From Press Release

HollyWould Productions Presents:
DRINK OF CHOICE

You play the Customer. The drink you choose will decide the Bartender’s story. A choose-your-own-adventure semi autobiographical piece by Holly Wyder, Drink of Choice examines sexual identity, especially the often overlooked and misunderstood conceptions of being asexual. Our team is proud to be comprised entirely of LGBTQA+, diverse, and female artists.

DRINK OF CHOICE Premieres at the Toronto Fringe Festival Streetcar Crowsnest – Crow’s Theatre (345 Carlaw Avenue)

Tickets: $11 + $2 service fee. Please see fringetoronto.com
For media tickets please email media@fringetoronto.com

SHOW DATES:
Wednesday July 3rd 10:15pm – 11:15pm (Relaxed Performance)
Saturday July 6th 3:15pm – 4:15pm
Sunday July 7th 6:45pm – 7:45pm
Wednesday July 10th 9:15pm – 10:15pm
Thursday July 11th 7:45pm – 8:45pm
Friday July 12th 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Sunday July 14th 12:45pm – 1:45pm (Relaxed Performance)

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION:
Drink of Choice is a dark comedy about an asexual navigating a sexual world. The Bartender (Holly Wyder), tries to understand her relationships by digging through her sexual history (or lack thereof).

Unable to use her phone, she is left to the distraction of her thoughts: Are we supposed to only date one person at a time? Do we have to be sexually attracted to someone in order to have a ‘real’ relationship?

If we have mental health issues, are we still worthy of love?

HollyWould Productions is committed to making art that advocates for sexual autonomy and pushes taboo conversations. Founded in 2010, HollyWould Productions premiered their first Toronto Fringe
show in 2016, ‘Getting Odd’, and has since been producing sketch comedy and web content (Female Therapy, Forever Alone, Penny for Your Thoughts).

CREATIVE TEAM:
Performer and Writer: Holly Wyder; Director: Amanda Cordner; Stage Manager: Jess Falcioni; Producer Sarah Marchand (Alma Matters Productions); Production Designer: Ellen Brooker; Dramaturg: Yolanda Bonnell; Lighting Designer: Amber Pattison; Promotional Content Creator: Taha Arshad.

To learn more about Drink of Choice , follow @choicedrink on our social media:
Facebook – Twitter – Instagram #DrinkofChoiceTO #HollyWouldProductions

From Press Release

FRINGE FAVOURITES STEVEN GALLAGHER AND KEVIN WONG JOIN FORCES FOR TEEN MUSICAL DRAMA 101

When the students of Roselawn High School gather to celebrate the retirement of their favourite teacher, memories are shared, rivalries surface, and love blossoms. Featuring a cast of young artists ages 13-19, Drama 101 is a funny and heartwarming new musical about the joys and challenges of high school, theatre, and life.

Written by Fringe Festival favourites Steven Gallagher (The Last Party) and Kevin Wong (The Preposterous Predicament of Polly Peel, Part 1) and directed by Steven Gallagher, Bravo Academy for the Performing Arts is pleased to present a new musical that is sure to ring true for theatre kids of every age.

Drama 101 was originally commissioned by Melissa Bencic in 2017 for the New Music Theatre Intensives program at Bravo Academy, and has since been produced by Etobicoke School for the Arts and Yellow Door Theatre (Niagara-on-the-Lake).

