Sidetrack Bandits back at it again

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This article was published 25/07/2023 (648 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of local bandits is taking the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival by storm by taking their sketch comedy show to the big city.

The group of six, Kenton and Thalin Dyck, Heather and Cameron Penner and Michelle and Jeremy Plett make up the Sidetrack Bandits. This year for the Fringe, they’re bringing brand-new material to the stage at Théâtre Cercle Molière starting Thursday night.

Michelle Plett is excited for the show to get out into the world.

“Working collaboratively is such an interesting process and I think that we each bring a really important piece of that collaboration to the table,” Plett said. “Creating an entire show, especially a comedic show that’s so dependent on laughs, it gets to the point where it’s like, if we don’t put this in front of an audience soon, we’re just really sick of the material because we’re not laughing anymore.”

Plett, speaking on behalf of the Sidetrack Bandits, said they’ve been rehearsing every week since September and performing material during comedy nights at the Steinbach Arts Council.

Plett said the responses to those shows were very positive. She’s looking forward to the challenge that performing at Fringe will provide for the group.

“That’s the interesting thing about Fringe. It’s not a home crowd, but I like that because I find it a challenge,” she said. “These people have no vested interest in me, why would they laugh? I have to make them laugh. I have to figure out what it is that they’re going to laugh at.”

This year, the Sidetrack Bandits are the only group performing under the label of sketch comedy which is made up of pre-written sketches about funny situations brought to the stage.

Their show consists of seven separate sketches each lasting about four minutes and two songs. Each member wrote a sketch focusing on their own ideas and topics.

“In sketch (comedy), in order to create a really fully realized character it takes a lot more work because you’re flip flopping from character to character,” Plett said. “I don’t know what to compare it to other than Bo Burnham but it’s not crude.”

Audience members can expect a “ludicrous” opening number featuring the Sidetrack Bandits in cow headbands.

Plett said other than splurging on the headgear, they like to keep props and costumes to a minimum because they aren’t necessary to creating an immersive experience.

“It’s a very bare bones show in terms of what we bring onto the stage other than our bodies,” she said.

The sketch Plett wrote for the show draws inspiration from her work as a Grade 7 and 8 teacher and the new lingo and slang the teens she works with use. Each member brings their own experiences into the show.

Plett said the group was originally started by Jeremy and Kenton on YouTube as a way for them and their friends to have a dramatic outlet after graduating high school. Over the years, it gained and lost members, ultimately shifting to include Thalin, Heather and Michelle.

Cameron, Jeremy and Kenton were in the group and their wives wanted to join because of their love of theatre as well.

“It just was like we could totally do this together as couples and then nobody would feel left out and nobody would be left at home, so we started doing it like that and we found out that we work really well together,” Plett said. “Since then, we’ve just stuck to the six of us.”

Plett said they hope to see more folks in the audience this year. Since their venue wasn’t in the main Downtown hub of the festival, they saw less people than they had expected last year. Now, the festival is adding more performers to the St Boniface area.

They also hope to see Steinbach locals coming out to support the show.

“The first year you see somebody at Fringe, it’s going to be a risk,” Plett said. “There’s lots of stuff about Fringe that’s a risk, but I’m hoping that just seeing our name in the program every year, people are like, ‘Oh, we’ve heard of them.’”

The group tries to take in as many other performances as possible, having “fringing days” where they go early to see a show before their own performance.

Kenton and Jeremy are also part of the D&D Improv Show which plays every night except July 24, so Michelle and Thalin plan to go to every show.

You can catch the Sidetrack Bandits at the Fringe Festival at 6 p.m. on July 20 and 22, 7:30 p.m. July 23 and 25, 7:15 p.m. on July 27, 8:15 p.m. on July 28 and 2:30 p.m. on July 29. Their venue is The Studio at Théâtre Cercle Molière and free parking can be found on site.

Tickets can be purchased through their website at www.sidetrackbandits.com.