From press release:

The Soaps Present…

THE SOAPS! A LIVE IMPROVISED SOAP OPERA

The sold out hit is back for the third straight year!

THIS TIME, we take you to the exciting and backstabbing world of City Hall! Deception, incompetence, personal agendas, and a disgraced mayor! Sound familiar? Welcome to the town of Utopia and its back room city hall dealings! Life in politics isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!

Starring:

Jim Annan (Second City Alumnus, Unlucky), Matt Baram (SC Alumnus, Wingin’ It), Paul Bates (SC Alumnus, Dan for Mayor), Lisa Brooke (SC Alumna, CBC’s The Knowitalls), Christy Bruce (SC Alumna, Private Lives on Broadway), Jan Caruana (About an Hour, Being Erica), Chris Gibbs (The Power of Ignorance, Antoine Feval), Sandy Jobin-Bevans (SC Alumnus, LIfe with Boys), Lindsay Mullan (Truth or Dare), Lisa Merchant (Train 48, The Chumps), Gavin Williams (Loose Moose Theatre) and special guests each show!

What is The Soaps! A Live Improvised Soap Opera?

We’re taking Toronto’s most prolific comedic improvisers and creating an ongoing improvised story packed with drama, romance, intrigue and betrayal! Armed with nothing more than a director, a setting and some unscrupulous characters, the audience is treated to plot twists and passion that even the actors can’t predict…

How it works
After the setting for the show has been decided, it’s time for each improviser to create a character that they will bring to life for each performance.

The show opens with an introduction from our director, each character is introduced and has a “hot 30”, a 30-second monologue where the improviser can catch the audience up on their plot line, expose a secret desire or reveal their nefarious plans.

Then, the director takes us to one of 4 environments that have been set on the stage and calls up various characters for the scene.

As the show goes on, characters are betrayed, backs are stabbed and hearts are broken.

The Dates at this year’s Toronto Fringe are:

July 5th – 10:30pm
July 6th – 7:30pm
July 8th – 4:30pm
July 10th – 4:00pm
July 11th – 11:30pm
July 12th – 3:30pm
July 14th – 1:45pm

The George Ignatieff Theatre, 15 Devonshire Place

The Soaps!

The Soaps! has been a weekly show at the Comedy Bar in Toronto and a sold out hit two years running at the Toronto Fringe. Some past settings of The Soaps! have been the “Shawford Theatre Festival”; the town of Utopia where the soap industry reigned supreme; and the War of 1812.

What people are saying about us

“(The Soaps!) showcases the skills of some of Toronto’s wittiest talent…this group is as good at putting each other on the spot as helping one another out” – NNNN Now Magazine

“Great characters + hilariously relatable premise + 8 of the wittiest people working in theatre, film and TV= either Pi or The Soaps. Either way, the talent is infinite”

“It’s soooo funny and the cast makes it look easy, a tribute to their talent and experience (and weird minds). This is improvisation at its best” – Mooney on Theatre

“The Soaps sticks to gut-busting improvised silliness…the cast of veteran improvisers keep the laughs coming. Verbal fumbles swiftly turn into running jokes—without a momentary miscue. 4 starts” – The Torontoist

“We can’t tell you exactly what to expect, but we can guarantee you’ll laugh hard. This is one addictive soap opera!” – Theatromania

From press release:

Tarradiddle Productions
in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents

Honest Aesopʼs Fables

created and written by the ensemble
directed by Teodoro Dragonieri
featuring Geoffrey Armour, Hayley Carr, Marcel Dragonieri, Luke LaRocque, Leslie McBay and Emily Opal Smith
design by Matthew Pochwalowski
musical direction by Tara Litvack
stage managed by Kjell Cawsey

Honest Aesopʼs Fables is ready to take FringeKids! by storm at the 2013 Toronto Fringe. Based on the stories attributed to Greek writer Aesop, the show is a fun and energetic look at what it means to tell stories in a modern age. Audience will recognize the timeless tales being told, but enjoy the twists and turns that the show takes as it unfolds at the Palmerston Library Theatre.

During the creation process, Tarradiddle Productions brought together 6 actors, a director, musical director and designer to find new meaning in the classic fables. Asking themselves why these stories matter, the team created an original play that incorporates both the essence of the original fables as well as new settings for the characters. Stories like “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Honest Woodsman” find new life in this engaging performance told with a hint of commedia dellʼarte for good measure. The show is infused with music that joins the stories in a seamless manner.

Featuring a cast of talented creators and performers and directed by Harold Award-winning director Teodoro Dragonieri, Honest Aesopʼs Fables is a fast-paced, hilarious look at the modern fable for children ages 4 to 104.

Opens JULY 4, 2013 and runs to JULY 13, 2013

PALMERSTON LIBRARY THEATRE (560 Palmerston Ave, Toronto, ON M6G 2P7)

Performances:
Thursday July 4 7:15pm
Saturday July 6 12:45pm
Sunday July 7 5:45pm
Monday July 8 2:45pm
Tuesday, July 9 4:15pm
Thursday, July 11 5:15pm
Friday, July 12 1:00pm
Saturday, July 13 4:15pm

Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.

Tickets:
At-the-door tickets: $10
At-the-door tickets are available at the venue starting one hour prior to show time – cash sales only.
Advance tickets: $11

50% of tickets are available for sale in advance.
Advance tickets go on sale June 15th, 2013.

Purchase online: fringetoronto.com.
By Phone: 416-966-1062, ext 1.
In Person: During the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Edʼs (581 Bloor St W).

