HTA is taking some time away from performing to write our TV pilot. However, if you have an event you'd like us to perform at, we'd love to hear about it! Click below for details!
HTA was thrilled to discover that we've been selected this year among the 30 people and groups that make up the University of Winnipeg's Uniter's 30 under 30 list; a list that "feature(s), in no particular order, a group of Manitobans who are 30 years old or younger who are making a difference and impacting their community in some way, or who are outstanding in their field – whatever that field may be." Sounds good to us! Thanks Uniter!
Also, we just got our hands on a sweet preview copy of the CBC Winnipeg Comedy Fest Musical Gala which will air in the next couple months. It turned out really great. It was sad to see the whole show, which was two hours live, get cut down to 45 minutes for TV. All the acts lost lots of really good chunks, but we're really happy with what they kept of ours. Congrats to Frantic Films and CBC on the production. Can't wait for it to air. We'll obviously keep you posted as soon as we find out when, specifically, that will be. But in the mean time, you can check out this preview clip.
Lastly, a mini update on the pilot: All this fall, HTA has been working hard to get ready to write our TV pilot this December. We've been studying and disecting examples of great TV writing, reading up as much as possible, and even practicing by plotting out hypothetical spec scripts for existing TV shows. And In two weeks time we're finally officially locking ourselves in a room for two weeks and getting this baby written. It's scary, fun, daunting and exciting all at the same time. We can't wait to see what comes of this writing process. Send us your comedy vibes starting on December 12th!
Last chance to catch some HTA
October 22nd, 2011
Tonight is HTA's last live performance for the next while. After tonight we'll be buckling down to write our pilot. So come on out and see us off, and help support the Winnipeg Fringe Festival while you're at it. Tickets are $18. The show begins at 8:00, at the Warehouse Theatre.
Last week we were in Toronto for the Canadian Comedy Awards. We had a fantastic time, both performing at the Comedy Bar, as well as attending the awards night. Sincere congratulations to PicnicFace who took home the "Best Sketch Troupe" prize. To have even been considered among the best sketch groups in Canada, given how little we've been seen on a national level, was a huge honour. We certainly hope to follow in PicnicFace's footsteps over the next couple years on our way to our TV show.
Now wish us luck as we get to writing it! As always, if you want to support us in a more tangible way, just click the PayPal link to the left to donate! Thanks for your support!
Busy times for HTA
October 6th, 2011
Ontop of working on writing our TV pilot (which you can still donate towards by clicking the link to the left, hint hint) HTA has 3 big events this month.
First up: tonight we'll be participating in the Winnipeg Reel Pride film festival short film competition. Our three most recent YouTube sketches were selected to compete for a cash prize (chosen by audience support). Join us at the Gas Station Arts Centre to view them on the big screen and cheer as loudly as you can! Here are the deets:
Reel Pride 8th Annual Short Film Competition
October 6th
7:00pm
Gas Station Arts Centre
445 River Ave. Winnipeg, MB
Admission by donation
Next up, we're flying to Toronto to participate in the Canadian Comedy Awards, where we're nominated for Best Sketch Troupe in Canada. Not only are we going for the awards ceremony, but we'll be performing while we're there. If you're in the Toronto area, come check us out at the Comedy Bar. Here's the info!
