Category Archives: Events

NXNE is… over?

Arts, Entertainment, Events, Music, Review

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a bit of an issue with procrastination, but it’s never been particularly serious. So I write the occasional essay on the morning of – as long the grades are fine, it’s not such a big deal. But when putting things off gets in the way of leisure, then I know I have a problem. Such was the case last week during North by Northeast (NXNE), the multi-media, multi-venue arts festival that took over our city for a few days. Even though I had the chance to see just about every show – the festival operates on a first-come, first-served basis – and even though they put out a killer scheduling app that would have made finding appropriate shows easy, it wasn’t until the very last night of NXNE that I finally dragged myself on to the subway to see something. I was not disappointed.

That something was a comedy show at the Lower Ossington Theatre. Consisting of several comedians rotating every ten minutes or so, the show had humour as well as variety, so I was easily able to find some comics I loved (and very few others I did not). It was an enjoyable experience, and I regret not seeing more shows when I had the chance. I also regret not branching out into music or art or cinema and seeing some of the festival’s other offerings. This might actually be the thing that makes me change my procrastinating ways.

The Lost Episode Festival Toronto

Arts, Canada is the Greatest Nation on Earth, Entertainment, Events, Film, LEFT

LEFT is this weekend!

TCAF is over and summer classes have officially begun. To you summer school students, this means that, among other things, however much the sun might shine, however balmy the breezes might be, however sweet cold drinks might taste as you enjoy them in the blistering heat, you can never fully escape thoughts of homework and midterms and reading. But don’t despair, dear reader: we at blogUT are committed to providing you with information on all the best, most obscure ways to beat the summer school blahs. This past month alone we’ve given you a tip on some awesome theatre, an unusual contest, and the comics event of the year. Today, we’re following up on that grand tradition with the Lost Episode Festival Toronto.

lost episode (lɑst ɛpIso̞d)
n.

    1. An amateur video featuring characters and setting from a pre-existing television programme, in a style mimetic to that of the programme, produced under the guise of an episode that was not officially distributed
    2. An amateur video featuring characters and setting parodying a pre-existing television programme, produced under the guise of an episode of programme which was not officially distributed.

The Lost Episode Festival Toronto (LEFT) is an artist-run, non-profit film festival which showcases independent productions of lost episodes. Artists’ projects are screened for the public in the weekend-long festival at the historic Bloor Cinema, where their creativity and quirkiness can be appreciated by all. For only $5, students get in to both days of the festival, June 1 and 2.

Although they already have some awesome-looking projects on the docket, including the Canadian premiere of Star Trek Continues and lost episodes of The Twilight Zone and Batman, LEFT is still looking for submissions. If you have some time, a camera, some friends, and an idea, you should totally give it a shot.

 

Let’s All Go to TCAF!

Arts, Canada is the Greatest Nation on Earth, Comics, Entertainment, Events

You’re twitching. You’re fidgety. You’re nervous. You know why? ‘Cause summer school starts next week. Sucks, don’t it? Only one measly weekend separates you from the tragic cruelty of summertime studies. “One weekend,” you say, “that’s not so bad! Maybe I can do something awesome in that weekend so that when classes start, I’ll feel like my vacation lasted more than two weeks!” That’s a pretty ambitious goal, friend. Fortunately, I think I may be able to help.

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) is an annual, publicly-funded, entirely free event dedicated to supporting independent comic book makers and retailers from Toronto and abroad. Spread over two days at the delightful Toronto Reference Library (delightful because you’re at a library and you’re not studying! Ha!), TCAF attracts exhibitors from all over the world who set up their booths to sell their works, chat with fans, sign autographs, and doodle the occasional doodle. Most exhibitors are known only within small circles, so don’t be surprised to find a hidden gem (such as my great discovery of 2011, pictured right). Conversely, some guests are as famous as graphic novelists can be: this year’s headliner is Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize-winner of Maus, which also happens to be assigned reading to about five or six courses each year.

TCAF is large enough to take up almost the entire library, and it’s impossible to get through it all in one outing. Although entrance is free, you can’t really appreciate the event without bringing some money to drop on a beautiful new graphic novel or, if you’re feeling thrifty, one or two micro-comics (which were my great discovery of 2012, one of which is pictured left). There are also some free events, such as talks by the festival’s guests and book signings. Pins, buttons, and stickers are sometimes free but always awesome. In any case, it’s a big enough venture to be made into a day trip, and an excellent one to be had right before school begins all over again. (Caveat: Former/future students of ENG235 might not experience this as recreationally as others). 

