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Awards & Contests

2018 Patron's Picks

The winners of Patron's Picks represent the best selling show at each main venue, from July 4-11. They are awarded with an extra show on Sunday, July 15. Tickets will be on sale for these shows as of 12pm on July 13. 

Shadow Kingdom 6:30pm, KidsFest (George Ignatieff Theatre)
The Preposterous Predicament of Polly Peel (Act 1) 9:15pm, Tarragon Theatre Mainspace
Generally Hospital 9:30pm, Tarragon Theatre Extraspace
Meg MacKay: Freelance Witch 7:30pm, Tarragon Theatre Solo Room
Birds Make Me Think About Freedom 7:00pm, Al Green Theatre
One Small Step 9:15pm, Randolph Theatre
BikeFace 9:15pm, Annex Theatre 
First Dates 6:15pm, St. Vladimir Institute
D&D Live 9:15pm, Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse
Movin' Melvin Brown: A Man, A Magic, A Music 7:15pm, Robert Gill Theatre
Paradise Lost 8:30pm, Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace
Everyone Wants a T-Shirt 7:30pm, Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
The Ding Dong Girls 9:15pm, Factory Theatre Mainspace
Anywhere 9:30pm, Factory Theatre Studio

24 Hour Playwriting Contest

2018 Winner: Propaganda Artists by Jonathan Logan

See it on Sunday, July 15 9:15pm @ Tarragon Theatre Solo Room. Free!

This fan-favourite contest is a ton of fun, and a great way to connect your work with a larger Fringe audience. Every summer, on the first Thursday of the Fringe Festival, we gather in the Fringe Club to announce the topics and themes for the contest. Then, playwrights have 24 hours to write a completely new piece of theatre based on the themes and topics provided! It’s a race to the finish line every year.

The winner receives:

This contest is sponsored by Centennial College.

Applications open every year in late May. For more information, and to apply for this year’s contest, please click here.

New Play Contest

2018 Winner: The Women of the Fur Trade by Frances Koncan
2018 1st Runner Up: Barbarians by Peter Midgley
2018 2nd Runner Up: Gobbledygobbledygook by David Gagnon Walker

The Fringe New Play Contest is the “hit-maker” of the Fringe theatre scene. Responsible for launching the careers of artists like Ins Choi and Kat Sandler, the New Play Contest gives an emerging artist the chance to have their work presented at the Fringe Festival for free – one of the only ways to circumvent the lottery process. The winner of the contest is offered:

The New Play Contest accepts applications every fall. The winner is notified at the Fringe Lottery Party in November. More information on how to apply.

The New Play Contest is sponsored by the Aubrey and Marla Dan Charitable Foundation.

Past winners include:  “The Seat Next to the King,” by Steven Jackson (2017), “Cam Baby,” by Jessica Moss (2016), “Rukmini’s Gold,” by Radha Menon (2015), “Potosi,” by Alexander Offord (2014), ”The Oak Room” by Peter Genoway (2013), “Help Yourself” by Kat Sandler (2012), “Kim’s Convenience” by Insurp Choi (2011), “Short Story Long”  by joel fishbane (2010), “A Singularity of Being” by T. Berto (2009), “Wake” by Rachel Blair (2008), “Expiry Dating” by Alison Broverman (2007), “Love Songs from Unlikely Places” by David Egan (2006), “Bella Donna” by David Copelin (2005), “Stealing Freedom” by Stephanie Nickerson (2004), “That Boy” by Paul Gibson (2003) and “Fish/Wife” by Rick Roberts (2002).

Paul O’Sullivan Prize for Musical Theatre

2018 Winner: The Preposterous Predicament of Polly Peel by Julie Tepperman and Kevin Wong (read a statement from the creative team)
2018 1st Runner Up: Compulsion by Scott White
2018 2nd Runner Up: Der Funkster vom Atlantis at the Cafe Diglas by T.A. Gambarotto

The award is named in honour of Canadian Actor Paul O’Sullivan (1964-2012). Mr. O’Sullivan acted both on stage and in television shows such as George Shrinks, Friends and Heroes, Grossology and Getting Along Famously, as well as in guest roles on The Red Green Show, Murdoch Mysteries, Dan for Mayor and Little Mosque on the Prairie. He previously taught for Humber College’s Comedy Writing and Performance program.

Pat and Tony Adams were devoted fans of jazz music, theatre, improv and comedy, and had great respect and affection for those who dedicated their lives to pursuing these arts professionally. Paul O’Sullivan was one such artist. As an improviser, a song and dance man, and a consummate comedian, he brought an unbridled passion, dedication, and sense of play to everything he did, whether it was Skippy’s Rangers at the Fringe or The Producers for Mirvish.

“When we were thinking about initiating a new musical award with the Fringe, it seemed obvious to name it after Paul — an artist who embodied the Fringe spirit of risk, energy and irreverence. The prize not only encourages new artists, but also honours a great Fringe artist who left us far too soon.” – Shari Hollett

First place winner will receive the following:

The Paul O’Sullivan Prize for Musical Theatre accepts applications every fall. The winner is notified at the Fringe Lottery Party in November. More information on how to apply.

This award is generously sponsored by the Pat and Tony Adams Freedom Fund for the Arts.

Tosho Cutting Edge Award

2018 Winner: Stories from the Fringe by the Fringe Storytellers Collective

Want to vote for the most cutting edge show in the festival? Simply email cuttingedge@fringetoronto.com with your pick and both you AND the show will be entered to win a draw for two sets of $200 premium knives from Tosho Knife Arts.

The show that receives the most number of votes by Wednesday, July 13 will be crowned the most cutting edge show at the festival! The winner will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at the Fringe pato on Thursday, July 14, at 7pm.

Comedy Bar Award for Best Comedy

2018 Winner: A 6ix NNNNNN Review by TallBoyz II Men 

The funniest show in the festival, according to a jury of Comedy Bar's finest. See their performance at the Comedy Bar on August 11, 2018 at 11:00pm.

Best of Fringe Orangeville - FRINGEnorth(519)

Theatre Orangeville has selected two shows from the 2018 Toronto Fringe to play again after the Toronto Fringe Festival. The plays selected this year are:

Plays In Cafes by Shadowpath Theatre
Meg MacKay: Freelance Witch by Meg MacKay

Best of Fringe - Civic Theatres Toronto

A selection of shows will play in August at the Toronto Centre of the Arts after successful runs at the 2018 Festival. The plays selected this year are:

Anywhere One Four One Collective
Prank Thundermind Theatre
BikeFace Trailblazing Ladies
First Dates Clutch Performance Theatre Co.
D&D Live! Sex T-Rex
Morro & Jasp: Save the Date! Morro & Jasp
Entrances & Exits Howland Company
F*cking Perfect Chocolatekiss Collective

 

David Seguin Memorial Award for Accessibility in the Arts

2018 Winner: Generally Hopsital by All Access Sketch

The Seguin family is proud to sponsor the David Seguin Memorial Award for Accessibility in the Arts (DSMA), a $1,000 prize that celebrates the work of artists with disabilities. This award is given to a Toronto Fringe Festival production that features the work of an artist or artists with a disability.

To be eligible for this award, a production must be part of the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival and  feature the work of an artist with a disability. A jury attends identified productions and evaluates them based on the following criteria: artistic excellence, representation of artists with disabilities in the cast or creative team, and subject matter addressing the disabled experience. The DSMA will be announced at the Toronto Fringe Festival's Awards Night on Thursday July 12 at the Fringe Patio.