From Press Release

Laura Bailey’s New Musical CLITORIA: A Sex-Positive Superhero! comes to the 2019 Fringe Festival

TORONTO, June 13, 2019 – Singer-songwriter and comedian Laura Bailey brings a fresh take to Ontario’s sex education drama in the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival with her new musical CLITORIA: A Sex-Positive Superhero! This original one-act musical comedy is written and performed by Laura Bailey, directed by Toronto Musical Concerts’ Artistic Producer Christopher Wilson, and also features Matthew Bradley, Jada Rifkin and Ursala K. Manifred. Lighting design and stage management by Justine Cargo.

CLITORIA: A Sex-Positive Superhero! plays at the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace (16 Ryerson Ave), July 3 to 14, 2019. For tickets and showtimes: https://fringetoronto.com/

As the 2015 sex-ed curriculum is scrapped in Ontario, a science experiment gone wrong turns sexually-repressed high school teacher Marianne Parsons into Clitoria, a superhero of sex positivity wreaking havoc on her square life, and her square fiancé. Clitoria is the epitome of shamelessness, but Marianne must face the real-life consequences of her newfound sexual liberation.

“My hope is that people will walk away from this show with a better understanding of the shame involved in sexual conservatism,” say Bailey. “I believe that many people who oppose the 2015 sex ed curriculum are ultimately folks who were brought up in a very prescriptive way and never felt free to fully explore themselves. And now that the world is changing, they are still deeply afraid to confront some of the deeper questions, let alone allow their kids to challenge societal norms. This show is for anyone who has ever experienced fear or shame about being themselves. And I swear, it’s funny!”

Bailey is a veteran of the Toronto comedy and music scenes. She produced and performed her one-woman improvised musical Unplanned Melody, and co-produced/co-hosted the feminist comedy variety show CHICKA BOOM. She last appeared in the 2013 Toronto Fringe with The Late Night Tonight Show LIVE in the Morning with CHICKA BOOM (NNNN). In 2016, she performed at the International Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of the Toronto-based a cappella group Countermeasure (*****), and appears on their album Made to Measure. She has appeared in performance on CTV Canada AM, CBC Sounds of the Season, and CP24 Breakfast.

From Press Release

Carpe into my DMs is a post apocalyptic sketch comedy revue written by troupe We are Sports! and directed by Second City alumnus, Alastair Forbes. When #thoughtsandprayers had ceased to be enough, society was too busy keeping up with the Kardashians to notice that the end was near! Now that the dust has settled, our selfie-obsessed survivors are faced with the harsh reality that they can’t escape blame for the collapse of civilization. From micro-aggressions to robot roleplay, Carpe into my DMs takes audiences through a politically pointed and hilariously goofy journey to the end of the world!

Carpe into my DMs was created through the improvisation of 11 performers under the direction of the creative team, Alastair Forbes and David Macintosh. This is the first collaboration between, sketch/improv troupe We Are Sports! and Alastair Forbes. Their partnership began through the Second City Conservatory program, from which the original idea for this show debuted.

Alastair Forbes is a Second City Mainstage Alumni, multiple Dora, Canadian Screen Award and Canadian Comedy award nominee and has written and directed for numerous TV shows for Disney, CityTV, YTV and AMI. We Are Sports! has been an active member of the Toronto improv community, performing their conservatory graduation show on the Second City Mainstage, as well as performing improv and sketch comedy at the John Candy Box Theatre, Comedy Bar, and the Social Capital Theatre. Music Director, David Macintosh, is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, and music director who also performs with music groups Kashew Butter, OiO, and Pengeah. Lighting Designer, Matthew Hallworth, is an award-winning producer, actor, and stage manager with over 2000 production credits in film, television, and theatre.

If sugar helps the medicine go down, then wait and see what happens when you add radioactive waste! Join We Are Sports! as they search for the “big dick energy” they need to save the world!

We Are Sports!

In association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents:

Carpe into my DMs

Written by We Are Sports! (Janelle McGuinness, Alex Bondesen, Dylen Guiry, Jacob Hogan, Danny Avila, Cihang Ma, Lauren Greenwood, Stephen Mashalidis, Ramsay Alwani, Renée Strasfeld and Sue Marenick)

Directed by Alastair Forbes

Music Direction by David Macintosh

Lighting Design by Matt Hallworth

Stage Managed by Sydney LaForme

Featuring: The cast of We Are Sports!

