Even with the success of acts like Lonely Island and Flight of the Conchords, people still tend to view musical comedy with some suspicion, and not without reason. Those high-profile success stories aside, at the club level, musical comedy is too often the province of people who aren’t quite good enough to make it as musicians, but not quite funny enough to make it as comedians.

Two local comics, Robert Keller and Rush Zilla, are out to change that perception with their show, Off Key Comedy, which features a wide variety of acts whose only commonality is that they combine music and comedy in one form or another. The third edition of the monthly show will take place on May 23, at Comedy Bar.

Despite the fact that the last show in Buddies in Bad Times Theatre’s 2012/2013 season is titled Of a Monstrous Child: A Gaga Musical, Lady Gaga herself takes a secondary role. There are no homages to raw-meat dresses and gold-plated wheelchairs here. Instead, writer and director Alistair Newton uses the House of Gaga as a pathway into the history of the notable performance-art stars that came before her in the pantheon of queer iconography, and how she is and isn’t a construct of all of them put together.

It’s entirely possible that an early work by the next Atom Egoyan or David Cronenberg will screen on Wednesday night at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. With the 2013 Student Film Showcase featuring the best from post-secondary schools around the country and the Next Wave Presents: Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase kicking off the evening with Toronto-area high-school students’ films, the night will be a coming-out party for a new crop of talent. Judging by the polished creativity of some of the entries, it’s safe to say that young people are more prepared than ever to start telling stories on film from an early age.

Now in its 33rd year, the International Festival of Authors (IFOA) brings together an astounding collection of writers. This year, it will feature 190 participants in more than 70 events over the course of 11 days. It starts on Thursday.

If you’re planning to attend IFOA, we definitely recommend that you check out the full festival schedule. All of the events this year are being held in various rooms at either the York Quay Centre (235 Queens Quay West) or the Fleck Dance Theatre, on the third floor of the Queens Quay Terminal (207 Queens Quay West).

If you’re not quite sure where to start planning your festival, here are some best bets:

Thursday, October 18, 8 p.m.

CBC’s Eleanor Watchtel will interview Giller-winning author Rohinton Mistry. Proceeds will benefit PEN Canada.

Friday, October 19, 8 p.m.

Junot Díaz and Michael Chabon, two Pultizer Prize–winning authors, will read from and discuss their most recent works. An interview with both men will be conducted by the National Post‘s Siri Agrell. This event is sold out, but if you can scrounge up a ticket, it’s bound to be good.

Saturday, October 20, 7 p.m.

CBC radio personality Jian Ghomeshi will read from his new memoir, 1982, which some are saying isn’t a terrible book. He’ll be interviewed by CBC’s Shelagh Rogers.

Sunday, October 21, 4 p.m.

University of Guelph MFA graduates who consider themselves “Novelists for a New Age” will discuss their works and careers. The panel will be moderated by Catherine Bush and will include authors Matt Lennox, Stacey Madden, Aga Maksimowska, Grace O’Connell, and Tanis Rideout.

Monday, October 22, 8 p.m.

IFOA will present the 2012 finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction. Phil Hall, winner of the 2011 Governor General’s Award for poetry, will read from his work.

Tuesday, October 23, 8 p.m.

To celebrate Doubleday’s 75th anniversary, authors Chris Cleave, Miranda Hill, Jane Johnson, M.G. Vassanji, and Karen Thompson Walker will read from their latest works.

Wednesday, October 24, 8 p.m.

The finalists for the 2012 Rogers’ Writer’s Trust prize for fiction will read from their nominated works. Participants will include Tim Bowling, Tamas Dobozy, Rawi Hage, Alix Ohlin, and Linda Spalding.

Thursday, October 25, 8 p.m.

Celebrating the 45th anniversary of House of Anansi Press, University of Toronto English professor Nick Mount will moderate a roundtable discussion with authors Lynn Crosbie, Graeme Gibson, and Dennis Lee.

Friday, October 26, 8 p.m.

Acclaimed speculative-fiction authors Cory Doctorow and China Miéville will read from their latest works and be interviewed by sci-fi writer and producer Mark Askwith.

Saturday, October 27, 12 p.m.

In association with the Edinburgh World Writer’s Conference, author Andrew Pyper will host a round-table discussion at noon on the topic of “Witches, Zombies, Killers and Cowboys,” with novelists Deborah Harkness, Alen Mattich, Jo Nesbø, and Corey Redekop.

