In the mood for something fun and light-hearted? Check. Something for the whole family? No prob. What about something raunchy? You betcha.

The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival has been making original theatre for 22 years, so it comes as little surprise there’s something for everyone.

This year’s official theme is Fringe Factory: Mass producing originality since 1988.

“The whole idea of mass producing originality is what we’re all about,” said Fringe Fest’s executive producer Chuck McEwen. “A lot of our themes are culturally-based, so this time we thought we’d do something different.”

This year the Fringe features 146 companies performing in 24 venues for over 12 days from July 15 to 26, for a total of over 1,200 shows. The best part – Fringing is cheap, with shows costing between $5 and $9 each.

The Exchange District comes alive during Fringe Fest, and the beer gardens in Old Market Square are a favourite between-show hangout.

All fringe festivals are unjuried– meaning anything potentially goes and the audience decides – and this helps to ensure everyone will leave happy.

This year they had about 250 applicants and had to turn away about 100 shows, McEwen said.

“It’s very tough to get into the Fringe each year.”

With so many shows, how do you decide which ones to see?

“All you can do is pick what you like and go out. Word of mouth is still the best way to find out about the shows.”

For more info, pick up a program for $5 at the Manitoba Theatre Centre Box Office at 174 Market Avenue, the Info Tent in Old Market Square, any of the venues, or at Liquor Marts and Safeway stores throughout the city.

In the mean time, we’ve assembled a list of some of our faves and divided them up to correspond with your moods.

In the mood for… hard core speed rap?

MC Jabber & Friends [A Solo Show]

He’s been described as an “artist of information overload,” spitting his words at you through hard-core speed rap.

He was the first ever UK National Poetry Slam champ and is the male vocalist for Blue Foundation, the band featured on the Twilight and Miami Vice soundtracks.

Clearly, if you’d like to give your ears a listening workout, MC Jabber & Friends [A Solo Show] might be worth a go.

“I tend not to rehearse everything, because I find it quite interesting (though a little nerve-wracking) to keep the show quite open,” said MC Jabber, a.k.a. Scott Martingell, via e-mail. “I tend to attract quite a young audience as well, so things can get a bit raucous sometimes,” he added.

When a guy speaks so quickly, do audiences actually understand what he says?

“When it’s that fast, it becomes more like vocal music than poetry. It’s better to sit back, let it wash over you, pick out the words or phrases you can, and then make your own meaning with what you’ve absorbed.”

In the mood for… a mixture of classical and contemporary?

Breakdance for Solo Cello

Combining the freestyle form of breakdance with the somewhat rigid nature of Bach’s Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, might sound odd, but since breakdance is confined anytime it’s put on the stage, it might not be such a stretch after all.

“If you want to see amazing breaking, you should go to a jam or battle, not a show,” Breakdance for Solo Cello performer and artistic director Helen Simard wrote in an e-mail.

“Any time you put breakdance on stage, it has to be transformed and abstracted, otherwise, you get nothing more than a watered down form of the dance.”

But where else will you see breakdancers performing with a cellist? At the Winnipeg shows, the Solid State Breakdancers will share the stage with Yuri Hooker, the lead cellist for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

“We hope that this will bring a new audience to a dance performance,” Simard wrote.

In the mood for… something for the whole family?

School House Rock Live

Perhaps it’s more of a journey down memory lane for the adults, but kids are sure to love School House Rock Live,  too.

“It’s a family fun show for all ages basically teaching the basics of English, math and sciences,” said Nicholas Mather, who has the double role of both actor and executive producer for the show.

The musical, produced by Small Nest Productions, is based on the hit 1970s television show.

The show features some of the most beloved songs from the show, including Conjunction Junction.

Some of the more American references, like The Great American Melting Pot, have been removed, however, as the producers felt they had the wrong feel and message for Canada.

What about I’m Just a Bill?

That one made the cut, “’Cause that’s one that everyone wants to hear.”

In the mood for… zombies?

Zombie Prom

It’s the ‘50s and on top of dealing with greasers, strict parents and cold war hysteria, Toffee must overcome the fact that her grad date is now a zombie.

Zombie Prom is a campy and satirical musical reminiscent of 1950s classics like Grease and Rebel Without a Cause. Complete with 16 actors and a four-piece band, the play is one of the larger Fringe productions.

“It’s Grease meets Rocky Horror meets Shaun of the Dead,” said actor, Aaron Pridham. “It appeals to a wide demographic. Kids will enjoy the quirkiness and older audiences will appreciate the references to old movies and musicals.”

A $2 discount will be given to anyone who comes to Zombie Prom dressed like a zombie.

- Chris Hunter

In the mood for… something raunchy?

Inviting Desire: Theatrical Aphrodisiac

This all-female show about women’s sexual fantasies is sure to have something for everyone – except if you’re looking for Internet-style porn.

“You go on the Internet and see naked girls spreading their pussy for you, but that’s false,” said Eleanor O’Brien, founder of Dance Naked Productions which is putting on the show.

The show tells the tales of four women.

“Some are sort of dark,” she said of the stories. “Some are sort of taboo like the student/teacher fantasy and some are very funny… like there’s one about Obama.”

The show is for anyone, so long as they’re over the age of 18, O’Brien, 37, said.

“It’s very sexually positive. It’s really embracing everyone - man, woman, gay, straight.”

“It’s a safe way to experience something outside of yourself, something different,” she added.

In the mood for… getting in touch with your roots?

Heebs and Dweebs

Two-time Winnipeg Fringe Festival performer Amy Salloway is back, this time with Heebs and Dweebs.

“Compared to the two shows that I’ve taken to Winnipeg previously, Heebs and Dweebs is a little more classical storytelling.”

The show sees four interwoven stories play out before audiences.

“There’s a little more sense of narrative and storytelling and less running around the stage frantically.”

Salloway was initially concerned this change in technique would turn off Fringers, but she’s since changed her tune.

And don’t worry if you’re not Jewish – Salloway said anyone can appreciate the show.

“I’d guess that most of my audiences haven’t been Jewish.”

In the mood for… boy bands?

Alter Boys

Don’t worry if boy bands don’t turn your knees weak.

“It appeals to all different audiences for different reasons. It’s really about the camaraderie between the guys,” said producer/director Kayla Gordon. “It’s gonna appeal to a broad cross-section: The gay community, women over 40… and that’s why it’s been running off Broadway for two years.”

Gordon was driven to produce Alter Boys after a challenge from a local actor and director who said she’d never find five local guys who could act, sing and dance.

When Gordon put out the casting call, she was met with 50 guys vying for roles as the five boy band members.

“They all have to be triple threats,” Gordon said.

“I’m always amazed at the amount of talented people here between the ages of 20 and 35,” said Gordon, a part-time University of Winnipeg theatre department professor and freelance director.