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I was finally able to check out a few more Fringe shows after a lovely improv class down at the Second City Training Centre.  I made my way over UofT’s campus for a switch from solo performances to an evening of ensemble casts.

Fringe Show # 3 ->  I will never listen to Annie Lennox the same way ever again.

A friend of mine highly recommended Tony Ho’s Sad People – and I was happy to find out it fit into my schedule last night because I never got around to seeing these guys during the last year’s TOsketchfest.  Finally, my time had come to be weirded out by their talent.   I chugged a beer at a nearby O’Grady’s Pub and proceeded to climb the many stairs up to the Robert Gill theatre for, I’m not afraid to say it, one of the weirdest and most wonderful performances I’ve ever seen.  They’re really nothing like other sketch comedy troupes in the city.  Though bizarre and hilarious, there’s a powerful humanity behind a lot of their sketches and monologues – as depressing as that may sound, particularly in the case of the guy who wanted to put his 51 year-old mother in a home.  I was impressed at the strong, very real emotions the characters could portray, for a comedy show, especially in the nurse/patient scene – even though one of the characters’ face was covered with gauze throughout the entire sketch.  (I’m thinking just the shy side-to-side movement on his wheelchair spoke volumes!)  My favourite sketch of the show had to be the time traveling one.

So many good ideas!  Such great performances.  And cool guest performances.  If you’re into sketch comedy, you should check out Tony Ho for sure.  Here’s what they’ve got left, Fringe-wise:

  • July 13 11:30 PM
  • July 14 01:45 PM

Two days left!  Check ’em out!

Fringe Show #4 ->  Not the War of 1812 I learned about in high school!

I ran over from UofT to Spadina (not a very far run) to catch the National Theatre of the World’s performance of “The Soaps” A Live Improvised Soap Opera.  Another one of their formats I’d never seen before, but equally as hilariously entertaining as the Carnegie Hall Show and the Script Tease Project.  This edition of the Soaps had a background of the War of 1812, which had a certain fun significance for me because I used to give tours in a Niagara-on-the-Lake historic home that was used as a field hospital during the War of 1812.  If you live in Southern Ontario, particularly near or on the Niagara River, you’re gonna year a lot of stuff about 1812, at school and otherwise.  This year happens to be the bicentennial of the war.  (I really think they should take this production down to the Niagara Region – there’s huge 1812 hooplah going on down there this summer – I bet tourists would go CRAZY over it!)  But I digress.  The cast, composed of some heavy-hitting Second City alum, played British, American and First Nations characters as their stories entwined over issues of romance, betrayal, drama… and corn!  Every night is a new story with the Soaps, so I URGE you to see this one because if you like good improv, and I mean really great, nothing beats it kindof improv,  you will lose your SHIT over this one.  Only three days remaining at St. Vlad’s!

  • July 12 09:15 PM
  • July 13 12:30 PM
  • July 15 02:45 PM

(I can say lose your shit in a review right?  Whatever.  It’s my blog.  I’ll write what I want.)

Finally… A Different Kind of Review –

I’d like to post a review of the car break-in I experienced last night.  Nothing on the car was broken or destroyed, which is a plus.  Well done, jerkoffs.  (Which leads me to believe I may have left my doors unlocked, but that’s not likely.  It’s like, automatic behaviour for me to lock my car after paying for parking.)  I DID, however, leave the windows open SLIGHTLY so the car wouldn’t be stifling when I got back from my Fringe-hopping.  That must have been it.  When I got back to my car, all my CDs had been taken, as had my change in the ashtray.  I worry some of the former car-owner’s old mail was taken, but go figure, they didn’t take the shitty $15 fan I bought at Canadian Tire as a substitute for my broken car air conditioner.  Luckily, I’d just emptied my car earlier that day of some a pretty nice North Face jacket, and some other clothes.  Also, it was fortunate these creeps didn’t know how to open my trunk, because they might have liked some of the stuff they found back there.  (Like that dead body!!! Moohooohahahahahahahaha)  All in all, I give this crime a rating of: “Fuck you, you delinquent fucks.”

Funny, I never had my car broken into when I lived in Ottawa!  (Then again, I didn’t own a car in Ottawa.)

Send me your prayers, well-wishes, good vibes, positive vibrations, happy thoughts, good fortune, good luck, encouragement, cheers, your faith, a boost, some hope…Anything positive, really.

