“A folksy comedy show combining Aboriginal storytelling, Russian-style character drama, audience suggestions, and more!”

Excerpt from Press Release:

Reaching deep into their very different heritages, Ben Gorodetsky and Todd Houseman bring Aboriginal storytelling and Russian character drama together to create a rich tapestry of hilarious and heartfelt improv at the Toronto Fringe!

“We love the challenge of combining these two very different cultures,” Ben Gorodetsky says. “Where the Cree stories show the power of change on a global scale, Chekhov poignantly highlights the inability of individuals to make personal change. It’s a hilarious juxtaposition and the transitions between storylines are fast, physical, mischievous and surprising. It’s genre improvisation that pays homage, rather than parodies, and the chemistry of the actual improv is intoxicating!”

The Recipe:

Take one part Cree origin story from the Aboriginal, oral tradition.

Add one part Russian character drama inspired by Anton Chekhov.

Stir in one part additional world culture—chosen by the audience at each show!

Bake for 45 minutes in a sweaty Fringe venue to create a fast, furious, and folksy improv show like you’ve never seen before!

High-speed, hilarious, multi-cultural improv from members of the world-famous, Canadian Comedy Award-winning, Edmonton improv standby: Rapid Fire Theatre.

Showtimes:

July 03 at 08:15 PM
July 04 at 12:00 PM
July 06 at 06:30 PM
July 07 at 10:00 PM
July 09 at 03:30 PM
July 10 at 11:00 PM
July 12 at 01:45 PM

Venue: Factory Theatre Studio

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office (cash-only), starting one hour before showtime.

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo by Andrew Paul.

“An  evocative,  dreamlike  voyage  in  imagination  and dance”

Excerpt from press release: 

Montreal dance company For Body and Light has performed to outstanding reviews in New York, Montreal and throughout Western Canada. This July, they bring their stellar ocean exploration—Coming and Going—to Toronto for the first time.

COMING AND GOING is a contemporary dance performance directed and choreographed by STÉPHANIE MORIN-ROBERT in collaboration with spoken word artist and musician IAN FERRIER and performers ALLISON BURNS and LINNEA GWIAZDA.

The show’s name is a reference to the thirty foot tides that fill and empty the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. There the company forged their experience of change into a deep imaginative voyage.

From the glaciers of the Canadian arctic to the coral reefs of Belize, story, music, dance and lighting carry the audience on an hour-long tour that climaxes with dancers overwhelmed by a hurricane.

“[A] satire about the customer service industry.”

Excerpted from press release:

Welcome to your new job at General Corporations Incorporated – a megacorporation that runs some of your favourite shops like “Lifesucks Coffee”, “Hell Wireless” and “American In Peril”. In this satire about the customer service industry, you will embark on the training of a lifetime. Our CEO, Bossman, will take the audience through a series of training modules using various scenarios from employees Stella, Marcus and Jacqueline. We’ll cover relevant issues, policies and procedures such as “sexual harassment”, “health and safety”, “affirmative action” and the age old rule: “the customer is always right”. So get out your pens and notepads, because you’re about to learn what it really takes to be the best customer service agent you can be.

In order to create our play, we asked our friends, family, colleagues and even strangers about their experiences in a customer service environment. We got stories about all ends of the spectrum: lazy employees, rude customers, overbearing managers and impossible sales goals. We used these scenarios to create a piece that explores all sides of the industry – we want people to relate to being the customer AND the employee because both positions come with awkward interactions, frustration and in most cases, humour.

Showtimes:

July 3^rd, 1:45PM

July 4^th, 5:45PM

July 5^th, 7:30PM

July 7^th, 9:00PM

July 8^th, 4:15PM

July 11^th, 3:30PM

July 12^th, 2:45PM

Venue: Robert Gil Theatre (214 College St)

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office, starting one hour before showtime. (Cash-only.)

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

Photo of Jenna Naulls by Rachel Llanera.

“One act musical, exploring female relationships and the blurred lines between love and friendship.”

Excerpt from Press Release:

Rounding the Bend is a one act musical, exploring female relationships and the blurred lines between love and friendship. Four best friends reunite for a summer road trip, and struggle through a journey of self-discovery, featuring six original musical numbers and a slew of catchy “cars songs”.

Out Of The Blue Theatre Company is a newly formed Toronto collective, comprised of fresh talent, committed to telling young women’s stories. Based upon true events, Rounding the Bend  highlights a common female experience of sexual fluidity, in a generation post “I kissed a girl and I liked it.” What one friend sees as harmless experimentation, could be a romantic awakening for another.

Written, directed, and produced by twenty-one year-old Eliza Blue Musselwhite, this production is just coming off a successful run at the 2015 Paprika Festival. The company is fronted by an all-female cast of young actors, with undeniable chemistry.

Rounding the Bend is a fun, emotional “ride” full of friendship, heartbreak, confusion, and love.
Showtimes:

July 1, 8:45pm

July 4, 4:00pm

July 5, 12:00pm

July 7, 5:00pm

July 9, 7:30pm

July 10, 11:30pm

July 11, 5:15pm

Venue: ROBERT GILL THEATRE (214 College St,)

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office, starting one hour before showtime. (Cash-only.)

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.

“[O]ne-woman drama, performed by Jessica Gardiner, that places historical text alongside fictional accounts to generate an original tale of nineteenth-century Toronto life.”

Excerpt from Press Release:

“The Clues Are All Around You”

A drama set in nineteenth-century Toronto.

It is a hot day in July 1898 and hostess, Mrs James Berry is “at home” to a much-anticipated caller. As she guides her guest through the rooms of her family home, past, present and future converge to tell a strange story of life on the banks of the Don River. At Home is a one-woman drama, performed by Jessica Gardiner, that places historical text alongside fictional accounts to generate an original tale of nineteenth-century Toronto life.
JIG is a new Toronto-based theatre company that produces new dramas on a per-production basis. We are particularly interested in developing performances that derive from verbatim text and found sources.

Showtimes:

Friday July 3, 8:45PM

Saturday, July 4, 11:00PM

Sunday, July 5, 6:15PM

Wednesday July 8, 12:00PM

Thursday, July 9, 11:15PM

Friday, July 10, 1:45PM

Sunday, July 12, 4:00PM

Venue: The Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (79 St George Street, Suite 302)

Tickets for all Fringe productions are $10, $12 in advance. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062, business hours only), in-person from the festival box office located in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s, (481 Bloor West), or — if any remain — from the venue box office, starting one hour before showtime. (Cash-only.)

The festival offers a range of money-saving passes for committed Fringers; see website for details.

Be advised that Fringe shows always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted.