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13 Ways the World Ends – Toronto Fringe 2017 Press Release

From press release

Hailing from Midland & Penetanguishene, ON, the creative minds behind Maple Valley Comedy and Silent Heist bring you a brand new comedy revue. After performing to sold out audiences at the 2017 Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, they are thrilled to be back in Toronto and excited to be a part of the Toronto Fringe Festival for the very first time together, with this comedy revue about the end of the world.

More accurately, the “ends” of the world. Because in this show, the world meets its end in no less than thirteen different ways! Meet the soccer moms who fend off waves of zombie hordes between playdates. Follow a young couple in their date to the Tree Museum, which also comes with free entry to the Bee Museum. Watch as No Sick Days Mary turns a case of the sniffles into a new global pandemic. And join the Johnsons, as they watch the sun go out the way that God intended… as a family, gosh darn it.

Performances

  • Wednesday July 5th, 06:30 pm
  • Friday July 7th, 08:15 pm
  • Saturday July 8th, 10:15 pm
  • Sunday July 9th, 04:30 pm
  • Tuesday July 11th, 01:30 pm
  • Wednesday July 12th, 06:30 pm
  • Thursday July 13th, 08:00 pm
  • Saturday July 15th, 02:45 pm

Details

  • 13 Ways The World Ends plays at the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. (16 Ryerson Ave.)
  • Tickets are $12. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes for serious Fringers.
  • Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Fringe Club at Scadding Court, and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
  • Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.
  • Content Warning: Mature Language.
  • This venue is wheelchair-accessible, with some tight cornering. Accessible seating is in the front row.

Photo of Colleen Waltenbury, Brendan Main, Karen McFarlane,  Todd McFarlane, Bryan Piitz, Deanna Palazzo, James Dalzell by Nate Lacroix

Perfect Couples – Toronto Fringe 2017 Press Release

From press release

On July 5th 2017,  a cast and crew of young artists will open Perfect Couples, a new Canadian play that explores the lives of four couples, mainly focusing on one lesbian couple, as they navigate their lives in Toronto while coping with various mental illnesses.

This riveting, relevant, and witty piece is by Ryerson Theatre School graduate Mitchell Janiak and it will be produced by Pencil Kit Productions. It will play at the Helen Gardner Playhouse from July 5th- – 15th, and the the Hamilton Fringe from July 18th – 30th.

“The script was exciting for me because of its emphasis on queer female narratives,” says Claren Grosz, the director and Artistic Director of Pencil Kit Productions, “It was also refreshing that it’s a play centred on millennial experiences without reducing them to only twitter references and cellphones”.

Founded by Grosz in 2016, Pencil Kit Productions has sought to give young and upcoming artists the chance to create new and original work, as well as to present fresh takes on classic work. Their debut show Persephone, a feminist take on the classic Greek myth, premiered at the Toronto Fringe last year with rave reviews from Now Magazine and Mooney on Theatre.

Mitchell Janiak and Claren Grosz met as classmates in Ryerson’s acting program. They bonded over their frustration of the lack of authentic younger characters in theatre. When Janiak began writing the script 3 years ago, Grosz knew the piece would be relevant to younger audiences.

“Over half the audition submissions we received included a personal statement of how mental illness have affected the applicant’s life.” Grosz adds, “As classmates who have been though and witnessed the dark times of attending University in the big lonely city while growing into adulthood, this felt like an important project for us to work on together”.

Performances

  • Wednesday July 5th, 06:30 pm
  • Friday July 7th, 11:00 pm
  • Sunday July 9th, 01:00 pm
  • Tuesday July 11th, 04:15 pm
  • Wednesday July 12th, 07:00 pm
  • Thursday July 13th, 02:15 pm
  • Saturday July 15th, 09:15 pm

Details

  • Perfect Couples plays at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse. (79 St. George St.)
  • Tickets are $12. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes for serious Fringers.
  • Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Fringe Club at Scadding Court, and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
  • Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.
  • Content Warnings: Unsuitable for Minors, Sexual Content, Mature Language.
  • This venue is wheelchair-accessible.

