TOSketchFestBlog
TOsketchfest is thrilled to publicly acknowledge the contributions of our 2026 Film Festival Programming Committee. This dedicated group of comedy and Digital/TV/Film entertainment industry professionals include Becky Ablack, Andy Assaf, Tricia Black, Julia Jones, and Jakob Skrzypa. They generously lent their time and expertise to help shape this year’s Toronto Sketch Comedy Film Festival presented by Shozer. Watching 95 film festival submissions (over 7 hours!), they provided thoughtful recommendations and engaged in lively discussions to curate a film festival that truly showcases the best in filmed sketch comedy. We’re so grateful for their contributions!
Becky Ablack
Becky Ablack (she/her) is a Toronto-based actor, writer, and theatre creator with a BFA in Theatre and a BA minor in Creative Writing from York University. Her screen credits include recurring roles on Ginny & Georgia (Netflix) and The Good Karma Hospital (Disney+), as well as Fear Street: Prom Queen and Kim’s Convenience. An award-winning theatre artist, she co-founded Small Friend Tall Friend; their show Do You Think You’re Better Than Me? won a Critic’s Pick at the 2023 Hamilton Fringe. Becky’s work centres humour, movement, and inventive storytelling that explores identity with warmth and wit.
Andy Assaf
Andy Assaf, originally from Montreal, is a Toronto based sketch and improv comedian and is a Second City Toronto Mainstage alumni where he wrote and performed 3 Sketch Revues. You might know him as The Cravensworth’s Monster on Season 6 of What We Do In The Shadows on Fx & the Recruit on Netflix. Last year, his short film Slop King won Outstanding Comedy Short at the Toronto Sketch Film Fest and he’s so excited to be part of the jury this year. He now performs sketch comedy regularly with Little Miss Normal Improv and produces Monster Island — Toronto’s Premiere Character Comedy Show. Festival credits include: Montreal, Toronto, Denver, Chicago & DC sketchfest, Vancouver Improv Festival Ensemble, and NYC – Del Close Marathon.
Tricia Black
Tricia Black is an award-winning actor, comedian, and filmmaker. They have won three Canadian Screen Awards for their work in the indie web series Band Ladies, Stories from My Gay Grandparents, and the animated series Summer Memories. Tricia also writes, composes, and produces original Canadian musicals with the award-winning theatre company Tweed & Company Theatre. Tricia is an alumna of The Second City Toronto Mainstage, where they performed in the 83rd/84th Revue and the theatrical comedy She The People. Film and TV credits include Pretty Hard Cases (CBC/NBC Int.), Small Achievable Goals (CBC), Wayward (Netflix), The Miniature Wife (Peacock/NBC), Starfleet Academy (CBS), and The Z-Suite (Tubi).
Julia Jones
Julia is a graduate of TMU’s Radio & Television Arts program with a focus on writing and producing. After completing the Second City Pen to Performance program, Julia joined Big Chick Energy who have performed in sketch festivals across the country and were awarded TOSketch Fest Producer’s Pick in 2023. When she isn’t being a professional goofball, Julia works as a Production Manager for animation studios in Toronto. She also really loves her cat, Chip.
Jakob Skrzypa
Jakob is a comedy writer, director, and producer whose debut feature, Vampire Zombies… from Space! has played at 40+ festivals worldwide and won 20+ awards. As half of the sketch duo Fun Uncle, Jakob wrote and directed dozens of sketches featured on Funny or Die, and broadcast on CBC. His shorts have screened and received awards at festivals including Fantasia and Calgary Underground. His most recent short, Your Money’s No Good Here, won him Best Canadian short, silver at Toronto After Dark and was a nominee for the TOSketchfest’s Outstanding Comedy Short award in 2024. Jakob also regularly produces for MTV’s The Challenge and has held crew roles on Survivor, Vanderpump Villa, and Nathan for You.
Get your tickets to the TOsketchfest Film Festival presented by Shozer on Wednesday, March 4 at The Theatre Centre!
The programming committee for the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival can include alumni of the Festival, and/or those who have lived experience and a deep knowledge of the comedy and film community. The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival will revisit its programming principles and jurying process each year to reflect the needs of the community. TOsketchfest will actively seek to find qualified jurors with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.
The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival thanks all those who have served on the Film Festival programming committee over the years!
