TOSketchFestBlog

A black and white photograph of a TOsketchfest audience waiting for a show to begin with white text overlaid reading GRANTS FOR THEATRE CREATORS and a logo of The Ontario Arts Council

TOsketchfest Recommeded Projects

We are excited that TOsketchfest was selected as a recommender organization for the Ontario Arts Council’s Grants for Theatre Creators. This is a significant honour and a testament to the ongoing advocacy TOsketchfest has dedicated to elevating live comedy within Canada’s arts funding landscape. This grant program offers an important new avenue for comedy artists to access funding for the creation phase of innovative, new comedy projects that we’ll soon be seeing on stages across Ontario.

After reviewing an incredible number of high-quality applications, we are proud to share the sketch comedy projects recommended by The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. This program is designed to support theatre creators in developing new work, and we are thrilled to recommend a diverse range of projects from talented creators across Toronto and Eastern Ontario. Read on to learn more about these exciting projects!

Big Chick Energy Presents: Big Chick Lethargy?!

Big Chick Energy Presents: Big Chick Lethargy?!

The Chicks are back and developing their latest revue, “Big Chick Energy Presents: Big Chick Lethargy?!” In this show we’ll explore feelings of frustration, isolation and ennui caused by everyday and systemic issues of the modern world and how self-empowerment, friendship and community can help keep hope alive. After our successful festival run in 2024, we’re eager to share our work with audiences again thanks to support from OAC and TOsketchfest.

 

Clocked! An All Trans Sketch Show

Clocked! An All Trans Sketch Show

Clocked! An All Trans Sketch Show is an endeavour to develop an hour-long sketch revue written and performed entirely by transgender comedians. There are many talented trans comedians in Toronto, but often we are the only trans person within a troupe. Clocked! is an opportunity for each of us to create new material that can only be brought to life when we have other trans performers to play off of. Any one of our sketches could have two, maybe three, gosh, even six trans characters on stage at one time! Is such a thing even possible?? We aim to find out.

 

Legally Brown: The Sketch Comedy Show

Legally Brown: The Sketch Comedy Show

We aim to create It’s Our Turn!, a sketch revue exploring pop culture, current events, and politics with only a few commercial breaks. With support from TOsketchfest and the OAC, we’ll focus on refining our craft by easing rehearsal costs and collaborating with esteemed performer Rakhee Morzaria as a coach. This project will culminate in a live performance showcasing our work alongside local Toronto comedy talent. Using an inclusive venue, we’ll foster community engagement through post-show networking AND dancing, creating a space where creativity and connection thrive. This initiative celebrates comedy as a platform for dialogue and connection.

 

The Bicycle Thief Of Queen Street: A Musical Comedy

The Bicycle Thief Of Queen Street: A Musical Comedy

We plan to create a revue of scenes, sketches and songs inspired by the story of Igor Kenk, the world’s most prolific bike thief.

Through song and comedy, we aim to recreate the unique atmosphere of Queen Street West before gentrification, a time when the neighbourhood was known for its grungy charm and unconventional characters. We’ll explore the motivations behind Kenk’s thefts, his romantic relationships, his impact on the community, and how bicycles shape the soul of downtown Toronto.

We can’t wait to get writing on this project.

 

Short Attention Spa's Giant Puppet Sketch Revue

Short Attention Spa’s Giant Puppet Sketch Revue

We are using the grant to develop a Giant Puppet Sketch Revue! With artist, Krista Dalby, we built large cardboard puppets as extensions of ourselves. Now, we aim to explore comedic material, creating a “cardboard world” where self-exploration meets audience interaction. The germ of this work began in public spaces, doing little ‘bits’ at rural fairs and parades interacting with the public, and doing improv sets of short form games where the puppets began to serve as a vehicle for our ideas. Our hope is to move the work into a theatrical setting, allowing us to deepen these themes through satirical sketch comedy, clowning, and audience interaction.

 

Special thanks to

Logo: The Ontario Arts Council