Toronto Fringe Festival 2022: a sampling of "wonderful weirdos" creating theatre, comedy and queer art

2 Jul 2022 - photos supplied by artist and Fringe

Early July is Fringe time. The Toronto Fringe Festival presents over 80 plays in 11 venues throughout the city. There are so many choices in so many genres that the most difficult part of the Fringe is deciding what shows to see. Every audience member has their own idiosyncratic taste so I decided to pick the brain of three Fringe veterans: Steven Elliot Jackson whose The Seat Next to the King turned a Fringe run into a runaway theatrical hit,  Kait Morrow of Sex T-Rex, a sketch comedy troupe who bill themselves as a "gateway drug for theatre" and have been generating uproarious laughter since 2008, and John Michael whose genre-defying Meatball Seance just won a Best of Fringe award in Ottawa.

Jackson is doing double time, represented by The Garden of Alla [a trio of bisexual silent film stars plan to adapt Oscar Wilde's Salome for the screen just as the Hays Code is rearing its ugly head] and, as part of KidsFest, The Prince's Big Adventurer ["When Prince Seamus is forced to rescue a princess with the help of an adventurer, humongous spiders and tall towers are no match for the heart"]. "I am the writer on both but I'm more involved in the production of Adventurer than Alla since I'm also directing," says Jackson. "With Garden Of Alla, I really gave the piece over to Andrew Lamb to mould in his own way. I really believe that if you trust the director, which I do, they need the space to bring it to life."

It is a pivotal moment in queer cinema that Jackson and Lamb are bringing to the stage. " I have always loved the queer history in Hollywood" he says. "When I came out I watched all the films in the Celluloid Closet documentary. This particular time and these characters were about the freedom of expression that they had and how quickly it was taken away. It was about the small pieces eroding before the castle crumbled and how that applies to the world we live in today. These three characters, for me, represented three opposing sides to how to handle this. The script and cast illustrate what these people did to live their lives. They all want to be happy in the end and that's something anyone can connect with, before and today. We do have a different reality of gay life, but if we haven't learned lately, what we think as certain can be taken away in a blink. Their world and ours is one of constant vigilance and not missing the small signs. I think that message is very prevalent in both the play and the world today."  

Salome is an extravagant but ultimately doomed film. "I would definitely call The Garden Of Alla both sensual and opulent," says Jackson. "I really wanted to explore their loves for each other and showing that, but also the grand life they lived. We do very well on a Fringe budget. There was a lot of research into the individual lives to get the stories straight and I can use the timelines well to accent this story. Where I had to deviate a little was on the influence of the Hays Code. It was starting, but some queer artists were still safe like Billy Haines into the early '30s. These artists in this play though didn't survive much past where our play is set."

The Prince's Big Adventurer is equally ambitious. "I always wanted to explore gay life in the fairy tale world," says Jackson. "There has always been set rules of how it goes and we know that's not how life is. What I can say is that in this play, its about connection, something I take into every show I write for adults or kids, and how that connection is what creates our relationships. Even three years ago I had someone turn this script down based on the story, but I wanted to get it out there so that it doesn't stay a taboo. There is no normal in this world, but all our stories need to find a place to be."

Is writing for children different than writing for adults? "I actually found the fun part of writing something with some broad humour and larger than life characters mixed with some adult humour. I truly believe the best family shows are where each member of the audience, both adults and kids, finds something for them. Of course I have to watch my words and make sure it can be explained a little more simply, but this is a show for the whole family and these characters have layers. I think we need to look at these shows at different levels. I actually wrote The Prince's Big Adventurer a number of years ago, lyrics and script. It was always something I couldn't find a home for. When we got the spot in KidsFest Fringe, I knew this was my chance to do something a little different."

Musicals are massive undertakings. "I started off with lyrics and then after I had met Tyler Check about a few other projects, I asked if he wanted to help and sent clips of what I thought the songs sounded like. Tyler was amazing in translating that while cleaning up my musicality. I know some music but its something I hadn't done in a bit. Collaboration was good in this case because everything was already there. One thing I think I do well is that I write a play and instinctually know where the song goes. I'm going to keep working at this and I'd love to keep writing more family musicals. There are lots of stories to tell." And two to tell immediately. "Both plays are about characters determined to find happiness to different endings. A dramedy like Garden or a family musical like Adventurer are sort of like book ends for me. We need the honesty in both styles of writing or it won't reach an audience." 