Hot Thespian Action at the Comedy Bar
Saturday, October 15th
9:00pm
Comedy Bar
945 Bloor St. W. Toronto, ON
Tickets $12 (Here) or free with a $35 Festival Pass (Here)
Lastly, but not leastly, upon our no doubt triumphant homecoming (see? We aim to make you laugh. Have you SEEN our competition?) we'll be mounting an hour long show at the MTC Warehouse (Tom Hendry Theatre) for two nights only. A mix of some the biggest hits from this summer's Fringe Best of Fest winner "A Show of Hands," along with a few of our alternate Best Ofs that haven't been seen in a while (and that lots of you requested after Fringe)! It's a night of our most top notch material and it should be lots of fun for everyone. Come out and support the Winnipeg Fringe, and see HTA for one last time before we retreat into a dark cave for a few months to buckle down on this pilot script. By the way, have I mentioned you can donate to that? Any way, here is the info:
Hot Thespian Action in BURNT CD
October 21st & 22nd
8:00pm
Tom Hendry Theatre at the MTC Warehouse
140 Rupert Ave. (at Lilly). Winnipeg, MB
Tickets $18 | $14 early bird (until Oct 14 at 11:59pm) (Here)
A huge thank you to everyone who came out to see "A Show of Hands" at the Winnipeg Fringe this year and helped make this Hot Thespian Action's most successful Fringe yet. Between the multiple 5 star reviews and huge loud audiences, we had an awesome time. And it seems you did too!
Now HTA is switching gears. This fall we begin work, in earnest, on our TV pilot. We have the details all sorted out, we just need to actually get it written. This fall we'll publicly announce some of the details about our project. We're really excited to show you what we've been working on!
This pilot would not be possible without all the amazing support of our fans who have contributed to our pilot so far. As we write this, there are 5 days left in our IndieGoGo fundraiser. And through it, we've raised more than $6000. But we have lots more to raise. So if you're reading this, and you like the idea of having some Hot Thespian Action in your life every week, please consider donating whatever you can to help get this TV pilot off the ground. You can do so by clicking here.
Now, we'd like to take the time to officially thank all those who have contributed to our fundraiser so far.
Thank you
George Hudson, Michael Duggan, Liette Kelsch, Maureen Hardy, Susan Loewen, Ken Mandziuk, Corey Birch, Kaj Hasselriss, Dean Harder, Jamie Pearce, Chris Loewen, Colin Connor, Laura Lussier, Philip Olcen, Kimberly Halpenny, Alexis Martin, Chris Werstiuk, Heather Witherden, Lizabeth Kogan, Ben Myers, LATravel Group, Rick Morgan, Robb Paterson, Sharon Pearce, Linda Hahn, Clare Lawlor, Peggy Miller, Brandy Schmidt, Corey Quintaine, Filip Tretjak, Mandi Maxwell, Jen Brocklehurst, Lindsay Brown, The Collins Family, and Tim Loewen.
And also a big thanks to many who contributed but who do not want their name publicly revealed.
And a huge "oh my god, you're amazing, how can we ever repay you?" thank you to
Cathie Morgan
who took generosity to a new level and just floored us with her insane (in a good way) contribution(s!). Cathie, we all owe you huge, and we can't wait to write a part for you in our pilot!
Well this Fringe couldn't really be going any better for us. Not only do we have some amazing 5-star reviews coming in from all sides, but now we just found out we've been awarded "Best of Fest" designation for the third year in a row. A hat trick! Which means we now have an extra show added at 2:30 on Sunday the 24th. The Best of Fest extra show is a fundraiser, with half the profits going to the Winnipeg Fringe. All tickets are available through pre-sale (as opposed to half, as usual). So you might want to get your tickets for that show now. Click here to buy them.
5 Stars for "A Show of Hands"
July 17th, 2011
"A Show of Hands," HTA's Greatest Hits Fringe show, composed of sketches from past Fringe successes, along with a sprinkling of new ones, opened on Friday and we've been having a blast ever since! By Friday night we already had two 5-star reviews. Here's a sampling of some of the reviews so far:
"An imaginative triumph... there’s no show of hands needed here: Winnipeg votes to export these guys to the comedy big leagues." - Winnipeg Free Press
★★★★★
"Their uproarious physical comedy, flawless timing and cleverly written subject matter are utterly bang-on, and the laughs come just as easily as does the craving to see their shows again and again." - Uptown Magazine
★★★★★
"A Show of Hands is an hour of pure fun and non-stop, highly energetic entertainment...I laughed until I cried and left the theatre converted into a reverent fan" - Examiner.com
Saturday's mid-day show sold out and the presale for tonight's 8:45pm show is already sold out. So if you plan on coming later in the week, get your tickets ASAP. If you choose not to get them in advance, just keep in mind that tickets go on sale 15 minutes after the start of the previous show in the venue, and there's usually a line up by then.
