The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival

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A Rare Jape Reunion

Posted on: August 17th, 2011 by julianne 1 Comment

If you go into the way-back machine and set the dial to sometime in the mid 2000′s, you’ll find yourself at an early Statutory Jape show, when the group looked a little different than it does today… it had a female member.

That’s right, Toronto sketch favourites Jape, (as they are now known), had an earlier incarnation of their high-reference, low-brow comedy troupe that featured Evany Rosen. And Evany, as some of you probably know, has recently been kicking sketch comedy butt in Halifax with the oh-so-popular Picnicface. This summer, Picnicface shot their sketch television show, premiering on Comedy Network in the fall.

Jape member Eric Turkienicz says “Evany brings a real energy to the performance and some new perspectives on the writing process. It’s also great to be able to cast an actual girl in the female roles; Simon Pond could use the break.”

Tomorrow night, (Thursday, August 18th, 8pm) you can catch Evany’s reunion with her Jape buddies at their monthly show at Comedy Bar. You’ll see all new material, plus a rare glimpse at some sketches from the vault. And if that’s not enough, the warm-up act is Fratwurst. And they’re super great, too.

Cookie Jar

Posted on: August 16th, 2011 by julianne

It’s video week on the TOSketchFest Blog! This is a new video from our friends Uncalled For in Montreal (Best of the Fest 2008). They’ve just relaunched their troupe website and will be posting weekly vids every Tuesday.

For your viewing pleasure… here’s “Cookie Jar”. Be sure to check their site for this week’s fresh new vid!

The Second City Gets a Facelift

Posted on: August 4th, 2011 by julianne

It’s unusual for The Second City’s mainstage cast to turn over four of their six members at once, which is why Toronto’s comedy scene is abuzz with the news of the casting for their upcoming revue.

TOSketchFest is pretty good friends with the new cast members ’cause they’ve all performed in the Festival before. (Ashley Comeau with Lusty Mannequins and Gypyslick, Jason DeRosse with Maybe, The Sketchersons and My First Crush, Nigel Downer with Grade 8 Dance and Alastair Forbes with Death Ray Cabaret).

We thought we’d ask them a question and write a blog post about it:

TOSketchFest: A job at Second City keeps you really busy performing 6 nights a week. What show(s) are you going to miss doing/seeing around town?

Alastair Forbes: I think I’ll miss Theatresports most of all, it’s just starting up at its new home and it’s an exciting time for the show. Also I’ve been doing it for four years so it’s really like cutting off my left arm (which I’ve only had for four years).

Jason DeRosse: For me it’s the people more than the actual shows. Sunday Night Live, Mantown, Skinprov, anything with Jan Caurana – I’ll miss all of it – except maybe Mantown (because I may still be there – GET READY FOR A SORBO GARBAGE WEEKEND!)

Nigel Downer: I’m really gonna miss doing/seeing shows at The Comedy Bar and
Bread & Circus. Specifically those kids in National Theatre of the World and Mantown. However, the later never starts on time, so I think I’ll be able to make those shows.

Ashley Comeau: I will miss doing Theatresports, and seeing any local comedy and/or theatre. I will try to catch some matinees and Monday shows. Although - I’ll probably be at Second City a lot on Mondays watching the hilarious Tourco. Especially to watch that member of Tourco I am in love with and sleep with, I’ll let you decide who it is.

Ashley, Jason, Alastair and Nigel will be joining Carly Heffernan and Inessa Frantowski on stage in Dreams Really Do Come True! (and other lies), opening in August. The show is directed by Kerry Griffin.

Pilot Week in 10 Words or Less

Posted on: August 2nd, 2011 by julianne

Pilot Week at Comedy Bar is upon us. The shows start tonight. This is a really fun contest put on by the good folks at Comedy Bar and Insight, who are looking for the next great Canadian comedy TV show.

All week long, contestents have 30 minutes to perform a live version of their television show. We’ve asked a few of the contestants to describe their pitch in 10 words or less. Here’s what they came up with:

Bad Brother (Created by Marty Adams, Friday 8 pm)

He’s a raging imbecile man child, he’s also your brother!

Watertight (Created by Mike Fly, Tuesday 10 pm)

Assistant Cruise Director Dino, wants to fuck his new boss.

Exact Science (Created by Ely Henry, Friday 7 pm)

A scientific study of hitting rock bottom and working there.

Visionary Times (Created by David Dineen-Porter, Thursday 10pm)

Finally, a sitcom about UFO researchers that’s not for jocks!

Happiness is Hate Therapy (Created by Patrick Smith, Tuesday 7 pm)

Hate filled. Old School. New World. Heart Warming. Racist Lovefest.

Brendan Halloran is a Terrible Wizard

Posted on: July 31st, 2011 by julianne

TOSketchFest was pretty excited about last week’s premiere of The Week That Was with Jay Onrait on MuchMore. Reason being, our good friend Brendan Halloran is the head writer. You’d know Brendo from The Sketchersons, The Polecats and The Local Singles. He’s a busy sketch guy.

You should watch the second episode tonight on MuchMore (Sunday, 8:00 pm), but in the meantime, you can get to know Brendan. We asked him a few questions about his new gig:

TOSketchFest: In your own words, can you describe the show The Week That Was?

