Here’s what has caught our attention…

MS TITAVERSE: by the Tita Collective. Theatre Passe Muraille

The multi-award winning all-Filipina artistic company returns with their new musical comedy, Ms. Titaverse. The storyline was inspired by the pageant culture that is celebrated in the Philippine community. Growing up, most young
Filipinas often have a complicated relationship with it; on the
one hand it was a means to see representation on a global
scale, on the other hand it can be an oppressive standard to be
compared against. Featuring all new songs and stories that draw on their respective experiences as members of the Filipin* diaspora and will feature how each Tita Collective member continues to navigate the world as millennials, also now coming into their own as elders within the community. Ms. Titaverse is a 60-minute musical comedy revue that weaves in aspects all of the cultures and lived experiences represented within the collective. They take the traditional sketch comedy revue and make it Filipina.

WHITE COLLARS: by Arun Kirupananthan, Braeden Banks, and Maya Cieszynska. Factory Theatre Studio.

Directed by Ken Hall of Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, White Collars is a satirical take on the day-to-day experiences of working in a corporate 9-to-5 job complete with a mock tech conference setup. White Collars is a satirical take on their own day-to-day experiences of working in the real world of the 9-to-5 tech marketing industry. The show is set in a fictional tech conference with a mix of sketch comedy, improv and audience participation. White Collars will tackle typical themes such as executive decisionmaking, role redundancy, job vs. identity, layoffs and corporate mission statements.

INSERT CLOWN HERE: by Jacob Willis & Kendelle Parks, Parlour Theatre. Tank House Theatre

Part Chekovian masterpiece, part oblivious clown-turn, INSERT CLOWN HERE is a new comedy about a fully-rehearsed, 19th-century melodrama that is upended when the lead actor
goes missing and is replaced by a random, completely unrehearsed, Clown. While the Clown attempts to improvise lines and blocking from a script they haven’t read, the remaining cast will try to keep the story on track, resulting in a comedy-of-errors newly created every performance. What could go wrong? Only everything. By the way, a new local Clown performer will be added in every show, INSERT CLOWN HERE will never be the
same show twice!

ALL OF OUR PARENTS ARE ASIAN: by Shawn Hunter and Alfred Chow. Native Earth’s AKI Studio

Part improvised comedy and part life stories collected anonymously from the audience this night is fueled with the stories and all about the secrets we keep hidden away from our Asian parents. Yes, they will spill the green tea.

EMO MAJOK: AFRICAN AUSSIE: by Emo Majok. Tarragon Theatre, Solo Room.

Award-winning Sudanese comedian, Emo Majok, who debuted at Edinburgh Fringe and earned the coveted golden buzzer on Australia’s Got Talent 2022 (going all the way to the finals), is set to bring his razor-sharp wit to Toronto Fringe. In his show, African Aussie, Emo delves into the humour and heartache of culture clashes, weaving hilarious tales of his journey, from a refugee camp in East Africa to stages around the world.

A LITTLE BIT PREGNANT: by Kate Lavut and Rana Liu. Tarragon Theatre, PaperDog Press

Sex, drugs, rock’n’roll… and a baby? A slice-of-life dramedy written by Kate Lavut and directed by Rana Liu gives you an all-access pass to the emotional rollercoaster of getting pregnant.

Where it moves from a traditional artistic practice, is not in its delivery, but within its subject matter. In a climate where reproductive rights are in question and people’s bodies are policed, A Little Bit Pregnant gives space for these conversations. At the center of it all is an unplanned pregnancy in an unhealthy relationship. Tasha and Shane have been together for 3 years and fight all the time. They still have a lot of love for each other, but do they still like each other?

SADEC 1965: A LOVE STORY: by Flora Lee. Tarragon Theatre, Main Stage

In 2013, Flora rode a motorcycle across Vietnam for six weeks, solo, in an attempt to make sense of her difficult relationship with her estranged Vietnamese father. Flora was on a quest to understand why her father, who left Vietnam with a scholarship to study in Canada in the mid-1960s, never spoke about Vietnam. Since the answers she was looking for would never come from him, Flora decided to go on a road trip across the country, riding a total of 3500 km in six weeks, from the Chinese border in the North to the village of Sadec, her father’s hometown in the Mekong Delta, to reclaim the story of her origins and make sense of the difficult man that her father was.