Also, last week we posted another Web Vid. You can check it out by going to Video> Web Vids in the navigation bar above. If you like it, pass on the link to your friends. In the next day or so, we'll be posting ANOTHER new one! It's like Christmas!
Speaking of Christmas, we have 12 days left in our fundraising campaign for our TV pilot. We've raised over $6,000, which is fantastic, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to what we'll need. So please, if you've been putting off donating, now's the time. It doesn't need to be hundreds of dollars. Literally $5 is great. And it's quick and easy. Let your friends and family know about our campaign too. Click here to donate
Today was the official media launch of the Winnipeg Fringe, which means that Fringe season is upon us once more. Tickets are now on sale for our "Best Of" Fringe show entitled A Show of Hands. Click the button below to find out more about our show and how to buy your tickets. We're fourtunate to have been given the same nice big venue that we were in last year, but tickets will go fast as always, so we really recommend getting your tickets ASAP.
While you're clicking on things, as always, we encourage you to click the blue banner above to check out our TV pilot fundraiser that is ongoing until early August. We're raising money to be able to finance a TV pilot and we need your help. Get involved while you still can. Even $5 is $5 more than we had before, and we can make it go a long way. And you'll have contributed to something exciting! Not only do you get perks for donating (like free tickets to our aforementioned Fringe show!) but you'll be helping get us on your TV where we can entertain you while you eat chips in your underwear! Try doing that at the Fringe without getting kicked out! Thanks again, and happy Fringeing!
HTA Nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award
June 8th, 2011
Well we're just tickled pink to have found out today that we've been nominated for the 2011 Canadian Comedy Awards in the category of Best Sketch Troupe. We're in good company too, nominated alongside The Second City, Women Fully Clothed, Picnicface and Falcon Powder. The awards ceremony is held this year in Toronto in late October. We're not entirely sure we could be more excited.
Check out the Canadian Comedy Awards website to take a look at some of the other nominees. We'd better get our schmoozing suits on, because there are some pretty amazing people on the list!
Help HTA Get On Your TV
April 5th, 2011
"[HTA] unfailingly produces wildly entertaining sketch comedy that gives the genre a good name. It’s not just the uniformly adroit performances — beautifully timed, with a physicality that can be graceful or goofy as required — but the bizarre, brilliant territory this troupe’s fevered collective brain explores.... Somebody give these folks a TV show." - Jill Wilson, Winnipeg Free Press.
You can be that someone!
HTA has exciting news. Today we're officially launching a fundraising campaign to help finance a TV pilot that we are making to showcase to TV networks how awesome an HTA TV show could be. In order to get the attention of all the right people, we need the highest quality product possible, and that requires mucho deniro. If you think HTA on your TV is something you'd like to see, think about contributing to our cause. Even $5 buys a couple slices of pizza to feed extras, or a few random props. And the best part is, the donation site is REALLY easy to use and you get thank you gifts in return! Like, good ones! Click on the banner above, or the link below to see what we're talking about. Thank you in advance. We REALLY appreciate any help we can get, and look forward to rewarding you, not just with cool prizes, but with an awesome TV show!
And as an added bonus, along with the launch of the fundraising campaign, we're finally releasing our first video made specifically for the web. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here. You can check it out by clicking on "Web Vids" in the dropdown menu underneath "Video" in the navigation bar above, or by clicking on the fundraising link and going to our campaign page. Pass the video and the link on to your friends! And as always, thanks for the support.
Comedy Fest Is Here!
April 2nd, 2011
Happy Comedy Fest to all!
