From Press Release

SHELLEY RAE MAY BE A MERMAID,
but she is not your maid by any means.

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! Come and see a glimpse of Shelley Rae! Discovered near shark-infested Cuban waters, this mermaid is like nothing you’ve ever seen. Please remember: DO NOT water her, DO NOT feed her, and certainly DO NOT indulge her—unless you are parched with curiosity and willing to pay the price.

(Don’t Splash) Shelley Rae is an interactive and unique theatre piece that absolutely depends on the audience to propel the narrative. Luxuriating in a pink kiddy pool in the middle of an 8’ x 8’ shed, Shelley Rae is ready to answer all your questions! Do you want to know how a mermaid speaks English? How mermaids reproduce? What are the hopes and dreams of a mermaid lost on land? The conversation depends on you! Stop by to see this unique immersive theatre project being performed at The Fringe Club. But a word of caution, Shelley Rae has her own agenda and sadly, due to her covetous nature, unrefined language, and bestial appearance, children are not permitted.

Written by Jaime Hernandez Lujan and directed by Nicholas Potter, (Don’t Splash) Shelley Rae is Vertebrae, Undone’s inaugural production. The two have collaborated on two previous productions: Pearl in a Pink Dress for Theatre Erindale’s Beck Festival, and, more recently, the award winning Marianne, Are You Asleep? for the 2013 University of Toronto Drama Festival which took home three prizes, one being Best Production.

Starring Kaitlyn Alexander. The three are currently enrolled in the Theatre and Drama Studies joint program at UTM/Sheridan and will all be appearing in Theatre Erindale’s upcoming 2013/2014 season. Kaitlyn Alexander has recently appeared as Mistress Quince in Theatre Erindale’s smash-hit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

(Don’t Splash) Shelley Rae, the once in a lifetime experience pulled straight from a storybook more grim than Grimm.

Vertebrae, Undone
in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents

(Don’t Splash) Shelley Ray

Written by Jaime Hernandez Lujan

Directed by Nicholas Potter

Starring Kaitlyn Alexander

Opens  JULY 3^rd to JULY 13^th, 2013

THE FRINGE CLUB, 581 Bloor Street West, Toronto

Performances:

July 3^rd, 9:00pm, 9:25pm, 9:50pm

July 5^th, 9:00pm, 9:25pm, 9:50pm

July 6^th, 2:30pm

July 7^th, 9:00pm, 9:25pm, 9:50pm

July 8^th, 7:00pm, 7:25pm, 7:50pm

July 9^th, 3:30pm, 3:55pm, 4:20pm

July 10^th, 7:00pm, 7:25pm, 7:50pm

July 11^th, 9:00pm, 9:25pm, 9:50pm

July 12^th, 7:00pm, 7:25pm, 7:50pm

July 13^th, 2:30pm, 2:55pm, 3:20pm

Tickets:

All AlleyPlays are PWYC. Seating limited but frequent. 

Follow the exploits of Shelley Rae on Twitter! www.twitter.com/MeetShelleyRae

From Press Release

ACTIVIST THEATRE TROUPE BRINGS THE PRISON TO THE FRINGE

Hot on the heels of a 33-show cross-country tour that spanned theatres, churches, high schools and prisons, Theatre of the Beat has come home to Ontario to perform their first comedy – This Prison: Or He Came Through the Floor. Founded in 2011, Theatre of the Beat has quickly gained a reputation as a Social Justice theatre troupe that engages tough topics that people don’t usually talk about. After previously tackling pacifism, globalisation, and how communities respond to crime, Theatre of the Beat is now exploring fundamentalism, and what it’s like to be trapped in inherited worldviews.

This Prison Or: He Came Through the Floor tells the story of a deranged prisoner on death row, and the man who has come to rescue him. Combining tea-time and philosophy, This Prison explores Plato’s allegory of the cave using a witty script, slapstick comedy and a memorable set.

Written by Johnny Wideman, and starring Johnny Wideman and Benjamin Wert, Theatre of the Beat will bring ‘This Prison’ to the Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton Fringe festivals. Last year, Theatre of the Beat performed ‘Gadfly: Sam Steiner Dodges the Draft’ at the Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver Fringe festivals. Co-written by Johnny Wideman, and co-starring Johnny and Benjamin, ‘Gadfly’ received a nomination for ‘Best English Script’ at the Montreal Fringe, as well as positive reviews  across the country.

This Prison Or: He Came Through the Floor can be seen during the Toronto Fringe Festival at the Robert Gill Theatre. The showtimes are the following:

Wednesday July 3rd at 8:45 PM
Saturday July 6th at 11:45 PM
Sunday July 7th at 4:00 PM
Tuesday July 9th at 10:45 PM
Thursday July 11th at 1:45 PM
Friday July 12th at 11:30 PM

For tickets, call the Fringe at 416-966-1062 or go to www.fringetoronto.com. Tickets are $10 at the door, $11 in advance.