At around 9:30 tomorrow morning.

Because I have an important audition.

And I REALLY want it to go well.

 

Fringe is upon us, Toronto!

What a fun way to take in live theatre – and live COMEDY – in a medium different than the everyday scene.  I’m aiming to see as many comedies as I can this Fringe, because I tend to prefer those to dramas or otherwise, but hell – I’ll see anything if it’s free, folks.  Just sayin’.

So far I’m at a 1 show : 1 day ratio for Fringe since the party launched on July 4th.

I’ve seen two solo performances so far.  Sometimes, it’s nice to hear about someone else’s struggles for a change.

Fringe Show # 1 -> The only reason I know there’s a Big Brother UK is because my former roommate used to watch it for the nudity…

My first show of the Festival was July 4th at 10pm ->  ZACK ADAMS: A Complete History of Zack Adams with my pal Gillian at The Solo Room venue at the Tarragon Theatre.  This is a show about the life & times of a young man from Australia who’s always wanted to perform & who must come to terms with the fact that home is where the heart is, and it might just be the best place to perform as well.  We follow along with Mr. Adams’ sometimes funny, sometimes tragic tales about friendship, love and… bees He recounts his life as a performer and the struggles progressing from small town big fishdom to bigger cities, where one becomes well, just-another regular-sized fish.  A regular-sized fish who landed Big Brother UK, but a regular-sized fish nonetheless.

As someone interested in maybe putting on a one-person show in the future, I liked this performance.  It’s amazing to see another human being pour his heart out to a bunch of strangers.  He was fearless, sometimes singy, sometimes dancy (no doubt showing off the training from that fancy Australian performing arts school) – but also very honest and simultaneously very theatrical.  See it.  Learn about this great performer’s interpretation of the hand he’s been dealt.

Fringe Show # 2 ->I knew I wasn’t the only one who wanted to see Stewart & Colbert in an intimate setting.

My good friend Erin and I met up at the Theatre Passe Muraille for the 9:30 Backspace show of Fake News Fangirl.  You should see this show.  I’m not just saying that because I know Sharilyn personally and I think she’s wonderful.  Because there is that.  But if ever you’ve felt like you were a fan of something and tilting slightly towards the obsessive, Sharilyn’s show will help you to acknowledge you aren’t alone in this world and, in fact, it could be much much worse.  In high school, I really dug the Kids in the Hall.  But my so-called obsession is really nothing compared to the hours Sharilyn has spent on her affections for Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert et. al.

This show was a wonderful insight into the world of someone who isn’t just a fan of comedy, but who lives for comedy.  And not just for the laughter – I mean, Sharilyn is basically comedy Wikipedia.  And to hear about her endeavours – because  she’s done comedy — the open mic scene, improv, writing for the Daily Show & Colbert Report classes in NYC — she’s done it.  You will witness a struggle of the self as ‘one who does comedy’ vs. ‘one who loves comedy’ and see how blurred the lines are between the two.

A must-see for all the comedy nerds!

—

But…

Along with my being an active participant in Fringe this year, I can’t help but harbour a bit of resentment over the fact that I (we?) could have been in the festival this year, but that for reasons beyond my control (ie. I’m broke/internal collapse) – it did not happen.  What an amazing experience it must be to perform/produce/promote your work on your terms.  That being said, the more shows I see, the keener I am to make something happen Fringe-wise for next year.  In the meantime, I’m going to go plot out my next round of shows for the weekend.  Oh, and find my softball gear.  Comedy Softball season starts tomorrow!

Happy Fringe, everybody!

It’s hard to stay creative when you spend your days searching for and applying to jobs.

It’s hard to justify your creativity when you don’t know how you’re going to pay your rent this month.

If you know me, and you’re getting married, basically… you should let me be your MC.  Seriously.

I want to MC a wedding so bad.  I love weddings and I want to play an active role in every single one I attend, – – except like, I don’t want to play the part of the bride. 

Even if you’re like. “ohhh…. well, we don’t really hang out anymore…”  I will DO my research and make you and your whole damn family laugh AND cry.

Especially if you’re like “ohhh… well, I don’t know if I should invite Brie to my wedding…”  Problem solved.  Bonafide public speaker, right here.

Do it.

Let me speak at your wedding. 

Let me speak anywhere.

