Stage Door News
Stage Door News
IMPORTANT DATE/TIME CORRECTION and
EXCITING TALENT UPDATE!
Correction:
The dates/times for The Fainting Room, an explosive release of physical comedy, music, and candid confession, directed by Melinda Ferraraccio and written and performed by Becca Bernard, were listed incorrectly in our previous press release. The correct times are below:
The Commons
Update:
Toronto’s best local clown revue the Red Nose Cabaret brings some of the
city’s most wild and wonderful talent to our festival stage on May 31st. This
year’s cabaret is being hosted by one of Canada’s most known and beloved
clowns - Helen Donnelly , an award-winning professional clown artist: a rare
mix of theatrical, circus and therapeutic clown.
Helen has performed professionally as a clown since 1995 and is an alumni of
Cirque du Soleil , touring with them for over 4 years (Miss Posey was 'born' on
that tour!) For 12 years she was the resident clown of Circus Orange here in
Canada. She produces theatrical solo clown shows through her company 'Foo
Productions' and performs at special events and festivals worldwide including Just for Laughs, the International Circus Festival and various theatrical clown festivals.
She teaches, directs and coaches theatrical, circus and therapeutic clown artists in Canada and beyond. She offers clown workshops to adults only, both independently and at colleges and universities including U of T, Ryerson and George Brown.
This fall she is thrilled to launch North America’s first Therapeutic Clowning Certificate program through George Brown College Continuing Education; her school is only the second of its kind in the world and will appropriately train and supervise clown artists who are eager to serve vulnerable populations.
NEW Home!
This year, Toronto’s most hilarious week of comedy, clown and circus has found its new home in Toronto’s Little Italy at two amazing venues - The Monarch Tavern (12 Clinton St.) and The Commons Theatre (587a College St).
Now entering our 13th year, the festival continues to encourage the risk and exploration of the clown, hosting new and established works that inspire and delight. According to Festival Artistic Producer Dave McKay:
“This year is a tighter, more compact festival than we’ve ever
run and we’re thrilled at the idea of providing a one-stop
shop for an amazing night out. People can join us at either
of our new venues for a great show, grab dinner at any of the
delicious restaurants in Little Italy, then come back for a
drink (or two) and one of our nightly cabarets.”
A big part of our goals for this year is to welcome Toronto back to our festival by making sure we have something for everyone!
NEW Shows!
The 2018 Toronto Festival of Clowns aims to bring together clowns and physical theatre artists of all disciplines and backgrounds and provide a common space to showcase their work. This year’s festival will feature six engaging full length shows, two fun and fantastical triple bills, and five one-night only cabarets designed to delight!
FULL LENGTH
Our full length shows include The Fainting Room , an explosive release of physical comedy, music, and candid confession, exploring the historical phenomenon of “female hysteria.” Featuring
Becca Bernard , a resident clown for the Zany Umbrella Circus who works with the Celebration Barn Theatre and Carley Colbert who studied Commedia Dell' Arte and physical theater at the Academia Dell' Arte.
This year’s festival will also include long time Toronto Festival of Clowns favourite Mullet in Mullet’s Masterclass as he shares valuable acting lessons, such as when performing comedy, dying is bad, but when performing drama, dying is good. The show is created by Allan Turner, one of the city’s busiest clowns and who was voted Toronto's 'Best Male Improviser' in the 2015 Now Magazine Reader's Choice Poll.
Then make sure to join us for Unscriptured , an incredibly clever twist on the improv tradition where the audience attends a church service for a religion made up on the spot! Come sing, laugh, and pray together! A brand new comedy from multiple Pick of the Fringe award winner Travis Bernhardt (Best Male Improviser, Vancouver International Improv Festival 2015).
Next up is The Sues’ Show where, sick and tired of their day jobs, the Two Sues set out on a quest to motivate everyone in the world to follow their dreams! The Two Sues feature Josh Stone and Bobby Knauff , grads from Humber's School of Comedy, and promise to leave audience members inspired, empowered, self aware of their inner self awareness.
This year, we also invite audiences to attend the taping of LightSWITCH's Kinky Advice Hour, a live show loosely mimicking how a television program might be taped in the 1950's. What happens during the commercial breaks can be just as educational as what happens during the show. This production co-written, directed, produced and performed by Tony Culverwell and Amanda Matalanis.
Finally, Get Lucky asks if Larry can get in touch with his femininity without losing his balls? Full of bold moves, masterful dance and hilarious wit, this show hits the zeitgeist of our current cultural shift with her gender-bending physical comedy. Created by award-winning comedy artist Candice Roberts , a performer from unceded Coast Salish Territories, Vancouver, BC Canada. She is also the band leader of the critically acclaimed Myrtle Family Band.
TRIPLE BILLS
This year’s festival will feature TWO amazing triple bills where audiences not familiar with the wide and wild variety of clown performance in Toronto can sample some of what we have on offer.
Triple Bill #1
Upstream Downtown is a clown/bouffon multimedia performance that explores salmon-human relations in the Greater Toronto Area through an eco-feminist lens. We follow two salmon-human hybrids named Sojo and Beagle, who believe they must play “human” for their audience in order to survive in a human dominated world – all the while searching for home, food and social acceptance. This show is created and performed by Morgan Johnson and Alexandra Simpson, and developed with support from the Celebration Barn Theatre and Ontario Arts Council.
When Miss Vega's Pussy starts acting up, her trip to the clinic proves a surprise for both her and her doctor! How will Doctor Katzen explain his discoveries? How ever will Miss Vega make her poor pussy feel perfect again? An irreverent and absurd homage to language and wit, MISS VEGA'S PUSSY will have you in a riot! Created and performed by Anthony Raymond Yu and
Hannah Ehman .
