Get ready for the first Friday of 2012 Toronto Fringe. Why not treat your date (and yourself) to some great theatre – for free! As you know from last year we like to spread the love during Fringe and invite our readers to participate in contests for a pair of FREE Fringe tickets to FIVE shows every day of the festival. So enter a contest and Fringe for Free! Today’s contest features a pair of tickets to five shows on Friday, July 6th.

The Wakowski Brothers – To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 1:15pm show at St. Vladimir’s Theatre (Venue 7) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “The Wakowski Brothers contest” by 7pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012.

Two Weird Ladies – To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 1:15pm show at Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (Venue 8) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “Two Weird Ladies contest” by 7pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012.

The Soaps – To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 3:30pm show at St. Vladimir’s Theatre (Venue 7) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “The Soaps contest” by 7pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012.

The Judy Monologues – To be entered into the draw for a pair of tickets to the 7:00pm show at Annex Theatre (Venue 5) please send an email to contests@mooneyontheatre.com with the subject line “The Judy Monologues contest” by 7pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012.

See below for details on each show, how the contest works:

The Wakowski Brothers

From Press Release: 8 years after splitting the act, Canadian Vaudeville legends Jimmy and Conrad Wakowski reunite for a one night tribute performance. As the night goes on, original skits and songs bring old demons to the surface. Jimmy’s ex-wife Caitlyn joins them as painful memories and past betrayals conspire to destroy the attempt to rebuild their shattered relationship.

In this all-original, singing/dancing/slapsticking whirlwind, the award winning new voice Wesley J. Colford (Excuse Me, Would You Like to Buy a Bar?) makes his first contribution to the Canadian musical theatre canon, exploring the oft ignored history of Canada’s varied and vibrant Vaudeville scene. Writing book, music, and lyrics, this is Colford’s first full length musical to be produced in Toronto.

This piece plays at St. Vladimir’s Theatre. Performances: July 04 10:30 PM, July 06 1:15 PM, July 08 3:30 PM, July 09 8:15 PM, July 10 8:30 PM, July 12 7:00 PM, July 15 4:30 PM

Two Weird Ladies

From Press Release: Take two neurotic women with rage issues, throw them into a number of socially awkward scenarios then deprive them of sleep. What you get is a heap of unfortunately relatable, highly energetic sketches designed to make you laugh, think – and possibly run for your life.

The Ladies realized their unique situation of balancing 9-5 careers with full-time comedy schedules would create the perfect compound for a sketch duo they theoretically had no time for. They write by opening a laptop and a beer, then riffing off each other until they both pass out from exhaustion.

This piece plays at Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse. Performances: July 06 1:15 PM, July 07 9:15 PM, July 09 10:45 PM, July 10 4:45 PM, July 12 9:30 PM, July 13 5:15 PM, July 14 1:45 PM

The Soaps

From Press Release: Last year, THE SOAPS – A LIVE IMPROVISED SOAP OPERA took you to the Shawford Festival. Now the hit show of the 2011 Fringe returns to tell a story two hundred years in the making: the War of 1812! War is at hand, the Americans are at our door, and Upper Canada thinks this is the end! What kind of backstabbing, lusting, and intrigue will happen? Only the finest kind that can legally be shown while wearing red wool coats! Starting Friday July 6th at St. Vlad’s Theatre, audiences will be in for a treat as each show is different and not even the cast knows where story lines will go.

This piece plays at St. Vladimir’s Theatre. Performances: July 06 3:30 PM, July 07 4:00 PM, July 09 6:30 PM, July 11 11:15 PM, July 12 9:15 PM, July 13 12:30 PM, July 15 2:45 PM

The Judy Monologues

From Press Release: Before Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, there was Miss Judy Garland… The Judy Monologues returns to Toronto as part of Toronto Fringe 2012. The one act play is a multimedia docudrama based entirely on rare voice tapes recorded by Garland in the years leading up to her death in 1969 at age 47 from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. The play had a workshop performance at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre in the fall of 2010 and has since played in both Hamilton and London, Ontario.

The script is performed by three male actors as a tribute to Judy’s impact on the gay community. Garland’s talent and vulnerability have made her a favourite among gay audiences over the years. Judy is also portrayed in silent vignettes throughout the play by Garland doppelganger Kimberly Roberts, who was recently featured in a photo slideshow of Garland impersonators on VanityFair.com. The production also features vintage film footage of Garland from her Hollywood heyday.

This piece plays at Annex Theatre. Performances: July 06  7 PM, July 07 12 PM, July 09 6:45 PM, July 11  11 PM, July 12 1:45 PM, July 14 2:15 PM, July 15 1:45 PM

Contest Rules: 
(these will remain the same for each Fringe contest, so take the time to read the list once and you’ll be set)

• The only acceptable form of entry for the contest is by email, sent to contests@mooneyontheatre.com (Mooney on Theatre will never use your email address for anything other than to reply to the specific contest you entered, and we certainly would never sell it or anything like that)
• Each show counts as its own contest, and each entry must be in a separate email. So, if 5 shows are giving tickets away on a given day, and you want to try for each of them, then you need to send 5 emails.
• Entrants must be available on the day and time listed in the contest. The tickets are available for that showing only, and cannot be transferred to another date.
• The winning entrants will be chosen by a random drawing.
• Winners will be notified by email by 9pm on the day of contest closing and need to confirm their attendance 10am AT THE LATEST the following morning so that their names can be given to the theatre company for tickets to be set aside.
• Photo I.D. may be required to claim the winning tickets.
• Tickets must be picked up 60 to 30 minutes before show time at the venue box office. The box office reserves the right to release any tickets not picked up 15 minutes before show time.
• We ask that all winners provide us with a quick blurb on what they thought of the show, either in the comments section of the press release on Mooney on Theatre, or if it has already been reviewed by Mooney on Theatre in the comments section of that.