Melanie Reich is hoping for decent weather over the next 11 days, but if it rains on Miss Cosmos, that's OK, too.

"We have a contingency plan for rain," said Reich, a lifelong North Deltan involved in staging the play at Vancouver Fringe Festival starting Friday, Sept. 7. "No matter what happens weather-wise, it'll be exciting."

Miss Cosmos: The 53rd Annual Intergalactic Space Bride Competition is a site-specific show performed on Granville Island at the playground beside the water park, nightly at 8: 20 p.m. until Sept. 16.

The interactive tale, which explores themes of finding a true identity on a planet so obsessed with popular opinion, is a debut effort for Bright Young Theatre, a new company cofounded by Reich and other recent grads of the UBC theatre program.

"To do work in theatre, you have to create your own shows, your own work," Reich said. "The industry is so competitive right now, and there aren't many professional (theatre) companies."

At the Fringe, the Bright Young Theatre team works on all aspects of staging Miss Cosmos, from script to publicity, as part of a mentorship program with the festival.

In addition to Reich, the all-female company includes Christine Bortolin, Jordan Kerbs, Joanna Williams and Ashley Noyes.

"The five of us all know each other so well, and work well together," said Reich. "Something like this starts small. It's about building slowly and surviving. We're in this for the long haul."

Reich, 24, said she has never performed at the Fringe, a long-running annual event, but has seen shows at the festival over the years.

"It's something new for me," she said. "In school, kids always thought (the Fringe) was a place where weird things happen, but as an adult, it's really a place of creativity and where interesting things happen."

Tickets for Miss Cosmos shows are $12. For details, visit brightyoungtheatre.com or vancouverfringe.com.

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tzillich@thenownewspaper.com