Flora has been wanting to tell this story on a stage ever since she completed her motorcycle journey in 2014. But one piece was missing: her father’s old love letters. After her father passed away, Flora found the love correspondence he exchanged with his high school sweetheart, a woman named Hien, whom he left behind in Vietnam during the war. This woman turned out to be an important piece of the mystery her father was, and reading their correspondence promised to provide many answers.

JUNE: Passion, friendship, love and betrayal: written and directed by Gillian R. Edwards, presented by Uriah’s Granddaughter. Theatre Passe Muraille

June, is a multi-layered drama that revolves around the tragic consequences of domestic violence, exploring how class and sexual inequality contribute to a vibrant young woman’s fate. It’s 1958, June is a prisoner in Danfield Women’s Prison in the Midwest United States. Her small cell is the locus for an evolving friendship with a prison guard and revealing disclosures about their lives. The women develop a deep bond in a hard, brutal environment, while June remembers the two key men in her life and the traumatic circumstances that led to her incarceration.
Punctuated with hits of well-placed humour, June deftly explores gender inequality, the complexities of domestic violence and the search for justice.

THE WILL OF A WOMAN: written by Steven Scott Jackson, Spadina Museum

This immersive theatre experience with very limited tickets is a thought-provoking play written by award winning playwright Steven Elliott Jackson (“The Seat Next To The King”, “The Garden Of Alla”, “Three Ordinary Men”) and directed by Shan Fernando (“Flowers For Alex”), tells the true story of Elizabeth Bethune Campbell who in the 1920s discovered that her mother’s trust had fallen victim to money fraud. Elizabeth must face the challenge of standing up for her rights, becoming the first woman to defend herself before the Privy Council in England.

ANCIENT DYING CHINESE DIALECT: by Chantal Lim directed by Ken Hall. Factory Theatre Studio Space

With honesty and a healthy dose of comedy, Chantal Lim performs true personal stories about growing up Filipina-Chinese in Toronto, and how a lifelong fascination with languages led her back to her ancestral roots. Accompanying the stories are live music performances by Vonne Aguda and Kavya Rajith, featuring classic OPM (Original Pinoy Music) ballads with lyrics thoughtfully translated from Tagalog into English. Join Chantal and her friends on this uplifting journey of language & love in the name of celebrating where we come from and embracing who we are.  Ancient Dying Chinese Dialect was featured as an Official Selection in the 2023 Toronto International Storytelling Festival. It marks the solo show debut of Toronto storyteller & improviser Chantal Lim and is directed by Canadian Comedy Award Winner Ken Hall (Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, Canadian Stage’s adaptation of As You Like It, 2-MAN NO-SHOW).

RETROGRADE: THE CONCERT EXPERIENCE: written by Jackson Doner. Supermarket (Kensington Market)

A run down concert venue in Toronto becomes a sanctuary for four of Kensington Market’s weirdest young musicians. Starved for community, they gather for a weekly jam session that transcends into an exercise on how a generation with access to all information ever chooses a belief system by which to live. A hilarious story filled with quirky and iconic Kensington-esque characters.

OUR LITTLE SECRET:  The 23&Me Musical: by Nam Tomaschoff. Alumnae Theatre Mainspace

What does an only child do when a DNA test reveals that his biological parents aren’t quite who he thought they were? Write a musical, of course! In this hilarious, moving, and true story, acclaimed performer Noam Tomaschoff grapples with questions of family, identity, and just how many brothers and sisters he really has.

THE WOMAN WHO ATE FALAFEL: by Fatma Naguib. Theatre Passe Muraille, Main Stage.

She’s fierce, she’s bold, and since coming to Canada, she is very cold. Writer and performer Fatma Naguib explores themes of identity, belonging, and social justice in her debut one-woman show. This comedic affair is an uplifting look at a Middle Eastern woman’s journey towards self-discovery and empowerment, including a literal journey from Egypt to Canada. Combining real-life experience and comedy, Fatma tells her own story about pursuing her passion and overcoming obstacles.

MAGGIE CHUN’S FIRST LOVE AND LAST WEDDING: by Helen Ho. Factory Theatre Mainspace

After committing to spending the rest of her life in the small town of Windser, Ontario (yes, with an E), the sudden arrival of Maggie’s middle school crush on her wedding day forces her into an abrupt awakening. Maggie Chun’s First Love and Last Wedding by Helen Ho was the 2023 New Play Contest Winner, sponsored by The Aubrey and Marla Dan Foundation.