Even though Jackson is busy wrangling a humungous poisonous spider and glamorous bisexuals, he does have some thoughts on the rest of the Fringe. "I haven't been really able to sort the program out. I know I'm definitely supporting a few shows at Factory Theatre like Sketch T-Rex, Back and Forth: The Musical ['The Procrastination Fairy can make or break our greatest ambitions—and our therapy—so juggle your dreams, demons, and deadlines . . .tomorrow. And, by the way, we have a dragon'].and Joan and Olivia: A Hollywood Ghost Story [two sisters move in the childhood home of the bitter feuding Hollywood sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia Havilland whose ghosts are still battling] plus Will King's new play Dead Broke [a surreal thriller/dark comedy with slackers squatting in a house with a sinister past] but I know I have a lot of supporters in other shows and will need some time to find them in the program."

The Fringe always contains a large number of shows with comedic roots in stand-up and/or sketch comedy. This year the comics are banding together under the banner of #FringeIsFunny. As there are already a few comedy festivals and Sketchfest, I had to wonder if this is a hostile or humorous takeover. Fortunately Sex T-Rex's Kait Morrow is able to reassure about the potential gaggle of gagster barbarians at the theatrical gates. "The #FringeIsFunny is a grassroots movement and is working to highlight comedy at the Fringe Festival," says Morrow. "Not to remake it but to work together to promote each others' shows under the Fringe umbrella and to provide a one-stop shop for audiences who love comedy and the Fringe as much as we do. There are a lot of shows at the Toronto Fringe and it can be hard to find ways to stand out. This is a community building effort where artists with a common passion for comedy and theatre have come together to create buzz."

This isn't Sex T-Rex's first Fringe and Morrow says, "The festival atmosphere adds a lot and Fringe audiences in particular tend to be open and curious by nature which creates a really special energy. And I love spending time in the Fringe 'tent' (or alley or bar or park, which ever the gathering spot is that year) after a day of seeing and doing shows to meet patrons and other Fringe artists." Surprisingly, "When we do a show at Fringe we actually make it simpler. The Fringe has a very short tech time, a fast turnaround between shows, and limited storage space so we work to keep production as simple and nimble as possible, unlike when we self produce and have the time and space to be more ambitious or theatrical. A lot of the daring and risk for us at Fringe festivals is sticking our necks out and presenting new and untested material. We might bomb and that is a huge part of the draw of the Fringe for many folks, getting to see work at various stages of development and professional levels. However for me personally, the riskiest part of the show is openly exploring being trans onstage. Given the terrifying political climate these days, it's unfortunately literally risky. And not fun risky. Most Fringe audiences are open minded and I'm not too worried but it's still something I'm aware of in the back of my mind." 

Morrow is happy to expand on their personal journey, "I've only come out in the last two years as trans and bi but queerness has always fed into my comedy, even when I didn't know it. All of the characters I've created over the years are, at least in part, an expression of who I am and when I look back, all of them challenge gender norms in one way or another, even if they were all female characters. Whether it's a tough as nails cowgirl, a 'helpless' princess who is not what she seems, or a loyal sidekick named Boy, they have all given me a chance to explore parts of myself I didn't feel I was allowed to embody otherwise. I had spent a lot of years not being present in my body and they all gave me the chance to be fully embodied, at least for a moment. Now I can live as I am fully everyday and not just onstage and while I no longer need theatre to feel complete, I can't wait to create more characters in the future that are not just trans coded but whose trans identity is built in with intention."

The Fringe and the comedy community have more in common than #FringeIsFunny says Morrow, "In my experience, at least, the improv and sketch communities have been mostly very welcoming and open to queerness. I first entered the comedy scene fourteen years ago and back then it was almost entirely white, cis, het men and while there is still so much further to go, I've seen huge changes. Much like the Fringe, comedy is often fast and loose and there are very few stable, full time jobs so people come and go much faster than other industries creating an environment where change can happen faster. But I've also found many producers in the comedy community to be leaders in diversity and inclusion, building policies and programs to make comedy more accessible and welcoming."