Opens July 3rd and runs to July 13th

Al Green Theatre

750 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON, M5S 2J2

Performances

July 3rd – 6:30pm

July 5th – 10pm

July 7th – 6:45pm

July 8th – 2:45pm

July 10th – 8:30pm

July 12th – 1pm

July 13th – 4pm

Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.

Tickets

Tickets go on sale June 6, 2019.

Purchase online: fringetoronto.com

By Phone: 416-966-1062

In Person: During the festival at POSTSCRIPT, the patio at the Toronto Fringe. Located in the Hockey Rink at 275 Bathurst Street (Dundas + Bathurst).

THE TORONTO FRINGE FESTIVAL PRESENTS
DIDN’T HURT

Wednesday, July 3 @ 9:45pm
Saturday, July 6 @ 12:45pm
Sunday, July 7 @ 5:30pm
Tuesday, July 9 @ 3:00pm
Thursday, July 11 @ 6:15pm
Friday, July 12 @ 9:30pm
Saturday, July 13 @ 8:30pm

RUNTIME: 75 minutes
VENUE: Tarragon Theatre Extraspace
30 Bridgeman Ave, Ontario, M5R 1X3
fringetoronto.com

Playwright / Creator Rodney DeCroo
/rodney.decroo @decroorodney @notesfromthequotidian
rodneydecroo.bandcamp.com rodneydecroo.com

Dramaturg / Director TJ Dawe
tjdawe.ca

Directed by revered fringe legend TJ Dawe, playwright and actor Rodney DeCroo tells his own story of growing up poor in a hard-asnailsworking class neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and isolated in the bush of Northern B.C. amidst violence, addiction,
suicidal thoughts, and being raised by a Vietnam war vet.

DeCroo’s story moves through his life from childhood (a tobacco-chewing 6-year-old boy who desperately wants to be a cowboy), to his anti-social adolescence, and finally, to his adulthood (how to destroy your music career and alienate your friends). His story is about toxic masculinity and learning to recover from it. It’s about being accountable, healing, and forgiveness. Didn’t Hurt looks at how PTSD can be named, harnessed, and exercised through
art, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and connecting with others.

Rodney DeCroo is an acclaimed Vancouver based
poet, singer-songwriter, playwright and actor with several collections of poetry and studio albums to his name. Didn’t Hurt is his second one-man show.

TJ Dawe is veteran of numerous Toronto Fringe Festivals, with shows such as The Slipknot, Labrador, Medicine, and many others.

Decroo can create a crystal-clear scene, rich in detail. From a child’s hero worship of cowboys to an adult getting a life-changing massage, the audience is there with him.
– ORLANDO SENTINEL

A creative powerhouse.
– CANADIAN BEATS

An intensely brave and heroic one-man show. There wasn’t a moment during the entire hour when I wasn’t completely riveted. Highly recommended.
– EDDIE SELOVER, PECHAKUCHA ORLANDO

A heart wrenchingly rough coming-of-age story.
– VUE MAGAZINE

A really insightful look into how PTSD develops, manifests and can be tamed. So yes, it’s heavy, and also touching and, for me, helpful. It’s given me even more space for compassion.
– SUNNI SARA VONMUTIUS, ANTISURVIVAL GUIDE

An unassuming yet mesmerizing performer.
– WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Few artists risk attempting it: turning something profoundly and deeply painful into a work of transformative beauty.
– GEORGIA STRAIGHT

From Press Release

Human Burrito Productions
in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival
presents

Decaying Tongue

How do you answer the question
“Where are you from from?”

How does it feel to be rejected
by your own culture?

Enter Aya’s mind, where she attempts to answer these questions.

Aya, a Japanese woman, struggles to find herself as she is caught in two different worlds:
Japan and Canada. Her dual cultural identity makes it difficult for her to communicate with her Japanese family, Canadian friends, strangers, and soon-to-be lover. Now it’s up to her to determine how she can find peace with her constantly evolving identity.

