Best of the Fest...Festival of New Formats, that is

This past weekend wrapped up the third-annual Festival of New Formats at Comedy Bar, seven days of free shows where local comedy producers were throwing whatever they could at the wall (and their audience) to see what stuck. There were bearded men in drag and movie re-creations; established shows like Theatresports and Impatient Theatre adding new wrinkles to their usual formats; and new (to us) troupes and hosts doing their best to impress. Some of the shows showed promise, many didn’t. The A.V. Club was there most nights to see which shows deserve to return, and which were failed experiments.

Despite the myriad ideas, a common theme emerged: secrets and truth-telling. The first show we caught featured improvisers Standards and Practices reading an online chat transcript; at the Real Secrets Show, we signed a binding non-disclosure disagreement, though one of the performers (who presumably didn’t) taped and posted her first kiss story online. 

The problem with all this truthfulness is that much of it was awkward rather than funny, and audiences at comedy shows want, first and foremost, to be entertained. A bit of revelation and introspection is fine in small doses, but there are already several shows in Toronto inspired by storytelling series The Moth, and that crowd isn’t a comedy audience.

The most successful shows flirting with “real truth” only used it in small doses as jumping off points for improv. Montreal troupe The Bitter End, who’re gradually migrating south to Toronto (and won the Theatresports competition on Saturday), had a hit with Personals, reading random Craigslist dating ads and using them for improv inspiration. Can I Get a Relationship, a format similar to the long-running Monkey Toast interview/improv show, asked audience members questions about important people in their lives, and then had improvisers play off the results. And Problem: Solved!, an “expert advice” panel show hosted by Aaron Hagey-MacKay, was a simple format that allowed “debaters” like Picnicface’s Evany Rosen and stand-up Ron Sparks to score “points” (and big laughs) with their rants about the CN Tower and American politics.

Zombie show Infection, despite a large ensemble of some of the city’s best improvisers, suffered from too much survivor bickering and not enough undead early in the show (though the sight gag of zombie Kurt Smeaton being pushed in a wheelchair by “patient zero” Megan Fraser was a highlight.) Drinking game/show Never Have I Ever turned uncomfortable as the audience watched comics pry secrets from each other; however, Take a Drink did work well, as it featured more audience participation, including a 30-second dance party “word of the day.”

The best show of the festival didn’t star comedians, though it was howlingly funny. Catch 23 Improv used its competitive format for a Battle of the Bands, with musicians improvising songs with styles and titles suggested by the audience. Afterward, the participants, including Sheezer’s Laura Barrett and Robin Hatch, freestyle rapper Wordburglar, and Bare Naked Ladies’ Tyler Stewart, enthused about how they enjoyed themselves, and want to do it again. Ultimately, the best shows provided just enough structure for the onstage talent to play against, without constraining or embarrassing them, and when the performers were having fun, so were we.