right time for it.

Just keep us posted, Ronit.

Check the Toronto Fringe website: www.fringetoronto.com to check show dates and times for 'Things My Dad Kept.'