LOT Lounge Series

Join us in the Lounge at the Lower Ossington Theatre for a special series of public panels looking behind the scenes of the Festival’s funniest.  This is your chance to get up close to our comedic stars, while you sip delicious drinks.  You never know who may show up!  Actually you will, because we’ll tell you in advance.  SPOILERS!

• Tuesday November 8th – 6:00 pm – TOsketchfest Survival Guide: Catch the debut of a new lecture by Deadpan Powerpoint profiling the sketch comedian, play sketch comedy Family Feud, and enjoy a sneak preview of the week ahead!
• Wednesday November 9th – 6:00 pm – Cat Videos, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Web Shorts: Comedy has exploded on the web – and vids have launched sketch comedians into the public eye.  We’ll watch some comedy videos, and chat with some of the artists and directors who made them.
• Friday  November 11th – 6:00 pm – Picnicface: The Making of a Multi-Platform Sketch Sensation: We profile and chat with Picnicface about how they turned success in live shows and web videos into total comedy domination with a feature film, television series, book deal, and multiple Canadian Comedy Award nominations in 2011 alone!

The LOT Lounge Series is open to performers and the public, and admission is FREE. For information about the LOT Lounge Series and how to participate, email Associate Producer Peter Hill.

Workshops and Panels

Sketch Writing with Kevin McDonald

Join Kevin McDonald of Kids in the Hall for a unique, on-your-feet sketch writing workshop. Sketch writer/performers will work in groups to create new material through a process of improvisation. The groups will be mixed and matched throughout the session for maximum variety. This is a great opportunity for experienced sketch/improv comedians to work with new people, jam new ideas and take risks under the guidance of one of Canada’s sketch comedy legends.

• Friday November 11th – 1:30 – 5:30 pm – Lower Ossington Theatre (100a Ossington Ave
• Registration fee: $40 plus HST
• Open to TOsketchfest performers and the comedy community; sketch or improvisation experience required
  
• To register, contact TOsketchfest at info@torontosketchfest.com or 416-531-5092 by Thursday November 10th.

Making Money: Working with Agents

The second annual installment in our series about making money while making funny.  During this moderated discussion of industry professionals, we delve into the world of professional representation – the agents.  We’re bringing talent agents, literary agents and touring agents together for a panel about some of the most important relationships you’ll cultivate as a comedy professional. From the basics of getting an agent to the finer details of working with agents at home and abroad, this discussion will help you understand how great representation can turn your comedic work into gold! Literally, GOLD!

Moderated by Doug Morency (Williamson Playboys), with panellists Carlie Baxter (Jordan & Associates, TV/Commercial Agent), Tammy Fox (The Collection Agency Inc., Live Theatre/Touring Agent), Glenn Cockburn (Meridian Artists, Literary Agent) and others TBA.

• Saturday November 12th – 2:00 – 3:30 pm – Second City Training Centre
  
• Open to TOsketchfest Performers and the Comedy Community
• FREE
• To register, email Pete Hill.

Directors’ Master Classes

Tune up your sketches under the watchful guidance of some of this country’s most acclaimed sketch mechanics!  Each session provides 5 troupes a chance to present one scene to perform for the session Director, who will then provide notes and suggestions to strengthen character, narrative, blocking and general jokery.  This collaborative session has been a hit at Fests past, and is an opportunity not to be missed.

This years directors are Jim Millan and Chris Earle:

JIM MILLAN: Jim is the creative director of Kids in the Hall, directing all of the live tours since 2000. He has helmed productions in 17 languages and 35 countries in the last decade, which have collectively been seen by over 10 million people.  In the last year, Jim was a creative consultant for Play Dead by Teller and Todd Robbins (off Broadway and in Mexico City), created a one man show with CNN icon Larry King, and was the script consultant on the revised Spiderman: Turn off the Dark.  Jim was the Founding Artistic Director of Canada’s renowned Crow’s Theatre which has produced over 100 new works and numerous tours.  Some of the comedians he has directed include Tommy Chong, Doug Benson, Arj Barker in The Marijuanalogues Off -Broadway, and Gordie Brown in Las Vegas.  He is presently directing Bello Nock in his new circus show for theatres and working with the Mythbusters to create a live show which opens in California in Jan. 2012.

CHRIS EARLE: Chris Earle is a Second City mainstage alumnus, has directed four Second City revues including Psychedelicatessen, the Dora-nominated Bird Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and more recently Something Wicked Awesome This Way Comes. A veteran writer and actor in Toronto’s theatre and comedy scene, his plays include Democrats Abroad, Radio: 30 (Dora Award, Chalmers Play Award, Canadian Comedy Award) Russell Hill, Big Head Goes to Bed, and adaptations of Cinderella and Robin Hood for Ross Petty’s annual Christmas production. As an actor, he has appeared at Tarragon, Theatre Columbus, Crow’s Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille and the Blyth Festival and television appearances in Slings and Arrows, The Newsroom, and Due South.

• Saturday November 12th – 4:00 – 6:00 pm – Second City Training Centre
• Open to TOsketchfest Performers only
• FREE
• To register, email Pete Hill and indicate your preferred director. Pete will try to accommodate everyone’s director request but may have to shift troupes around depending
  

Falcon Powder: Playing the Scene Inside the Premise

Last year’s Best of the Fest winners Falcon Powder teach a workshop on taking scenes past their premise by focusing on dialogue and the creation of characters with clearly defined opinions, wants and needs. The emphasis will be on moving away from sketches that simply state their premise and execute it, towards discovering and playing internal beats that ground even the craziest scenes in realistic and relatable emotional arcs. Taught by Jim Annan, Scott Montgomery and Kurt Smeaton.

• Sunday November 13th – 12:00 – 3:00 pm – Second City Training Centre (70 Peter St)
• Registration fee: $60 +HST
  
• Open to TOsketchfest performers and the comedy community
  
• Sketch comedy/improv experience required (minimum Second City Level E or comparable experience/training)
  
• To register, contact The Second City Training Centre – 416-340-7270 / training.to@secondcity.com

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