With only a few days left until our performances at the CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival, we have a few quick notes. First of all, if you haven't heard already, our show on Wednesday, April 6th at the Gas Station Arts Centre that was previously listed by TicketWeb as starting at 7:00pm ACTUALLY starts at 9:00pm. We apologize for any inconvenience (silly TicketWeb!) All tickets purchased before they caught this error, that say 7:00 on them, will still be honoured at 9:00. If, for whatever reason, the change in time means you can't make the show, your tickets will be refunded. Simply email "help@ticketweb.ca" or call 1-888-222-6608 ext. 2.
Secondly, our very own Jane Testar is "vlogging" (that's right, video blogging. It's a word!) on the CBC website about our experiences gearing up for Comedy Fest this year. Check it out the first entry here. And then check back here over the coming week for more entries!
Lastly, HTA has some pretty big exciting anouncements to make in the next couple days, so check back here to see what's next for us!
And a final PS. A big thank you to our new friends in Clearwater who were spectacular hosts on Thursday night, and who threw one heck of a party. We definitely intend to return!
As we near Winnipeg's annual spring orgy of laughter, HTA has lots of Comedy Fest related news to report. Each year our involvement in the festival grows. In our first year we appeared as part of a comedy showcase. In year two we headlined our own show at the Gas Station Arts Centre. This year, we're kicking it up a few pretty huge notches!
First of all, we're headlining our own show at the Gas Station Arts Centre again. We tabulated all your votes for your favourite sketches and have crafted the show you asked for. The show, entitled "Mix Tape," will feature a collection of our tried and true classic sketches, a smattering of our more recent hits that have never been seen at Comedy Fest, and even one or two brand new ones! It's sure to be plenty-o-good times.
Can't make it in to Winnipeg to see our show? Have no fear! HTA has been asked to perform 2 shows in rural Manitoba. Our performances are as follows.
Wednesday March 30
Swan River Curling Club - FFC League Swan River
Show Time 8:00pm
Tickets: $20.00
Call 204-525-2680 for tickets
Thursday March 31
Clearwater Memorial Hall Clearwater
Show Time: 8:00pm
Tickets: $20.00
Contact Jackie - jackie@goinet.ca
Lastly, and perhaps most excitingly, HTA has been asked to be a part of the "On That Note" musical gala at the Pantages Playhouse, where we'll be performing some of our hit musical sketches. The gala performance will be filmed and broadcast on CBC TV. If HTA making it to national television wasn't enough on its own, we have the honour of doing it alongside Canadian comedy legends Andrea Martin, Cathy Jones, Jessica Holmes, Sean Cullen and Gavin Crawford. We honestly cannot think of a group of Canadian comedians we'd be more proud to share the stage with.
But don't JUST come to the Comedy Festival for us. There are tons of other amazing acts to go see, so check out the website at winnipegcomedyfestival.com. Happy festing!
Let the voting begin!
January 19th, 2011
Happy New Year!!! The polls are now open! Click on the banner above (or the link below) to head over to our voting page where you can vote on which sketches make it into our "Best Of" show later this year. Vote for all your favourites to make sure you get to see them again. And as always, thanks for your support!
Two more big announcements from HTA, just a week after our "We're in the Fringe" announcement. 1) Tickets are now on sale for our 2011 CBC Winnipeg Comedy Fest show. And oh ya 2) We're in the 2011 Comedy Fest. Dammit. Should have worked out that order better.
Yes it's true, HTA has been asked back to the CBC Winnipeg Comedy Fest for the third year in a row. This year not only will we be headlining our own show at the Gas Station Theatre, but we're also embarking on a rural tour to spread the good word of Winnipeg comedy all around Manitoba. How much fun will that be?! ...Well that remains to be seen, but we're banking on "lots!"