Bravo Academy for the Performing Arts
in association with The Toronto Fringe Festival presents
Drama 101, A New Musical
written by Steven Gallagher & Kevin Wong
directed by Steven Gallagher
featuring Cailan Bodnar, Andrew Burke, Sydney Cornett, Alan Cui, Cyrena Fiel, Jamie Graham, Sean Lee, Mauranda Nunes, Anthony Palermo, Lucas Romanelli, Sydney Scott, Nicole Sherwin, Berkley Silverman, and Mya Wong
Producer: Melissa Bencic
Music Director: Jonathan Corkal
Music Supervisor: Kevin Wong
Assistant Director: Emily Masurkevitch
Lighting Designer: Gareth Crew
Production Stage Manager: Julie-Rae King
Assistant Stage Manager: Christoph Ibrahim

Opens July 5^th and runs to July 14^th
Robert Gill Theatre (214 College St, Toronto ON, M5T 2Z9)

Performances:
Friday July 5^th 7:30pm
Sunday July 7^th 2:15pm
Monday July 8^th 6:00pm
Wednesday July 10^th 5:30pm
Thursday July 11^th 2:45pm
Saturday July 13^th 9:15pm
Sunday July 14^th 5:45pm
Runtime: 90 minutes
Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating.

Tickets:
On sale June 6^th, 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).
In Person: At the Robert Gill Theatre box office (214 College St) one hour prior to show start time.

From Press Release

Veteran triple-threat performer
Velvet Duke motivates audiences to tackle their anxiety in :

PERSONAL DEMON HUNTER

Next up – Toronto Fringe Festival!

Feeling anxious about the state of the world? Experiencing self doubt? Unsure about your path in life? Velvet Duke is here to motivate you and ease your anxiety as he takes on the role of  Motivational Speaker with his patented PATH © system in his first solo comedy production PERSONAL DEMON HUNTER.

Personal Demon Hunter is an exploration and confrontation of anxiety through a mixture of storytelling, original music, stand-up and improvised comedy. It is an interactive cabaret that contains moments of good natured audience interaction. Velvet Duke will use every tool in his arsenal to vanquish demons for good, including turning to you, his fans.

Through a lens of humour, heart, and honesty Velvet asks the audience to share their personal demons… if they want to. Audience participation is encouraged but not required, and Velvet starts off by making very clear that this space is a safe space for sharing.

“I’ve spent the last 15 years challenging my fears. I wasn’t  confronting them to get over being afraid. Anxiety doesn’t give up that easy, honey. I was facing my fears to embrace joy.”

Both touching and at times self-effacing, Velvet Duke in Personal Demon Hunter addresses topics such as Being Enough, Personal Growth Cannot Be Forced, and the definition of Bravery. He uses personal examples, including the time he stood up for women being harassed in a crowded movie theatre, that ended up with Velvet being featured on Love What Matters Facebook page (22K likes, 5K shares).

“If you had the gift of mind reading, you would have heard my angry inner voice wanting to take him out of the theatre and inflict harm on him. You would have also heard the stronger prevailing voice: Protect them.” Just don’t talk to him about daddy issues. He hasn’t quite figured that one out yet.

Personal Demon Hunter is coming off of a successful run at the Windsor-Walkerville Fringe Festival. Up next, the Toronto and Victoria Fringe Festivals.

PERSONAL DEMON HUNTER
Written, Created, Directed and Performed by Velvet Duke
Toronto Fringe Festival (July 3-13, with 4 Assisted Performances)
Victoria Fringe Festival (Aug 21 – Sep 1)

Previous:
Windsor-Walkerville Fringe Festival (May 22-26)

#FringeDemon or #FringeAngel your choice

50 mins • Music, Scripted and Improvised Comedy, Drama, Adult Themes.

–**–
ABOUT VELVET DUKE
Named for his smooth baritone voice, Velvet Duke is a queer black male entertainer who regularly graces many of Toronto’s stages in collaborative productions and solo stand-up acts. He is the co-founder of The Dandies and creator/producer of their long-running Holodeck Follies, an improvised Star Trek show. Velvet is also the creator of INTERSECTION, a diversity themed storytelling show and OverDude, the improvised rock duo.

“If you are searching for a relief from modern cynicism and despair, look no further than Destiny U.S.A.”
– The UBYSSEY

Destiny USA

At the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival

Written & Performed by Laura Anne Harris
Featuring three Canadian Deaf Actors: Natasha Bacchus, Tamyka Bullen, and Sage Lovell

ASL consultant: Kat Campbell

Directed by: Krystal Osborne
Projection/captioning design: Matthew Koutzun
Sound Design: Alex Eddington

When Laura moves from Toronto to Syracuse, New York, she wasn’t expecting to be residing in Trump’s America.