Sunday, October 28, 3 p.m.

Minky Worden and Jasmine Herlt, two directors at Human Rights Watch, will talk with Chan Koonchung, a Chinese-language novelist, about censorship today.

Bonus!

“Visual Arts at the IFOA: Covers of Canadian Fantasy” will be hosted throughout the festival at the York Quay Centre. It’s an exhibition of cover art from Canadian fantasy titles, curated by Peter Halasz.

You can download the full IFOA 2012 schedule here.

CORRECTION: October 19, 2012, 10:05 AM Because of an editing error, this post originally identified two IFOA 2012 events as taking place in September, when in fact they, like all of this year’s IFOA events, will be taking place in October.

Friday night at the Harbourfront Centre, (L–R) Tom Perrotta, Marieke van der Pol, Russell Banks, and Richard Crouse talk adaptations. Photo by Laura Godfrey/Torontoist.

For a panel discussion between three authors on the topic of book-to-film adaptations, last night’s event at the International Festival of Authors had a surprising focus on the perils of a movie being too true to the novel. Moderated by Canada AM film critic Richard Crouse, the discussion included authors Russell Banks (Lost Memory of Skin, and The Sweet Hereafter), Tom Perrotta (The Leftovers, and Election), and Holland-based Marieke van der Pol (Bride Flight).

All of these authors have been involved in screenwriting—sometimes for their own works, sometimes for others—and acknowledge that for many novels, big changes have to be made to ensure big screen success. “If you’re going to be adamant that there’s going to be a literal translation, I think it’s going to be dead on arrival,” said Perrotta. His 1998 novel Election ended up being adapted into the Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick movie of the same name, which Perrotta says got the kind of reviews he had hoped he would read about for his book.

There are plenty of adaptations where a well-meaning faithfulness to the source material can lead to a perilous road. (Speaking of which, 2009′s The Road was a movie so bleak it made us wish the cannibalistic scavengers would just take us already. Cormac McCarthy’s book, though, somehow finds a touching, manageable tone.) Any book whose success is largely dependent on a particular writing style or narrative voice runs the risk of not translating well. “Anyone who has seen Lolita will immediately feel the poverty of that film, because that voice just can’t be there,” said Perrotta. “The action is provocative, the character is interesting, but with the voice separated out, it just doesn’t feel rich in the same way.”

Banks, whose novel The Sweet Hereafter was adapted by Atom Egoyan, echoed Perrotta’s sentiments: “This might be heresy for a novelist to say, but I think filmmakers are too faithful to the novels, and intimidated by the text of the novel,” he said. “They’re never intimidated by the novelist, but they are intimidated by the reputation of the text, and the role it plays in culture at large. It would be better if they were more reckless.”

An example of a screenplay that really took apart a novel and made it into something new? As pointed out by Perrotta, Charlie (and Donald) Kaufman’s aptly titled Adaptation, the surrealistic comedy/drama based very, very loosely on Susan Orlean’s novel The Orchid Thief (which was itself based on her original article for The New Yorker). Not that we’d want every adaptation to stray so wildly from the characters and plot of its novel—but with Adaptation movie, which manages to focus on the writer’s block of the screenwriter himself, navel-gazing is turned into a high art.

There’s a lot of pressure when beloved books are being adapted for the big screen, and a certain faithfulness is worthwhile. But even authors will admit that sometimes, things need to be cut, and sometimes—brace yourselves—the ending needs to be changed. But Banks says even that is not sacred to him as an author, in terms of feeling comfortable with an adaptation of his own work. “If the atmosphere and the tone of the novel are carried over into the film, I feel in some way the moral or ethical centre of the film has been carried over,” he said. “Because as a novelist, that’s where it lies, really—it’s in the details, it’s in the tone.”

Sheezer. Photo by Rebecca Leach.

FESTIVAL: The Festival of Oral Literature (or FOOL, wink) is the spoken-word version of IFOA (see further down this post). Storytellers and performers creating “mind-movies” today and tonight include Pennishish (Louis Bird) at the afternoon Mythtelling session, and Erika Batdorf, Eddy Da Original One, and Zimbabwean musicians Pasi Gunguwo and Raino Mutamba around the campfire starting at 6 p.m. Mercer Union Gallery (1286 Bloor Street West), 4 p.m. onwards, PWYC.

