Results tagged “johnc”

If one thing can be learned from the seedy-yet-tragic life of John C. Holmes, it's that bigger is not always better. So don't dismiss the SummerWorks Theatre Festival (which opens today) as a month-late, poor cousin of the Toronto Fringe simply because its complete playbill boasts only 40 shows, rather than Fringe's 140. There are a few reasons why SummerWorks is a grower and not a shower. For one thing, while successful Fringe applicants are chosen through random lottery, SummerWorks is entirely juried, which means that each and every script and proposal is read by a committee who decides which shows will be a part of the festival. And no, that doesn't necessarily mean any SummerWorks show you see will be better than any Fringe show you see, but the smaller festival (which is housed at Factory, Passe Muraille and Tarragon) is often a safer bet in the theatre festival crapshoot. To help you out a bit, Torontoist has enlisted three of its most theatre-savvy dudes to give you their picks for the fest.