The Toronto Fringe Festival runs July 5 to 16, 2023. Complete show listing can be found here.

The post What’s on our radar at this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival? appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

We’ve all got our favourite franchises, whether that’s Marvel, Game of Thrones, or Star Wars, but one Toronto comic is making a splash by turning them into comedy roast shows – where comedians dress as characters that brutally pick holes in one another, typically at Comedy Bar on Bloor Street West.

Early years

From his schoolyears, Sebastian Fazio was obsessed with the historic Second City, which features training programmes and live theatres in Toronto, as well as Chicago and Los Angeles.

Between 17 and 22 he wanted to follow in the footsteps of famed improviser Tina Fey by becoming a regular performer for Second City, so he took a series of training courses, including improv and writing.
However standup turned out to be his calling.

When working as an usher at the Absolute Comedy club, Ryan Muglunob, a booker and comic, told Fazio he was going to perform on a pro-am night in the New Year.

“I rehearsed all the jokes I’d been writing since I was 18,” Fazio says. “It went well! The audience knew it was my first time so they were super supportive.

“I’ve wanted to do comedy ever since.”

Fazio then honed his craft, taking on the style of various other comics until he found his own voice.

First there was the deadpan Demetri Martin, whom Fazio calls his favourite comedian to this day. Then Hannibal Buress and dark US comic Anthony Jeselnik became big influences.

Becoming the Roastmaster

As a producer ‘The Roast of Sebastian Fazio’ was his first show, but Fazio knew he wasn’t a well-known enough figure to sell out venues.

Then the idea hit him.

“I started getting into Marvel comics that year and the year before, so I thought ‘what if I do a roast battle show of Marvel vs DC?’,” he remembers.

“There’s such a storied rivalry and I have a passion for both sides.”

The show would initially pitch one costumed Toronto comic versus another, though the format has now changed so the comics perform jokes about a number of other characters, who all remain on stage.

After the growing success of Marvel vs DC others themed roast shows followed at Comedy Bar, some of which have sold out the mainstage.

To date we’ve seen characters from Harry Potter, Friends, Seinfeld, The Office, Game of Thrones, Gilmore Girls, Star Wars and Nintendo verbally kick lumps out of each other for audiences’ entertainment.

Keeping it mean

Jokes at these shows can often be dark in nature, similar to a regular roast show.

“You might be able to go slightly further with fictional characters – the person is not real.” Fazio says. “But it’s undoubtedly meaner in a real roast because the stakes are higher.”

Fazio has upset others with harsh jokes at roast shows, though he says he has a thick skin when others are roasting him.

“I’ve never been upset by what someone’s said, even if it’s the worst thing,” he explains.

“My dog died and I told people they could joke about it.

“I’ve only been upset by things off stage.

“When performing the intentions are different – you’re trying to hurt me but it’s for entertainment.”

Expos

Following their success these themed roast battles have entertained bigger crowds outside of Comedy Bar.

For example Marvel vs DC appeared at Fan Expo, while the roasters have also entertained Ottawa Comicon.

“Audiences laugh even harder at expos,” Fazio says. “At Comicon everyone is there for superheroes, so the passion is a lot more evident.”

At Comicon Fazio was advised to keep the content to a PG13, but the crowd were having none of it.

“They kept encouraging us to go darker,” he remembers. “I had a bunch of jokes I wasn’t sure would fly and everyone was shouting ‘do it’ – and when I did the whole room applauded.”

Upcoming performances

At the time of writing the next roast show is Star Trek themed on February 5th, followed by Thunderbolt vs Suicide Squad on February 19th, and then a Roast of the 2000s on March 1st.

In 2023 we’re also likely to see a Pixar-themed roast, while Fazio is considering themed shows for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and James Bond.

Aside from these shows, Fazio wants to record a comedy special where he takes on some of the best roast comedians in Canada – in particular he’d love to battle K. Trevor Wilson.

The aim is to record the show by the fall of 2023.

“I want to challenge people at the top of the mountain to prove to myself and the comedy community as a whole that I’ve got what it takes to stand with the best of them,” he says.

The post Sebastian Fazio, the brains behind Marvel vs DC appeared first on Toronto Guardian.