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......

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. Dubbed a "fictional true story" Fatty is adapted from the novel I, Fatty by Jerry Stahl. The play tells the story of......

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. For a monthly overview of the Toronto scene and beyond, Word: Canada’s Magazine for......

What does the Toronto Fringe Festival mean to you? This year, the Fringe would like to answer that question while giving one lucky artist the chance to have their work grace the festival's promotional materials -- including the cover of the official Fringe program, posters, brochures, ads, and the website. They are looking for an image that is "exciting and engaging" and are offering a VIP Unlimited Pass and $500 cash to the winner.......

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......

Torontoist would like to extend our congratulations to the creative team of The Drowsy Chaperone, which just garnered a truckload of Tony Award nominations. The Drowsy Chaperone was written by the hilarious Torontonian team of Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrisson, Bob Martin and Don McKeller. The show got its start at the little old Toronto Fringe Festival back in the day, followed closely by a run at Theatre Passe Muraille, and it has been growing ever......

There's no room for objectivity here - we've loved Boygroove 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......

When a cell phone goes off in the middle of a play, the logical person to hiss at is the miscreant who forgot to turn off his or her phone, of course. At the same time, however, we must recognize that to err is human. Even Torontoist has had something of ours beep at an inappropriate time once or twice. (It was a funeral. Yeeks.) Less understandable are theatre companies that still do not have......