If I don’t get a job and start paying off my loans, I’m going to have to move back to Welland.  I can’t do that.  I love Toronto and I want to do comedy.  I can’t fulfill my dreams in Welland.

With that in mind, I started applying for jobs to keep me alive financially while I wait for my proverbial “big break.”  So yesterday, I had an interview with a post-production company, to be an office administrator, where the interviewers gave me some straight-shooting advice that, though financially a bit worrying, was the most honest commentary I ever received in an interview setting, EVER.  They basically told me that Arts, Entertainment, Media; they’re “pay-your-dues” industries.  And if you’re going to start at the bottom (ie. Office Administration,) you might as well do it somewhere you’d eventually like to end up.  (ie.  Not at a post-production company, as I do  not want to be an editor – ) but rather, a production company for TV, film or otherwise, a Literary Agency, etc.  And because turnover is high among the lower echelons, odds are there’s something available.  All I have to do is find it.

Easy.  Right?

Also, the interviewers said “fuck” a bunch of times.  In no government interview I’ve ever had, has someone ever said “fuck.” It was fucking fantastic.

What a weird and wonderful series of days I’ve just had/coming up.

This past weekend, I had my first ever audition for an acting part.  I don’t think I did very well, given I messed up the simple lines I’d been assigned to read due to extreme nervousness even though I was only mildly interested in playing the part of “Friend/Family Member.”  I was in and out in less than five minutes and I met some interesting nice and some pretentious people along the way.  (For the record, if you introduce yourself to me by telling me you went to a “Triple Threat Academy” I will, without a doubt, hate you forever.)

Well, at least I got my first audition out of the way!

It’s been a fun past two evenings down at Comedy Bar for Sketch Com-ageddon, but sadly I won’t be able to see the rest of the competition because I’m working the next few evenings and on Saturday I’m going to see Radiohead.

Finally, a band I’ve wanted to see live in concert since I was pre-high school.  The Bends was the first CD I ever bought.  For whatever reason, I never got around to seeing them live.  I had tickets the last time they were in Canada, but I had to re-sell them in order to return to France (oh, boo-hoo, I know!)  The kicker, they’d been playing the city where I lived in France the DAY before I arrived.  I really should have planned that better.  But this weekend, I’m finally going to see them.  Unless someone has free tickets to France.

Back to Com-Ageddon, it was fun!  I performed on Monday and Tuesday I attempted to live-Tweet the festivities (despite my tardiness.) It was fun to re-connect with some TOsketchfest pals & Humber pals.  It felt a little strange to see fellow Humber students now, even though we used to see each other every single day of the week.  Maybe that’s why.  Or maybe it’s because I’m kindof awkward, socially.  Mph.

I’ve got a PREVIEW to some news.  A few of my fellow comedians with similar sensibilities are planning somewhat of a comedy tour in October.  We’re thinking about hitting up some more Eastern areas, such as Ottawa, Montreal and Sherbrooke, and some more Western areas, like St. Catharines, London and Guelph.  If anyone who reads this blog lives around any of those places, keep reading for more information to come.  If you’re from those areas and you have tips about venues and booking information, please get in touch with me – because I value your knowledge and experience.

Ooooh!  Also.  My partner in cat-crime, Paige Mcintrye, & I finally put up our second episode of CatChatz.  You should be sure to check that out, because it’s funny and about cats.

Today is an exciting day.  This evening, I will be performing with my new sketch troupe for the very first time.  They are called Getting Even with Chesapeake and are composed of Ashley Moffatt, Paige McIntyre, Matt Surina & myself.  Ashley, Matt & I had been talking about working together for a long time and we brought Paige on board because she’s a great writer and she and I have been working together on Cat Chatz – so it all made sense!

Consequently, this will be my first time performing in a sketch troupe since the decomposition of LaughDraft earlier this year and the subsequent denial of my entry into the troupe that formed out of the dregs that was LaughDraft – so, I think it’s fair to say I’m pretty damn excited to get back into the swing of sketch comedy with this awesome group of people!  🙂

Getting Even with Chesapeake is making its debut, performing as part of the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival’s Sketch Com-Ageddon competition with many other awesome troupes from around town as well as a lot of newbies.

It should be a fun time – so feel free to come check us out.    The sketch-dule is RIGHT HERE!

See you tonight!