Gaining her first job as a relay operator for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing causes her to question if she can discover the hidden humanity of the American people.

Destiny, USA weaves together three stories: Laura moving to the US for the first time and working as a relay operator for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, romantically meeting her husband, and dealing with her mother’s illness in Canada while she has to live in America.

All are told through storytelling and poetry. While this is mainly autobiographical, some details have been changed to protect the anonymity of the Deaf callers. The performance integrates closed captioning and features performances from three Canadian Deaf actors: Tamyka Bullen, Natasha Bacchus, and Sage Lovell through ASL video projection.

Laura Anne Harris (Writer/Performer) is a writer/performer/director, born and raised in Victoria, B.C. She is a MFA Candidate in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. She has toured two award winning solo shows: Pitch Blonde and The Homemaker across North America. Most recently Pitch Blonde was produced at the Ware Centre in Lancaster, PA and the Toronto Centre for the Arts. She premiered her first full length play Red/Rouge at the IF Festival in Bangkok, Thailand. This summer she will be touring her third solo show Destiny, USA to Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Victoria, and Vancouver on the Canadian Fringe circuit.

Instagram: @lauranneharris
Twitter: @destinyusatour
Website: www.lauraanneharris.com

Krystal Osborne (Director) is a Performance Artist, Playwright and Director originally from Lowell, MA. She moved to NYC at the age of 18 and pursued her BFA from Adelphi University. From there, she was privileged to study and work with amazing creators. Directing highlights include: Our Lady of 121st St (Adelphi), Chasing Pavement (LGT, NYC), Baby Boom (LGT, NYC), Cinderella (LGT, NY) Resignations (Algonquin, NYC), Molly Maguires, AD (NITF, NYC), and Diviners (BTG, CNY). Awards Include: Achievement in Directing, Best Show of Week (x3), Best Show of Overall Festival (x3), Best Design Elements, and more. She was also a comedic writer for American Like Jesus (PIT, NYC), Smut Show (Comix, NYC) and more. Krystal is currently a Producer, Instructor, and Collaborator with Breadcrumbs Productions and is thrilled to be directing Independence at Wunderbar in June 2019.

Crowsnest Studio
FRI JULY 5th 4:15 PM/ SAT JULY 6th 6:45 PM/ SUN JULY 7th: 5:00 pm/ MON JULY 8th 9:15 PM/ THUR JULY 11th 2:30 PM/ FRI JULY 12th 7:45 pm/ SAT JULY 13th 5:00 PM
Tickets – $11
To purchase: https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/destiny-usa
Running Time: 60 minutes

From Press Release

NEW STORY PRODUCTIONS
Proudly Presents
DEEP END
Presented at the 2019 Toronto FRINGE Festival
Directed by Armon Ghaeinizadeh
Written by Armon Ghaeinizadeh & Wesley Babcock
Featuring Alyssa Pothier, Tatyana Mitchell,
Terri Pimblett, Aris Tyros,
Rami Khan, Natalie Mogan

Carina’s turning 18 and is hosting the Birthday POOL Party of the year! Everyone’s invited, even Lilly.

When do adults intervene in harmless harassment?
What happens when life throws you into the deep end?
This site specific show that happens in and around a swimming pool asks when does “kids will be kids,” go to far?

Please Note that as Deep End is a site specific production the Audience will be required to remove their shoes and enter the pool deck where they will be seated on benches for the duration of the Performance.

Location: The Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre Aquatics Centre Pool.

Genre: Drama, Dark Comedy.
Tickets: https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/deep-end
New Story Productions Facebook Page: New Story Productions
New Story Productions Instagram: New_Story_Prods
Facebook Event Page: DEEP END at the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival