Thursdays are long.  I have stand-up first thing in the morning, and sometimes you don’t feel like pitching ideas until the coffee really starts working, which is about 10 minutes before the end of class.

I was the opener (or emcee) for the late night Humber Yuk Yuk’s show tonight.  Normally they put me up near the very end of the show, so I have the entire duration of the show to dread my performance.  There was something nice about getting it done with first.  Like ripping off a Band-Aid.

But… I think I still prefer going up near the end.

You’re performance is more memorable when you go up closer to the end.

HERE, newly-formed comedy troupe! Here’s the opportunity to have a coveted performance spot in a successful annual sketch comedy festival! Many troupes applied, and many didn’t make it in.  You didn’t even have to apply.  The program coordinator of your college got you the spot!  Lucky ducks!

Now, while we’re at it, here are several passes, allowing you to see any and every show in the festival for FREE.  Isn’t that awesome?

In addition to all that, there are free workshops going on that will help you become a better and more successful sketch writer, performer and troupe as a whole.   What do you think about that?  Wouldn’t it be great to learn how to get better, right from the get-go?  Some troupes take YEARS to figure this stuff out.  We’re just GIVING the information away for free!  All you have to do is show up!!

You can meet and mingle with other performers too!  Mingle with them and make connections that will almost guaranteed get more performance time!  It’s THAT easy!

Oh wait, what?  You’re all too busy for all of that?  More important things to do?  This whole comedy school thing you’re trying out, that’s what?  Just for fun?

That’s cool.  I understand.  I’m pretty sure success will just fall out of the sky and onto my lap too.

I am so tired from all this comedy!  This has got to be the best thing to be tired about in the world.  Listen to me, “boohoo, I’m so sleepy because I’ve spent the past 5 days straight laughing at amazingly talented sketch comedy troupes.”

That being said, I’m shortly going to head down to catch Night 5 of the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival.  What with my privileges as a Humber intern, I’ve had the opportunity to catch SO many shows this past week!

I attended a very informative lecture about how to make web shorts and took from it lots of information that I hope to one day apply when I get a faster computer and a camera of my own, or in the meantime, as I borrow other people’s crap.  I think I remember hearing something about members of the festival having access to facilities for editing at a discounted rate, which might be extremely advantageous, the more I think about it.

I saw great performances from the National Theatre of the World, Shoeless, She Said What, Haircut, Punch in the Box on Night 2.  I went home wanting to perform nothing but the best, smartest, sharpest, wittiest stuff in my future performances.  I guess we should all always strive for that as comics, but there’s something about being inspired by people who are experienced and who do it well.

The following night, I welcomed and met some people in the sketch comedy world as there was a VIP event for those involved with the festival.  It was great.  I mainly stood outside the door all night, but I got some free fruit as a result (that’s pretty much all that was left by the time I was allowed in.  Oh, and cheese.  Mmm.)

That was followed by some more excellent performances – Kevin McDonald and Scott Thompson of the Kids in the Hall were performing stand-up together, taking turns performing and then finishing up together at the end.  These guys are amazing.  It’s too bad not all the guys could get together to tour again, as I’d seen in the past, but it was very fun and interesting to see them both take on this different style from that which we’re all used to.  Except Scott, I’d seen him to stand-up before, and he took the piss out of Humber students.  It was great.

That show was followed by performances by an American duo called Inside Joke Films.  They had so much energy it was insane!  Ah to be young again.  I then saw the Vest of Friends (former Humber students and friends of mine) as well as The Imponderables (of which my sketch teacher is a member.)  I’d seen both these troupes before, but I think it was the best performance I’d ever seen of VOF, they were wicked-on that night.  And the Imponderables, well… they’re the Imponderables.  What else can I say?  My laughter said it all.

Yesterday, I participated in a workshop run by Kevin McDonald about improvising as a means to write sketches.  It was like two months of Humber improv and sketch classes rolled into 3 hours, it was that useful. Probably moreso!  I can’t wait to try out these new techniques.

Yesterday, I caught performances by Fratwurst, The Majors and Kerpatty! followed by a quick, brisk walk over to LOT to see Falcon Powder and Charles.  I was so sleepy, I couldn’t stay up for Uncalled For, which is unfortunate because I’d seem them perform improv before and they were fantastic!  I’ve also seen some of their hilarious videos online.

Now do you see?  Do you get it?  That’s a LOT of comedy to watch in a very small period of time.

Even writing this blog post is tiring me out.  I wish I could figure out how to work Twitter on WordPress, so you could see all the fun photos I’ve been posting of all the different troupes. But in the meantime, follow me: Brieford and check out my social medianalysis of the festival so far!

Tonight, I saw my first-year sketch comedy teacher in his underpants.

#clowncollege

This would never have happened in university.   Unless I really REALLY wanted an A.

* Teach was performing with his troupe The Imponderables at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, just… to clarify.