Results tagged “torontofringe”

It's been a very exciting week for Toronto Fringe enthusiasts. First, there was the announcement of the festival's partnership with both Mirvish and the Randolph Centre for the Arts, which means the Fringe Club beer tent will move from the Tranzac to the parking lot behind Honest Ed's (which happens to be across the street from new Fringe location Randolph). The move makes a lot of sense in terms of giving the festival a central, highly visible hub that's pretty much exactly in the midpoint of the festival's various reaches to Tarragon in the north, UofT in the east, and Factory/Passe Muraille in the south. Those interested in participating in next year's festival had better get a move on it, though: the new, early application deadline this year is this Wednesday.

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.

Actor Darryl Pring is a big guy (you might recognize him as the farmer on the bouncing tractor from the "Milk Rap" ads). Pring is also a funny guy who has written and produced a play called Fatty, which will be touring Fringe Festivals (including the Toronto Fringe ) across Canada this summer.

If you’d like weekly emails full of Toronto literary listings, sign up at Patchy Squirrel, a new offering from Stuart Ross and Dani Couture. Stuart launches a new collection of poetry, I Cut My Finger (Anvil Press) with Kate Sutherland's All In Together Girls (fiction from Thistledown Press) Sunday, April 22, 8 p.m. at Clintons Tavern (back room), 693 Bloor West.

What does the Toronto Fringe Festival mean to you?

It's that time of year again! Anyone with dreams of conquering the Toronto stage and $700 to spare ($600 for a KidsVenue show) should probably hop along over to the Fringe website to download an application form for next summer's festival. Every year, hundreds of theatre companies apply to try to take advantage of the Toronto Fringe's venue space for seven performances along with other perks - not the least of which being a 100% return on the box office! - but the selection is entirely based on random lottery.

news and reviews, go visit JKelly - he saw the show on Broadway a few weeks ago and he hasn't been able to shut up about it since.

since they graced the stage of the Tarragon Extra Space last summer and became the runaway hit of the Toronto Fringe. Our inner theatre student admires the sharp direction and the skill of the performers, our inner musical satire lover thrills to the spot-on songs and dances, and our inner 14-year-old thinks they're just plain dreamy! Andrew Bursey, Matt Alden, Jon Paterson, and Scott Walters play, respectively, Andrew (the sensitive one), Kevin (the leader), Jon (the bad boy), and Lance (the gay - er, gifted - one). In an exciting new Tall Poppy challenge, we chatted with all four of them at once. It went swimmingly until that hammer drill started. Then it devolved into what may best be read as an absurdist comedy with dirty words and adult themes. We think you'll love it. You'll also love the show - call 416-971-5656for tickets. And don't get confused, the Diesel Theatre is just the old Second City building on Blue Jays Way.

Tonight is the 2005 Toronto Fringe lottery party, the event where the plays that will be appear in the theatre festival next summer are selected at random. Torontoist will be at the Tranzac club at 7 p.m. crossing her fingers that her one-woman show – Adventures of a Blog Girl in Search of God – gets picked and wishes best of luck to all local theatricals in the draw.