Now, if you recall, the tickets to our last year's Comedy Fest show were the first of the whole festival to sell out, and in fact, it turned into a "standing room only" affair. So if you're smart, which of course you lovely readers obviously are (flattery will get you EVERYWHERE!) then you should buy your tickets NOW. I know the Comedy Fest is in April and you don't even know if you'll be ALIVE in April, but there's no time like the present. Speaking of presents, tickets to an HTA show would be a PERFECT Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Festivus present for the HTA lover in the family. Or someone you want to initiate into the world of Hot Thespian Action. So get on it!
Oh, and if that wasn't motivation enough, buy your tickets now (before January 7th, 2011) and you'll get the early bird pricing! GO!
It's official. The Winnipeg Fringe lottery was held tonight and the fates were kind to Hot Thespian Action. We secured a spot in the Fringe and so now we start the preparations for 2011's show. More details will be forthcoming in the next few months, but we can announce right now that we'll be doing a Best Of show of all of the most popular sketches we've done in our 4 previous Fringe shows. Check back here in the new year to find polls where you can vote on your favourite sketches to see them in the show. Viewer's choice! If you loved it, vote to see it again! And as always, the best way to stay up to date on all things HTA is to "Like" us on Facebook. Click here.
This Saturday, October 16th, HTA is honoured to be a part of the 9th Annual Big Daddy Tazz & Friends Comedy Night and Fundraiser, in support of the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba. We'll be performing a set of some of our favourite sketches, and we'll be sharing the stage that night with the likes of Fred Penner, Tim Knutt, Canadian legend Mike MacDonald, and of course Big Daddy Tazz himself! Tickets are $25 and are available through Ticketmaster (click here). It all goes down 8:00 Saturday, October 16th at Pantages Playhouse Theatre in Winnipeg. See you there!
HTA wins Best of Fest @ the WPG Fringe (again).
July 22nd, 2010
We're thrilled to announce that for the second year in a row, Hot Thespian Action has been awarded "Best of Fest" for selling the most amount of tickets in our venue... Which means we have the awesomest fans ever.
As a result, you now have an extra opportunity to catch our show (or see it again). An extra Best of Fest show time for "Look Ma, No Hands!" has been added to Sunday the 25th at 2:30pm. 100% of tickets are available for purchase in advance (unlike normal show times where they reserve half for walk-ups), and typically, Best of Fest shows all sell out, so if you plan on coming to that show, we definitely recommend that you buy your tickets in advance.
Tickets are $10 as per usual. For those of you that don't know, Best of Fest is a fundraiser for the Winnipeg Fringe Festival itself; half the proceeds go to the festival, and half to the troupe.
If you are one of the many who have come to see "Look Ma, No Hands!" already, thank you SO MUCH for your support, and thank you for helping make us Best of Fest!
"Look Ma, No Hands" opens with a bang!
July 16th, 2010
"Look Ma, No Hands" opened on Wednesday to HTA's biggest crowd yet. We were thrilled to finally be able to share our new baby with the appreciative opening night audience!
The first review (by the Winnipeg Free Press) is already out and calls "Look Ma, No Hands" "hilarious and perfectly performed."
We're excited for the rest of the run and looking forward to getting back at it on Saturday night.
If you don't have your tickets, get them now! We had only a handful of seats left on Opening Wednesday, which is typically one of the least attended nights of the festival. So don't miss out!
Lo and behold, Winnipeg Fringe Festival is right around the corner, and HTA is busy putting the finishing touches on this year's comedy extravaganza "Look Ma, No Hands!"
Tickets are now on sale. Last year we had the good fourtune of selling out every single one of our shows, including the extra "Best Of Fest" show at the end of the festival. If you don't want to be one of the unlucky ones who misses out, we highly recommend you buy your tickets now!
For more information on the show check out our Facebook event page here (you don't have to be a Facebook member to see it).
We look forward to seeing you there!
Thanks for making Comedy Fest a huge success!
May 2nd, 2010
Thanks to everyone who came and checked us out at the CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival. In spite of being plucky up-and-comers we were actually the FIRST act to sell out our show at the whole festival! The show (which was opened up by the amazing Greg Morton) was lots of fun and it seems like the audience enjoyed themselves too... To say the least.
