Results tagged “comedy”

The latest installment of the Sleeman Premium Weekend series at the Comedy Bar brings seasoned stand-up and comic actor Todd Barry back to Toronto for three headlining shows. Barry is no stranger to Hogtown comedy clubs. "Toronto’s one of the first cities where I headlined, if not the first," he says. "It was at a place called The Laugh Resort…that was ten or twelve years ago. But the last time I performed here was five years ago at Yuk Yuk’s."

“Guys, we did it. He's actually here!" Toronto comedian Bob Kerr exclaimed in front of a sold-out, standing room–only crowd while he hosted the first of two shows at the Rivoli starring Paul F. Tompkins. Tompkins, if you didn't know already, is an enviably talented Los Angeles–based comic with a resume that includes decades of stand-up, TV (Mr. Show, Best Week Ever), and movies (There Will Be Blood, The Informant!), but before last month, he had never set foot in Hogtown. So, what brought him here? Twitter, Facebook, and Bob Kerr. Together, Kerr and Tompkins took advantage of all that is good in social media and started a trend that shows no signs of abating.

As we told you last week, local comedian Pat Thornton is performing twenty-four hours of stand-up comedy as part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Dare to Remember campaign. He is currently just past the fifteen-hour mark, is looking disheveled, but is still bravely firing jokes, and when Torontoist checked in at 7 a.m., he was on a Nelly Furtado/ roll. Comedy gold! According to his fundraising profile, Thornton has raised 93% of his three-thousand-dollar goal. Him and his few core supporters will be at Comedy Bar until 6 p.m. tonight and on your internet machine until the same time. He will pretty much read anything you write on the live-stream site. Recipe for a good day.

You know the old saying: laughter is the best philanthropy. Earlier this month, the Stephen Lewis Foundation, in an effort to further fund its community-driven education and action programs in AIDS-ravaged Africa, launched the A Dare to Remember program—individuals take on dares (no wiener truths) and get cash sponsorship for seeing it through. Local actor and comedian Pat Thornton was recently challenged to participate, and came up with an idea that was, in hindsight, possibly on the overachiever's side of dares. "I was walking by a canvasser on the street and he recognized me because he was an editor on a show I was on. He said I would be great for their Dare to Remember program, so I talked to some friends and came up with the idea of doing stand-up comedy for twenty-four hours. I don't know why I said twenty-four hours...I think people would have been impressed if I said six."

Over a year ago, Gary Rideout, Jr. of the Sketchersons bought a former Eritrean restaurant and pool hall at Bloor and Ossington and transformed it into the Comedy Bar. And his timing couldn't have been better. With venues like the Diesel Playhouse shuttering and big standup chains acting cool to so-called "alternative" comedy, Rideout's spot provided a haven for purveyors of standup, sketch, improv ,and acts that don't fit neatly into a category.

Sometimes you just gotta sit down over burgers and fries with people who don't seem to even really get how talented they are. We did this recently with Katie Crown, Sara Hennessy, Nick Flanagan, and Chris Locke at the Rivoli, home of the weekly comedy series Laugh Sabbath, in which the four are regulars; we were also joined by Laugh Sabbath's producer and publicist, Leslie Aimée Gottlieb. The series celebrates its three-year anniversary this Sunday night with a special show hosted by The Flirts and featuring musical performances by Greg Alsop and Dave Monks of Tokyo Police Club.

Toronto funnymen Aaron Eves and Chris Locke, hosts of the monthly variety show Let's Get Hot!, celebrate their linen and silk anniversary (that's four years, people) as a duo tonight at the Rivoli, home to the popular weekend-capping comedy series Laugh Sabbath. LGH virgins can expect a lineup of the city's finest comics sandwiched between Eves and Locke's cry-laugh inducing performances. "Aaron and I always got along jokewise," says Locke. "At first we thought of doing a talk show where he’d be my sidekick, like Paul Shaffer. Or, you know, like in Return of the Jedi when Jabba the Hutt has that screaming gremlin." Eves adds, "And we wanted our audience to be chained women in gold bikinis."

       

How do you run a massively successful improv festival that brings together a bunch of non-local talent with a tiny budget? That's easy: improvise! "Mark Little from Picnicface is sleeping on my couch right now," laughs Julie Dumais, artistic director of the COMBUSTIONfestival, over the phone this morning. "We were able to pay everyone a small honorarium, but everyone's just kind of crashing at each other's houses."

Toronto comedian and activist Derek Forgie got inspired to start Heterosexuals for Same-Sex Equality (HSSE)—a gay-rights group founded by people who identify as straight—from the unlikliest source: 100 Huntley Street. On a particular episode in 2003, the hosts and guests were denouncing gay marriage seemingly on the behalf of all straight married couples in Canada. "I didn’t feel this was a fair representation of my country," Forgie says, "and I vowed to prove it in numbers."

Between exuberant public improv and hip-hop brimming with civic pride, we've had some pretty good luck with locally flavoured YouTube videos as of late. Case in point: the above clip from comedy legend Steve Martin's The Funnier Side of Eastern Canada, a travelogue-style jaunt through the exotic northern locales of Toronto and Montreal.

For the past three years, the Rivoli has been host to the Sketch Comedy Lounge, a showcase for emerging and established Toronto sketch troupes. Starting out as a twice-monthly kid sister event to Monday night’s longer-running ALTdot stand-up gig (going for 10+ years), SketchCOM, now held weekly, has been branching out lately, first establishing a monthly NSFW video night (wherein resident and guest hosts do a show-and-tell of their favourite viral videos), and this past Tuesday, debuting Showgame (see what they did there?), a live game show with comedians, audience participation, and prizes. Looks like Tuesday nights aren’t just for House anymore.

