Professional Development
Check back for more information about Professional Development activities throughout the Festival. Here’s what’s on tap so far:
Student Focus Night – Sketch 101
Wednesday, November 14 2007 – 8:15 pm – The Second City Training Centre
Public Access – Free Admission
Join the SketchFest at The Second City Training Centre for the latest installment in their monthly series of Student Focus Nights. This event is great for troupes just starting out, with lots of info about booking shows in Toronto, the Festival circuit, how troupes come together, self-producing and finding paid gigs. The event starts with a short performance by three Festival troupes, followed by a panel moderated by TSCF Artistic Producer, Paul Snepsts.
KNOWING THYSELF: THE SKETCH ARTIST AS AN INDIVIDUAL
Friday November 16th – 5:00 – 6:15 pm – The Second City Training Centre
Public Access, Guests Welcome
Sketch is show business and that means making yourself marketable not only as a troupe but also as an individual. This frank, informal discussion with Melody Johnson, award-winning actor, director, Second City alumna and instructor at the Humber College School of Comedy, will focus on the sketch artist as an actor with options and skills in a variety of arenas such as film/tv, voice/animation, and stage work. We’ll also talk about creating a shape for your career while broadening your own horizons as a performer, which will allow you to afford to do live sketch.
RSVP to julianne@torontosketchfest.com
The Midnight Mixer
Friday, November 16 2007 – Midnight – The Diesel Playhouse
SketchFest Troupes Only – Free Admission
It’s a comedy key party and everyone’s invited! Team up with a group of SketchFest comedians to write a sketch in 24 hours. Perform it the following night at the Steam Whistle Sketchubator. One of last year’s most popular events, The Midnight Mixer is a great way to meet other SketchFesters, bash some ideas out with new people, and come up with some pretty ridiculous material!
SketchFest Troupes: Show up at midnight and we’ll assign you to a group and tell you the rules!
DIRECTOR’S MASTERCLASSES
Saturday November 17th – 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Second City Training Centre
Festival troupes only
Join one of two accomplished director-writers for a two-hour, hands-on master class in scripted comedy. Choose a sketch from your repertoire – old or new – and perform it for the class. The directors will lead discussion and exploration of your material, focusing on issues such as performance, staging, premise, script, jokes, and point of view. It’s a rehearsal with one of the best directors in the field.
Each workshop has limited enrollment (5 troupes max). You must have enough members of your troupe present to perform the material.
Session 1 – Bruce Pirrie – Bruce is the director of The Second City’s current revue, Facebook of Revelations, which gained unanimous critical acclaim. As an actor he appeared in six revues at the Old Firehall on Lombard Street, and currently, he can be seen with The Gents, a sketch ensemble of Second City alumni. He is an accomplished television and film writer, with multiple Gemini nominations under his belt for his work on The Red Green Show.
Session 2 – Jim Millan – Jim is an award-winning director and writer who has directed 80 original productions seen by over 4 million people on four continents. As the Director of the Kids in the Hall since 2000, he has directed and designed three North American tours and most recently their headlining show at Just For Laughs, consisting of all new sketches. Other significant comedy direction includes Marijuanalogues with Tommy Chong, Arj Barker and Doug Benson, and show doctor work with comedians in New York and Las Vegas.
** Participants in Jim’s workshop must send their script in advance to julianne@torontosketchfest.com
REGISTRATION is now open and available on a first-come-first-served basis. Email julianne@torontosketchfest.com with the following information:
- Troupe Name
- Preferred Session
- If your preferred session is full, are you interested in attending the other session?
VIDEO SKETCH AND THE INTERNET
Saturday November 17th – 2:00 – 3:30 pm – Second City Training Centre
Festival artists only
Over the past year, Jared Sales has built a portfolio of more than 1,000,000 video views on YouTube as well as having videos featured on MySpace and Funny or Die. Jared will talk about using the internet as a medium to get industry seeing your videos, and give tips on how to drive viewership to your videos.
RSVP to julianne@torontosketchfest.com
WRITING FOR TELEVISION IN CANADA
Saturday November 17th – 3:30 – 5:00 pm – Second City Training Centre
Festival artists only
Paul Bellini and Luciano Casimiri have been writing on Canadian television for dozens of years. Show credits include The Kids in the Hall, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Over the course of 90-minutes, Luch and Paul will tell you how they have succeeded in Canadian television and you can try to put yourself in the position to do the same. Luch and Paul will answer questions about how to get a literary agent, what a writer’s portfolio should look like and what you can be doing in the meantime to improve as a writer.
RSVP to julianne@torontosketchfest.com
THE 
SKETCH-U-BATOR
Saturday November 17 2007 – Midnight – The Diesel Playhouse
SketchFest Troupes and Volunteers Only – Free Admission
The good beer folks at Steam Whistle Brewing are back for 2007, hosting our Saturday night hoopla! The Sketch-u-Bator is a late-night party where we perform the sketches you created at the Midnight Mixer, and any other new material/old material/god-awful material that the Festival troupes want to show. Always a blast!
SketchFest Troupes: Show up at midnight with your Artist Pass and we’ll get you hooked up with some delicious Steam Whistle Pilsner! Sign up at the Artist Check In Table throughout the week to secure your Sketch-u-Bator slot.
The Sunday Grill
Sunday November 18 2007 – Noon – The Second City Training Centre
SketchFest Troupes Only – Free Admission
Not to be missed, the Grill is an opportunity for troupes or individuals to meet one on one with professionals from every facet of the industry. If you have burning questions or what you think is a hot pitch for the people who shape the way Canadians see comedy, this is the event for you. This is essentially a speed-dating session with industry types, so use your time wisely. Prepare your questions and bring some materials. Meet some new industry faces, or rekindle old relationships. The list of Grillers will be available soon.
SketchFest Troupes: RSVP to julianne@torontosketchfest.com