Closing out our first triple bill, Mr. Eff Comes Around sees a duo, locked in combat unable to break from the routine of history repeating itself. They must find a way to atone for past misdeeds if they are to survive. Directed by Andy Massingham and written and performed by Dana Fradkin and Jesse Buck .
Triple Bill #2
In Grave Fühm, a wanderer from a remote Northeastern Europish village, arrives at a cemetery to say farewell to his dearly departed friend, Bort. Fühm strikes up a one-sided conversation about the past with Bort’s tombstone, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he is dead at all. As Bort’s silence becomes deafening, Fühm turns to old habits for relief and the consequences are hilariously dire. This show is written and performed by Michael Thompson and is directed by Calvin Petersen.
Red nose duo Steve and Sharon , we ask the audience what would happen if you woke in the middle of the night and there were 50 strangers in your bedroom? Exploring the dangers of miscommunication and the joy of the unexpected, follow Steve and Sharon as they try to figure out who these visitors are, and why they are there! Created and performed by Calvin Petersen and Ivy Urquhart.
Finally, in Mating Rituals our two main characters explore the mating rituals of clowns and desperately try to charm each other into landing a first date through physical comedy parodying bird and wildlife mating rituals. This piece promises to be more exciting than Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, and definitely more fun than asking out someone in real life! Written and performed by Chris O'Bray and Chae Aitchison.
CABARETS
The 2018 Festival has five, ONE NIGHT ONLY cabarets on offer this year.
We’ve designed these as amazing and action-packed explosions of clowny delirium and delight!
Our Opening Night Cabaret sees clown celebs Morro and Jasp host the festival’s opening night preview of this year’s amazing shows. This is a great way to sample the acts of this year’s festival and help you discover the shows that are right for you!
New this year, Toronto’s best local clown revue the Red Nose Cabaret brings some of the city’s most wild and wonderful talent to our festival stage. This grab-bag of Toronto clown acts is sure to please. This cabaret is hosted by acclaimed clown performer Helen Donnelly.
Clown Burlesque ? Burlesque Clown? Is there a difference? You’ll have to come to find out! Join us for this first ever grand experiment in naughtiness, red noses and nipple tassels hosted by the immeasurable Imogen Quest and Pickles LeVey .
The Lunacy Cabaret, one of Toronto’s most off the wall nights of vaudeville, comes West for an evening of epic proportions. Join us for this one-of-kind cabaret cocktail of circus, sketch comedy, clown, burlesque, buffoon & music. If you’ve never been to one, this is your chance to see what’s made this cabaret so successful for the past X years!
Closing out the festival will be our Clown Karaoke Dance Party where we invite the audience to join some of Toronto’s best no-fourth-wall comedy performers as they take turns doing Karaoke! No song too strange, no act to audacious. This evening of singing and celebration is hosted by the one and only Peggy Plummer .
NEW Team!
This year we’ve added some new members to our already great team. We’re thrilled to announce the addition of Jonathan Brett, theatre producer and Sponsorship/Development specialist and Byron Laviolette, no stranger to Canadian clown fans as the director and one of the founding members of Toronto’s much loved Morro and Jasp clown duo.
Returning for this year are Artistic Producer Dave McKay , producer of the Toronto Festival of Clowns, the improvised soap opera Belleville Ville and co-produces Lunacy Cabaret, and Artistic Director Adam Bailey , who started his career in Toronto doing Clown and Burlesque and has since become an award winning theatre creator who has toured the country with hit shows such as Adam Bailey is on Fire and The Life Henri. His unique creation, Adult Baby Cupid will be performing a sneak peek of his new show The ABC’s of Love as a special Sunday matinee.
Schedule
The Commons
Full Length
Unscriptured Mullet's Master Class The Fainting Room
Wednesday, May 30, 8:30pm Wednesday, May 30, 6:45pm Thursday, May 31, 8:45pm
Saturday, June 2, 8:15pm Friday, June 1, 8:45pm Friday, June 1, 7:00pm
Sunday, June 3, 3:45pm Saturday, June 2, 2pm Saturday, June 2, 3:45pm
Triple Bill #1
Featuring Upstream Downtown , Mr. Eff Comes Around , and Miss Vega's Pussy
Monarch Tavern
Full Length
Get Lucky The Sue's Show Lightswitch's Kinky Advice
Friday, June 1, 6:45pm Thursday, May 31st, 8:30pm Wednesday, May 30, 7:45pm
Saturday, June 2, 8:30pm Saturday, June 2nd, 4pm Friday, June 1, 8:30pm
Sunday, June 3, 6:45pm Sunday, June 2rd, 8:30pm Saturday, June 2, 2:15pm
Triple Bill #2
Featuring Grave , Mating Rituals , and Steve and Sharon
Cabarets
Opening Night Red Nose Burlesque
Wednesday, May 30, 9:30pm Thursday, May 31, 10pm Friday, June 1, 10pm
Lunacy The ABC’s of Love Clown Karaoke
Saturday, June 2, 10pm Sunday, June 3, 1pm Sunday, June 3, 10pm
Festival Info
The Toronto Festival of Clowns runs from May 30 th to June 3 rd at two great venues - The Monarch
Tavern (12 Clinton St.) and The Commons Theatre (587a College St).
Tickets can be purchased at
Festival of Clowns Website www.torontofestivalofclowns.com .
2018-05-03
Toronto: Toronto Festival of Clowns updates