Sex T-Rex are also notorious for a personal favourite of mine: puppets. "Puppetry is just how my brain works," says Morrow, "so it informs everything I contribute to Sex T-Rex, whether we're using actual puppets or using puppetry principals to inform how we stage our action sequences, it's there." Not that puppets are always easy to work with. "They can be real divas," says Morrow. "They want all the credit and never do any work. But in all seriousness, playing a puppet is like stepping into any role that you might as an actor. You have to think about what the character wants in the scene, what motivates them to do what they do etc, and then you express it through your hands and into the puppet. The puppet's design and how it looks can also inform what type of personality comes out. It's form, function, and personality all blended together."

As well as looking forward to the social whirl that is the Fringe, Morrow is excited to try to catch several shows. "In particular," says Morrow. "Moro Girl ['50% Muslim, 50% Christian, 100% Taurus, 200% Awesome'], A Perfect Bowl of Pho [a 'journey across the noodle of time and space . . . a musical history of the Vietnamese diaspora told through food'], Clip Show [sketch comedian Jon Blair gets locked in a basement pantry with his memories], Lesbihonest [comedian Laura Piccinin's journey of 'coming outs'], Don Valley Girls ['why cry when you can cry while you laugh?'], An Evening with Devon and Jackie ['a soiree of stupidity with a touch of neuroses'], Gay for Pay with Blake and Clay ['Join Blake and Clay, two seasoned gay actors, as they teach you to play gay and make LGBTQ about YOU. Go from straight to straight up booked'] and so many more." But how will these shows stack up against Sex T-Rex's Sketch T-Rex? " I think each show brings its own style and POV so it's hard to compare," says Morrow. "But if there are any shows that have perfected silly mouth noises and feature murderous puppets then I think I'd count them among our peers."

John Michael's Meatball Seance involves summoning his mother's ghost to meet his new boyfriend. Does she mind doing eight shows a week? "No, she’s dead," says Michael. "Which is why I have to get her to get out of that grave and meet my new boyfriend. The smell of garlic and raw meat cooking usually wakes her. My mother loved cooking shows and she loved to cook. She was a bit spooky herself and had a great sense of humor. The idea of telling a story combining her and food was there from the start. I wanted to scare the immense sadness out of myself and ended up laughing instead. Mom would want me to enjoy thinking of her." If his mother is familiar, the boyfriends are brand new. "Three lucky audience members get to play my boyfriends! If you don’t want to come onstage, cross your arms." Probably more effective than Grindr, but do any of them last post-curtain? Michael is coy but does say that, "I have had a few audience members from Edinburgh stay in touch through social media."

Letting audience members in on the action can be dangerous, but Michael has no fear of being upstaged. "Part of the whole premise of the play is that I’m embodying my mother’s sense of hospitality, so sharing the spotlight’s a big part of what I’m trying to do. I’m sharing my performance high through participation, and I adjust to make sure we have a blast dating each other for 10 minutes." Plus Michael has a spotlight-grabbing wardrobe weapon. "The show’s sexy because it’s me in Andrew Christian underwear and an apron. Andrew Christian has generously sponsored me with free underwear to perform in. I haven’t bought underwear since 2019 thanks to my underwear sponsorship. Sex is a big part of grief, and sex positivity is life positivity, so I try to make it a big part of my art."

Meatball Seance has earned Michael many accolades (and even more boyfriends) across many Fringes. What Toronto Fringe shows does see as accomplishing the same? "1-MAN-NO-SHOW by Isaac Kessler, who is now my friend now because he put his cell number in his show’s synopsis to direct people to our venue Crow’s Nest out in the east end. But I’m most intimidated by Laura Piccinin’s Lesbihonest.  She’s ‘just some gay girl in Toronto’ who only needs one sentence to sell her autobiographical show. Lesbihonest, what a badass. I also highly recommend Six Chick Flicks, which is exactly what it sounds like ['six of your favourite chick flicks in 60 minutes']  but performed by two funny ladies from New York City. I’ll be seeing it for the third time in Toronto. It’s the kind of pure entertainment I wish my mother could see with me. Additionally, Yes, Venus, I Am bills itself as a 9 to 5 like story, but with an all queer cast from Montreal. Will they be my friends? I'm literally blown away by the singularity of all your arts community. Like who the fuck are these wonderful weirdos and why haven’t they visited me in Chicago yet?"