Why Starbucks is “Fringe” and theatre activists aren’t…

This year the Toronto Fringe festival has sunk to a new low in terms of corporate sponsorship: Starbucks is now officially “Fringe”. Starbucks, a multinational corporation with a track record of destroying small businesses, gentrifying neighbourhoods, and attacking Canada’s First Nations, is “Fringe” because they had made a corporate sponsorship deal. Theatre activists, like NYC’s Bill Talen (aka: the Reverend Billy) are not considered “Fringe”, because they have not paid hundreds of dollars in “administrative fees” to be a part of the trademarked festival.

In fact, Bill Talen, who uses performance art to challenge unscrupulous corporations, is not even allowed into Starbucks, whose head office issued a communiqué to all stores, stating:

"Treat him as any other customer and do not respond to his or his devotees’ antics. Ask him politely to leave the store. Call the police if he does not leave.” —from an internal memorandum circulated by the Starbucks Seattle head office to all branches, April 2000

HISTORY:

The Reverend Billy’s theatrical campaign against Starbucks

http://www.organicconsumers.org/starbucks/ny.cfm

Starbucks sues Haida First Nations for “copyright infringement”:

NOW magazine article by First Nations playwright Drew Hayden-Taylor

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2003-06-19/news_story6.php

How the Haida Nation won – Globe & Mail article

http://www.arvayfinlay.com/news/news-aug-29-2003.htm

How Starbucks destroys mom-and-pop joints

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_8_34/ai_95541089

Consumer Activists site against Satrbucks:

http://www.starbucked.com/

CALL TO ACTION:

Do some real fringe theatre at Starbucks:

What should I do if, like the Reverend Billy, I want to protest against the unethical and un-fringe Starbucks corporation?

VENUES:

The Toronto Fringe™ has been gracious enough to provide theatre activists with a map of all Starbucks locations (marked by a Starbucks logo) on the Fringe™ map. Please consider these 6 corporate Starbucks locations as anti-corporate performance venues:

http://www.fringetoronto.com/PDF%20files/Venue%20Map.pdf

SCRIPTS:

The Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping have put the following anti-Starbucks scripts (to be played at Starbucks) online:

Death by Latte

http://revbilly.com/revsite/Writings/Death%20by%20Latte.pdf

http://revbilly.com/revsite/Confess/confess.htm

Please don’t be a passive spectator and don’t buy the official corporate line. Starbucks is not “Fringe” nor will it ever be. Bill Talen, on the other hand, is about as fringe as it gets for theatre artists. Join the infringement and reclaim your culture!!!

To complain to the Toronto Fringe™ about this unethical sponsorship, please call President Chuck McEwen at the “Fringe Hotline”: (416) 966-1062. Or email: fringe@fringetoronto.com

Please BCC letters or write your reports to: carstories04@yahoo.ca

BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM:

www.infringementfestival.com

www.optative.net/carstories

www.infringe.tyo.ca