Did They Do Notes?

Robin Williams drops by UCB for a Harold.

PS: No, they didn’t.

What, Me Moping?

Defamer is reporting that MADtv has been cancelled, the only sketch show I have ever seen come back from a commercial break to a sketch that had already gone WAY too long.

They’re also reporting two new ladies added to SNL.

Bad Dog!

Immediately following the Montreal Fringe and right before the Toronto Fringe, there’s the Bad Dog Improv Summit taking place in Toronto. Without Annette was invited to perform and we’ve sent Marc, Sean and Nick out to play. Everyone else in the troupe is at home, preening.

Note: Marc is also running a workshop on non-verbal communication. I’m not 100% sure but I think it mostly involves making farty sounds with your hands (that’s what I would do).

The first show was last night and it seems to have gone well. There’s already a review up.

…the really interesting thing is that different cities really do have different performance styles. Toronto seems to be more about ‘big’ performers and structured scenes, while the Montreal crew was subtler, favoured props, and had a more relaxed approach to scene construction.

So if you have the time and exist in the Torontospace manifold, go put fun in your eyes and ears.

Last Second Fringe Addition: The Spy

Jonno Katz is performing a one-night-only show, The Spy, at the Fringe.

I really liked his show CACTUS (despite my not really being in the moment of the show). You can also check out Bryan’s review of CACTUS.

Paul Sills (1927-2008)

Paul Sills, co-founder of The Second City and son of Viola Spolin, has died from pneumonia-related complications.

• CBC article
• Charna Halpern’s thoughts