From press release:

I’M JUST NOT MYSELF TODAY: THEATRE MISCHIEF TAKES A CINEMATIC
ADVENTURE INTO AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS

Toronto, ON – As part of the 25th Toronto Fringe Festival, Theatre Mischief presents Polly Polly, by Jessica Moss, July 4 – 13, 2013, at the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. Polly is an ordinary girl with a call–centre job and a sense that there could be more. One day, a voice in her head begins narrating her thoughts and actions: as if she was worthy of an audience. Then, on a routine call, she phones someone with a beautiful alto voice and an uncanny knowledge of Polly’s own soul. ‘I’m Polly Eschfield’, the voice says, ‘I’m you. Find me’. Polly is thrown on a journey of self-discovery and realization as she is tormented with questions of who she really is.

What is a self, where do you find one, and who does the finding? What does it mean to tellyour own story, when the voice that tells it isn’t necessarily your own? What is that voice in our heads that is more poetic than we are, that’s scripting the movie version of our lives? Polly Polly is a theatrical romp into a screwball movie, a mystery with only one suspect, one victim, and one performer, and a farce of an identity crisis, all presented live in Theatr-OScope Vision.

Writer/performer Jessica Moss (Modern Love at Next Stage Festival, Was Spring at Tarragon Theatre, Tout Comme Elle with Necessary Angel, TICK, and Swoon! with Toronto Fringe) says of the play:

I’m interested in stretching, or, perhaps more accurately, shattering the perceived limits of one-person shows. The ideas of finding yourself, being unsure about your identity, and a voice in your head that is somehow different than your own voice feel like natural things to explore in this medium. I love theatre that is fast, funny, and true, and that’s what I’m searching for as I fall down this particular rabbit hole. Give yourself a good talking to and come down to Theatre Passe Muraille for Polly Polly. Whether you feel like yourself or are still looking for the real you, we all need a little escape. Polly Polly, written and performed by Jessica Moss. Presented by Theatre Mischief.

SHOWTIMES:
Thursday, July 4 – 7:45 pm Tuesday, July 9 – 10:15 pm
Friday, July 5 – 1:15 pm Thursday, July 11 – 6:15 pm
Sunday, July 7 – 9:45 pm Friday, July 12 – 5:15 pm
Monday, July 8 – 4:00 pm Saturday, July 13 – 8:00 pm
At Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, Fringe Venue 11
16 Ryerson Avenue (North of Queen Street, East of Bathurst)

TICKETS: $10 At the door, available at the venue starting one hour prior to showtime. $11 in advance.
Available online at fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416 966 1062, ext 1, and in person during the Festival Box Office in the Parking lot behind Honest Ed’s (581 Bloor St. W).

From press release:

Tangled Web Theatre makes their Toronto FringeKids! debut with Handle With Care. This show provides a positive take on environmental education and uses humour, play and puppets to create a fun theatre experience for family audiences aged 4 and up. Opens July 4^th at the Palmerston Theatre.

The seed for Handle With Care was planted when Bonnie Thomson and Tyler Seguin were leading a Grade 3 puppetry workshop. They noticed that the students had created some pretty grim environmentally-themed posters. Tangled Web Theatre started talking about whether it was possible to teach a more positive view of how we can interact with our environment, and include humour and a sense of playfulness, as well as cautionary messages. Handle With Care incorporates a wide variety of puppetry styles, including tabletop, rod, shadow, and object manipulation and uses many different materials, including recycled and found objects.

Tangled Web Theatre is an artistic collective whose work emerges from the collision of conventional theatre with unconventional forms such as physical theatre and puppetry. Tangled Web members participated in the inaugural Puppetmongers’ Puppetry eXploratory Laboratory, and have also worked with Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Parts of their previous work, Jurkka Jarvinen’s Troll Stories have been presented at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Crapshoot, The Fresh Ideas in Puppetry Festival, National Theatre of the World’s Carnegie Hall Show and Theatre Caravel’s Seachange. For more information please visit www.tangledwebtheatre.com.

Tangled Web Theatre
in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents
Handle With Care
written by Bonnie Thomson
featuring Helen Juvonen, Tyler Seguin and Bonnie Thomson

Venue: Palmerston Theatre
560 Palmerston Ave.

Performances:

Thursday, July 4 – 5:45pm

Friday, July 5 – 7:45pm

Saturday, July 6 – 2:30pm

Monday, July 8 – 1:15pm

Wednesday, July 10 – 6:00pm

Thursday, July 11 – 3:45pm

Saturday, July 13 – 1:00pm

Sunday, July 14 – 6:45pm

Tickets: $10;  $5 for kids under 12
Tickets can be purchased by phone 416-966-1062, online at www.fringetoronto.com
50% of tickets are available in advance. Advance tickets go on sale June 15^th
At-the-door tickets available at Palmerston Theatre 1-hr prior to show – cash only.

Photo credit: Robin Munro