Photo of Arun Varma, Claire Keating, Belinda Corpuz, Hannah Whitmore, Ariana Marquis, Kaleb Horn, Meara Khanna, Felix Beauchamp by Ryan Dillon

The Moaning Yoni – Toronto Fringe 2017 Press Release

From press release

Written and performed by Joylyn Secunda, The Moaning Yoni combines dialogue, physical comedy, dance and puppetry to transmit a hallucinatory coming of age story.

In The Moaning Yoni, Zoë, a college student desperately trying to be normal, resists the dictatorial pressure of her anthropomorphic vagina (yoni), a no-bullshit Brooklyn-Jew with the wisdom of a sage. Together they cross the battlefield of Sex-Ed class, Tinder, and Tantric hippies.

Joylyn Secunda plays many other zany characters including Crystal, a cannabis lube ceremony facilitator – Aspen, a VW nomad and self-proclaimed mystic – and Ava, Zoë’s Dionysian nympho roommate.

“The show reflects an individual millennial experience, and yet is universal in that it explores the need for acceptance,” says writer/performer, Joylyn Secunda. “It’s a blend of innocent wonder and wild fantasies.”

Zoë’s character is inspired by Joylyn Secunda’s experiences in a sex-filled world, and her journey to identifying as grey-asexual.

This show contains strong language and sexual themes. Rated 18+.

Performances

  • Friday July 7th, 01:15 pm
  • Saturday July 8th, 06:45 pm
  • Sunday July 9th, 02:45 pm
  • Monday July 10th, 04:00 pm
  • Tuesday July 11th, 06:45 pm
  • Wednesday July 12th, 03:00 pm
  • Thursday July 13th, 09:45 pm
  • Saturday July 15th, 08:00 pm

Details

  • The Moaning Yoni plays at the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. (16 Ryerson Ave.)
  • Tickets are $12. The festival also offers a range of money-saving passes for serious Fringers.
  • Tickets can be purchased online, by telephone (416-966-1062), from the Fringe Club at Scadding Court, and — if any remain — from the venue’s box office starting one hour before curtain.
  • Be aware that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and that latecomers are never admitted.
  • Content Warnings: Sexual Content, Audience Participation, Mature Language, Unsuitable for Minors.
  • This venue is wheelchair-accessible, with some tight cornering. Accessible seating is in the front row.

Photo of Joylyn Secunda by Emily Cooper Photography

Write for us! Coverage of the 2017 Toronto Fringe Festival

Tarragon-Lineup_smCover Toronto Fringe for Mooney on Theatre

Mooney on Theatre is looking for folks to review shows at the Toronto Fringe Festival, which runs from July 5 – 16, 2017.

In many ways, Fringe Festivals embody what Mooney on Theatre holds dear: making theatre more accessible. The Fringe features inexpensive shows attended by a wide range of people, many of whom are not theatregoers the rest of the year.

With this in mind, we put an intense amount of effort into providing as much coverage of the Toronto Fringe Festival as we can. To get an idea of what that coverage looks like, check out the Fringe Festival category on this site.

Among other things, this coverage includes reviewing each show in a relatively substantive way by the end of the first weekend. This task takes a lot of writers. Each year, to make it happen, we bring on additional contributors. Maybe this year that will be you.

Continue reading Write for us! Coverage of the 2017 Toronto Fringe Festival

Fringe for Free! Toronto Fringe Ticket Giveaways for Shows on Saturday, July 2nd

fringe-for-free-graphicWe’re heading into the first weekend of the Toronto Fringe Festival and surely all you savvy theatre-goers are getting the jump on the crowds and checking out shows this weekend and not waiting until all the most popular shows are sold out next weekend, right?

Well as an incentive to get out there and see some theatre we’re running a draw for free tickets to five Fringe shows playing this Saturday so click “Read More” for the contest rules and a little something about the 5 shows we’ve got lined up for Saturday, July 2.

Continue reading Fringe for Free! Toronto Fringe Ticket Giveaways for Shows on Saturday, July 2nd