New head of Vancouver Fringe Festival takes remote work to another level — 10,000 km away in India

How do you plan an arts festival in Vancouver when you're stuck in Mumbai, more than 10,000 kilometres away?

According to Rohit Chokhani, the new executive director of the the Vancouver Fringe Theatre Society, you ignore the local time zone and commit to working nights for four months straight. 

"It's been a wild ride," said Chokhani. "I definitely never imagined that in my lifetime I would have to do it during a pandemic while being locked down in a different country."

Chokhani secured the position to oversee the city's annual theatre festival before he travelled to India to visit family in February. At the time, Vancouver's 37th Fringe had already been planned with hundreds of shows scheduled across the city over 10 nights.

Then the pandemic upended life everywhere — and made live theatre, with it's close, physical intimacy, seem practically impossible. Major productions on Broadway and in London's theatre district ground to a halt. Many Fringe festivals across Canada have been cancelled altogether. 

So Chokhani and his team — some of whom he's yet to meet in person —  had to start from square one. 

From his family's home in Mumbai, the curator worked from 10 p.m. to the early morning, finding time to sleep during the day.

"Everything was on the table," he told Stephen Quinn, host of CBC's The Early Edition on Thursday. 

"[But] our starting point was that health and safety was the priority."

Chokhani returned to Vancouver about two weeks ago and just recently finished quarantine.

Normally, the festivities would only last for 10 days in September. This time, organizers hope to curate in-person and digital shows and workshops for four 10-day stretches between September and December. 

This year's theme is "A Shift in Perspective." Unlike years past, the 2020 festival will only feature local artists. Performances will take place before no more than 50 patrons, the maximum amount of people that can currently gather at one time in B.C.

The first phase of Fringe Fest, B.C.'s largest theatre festival, kicked off Thursday and runs until Sept. 20. Those interested can learn more at the festival's website.