But no time to dwell on the past! We've got many more projects coming our way. We're putting the finishing touches on five sketches for CBC Radio for their Saturday Night comedy show Laugh Out Loud. We're excited for you to hear them. Expect to hear those scattered throughout LOL shows from late May through the summer. More details to come.
We're also about 75% done writing and about two weeks away from the start of rehearsals for our brand new Fringe spectacular coming to the Winnipeg Fringe in July called "Look Ma, No Hands!" It's going to be a very new and very interesting (and of course, very funny) show with some intriguing breaks from our typical ways of doing things. We think you'll like it a lot. Again, we'll give you more details (venue, showtimes) as soon as we find them out.
Lastly, HTA is FINALLY getting some YouTube content! Expect to see some of your favourite sketches properly filmed for YouTube appearing before Fringe!
The best way of staying in the loop on all our goings-on is by becoming a Fan of us on Facebook!
The Ticketmaster site is up and running for Hot Thespian Action's CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival show. You can get your tickets now by clicking here. We're really excited for this show and we hope you are too. An hour of HTA's best, most popular sketches of all time, mixed with a few teases of the all-new content that's to come this summer at the Fringe Festival. If you have a favourite sketch that you've been telling your friends about, you can guarantee we'll be doing it at this show. So bring your friends and help them understand the ridiculousness you tried to explain to them so many times before! It's gonna be a Hot Thespian Action show like no other. Don't miss out.
It was announced officially yesterday that Hot Thespian Action will be headlining our very own show at the Gas Station Theatre this April as part of the CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival. We will be joined by comedian Greg Morton. Please check out the Comedy Festival website for further details. The link to purchase tickets will be posted as soon as it is available. Come join us for an assortment of old favourite sketches and songs along with a smattering of fresh out of the oven new ones! We look forward to seeing you there!
We're Back
November 21st, 2009
Hot Thespian Action is back from Sketch Fest in Toronto! We had an awesome time, met lots of other cool troupes, and we got to show what we do to a new, larger audience. We got tons of really great supportive feedback from lots of first time viewers. All in all the trip (aside from being a heck of a good time) was a huge success.
Now, noses back to the grindstone. Over the coming months we'll be churning out all sorts of fun exciting stuff for you. The best way to stay current with what we're up to is to become a Fan of ours on Facebook. But if you are not Facebookally inclined, then make sure you bookmark this site so you can check back here often for updates and new content coming up over the winter months! Thanks again for visiting!
-HTA
Welcome!
November 6th, 2009
At long last, HTA has a website! Thanks for visiting! Take some time to look around. For now, the site is modest. But rest assured, in the coming months, we'll be stuffing a ton of new content and features into this thing. We're talking pictures, messages, new links, and most excitingly: brand new YouTube videos MADE for YouTube! Like, not just performance footage, but real filmed sketches. Ya! It's true. It's gonna be awesome!
But you have LOTS of stuff to keep you busy for now. Check out three separate Picture Galleries. Two galleries of shots taken in performance, and one gallery of our spanking new publicity shots (taken by the brilliant Ronnie Abelada (www.abelada.ca). (In fact, you're looking at his work already in the banner at the top).
We also have a Video section featuring five of our favourite sketches from years gone by.
If you've heard of us but don't really know what we're all about, or just stumbled upon this site, the About Us section is for you. You'll find Bios and some Reviews from our previous performances.
If you are a member of the media and want some background info on us, check out the Press Kit page under the About Us bar.
The Links section is a place where we'll post links to things we think you should check out; other sketch comedy troupes we like, websites we find funny etc...
And finally, the Contact Us page lists all the different ways you can get in touch with us.
If you haven't already, make sure to become a "Fan" of ours on Facebook, and/or Subscribe to our Channel on YouTube. Those are the two best ways of staying in the loop as to when new content is going up on the site and to hear about any shows or performances we have coming up.