From press release:

As I Lay Dying’s Nina Gilmour and emerging performer Danya Buonastella debut with DEATH MARRIED MY DAUGHTER at Toronto Fringe Festival

It’s only been a few months since Theatre Smith-Gilmour’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying left the stage of Toronto’s Theatre Passe Murraille. But principal cast member Nina Gilmour and emerging performer Danya Buonastella have collaborated with directors Michele Smith and Dean Gilmour on a new satire at this summer’s Toronto Fringe festival. What would happen if Shakespeare’s Ophelia and Desdemona entered the theatre together before our very eyes?

What would happen if Ophelia and Desdemona came back from the swamps of death where they have endured the longest exile? Resurrected by their desire to expose the “abusers” and “murderers”, they would revel in denouncing “Man”; they would destroy, with delight, the established values of a Man’s society. This is the story of Death Married My Daughter a biting, Bouffon-inspired satire that puts “Man” on trial.

Nina Gilmour and Danya Buonastella are recent graduates of École Philippe Gaulier in Paris, France where they studied and developed a passion for Bouffon. Who are the Bouffons? They are outcasts and misfits who come from the swamps, where they have been relegated; they come to denounce hypocrisy with mockery, irony and satire.

Death Married My Daughter is Play It Again Productions’ first creation. Nina Gilmour and Danya Buonastella are collaborating with Michele Smith and Dean Gilmour (Theatre Smith-Gilmour, winner of 9 Dora Awards) who direct and co-write. In March 2013, Nina Gilmour, Michele Smith, and Dean Gilmour performed the world premier of the critically acclaimed adaptation of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying.

With humour and satire, Nina Gilmour and Danya Buonastella charm and enchant audiences, exposing women’s condition in society, leaving them filled with laughter and jaw-dropping surprise.

Play It Again Productions in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents
Death Married My Daughter
Written by Nina Gilmour, Danya Buonastella, Michele Smith & Dean Gilmour
Directed by Michele Smith & Dean Gilmour Starring Nina Gilmour & Danya Buonastella
Friday July 5th, 2013 – Sunday July 14th, 2013
Tarragon Main Space 30 Bridgman Ave. Toronto, ON M5R 1X3

Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.
Advance tickets: $11 – fringetoronto.com (On sale June 15th) 50% of tickets are available for sale in advance.

By Phone: 416-966-1062, ext 1.
In Person: During the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W).
At-the-door tickets: $10 At-the-door tickets available at Tarragon Theatre one hour before show time – cash sales only

Performances: Friday July 5, 8:45 PM Saturday July 6, 7:30 PM Monday July 8, 1:00 PM Wednesday July 10, 5:45 PM Thursday July 11, 11:30PM Friday July 12, 11:00 PM Sunday July 14th, 3:30PM

From press release:

Jesus Christ! Miles Wilson bumps his head and sees Jesus Christ in his Lemon Lime hospital Jell‐O. This “Miracle” captures the attentions of his bored family, a disenchanted gay couple, an elderly widow. Oh. And God. Was he sent a delicious jiggly message, or is it a concussion? Come decide for yourself over snacks and songs as Zaw Theatre Presents, Jesus Jell‐o. The Miraculous Confection. A dark comedy about faith, hope, and the need for a miracle.

Jesus Jello-O was first performed at the Montreal Fringe Festival in 2010. The production received rave reviews and packed houses. As the recipient of The Mainline Next Stage Award it was subsequently remounted in December of 2010.

Hugely Funny. – MacRae Campbell. The Charlebois Post

The best new play I’ve seen yet at the fringe. – Pat Donnelly. The Gazette

Great Imagination and humour. –Anna Fuerstenberg. Rover Arts

Joanne Sarazen’s work has been produced by Mainline Theatre, Processed Theatre, Theatre Urbi et Orbi and Centaur Theatre in Montreal. This new production features a cast of newly relocated Montreal actors, and several Toronto based actors as well. For full cast bios please consult our Media Contact.

This site‐specific production will be held in the basement of College Street United Church. Complete with little sandwiches, coffee, juice and cheesy Christmas music. An Irreverent Christmas Pageant Play.

Zaw Theatre in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents
Jesus Jell‐O; The Miraculous Confection
Written and Directed by Joanne Sarazen
Featuring: Adam Driscoll, Anne Harper, Austin Ball, Chris Hayes, Emile Quaile, Laura Vincent, Mike Vitorovich, and Vesna Radenkovic.
Design by The Jesus Jell‐O Cast, Joanne Sarazen and Amanda Piron
Music arrangement: Chris Hayes
Stage managed by Amanda Piron
Produced by Zoe Gamache

Opens Thursday July 4th‐Sunday July 14th
Xing Dance Studios.
College Street United Church.
452 College Street. At Bathurst.

Performances:

Thursday, July 4, 2013 – 8:00pm – 9:15pm

Friday, July 5, 2013 – 8:00pm – 9:15pm

Saturday, July 6, 2013 – 8:00pm – 9:15pm

Sunday, July 7, 2013 – 8:00pm – 9:15pm

Thursday, July 11, 2013 – 8:00pm – 9:15pm

Friday, July 12, 2013 – 8:00pm – 9:15pm

Saturday, July 13, 2013 – 8:00pm – 9:15pm

Sunday, July 14, 2013 – 2:00pm – 3:15pm

Tickets:
At the door tickets: $10
At the door tickets are available at YOUR VENUE starting one hour prior to show time – cash sales only.

Advance tickets: $11
50% of tickets are available for sale in advance.
Advance tickets go on sale June 15th, 2013.

Purchase online: fringetoronto.com.
By Phone: 416-966-1062, ext 1.
In Person: During the Festival Box Office in the parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St W).