Toronto Fringe Reveals Digital Lineup

The Toronto Fringe Festival has announced programming for the Digital Toronto Fringe Festival July 21 - 31, 2021. Taking place completely online, Toronto Fringe 2021 will present over 65 shows in four virtual series including the Fringe On-Demand series, KidsFest On-Demand series, Fringe Primetime series, and POSTSCRIPT Live(stream) events.

Fringe On-Demand is a series of 56 pre-recorded audio, video, and visual shows by artists from around the world that audiences can watch at any time from anywhere over the course of the festival. Fringe On-Demand includes festival favourites such as comedies, musicals, dance, drama, and more with themes including immigration, Queerness, mental health, and feminism.

The 56 shows in Fringe On-Demand and 6 shows in KidsFest On-Demand were programmed by a lottery draw this past spring. This year, Toronto Fringe reserved 50% of the digital lottery slots for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) artists. This change ensures more representation across the festival, and will be carried forward in festival planning for the foreseeable future.

"As we present our third digital festival, we are thrilled to be able to share this work with you all. Festival staff have worked throughout the year to enhance the viewing experience," said Executive Director Lucy Eveleigh. "Each show now has their own page on our website, and a direct link to purchase tickets. All funds collected will be returned to the artists, as well as a share of the membership fees. I encourage you to support as many artists as possible through our platform. The spirit of the Fringe is thriving and truly alive, despite the pandemic. (Over 200 companies applied to the festival this year.) We hope you will find the time to enjoy the 65+ who were lucky enough to get selected in the lottery."

KidsFest On-Demand is a series of pre-recorded shows with content that has been carefully created for children and their grown-ups! Each KidsFest On-Demand show is accompanied by free activities for various ages in the Digital KidsFest Club. KidsFest On-Demand will include: dougiEworld Real Food Puppet Theatre by Douglas Hurst and Rebecca Ananda, where two vegetable heroes are on a quest to save their communities from going missing; Ganapati Stories, by Jackson Nair, an exciting story about the adventures of the Hindu god Ganapati; Nookie and The Big Wind, by Tanya Leblanc, an educational play based on a children's book series where a hot-blooded wasp, an insomniac moth, and an optimistic ladybug join forces with a girl to find the Indigenous teachings from an owl and save Mother Earth; To Bee or Not To Bee, by Jonathan Mirin and Godeliève Richard, an award winning musical where children help Farmer James figure out how to bring the bees back; Ship-Shape!, by Diana Franz, where the Royal ImagiNavy embark on a mission to recuse Gran-Gran and thwart the devious pirate, Captain MeowMeow; and The Shoestring Magic Flute, by Greg Robic and Lawrence Cotton, a whimsical adaptation of Mozart's famous opera that features the magic of make believe and all the best music.

Fringe Primetime shows are live, appointment viewing, digital theatre experiences including pre- and post-show lobby chats and social time. Fringe Primetime will feature three play contest winners including: the winner of the Digital New Play Contest My Korean Canadian Friend, written by Nga??c Hân (Rebecca) Tra??n, which follows two Korean immigrant boys who compete in a Korean game show to learn how to be Canadian in order to survive the dangerous territories of high school; the winner of the Digital Adams Prize for Musical Theatre As You Lay Sleeping, written by Amelia Izmanki, an experimental musical about falling out of love with romance; and the Digital 24 Hour Playwriting Contest winner Empty, written by Natalie Axon, which follows Margot, a passionate working mother, whose busy life is upended when she begins to experience disorienting moments.

These contests have been made possible by the generous support of the Aubrey & Marla Dan Foundation (The Digital New Play Contest), the Pat and Tony Adams Freedom Fund for the Arts (The Digital Adams Prize for Musical Theatre), and in memory of Penny Arthurs (The Digital 24 Hour Playwriting Contest).

As audiences cannot gather in person for post-show hangouts this summer, Toronto Fringe has created the POSTSCRIPT Live(stream) virtual patio for FREE live streamed fun and community building. All are invited to drop in to the virtual Fringe patio each night from 9-11pmET, hosted in the video-calling space gather.town. POSTSCRIPT Live(stream) events will include Opening and Closing Night parties, Fringe Artist Cabaret, Comedy Night at Unknown Comedy Club, and more!

Toronto Fringe will also host a DIGITAL PATIO in gather.town every evening of the Festival for attendees to mingle, meet Fringe artists, play games, and win prizes. Audiences are invited to build an avatar, and use arrow keys to wander around and explore a digital recreation of the POSTSCRIPT patio filled with different games and interactive experiences for you to enjoy.

About the Toronto Fringe: Toronto Fringe is a grassroots, charitable organization that runs the Toronto Fringe Festival each July, the Next Stage Theatre Festival each January, and various year-round programs that benefit youth, emerging artists, BIPOC artists, artists with disabilities, and the performing arts community at large. Embedded in Fringe's operations are the values of Access, Accountability, Creativity, Exploration, and Support.

Learn more at www.FringeToronto.com.

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