Toronto's comedy community is paying respect to Troy Dixon, who was involved in a fatal car accident on the night of Saturday, December 6.

One of the city’s best known and most influential comedic institutions makes its return to national television this weekend...sort of.

The Comedy Bar at Bloor and Ossington is finally having its grand opening this weekend. Even though it's been up and running for about five months, owners Gary Rideout Jr. and James Elksnitis think the venue is now completed at last, and ready to be promoted as such. Torontoist has been there on a handful of occasions over the past few months, and one of the interesting things about these visits—aside from the comedy—was seeing it progress through its renovation and development. We have never exclaimed "hey! They have a ceiling now!" with such sincerity before.

ART: Take a trip to another world, experience its history, and be back in time for last call. Artist Andrew Wilson's first solo exhibition, "A World's History," features sketches and paintings of imagined landscapes. Think of it as Richard Scarry's "Busy Busy World" meets David Cronenberg, on magic mushrooms. Magic Pony (649 Queen Street West), 7–10 p.m., FREE, exhibition runs until November 30.

Comedians left to right. Front row: 7 Minutes in Heaven (Laura Cilevitz and Josh Saltzman), Alana Johnston, Zabrina Chevannes. Back row: Adam Christie, Bryan O'Gorman. Photo courtesy of Dan Abramovici.

TRANSIT: While your SUV is in the shop, why don't you participate in an open discussion on public transit in Toronto? Metrolinx (an agency of the Province of Ontario) has released the first draft of their 25-year plan for public transportation. It's titled The Big Move: Transforming Transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and they want to hear what you think of it, so head down to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (after having thoroughly read the 114-page draft regional transportation plan and registered in advance on-line). Metro Toronto Convention Centre (255 Front Street West), 5–9 p.m., FREE.

Photo courtesy of 7 Minutes in Heaven.

Photo by Gardinergirl from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

Photo by Anthony Pileggi.

ART: In anticipation of Thursday’s launch party for his new book, 2nd: The Face of Defeat, photographer Sandy Nicholson will be showing photos for the next four days at the Gladstone Hotel. The book, a series of shots taken of second-place finishers immediately after losing a competition, is for those who are sick of coming in second place, and also for those who take pleasure in seeing the facial expressions of miserable bodybuilders. Until Thursday. The Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West), 12–5 p.m., FREE.

ART: Art enthusiast groups City of Craft and the workroom have organized a kid-friendly crafts fair, happening today in Parkdale. Both the workroom (1340 Queen Street West) and the Good Catch General Store (1556 Queen Street West) are having craft sales, each with fifteen local vendors selling their wares. DIY store Shopgirls Gallery Boutique (1342 Queen Street West) will be having a workshop on making sock monkeys, and you can either donate your sock monkey at the end of the workshop or pay $15 to take it with you (all donations and proceeds go towards Clowns Without Borders). Finally, head over to Yoga Queen to wind down with yoga-themed crafts and yoga games. Various locations in Parkdale, 12 p.m., FREE.

LECTURE: United States presidential candidate Ralph Nader is in town. This evening, he'll be giving a lecture on the trading floor of the old Toronto Stock Exchange building, remarking on the upcoming election and discussing what's at stake for Canada. His lecture also includes a Q & A and clips from his new biographical documentary, An Unreasonable Man. Design Exchange (234 Bay Street), 7 p.m., $10.

ART: Tonight at the Steam Whistle Brewing Gallery, "MOMBACHO: A Photo Chronicle of Life in Nicaragua" is having its opening reception. Photographers Elton Clemente and Sean Zaffino are both creative staff members at Steam Whistle Brewing. While they were on a business adventure developing Nicaraguan cigars for export to Canada, the duo snapped a series of shots portraying the stunning scenery and life throughout Grenada, San Juan del Sur, Managua, and Rivas. The series of photos is not meant as a social commentary, but as a reflection of the jaw-dropping scenery and inspiring people of the areas. Steam Whistle Brewing Gallery (255 Bremner Boulevard), 6 p.m., FREE.

Controversy magnet Kathy Griffin will be in town for her sold-out show at Massey Hall this Friday. Griffin is touring to support her new comedy album, For Your Consideration—which she is desperate to score a Grammy nod for—and the fourth season of her Emmy award-winning television show My Life On The D-List, now playing Friday nights on the Comedy Network.

SPORTS: After a four-day stint in Baltimore, the Toronto Blue Jays return tonight for their first home game in two weeks. The Jays take on the Seattle Mariners tonight. The Mariners are in last place in the West Division, and the Jays are in second-last place in the East Division! This is shaping up to be an exciting series. Rogers Centre (1 Blue Jay Way), 7:07 p.m., $9-$57.

COMEDY: Tonight at the Gladstone Hotel, check out monthly residency "The Last Comedy Show," hosted by Toronto comedians Sara Hennessey and Mack Lawrenz. Performances by Bob Kerr, Inessa Frantowski, Greg Allsop, and Cole Osbourne, among others. Gladstone Hotel Art Bar (1214 Queen Street West), 9:00 p.m., FREE.

They could be the next big thing, if only they could get a gig. This humorous online series follows Matt and Jay—Nirvana the Band—and their ongoing efforts to break into Toronto's music scene. Five episodes and various extras are currently online, with a sixth episode presumably in the works.

The Laugh Resort—one of Toronto’s few clubs devoted entirely to stand-up comedy—is closing its doors after this Saturday, possibly for good. The venue has known for some time that they would be shut down sometime this year, but the shock came last week, when they were told they had vacate the location as soon as possible.