The 50 Hour Film Festival (or, A Character, a Line of Dialogue, and a Prop Walk into a Bar)

Arts, Canada is the Greatest Nation on Earth, Contests, Entertainment, Events, LEFT, TV, UT Life, Video, Whimsical, World Events

We come to university to learn, or at least that’s what my dad says when he sees me blogging and shakes his head. It is true that classes impart a lot of useful (or not) information, but it is also true that much of what we learn comes not from lectures or exams, but from frantically preparing for lectures or exams. By half-way through their first year, the average student has mastered the all-nighter, the cram session, and the ability to meet a seemingly-impossible deadline on nothing but determination and Red Bull. We learn these skills to help us learn other things, of course, but it’s also so satisfying when we can apply them to other situations.

Take, for instance, Lost Episode Festival Toronto‘s upcoming 50 Hour Film Competition. A creative contest open to anyone and everyone with a camera and some friends, this local challenge encourages aspiring film-makers (or anyone else interested in winning terrific prizes) to re-create “lost” scenes from famous TV shows, or to make fake advertisements or trailers, all in only 50 hours. Remember those consecutive all-nighters for that econ final? Remember cursing the time and energy spent in learning something you thought could not have any practical application? Well, now you can put at least some of that experience to use.

The competition begins on the night of Friday, May 3, when each team is given a character, a line of dialogue, and a prop to incorporate into making a film. The teams then have only 50 hours to write, shoot, and submit their masterpieces. The entries will be evaluated by the festival’s judges and the winning teams will be awarded cash, prizes, and all the glamour and prestige that comes with winning a film festival. There’s also an audience choice award, for the film-makers who somehow manage to go commercial in under 50 hours. All entries will be screened in the big, beautiful, fully-licensed Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, only a few blocks from campus

To participate, simply sign-up on the festival website here. Participation costs less than a statistics textbook and is, I’ve been told, at least twice as enjoyable. Anyone of any level of skill and experience is welcome to enter, and a team can be of any size. It’s the perfect activity for those, like me, who have only a few weeks between the end of exams and the beginning of summer school to have a little fun. Or a lot of fun. Or 50 hours of fun.

The BSA’s 14th Annual High School Conference

Events, On Campus

 

The Black Students’ Association will be hosting its 14th Annual High School Conference, entitled SWAG: Students with Academic Goals, on Tuesday, May 7th at the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus.

A key part of the Black Students’ Association’s mandate is to support aspiring post-secondary students. Critical to the actualization of this mandate is the annual High School Conference, which provides opportunities for high school students to learn from leaders and role-models within our community .

An expected 450 students will attend workshops facilitated by self-identifying minority post-secondary students, and professionals from various industries. The professionals will discuss their careers and the steps they took to achieve their positions. The High School Conference will provide students with the tools necessary to begin their preparation for post-secondary education.

For more information about the conference, please contact:

Hawa Noor, Director of Communications

University of Toronto Drama Festival: Day 4

Arts, Clubs, Entertainment, Events, On Campus, Opinion, Review, theatre, UT Life

The University of Toronto Drama Festival is an annual competition of student-written and -directed plays at Hart House Theatre. This year, blogUT is pleased to provide reviews and critiques of each show for your elucidation and entertainment.

The final night of the festival featured only two shows, which were as different from each other as possible. Fortunately, both seemed to be improvements of other night’s shows: Shazam! acts like the more self-aware brother of Flapjacks, while The Gully accomplishes the interpersonal drama so many other productions worked so hard to almost achieve.

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University of Toronto Drama Festival: Day 3

Arts, Clubs, Entertainment, Events, On Campus, Opinion, Review, theatre, UT Life

The University of Toronto Drama Festival is an annual competition of student-written and -directed plays at Hart House Theatre. This year, blogUT is pleased to provide reviews and critiques of each show for your elucidation and entertainment.

The penultimate night’s performances departed abruptly from the trend of tragicomedy, instead offering one dedicated drama, one dedicated comedy, and only one light drama. Interestingly, all three shows dealt with the relationships between writing and life, leaving one to wonder if maybe UofT English classes aren’t a tad one-note.

Continue reading University of Toronto Drama Festival: Day 3 →