At a time when acculturation is ubiquitous, Decaying Tongue, written and directed by Kaho Koda, offers a poignant but comedic
take on the mind of an immigrant.

Koda’s authentic portrayal of an immigrant’s inner conflict demonstrates what many immigrant Canadians experience as they attempt to find their footing with diverse backgrounds in
the 21st century.

Since its founding in 2018, Human Burrito Productions values human connection and fuzzy feelings. Through original stories, we aim to spread awareness and create a dialogue on critical issues that society faces today.

Decaying Tongue plays at Randolph Theatre as part of Toronto Fringe Festival 2019 between July 5 – 14.

Randolph Theatre: 736 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M5S 1Z5

Cast
Sachi Lovatt – Aya
Mei Miyazawa – 彩 (Aya)
Cory Bertrand – Paul, Ron & Old Lady
Jaemoon Lee – Dad & Matt
Daniella Dela Pena – Mom & Yoko

Creative Team
Kaho Koda – Playwright & Director
Marina Ho – Production Manager
Conner Bustamante – Stage Manager
Rutger Wink – Marketing Director
Dilpreet Saund – Sound Designer
Dillon Maillet – Lighting Designer
Tracy Kong – Set/Costume/Props Designer

To Purchase Tickets:
Tickets go on sale June 6, 2019.
General tickets: $13
Purchase online: fringetoronto.com
By Phone: 416-966-1062
In Person: During the festival at
POSTSCRIPT, the patio at the Toronto
Fringe. Located in the Hockey Rink at 275
Bathurst Street (Dundas + Bathurst).

For more information
www.humanburrito.com
@humanburritoproductions
fb.com/humanburritoproductions.com

Performances:
July 5, 4:15pm
July 7, 8:00pm
July 8, 2:15pm
July 11, 10:45pm
July 12, 4:30pm
July 13, 1:00pm
July 14, 5:15pm

From Press Release

Mateo Lewis’ New Musical BOYS DON’T CRY comes to the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival

TORONTO, June 17, 2019 – Award-winning young songwriter Mateo Lewis explores his complicated relationship with gender and toxic masculinity in this semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story, BOYS DON’T CRY.

This original one-act contemporary musical drama is written and performed by Mateo Lewis, directed by Toronto Musical Concerts’ Artistic Producer Christopher Wilson, and also features Carson Betz, Aveleigh Keller, Sara McMillan-Stahmer and Zach Stahmer. Stage management by Maxine Kenneally.

BOYS DON’T CRYplays at the Robert Gill Theatre (214 College Street – 3^rd floor), July 5 to 14, 2019. For tickets and showtimes: www.fringetoronto.com

BOYS DON’T CRY follows Jayden Stone, a popular high school soccer star in his senior year, struggling to live up to the expectations of his peers, his family and his late Father. When he falls in love with the new girl at school – a badass feminist with a passion for poetry and social justice – she encourages him to get in touch with his artistic side, and he is forced to re-evaluate what it means to be a man.

“This is an extremely relevant show about the making of a man and a reminder that we can be better than the men who came before us,” says Lewis. “I believe the vast majority of our world’s challenges today can be attributed to insecure men feeling entitled to do whatever they desire to cover their insecurities. Nothing could be more exemplary than the presence of toxic masculinity resulting in the #MeToo Movement.”

This dramatic exploration is seen through the lens of a young boy turned adolescent. Self-identifying as a Queer man, Lewis’ particular experiences with gender provide a unique and insightful look at gender fluidity and the construct of masculinity.

Mateo Lewis (Book, Music and Lyrics) has been writing songs since a young age. At 14, he wrote and produced a concept album Rob Ford: The Musical, which was featured on Indie 88 and in NOW Magazine. He continues to hone his skills in many workshops including 603 New Musicals where he is developing a new show with Daniel Goldman and the Bravo Academy Writer’s Workshop, where he also contributed two songs to #Hashtag: a new musical. Mateo is going into his third year at Sheridan College for Music Theatre with a focus on writing for the theatre.

BOYS DON’T CRY was previously produced in workshop production last summer (2018) at the Red Sandcastle Theatre.