The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre
festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been remounted for larger audiences, including the
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
-winning
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
''
The Drowsy Chaperone
''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin (comedian), Bob Martin and Don McKellar.
The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater f ...
''.
Features
The Toronto Fringe Festival started in 1989 and hosts over 150 productions every July.
It is well known for not having a jury to judge which plays will be presented. Instead it uses a lottery system which gives each play an equal chance. It depends mostly on volunteers, donors/sponsors, and government grants. One notable feature is the 24-hour playwriting contest in which contestants write a play in one day based on items selected by the Fringe and the winning play is performed on the last day of the festival.
File:TorontoFringeLottery.jpg, Winners at the 2009 Toronto Fringe Selection Lottery
File:Fringe-signature.jpg, Audiences approach performer during Toronto Fringe at Theatre Passe Muraille
In 2008 "The Fringe of Toronto" launched a second festival called "The Next Stage Festival" (NSTF) which takes place annually in January. Unlike the summer festival, NSTF is juried and presents both new and remounted projects by "Fringe Artists". Also, unlike the summer Fringe Festival NSTF only showcases 8 productions.
NSTF was the first major step in the organization branching out to a year-round support organization that brings many opportunities to artists and arts-lovers. Since the launch of NSTF "The Toronto Fringe" has also introduced a number of artists outreach programs including The Fringe Evolution Fund to help independent producers remount their shows outside of the festival, and youth outreach programs including 10x10x10 which distributes 1,000 rush passes to priority youth in and around Toronto.
In 2010 the Toronto Fringe launched a new and expanded Fringe Club featuring free nightly entertainment, an expanded beer tent, a public stage called "Postscript Patio", art installations called Fringe-Pretty-Things, and food service provided by local restaurants.
2011 saw the grand opening of yet another expansion, this time a year-round fixture called "The Fringe Creation Lab".The Creation Lab is the new home of the Toronto Fringe and the indie arts community. The Lab consists of two studio spaces and the Toronto Fringe admin office, both housed on the 4th floor of the Centre for Social Innovation in the Annex. (Just steps away from Bathurst Station.) Both studios are available for anyone to rent at any time to do whatever they want. The spaces can be rented at various levels of subsidy, on a first-come, first-served basis. The studios are already a buzzing arts hub, bookable all hours of the day and night, where artists can focus on their craft and connect with their community without breaking the bank
Some notable productions include
Trey Anthony
Trey Anthony (born 1983) is a British-born Canadian playwright, actor, and producer, best known for her award-winning play and television series '' Da Kink in My Hair''. As a producer, she worked for the Women's Television Network and the Urban Wo ...
's ''
Da Kink in My Hair
''Da Kink in My Hair'' is a play by Trey Anthony, which debuted at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2001.
The play's central character is Novelette, the Caribbean Canadian owner of Letty's, a Toronto hair salon. Novelette is forced to confront her g ...
'', winner of the Cultural Diversity Drama Competition, premiered as a one hour television pilot produced by VisionTV in 2004, and later was adapted into a half-hour weekly TV series in 2007-8 by the
Global Television Network
The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
; ''
My Own Private Oshawa'', a one-man show by
Jonathan Wilson which was later adapted into a film; and ''
The Drowsy Chaperone
''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin (comedian), Bob Martin and Don McKellar.
The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater f ...
'', which went on to Broadway and several world tours. In 2009, ''My Mother's Lesbian Jewish-Wiccan Wedding'' was picked up by
Mirvish Productions
Mirvish Productions is a Canadian based theatrical production company and promoter.
The company was founded in 1987 by David Mirvish, son of Toronto retailing icon and owner of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Ed Mirvish.
The first assets acquired ...
from the festival and opened only three months later at Toronto's
Panasonic Theatre
The CAA Theatre, formerly the Panasonic Theatre, is a theatre located at 651 Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Mirvish Productions. On December 1, 2017, Mirvish Productions announced a marketing partnership with CAA South ...
.
Ins Choi
Insub "Ins" Choi () is a Korean Canadian actor and playwright best known for his Dora Mavor Moore Award-nominated 2011 play ''Kim's Convenience'' 's ''
Kim's Convenience
''Kim's Convenience'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television from October 2016 to April 2021. It depicts the Korean Canadian Kim family that runs a convenience store in the Moss Park neighbourhood of Toronto: parents "Appa ...
'', winner of the 2011 Best New Play award, was remounted in 2012 by
Soulpepper Theatre
Soulpepper is a theater company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest non-profit theater in the city.
History
Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. Soulpepper has sinc ...
, and went on to become the successful TV series ''
Kim's Convenience
''Kim's Convenience'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television from October 2016 to April 2021. It depicts the Korean Canadian Kim family that runs a convenience store in the Moss Park neighbourhood of Toronto: parents "Appa ...
''.
References
External links
*
{{Fringe festivals in North America
Theatre festivals in Ontario
Festivals in Toronto
Fringe festivals in Canada
Theatre in Toronto
Festivals established in 1989
1989 establishments in Ontario