MUSIC: It’s one of those jam-packed days for live music in T.O today and tonight: Chad VanGaalen’s playing an instore at Sonic Boom (782 Bathurst Street, 6 p.m., FREE) before his Mod Club set; Dan Mangan‘s at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (190 Princes Boulevard, doors at 7:15 p.m., $30), and Library Voices play the Horseshoe Tavern (370 Queen Street West, doors at 9 p.m., $12). But our pick would be Sheezer at Lee’s Palace (and not just because Torontoist contributor Robin Hatch is in their lineup). The all-female Weezer cover band just shreds live, plus they have a history of clever Halloween costumes on stage, and they’ve got up-and-comers the Elwins and Donlands and Mortimer opening. Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor Street), doors at 9 p.m., $10. (all prices are in advance from Soundscapes or Rotate This.)

SPORTS: The Toronto Triumph head into their second game tonight after losing considerable womanpower due to allegations of poor coaching and shoddy equipment (not to mention their first game). Hopefully that equipment and their playbook have been upgraded, as they’ll be facing the Baltimore Charm in a late-night game. (We’re assuming the Charm are really badass, having seen several seasons of HBO’s The Wire.) Ricoh Coliseum (100 Princes Boulevard), 10 p.m., $11.50–$90.50.

COMEDY: The comically gifted wastrels of Mantown typically have characters in shabby costumes at their drink-ups/shows anyway, so tonight’s Halloween edition promises to be even more zany than usual. “Dean” Rob Baker will be on hand, and the special opening guests include Sex, Religion, & Other Hang-Ups‘s James Gangl, Bad Dog Theatre artistic director Julie Dumais, and Punch in the Box’s Ashley Botting. Comedy Bar (945 Bloor Street West), 10:30 p.m., $5.

IFOA: The weather is cold and miserable, so it’s time to let new books light up your world! The Harbourfront’s annual International Festival of Authors “brings together the best writers of contemporary world literature” and runs from October 19–30. Check out our preview of IFOA 2011 to strike the perfect balance between meeting your authorly idols and discovering new literary loves.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

Magical, mythical authors (L-R) Simon Toyne, Erin Morgenstern, and Lev Grossman at an IFOA round table event with moderator Lesley Livingston. Photo by Laura Godfrey/Torontoist.

When you get a group of authors who grew up reading some combination of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Stephen King, it’s not surprising to see them together in a panel discussion called “Magic, Myth, and Forces Beyond Reason.” Last night, in a round table hosted by author Lesley Livingston at the International Festival of Authors, three up-and-coming, buzzy authors—Lev Grossman (The Magicians, The Magician King), Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus), and Simon Toyne (Sanctus)—discussed their magic- and myth-based novels.

Grossman’s best-selling Magicians books describe a group of friends who attend an exclusive college for magic only to discover the places they read about as children are real. He told the IFOA audience that his books are a way of expressing his own disappointingly unmagical childhood. “As a kid, I always believed that someone was going to come and take me somewhere better,” he said. “I always believed that inside some piece of cabinetry, somewhere, there was going to be a portal to somewhere better, because Jesus Christ, this cannot be it.”

“I could not get over the sense of how inadequate my life was compared with a book,” Grossman continued. “Books prepared me for something much greater; they led me to expect something much more exciting and fulfilling, and with a lot less homework.”

First-time author Toyne had similar thoughts about the role of fantasy and myth in books, though he didn’t seem to harbour the same lingering disappointment over a magic-free childhood. “The everyday, humdrum world is dull,” Toyne said. “We know the parameters of our own life. Writing books and reading books is escapism.”

Is life really that dull? It can certainly seem that way, when compared to a boy wizard with a magical scar who discovers a new world inside a wardobe and carries a powerful ring all the way to Mordor, or what have you. But we’re grateful that at least we have novels from the likes of Grossman, Toyne, and Morgenstern to give us new places to fantasize about.

In The Night Circus, Morgenstern’s book about a competition between two magicians in a Victorian-era circus, the level of description certainly places the circus itself as a stunning, imaginative main character in its own right. “I had the idea of this place with all these striped tents, and a bonfire in the centre, and I just explored it,” she said. “It was like fictional excavating, trying to figure out who the people were who inhabited it, and who created it, and where did it come from—that’s how much of a place-based book this is for me. Everything started from the circus itself.”

As much as we love to imagine the crackle of a magic spell or the intricacies of a living Ice Garden, Toyne made a reassuring point once the conversation turned to modern technology. If those Victorian-era circus folk were to suddenly find themselves living in our time, with our fast-moving automobiles and our social media, they would consider us to be the magicians. “When you’re on Twitter,” said Toyne, “you’re all magicians.”

Melanie Marshall and Sahr Ngaujah in FELA! Photo by Tristram Kenton.

TALK: Do you have something to say about the TTC? A lot has been happening with the organization of late, so tonight’s your chance to have your voice heard and ask any questions that may be on your mind. Chris Upfold, the transit commission’s chief customer service officer, will be meeting with TTC riders to discuss the current state of public transit in Toronto. RSVP in advance if you plan to attend. North York Civic Centre, Council Chamber (5100 Yonge Street), 7 p.m., FREE.

EXHIBIT: There’s no need to look further than the most recent provincial election to know that a significant portion of the electorate is less than fully engaged. A new exhibit—called “The Fourth Wall” after the imaginary barrier that is said to separate an audience from the stage—challenges citizens to think about how they can participate in a meaningful dialogue and better engaged with their own cities. Urbanspace Gallery (401 Richmond Street West), 7 p.m., FREE.

THEATRE: Starting tonight you can get your fill of Afrobeat rhythms as FELA! begins its two-week run at the Canon Theatre. The Bill T. Jones–directed musical tells the true story of legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, who highlighted the struggles of his generation through music. Prepare to get swept up in the music of the performance; according to one review, “it comes as a shock that the people on the sidewalks are merely walking” following the show. Canon Theatre (244 Victoria Street), 8 p.m., $35–$130.

IFOA: The weather is cold and miserable, so it’s time to let new books light up your world! The Harbourfront’s annual International Festival of Authors “brings together the best writers of contemporary world literature” and runs from October 19–30. Check out our preview of IFOA 2011 to strike the perfect balance between meeting your authorly idols and discovering new literary loves.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

Jian Ghomeshi and Gary Shteyngart, on stage at IFOA on Saturday night.

Book nerds had a great, great weekend. There was the venerable International Festival of Authors, and the indie fun at Canzine, and more to check out than time to spare. Choices must always be made, and here are three of ours—highlights from IFOA’s opening weekend that drew the most commentary and advanced chatter. Worth the hype? Read on and find out…

Author Clay Shirky. Photo courtesy of IFOA.

There’s something about Clay Shirky that feels almost dated; he’s so current that his theories of information-age expression occasionally feel as though they run the risk of becoming next week’s dot-com joke. For mostly this reason, it seemed appropriate that the high-profile author be explaining the symbolism of LOLcats in an age of digital DIY to a crowd of predominantly boomers on Friday night.

To the generation of so-called digital natives entering early adulthood now, Shirky’s insistence on the salience of Twitter and dignified mediocrity of the lowly internet meme might appear unexceptional, maybe even obvious. But the role of the cultural documentarian isn’t about blowing cynical young minds so much as it is about making sense of the now, in a broader sense. This where-we’re-at pondering is why Shirky is held as one of today’s media theory savants. While the comparisons to Marshal McLuhan—the very basis for Shirky’s invitation to speak as part of the former’s 100th birthday reading series—may seem overwrought, there’s certainly value in picking apart the way we’re interacting at this very moment. During Friday night’s 90 minute–long interview and lecture, a rapt audience inhaled every morsel.

Shirky’s latest book, and the basis for his IFOA interview by the CBC’s Jesse Hirsh, delves into the concept of cognitive surplus, which Shirky explains as the “idea that there’s a certain amount of free time and energy that each of us can apply in things that we are interested in and care about.” Cognitive surplus, as Shirky explains it, is really made up of two things: free time and a network that allows us to aggregate participation into group action.

“If I was going to talk about this resource, as I set out to write this book, I needed some way to measure and say, there is a new resource that society is designing and this is how big it is,” Shirky says. “But I didn’t really have a good metric, so I had to invent one.”

Shirky looked into Wikipedia, the largest collaborative volunteer project most of us are familiar with, and came to the conclusion that some 100 million hours had been given over to creating the site by 2008. But how big was this as a resource relative to, say, television?

Says Shirky: “The answer is that [television viewing comprises] 200 billion hours in North America alone. Every year! Which means that the entire history of Wikipedia is a rounding error on the cumulative free time that we all have. Put it another way: in North America, we spend a Wikipedia project’s worth of time, every weekend, just watching ads.”

It’s a concept that Shirky applies to the dissection of every aspect of information transmission and consumption, and it’s an interesting way to consider how we process information on a grand scale. Whether it holds up next week is anybody’s guess.

Opening Weekend at the International Festival of Authors:

Psychadelic rockers Dead Meadow play an in-store at Sonic Boom this afternoon, and a show tonight at Lee's Palace. Photo from the band's website.

DISCUSSION: With advances in technology—both hardware and software, particularly when it comes to social media—museums and public learning centres are under pressure to adapt and innovate. A panel of experts from the Art Gallery of Ontario, Ontario Science Centre, and Royal Ontario Museum will discuss how new technology is changing their institutions and others around the world, at The Social, Mobile, New Museum: Harnessing New Technologies in the Museum World, a panel discussion open to the public. Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen’s Park), 3:30 p.m., FREE.

MUSIC: It’s appropriate that heavy rockers Dead Meadow are coming to town the week before Halloween; after all, the psychadelic outfit initially bonded in the DC grunge scene over their shared appreciation for fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien and horror master H.P. Lovecraft. They’re playing Lee’s Palace tonight with the Black Angels and Spindrift, but first they’ll play an in-store set at Sonic Boom (782 Bathurst Street), 4 p.m., FREE.

TALK: Two Canadian entertainment veterans share their experiences in “the biz” on stage tonight, though the first talk, Kim Cattrall’s In Conversation With… at the Tiff Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West, 7 p.m., $18.75) is sold out. The other event with SCTV alum and comedy legend Eugene Levy, Conversations On The Green with Ralph Benmergui, still had a limited number of tickets available at press time, though they were going fast. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts Jane Mallett Theatre (27 Front Street East), 7:30 p.m., $36.

IFOA: The weather is cold and miserable, so it’s time to let new books light up your world! The Harbourfront’s annual International Festival of Authors “brings together the best writers of contemporary world literature” and runs from October 19–30. Check out our preview of IFOA 2011 to strike the perfect balance between meeting your authorly idols and discovering new literary loves.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

In a scene from God of Carnage, Colombe Demers demonstrates her Pillow Fight League potential on a hapless Olivier L’Écuyer. Photo by Marc Lemyre.

THEATRE: Théâtre français de Toronto’s newest production is the Toronto premiere of noted French playwright Yasmina Reza (Art) God of Carnage, a comedy about civilized couples becoming uncivilized in the wake of a schoolyard tussle. The recent Broadway adaptation won three Tony awards; this, the original French production, will incorporate English surtitles for selected performances (like tonight’s) for those of us who aren’t entirely fluent in our country’s other official language. Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs (26 Berkeley Street), 8 p.m., $28–$48.

SHINY: 36 Chambers Art Collective is christening their new studio space with a LOT of glitter and colour; they’re holding a German Sparkle Party, and encouraging guests to come dressed in outfits “shiny, fluffy, sparkly, twirly or outrageous.” They also promise live music from The Ancient Order and more, a cheap bar, and plenty of other colourful folk to sparkle and mingle with. 36 Chambers Art Collective (1266B Queen Street West), doors at 9 p.m., FREE.

MUSIC: Punk or Motown? That’s the tough call live music fans have to make tonight; go to the ‘Shoe to see red hot Cali nu-punk outfit Thee Oh Sees headline the Not Dead Yet 2011 Garage Punk Showcase (Horseshoe Tavern, 370 Queen Street West, doors at 9 p.m., $16 in advance), or party with a 20 piece live band playing classics of the ’60s and ’70s at The Big Sound. The Great Hall (1087 Queen Street West), 10 p.m., $10.

VARIETY: The Toronto International Improv Festival is in full swing at Comedy Bar right now, and with so many talented performers in town, the question came up, “what ELSE can these performers do?” While Mantown holds court in the theatre space late tonight, recent Canadian Comedy Award winners Picnicface will host a cabaret of “anything but improv” in Comedy Bar’s new lounge space; The Other Talents Show will feature music, storytelling, stand-up and more, from festival performers. Comedy Bar (945 Bloor Street West), 10:30 p.m., $5.

IFOA: The weather is cold and miserable, so it’s time to let new books light up your world! The Harbourfront’s annual International Festival of Authors “brings together the best writers of contemporary world literature” and runs from October 19–30. Check out our preview of IFOA 2011 to strike the perfect balance between meeting your authorly idols and discovering new literary loves.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.