The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (TOsketchfest) returns March 24 – 28, 2021 with TOsketchfest21 – Screen Time Edition, an online sketch comedy festival with over 100 titles from around the world. The five-day online comedy festival will celebrate the vast creativity of sketch comedians in the COVID era with comedy shorts by powerhouse rising stars and Canadian comedy legends both behind and in front of the camera.
TOsketchfest21 – Screen Time Edition will include 15 online shorts programmes and live stream events, post show “lobby parties”, the Learning and Fun Professional Development Program and more.
The Opening Night on March 24 will kick off the Festival with comedy shorts from past TOsketchfest Award winners Tita Collective and Darrell Faria; Festival Favourites Christian Smith and Natalie Metcalfe; a taste of the Marcia the Self-Help Guru webseries; rising sketch comedy stars Avan Neo, and Cheap Wine; plus the New York Spotlight begins with appearances by Kaili Y Turner and The Nitro Girls.
The Closing Night Gala on Sunday, March 28 will present a 60 minute table read from Untitled Black Sketch Project, Canada’s premiere all-Black ensemble sketch troupe. Untitled Black Sketch Project features Phatt Al (The Second City), Aba Amuquandoh (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), Ajahnis Charley (Bad Dog Theatre), Coko Galore (Bad Dog Theatre), Brandon Hackett (Tallboyz), Alan Shane Lewis (The Great Canadian Baking Show), Brandon Ash Mohammed (Because News), and Nkasi Ogbonnah (The Second City).
For me, TOsketchfest is a festival where I discover local and international comedic talent. The variety of shows is always something I look forward to each year.
Other highlights from TOsketchfest21 – Screen Time Edition include: the Film Programme ‘Sketch Smogasbord’ showing on March 25; the Vancouver Stage featuring Welcoming Committee and Brunch on March 27; plus select works from TOsketchfest Award winners Anesti Danelis, Ajahnis Charley, Laura Ramoso, and The Templeton Philharmonic.
This year all TOsketchfest shows will also be offered as Open Captioned [OC] presentations. The full festival line up, accessibility and ticketing information is available at torontosketchfest.com.