Brendan: The Week That Was is a weekly pop-culture recap show not unlike The Soup. We try to pick apart Canadian television, headlines, music videos, ourselves…

TOSketchFest: In Sunday Night Live, you wrote and hosted the news segment each week, and now you’re head writing this show. Why do you gravitate towards news satire?

Brendan: BECAUSE I HAVE A VOICE AND IT MUST BE HEARD!! No. I’m a real media junkie. I have to read a million articles about anything over the course of the day. I’m constantly on Twitter looking for news stories. My girlfriend and I don’t talk for the first 90 minutes when we get up, and that’s my fault.

I think I started actually moving towards it when I realized I was a better performer in a more presentational setting, rather than trying to play a Wizard or something outlandish in a sketch. It was just more appealing to play myself. But what sucked me in was the constant turnover of material when you deal with news or pop culture or sports. Your joke or piece has this incredibly short shelf-life and if you can get yourself to a point where you can turn out a bunch of new stuff every day, then you’re in the best position to succeed in comedy writing.

TOSketchFest: What have you learned over the years about writing comedy about the news and pop culture?

Brendan: If I’ve learned anything, it’s that if people don’t laugh, they’re right, not you. Also, you can tell some really mean jokes, as long as you’re charming about it.

TOSketchFest: What are your plans for the show over the first season? Any fun segments you’re looking forward to trying?

Brendan: This is going to sound like a cop-out, but I’m looking forward to trying any- and everything. It’s a unique position to be in when you’re starting a television show from scratch. You don’t know what your voice is going to be, and you have to spend a lot of time trying all kinds of things until you find that tone that feels “right”. You only have a couple of thngs to go on when you start and you don’t know what will work. I just wrote a piece for TSN’s Gino Reda who’s going to do a cameo this week. It’s gonna go from concept, to script, to tape in less than a day. If it works, it opens new doors for us, and if it doesn’t then it’s back to the drawing board. And that’s exciting.

TOSketchFest: I’m sure the show is keeping you pretty busy, but what else is on your dance card these days? Where can we see your writing or performance live?

Brendan: No matter how much I’m doing, I never feel like I’m doing enough. That feeling never goes away. So I’m still at Sunday Night Live on the news as much as I can be. Hosting Catch 23 at Comedy Bar is one of my favourite things to do. I also do a weekly segment for TSN Radio on Fridays. And yes, I would like a spot on your show tonight.

Comedy Bar… The Series

Posted on: July 29th, 2011 by julianne

If you’re a fan of TOsketchfest, you’ve probably been to Comedy Bar, one of the main Festival venues. It’s the hub of the Toronto comedy scene, and now, it’s also a series, produced in association with Bite.

Comedy Bar was shot in 50 episodes, 15 of which have already been aired on Bite TV and online. It’s easy to catch up and get hooked; the episodes are short, fun, and you’ll recognize a bunch of familiar faces from The Sketchersons and other local troupes. Word from creator Gary Rideout Jr is that the show gets pretty stupid (in a good way) as the story progresses.

Here’s the first episode, but you can watch them all online here.

Tim Sims Fund Looking for Hot New Acts

Posted on: July 11th, 2011 by julianne

Our friends over at the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund recently released their call for submissions for the Fresh Meat Showcase in September.

If you are a performer or troupe in the early stages of your career – i.e. 30 years or younger, performing for less than two years, Toronto based (see full citeria here) – you should put your name forward. The Fresh Meat Showcase is where all of the eligible comedians strut their stuff for the panel of judges who ultimately pick the final five nominees for the Award.

The Tim Sims Encouragement Award is an awesome opportunity to kick-start your career – there’s a cash prize and lots of attention at stake. The list of previous winners and nominees is star-studded including Fraser Young, Debra DiGiovanni, Gavin Crawford and Jessica Holmes.

All the info about the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund is here: www.timsims.com

Vote for the Canadian Comedy Awards

Posted on: July 5th, 2011 by julianne

This year, the Canadian Comedy Awards added some new public voting categories to their awards list. The public is now able to vote on five categories: Best TV Show, Best Film, Best Web Clip, Best Radio Clip and Comedy Person of the Year.

So get yourselves over to the CCAs website and log your vote. You’ll have to create an account in order to do so, but it’s not hard to do and there’s a contest to win passes and accommodations for the CCAs in Toronto in October. That’s cool, right?

And while you’re thinking about the Canadian Comedy Awards, why not send good vibes to past TOSketchFest troupes who have been nominated for awards:

Falcon Powder (Best Sketch Troupe)
Hot Thespian Action (Best Sketch Troupe)
Picnicface (Best Sketch Troupe)
Haircut (Best Web Clip: Suburbanite)
Bull Hooey (Best Film: Don’t Walk Out that Door)
Punch in the Box (Best Comedic Play or Revue: Pick of the Fringe)
The Second City (Best Comedic Play or Revue: Something Wicked Awesome This Way Comes, and Best Sketch Troupe)

And there are literally dozens of individual comedians who have performed at TOSketchFest nominated for their work in television, film and live performance. We can’t list them all. That would take all day. Just click to see the list.

Good job guys. Way to go.

ps. If you are a legit industry voter, industry voting on all categories closes tonight at midnight.