This is Toronto's Comedy Festival.

Be part of an incredible comedy community that has been gathering every March in Toronto for 18 years! Connect with other comedy creators and showcase your work to TOsketchfest's audience of comedy lovers from across North America.

TOSketchFest23 returns March 8-19, 2023 with LIVE, in person performances AND the return of our in person film festival!

TOsketchfest23 will feature a varied programme of short-form and live comedy events including: an in person screening of TOsketchfest Film Fest, in-person performances, and on-demand offerings.

The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival is committed to creating a safe, welcoming and anti-racist space where all people are treated with respect and dignity. We strive for an atmosphere of respectful creative exchange, and positive personal and professional growth. We will not accept submissions that contain racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or hateful language, imagery, or actions.

WHAT CAN I SUBMIT?

On FilmFreeway you can submit your filmed comedy shorts for the film festival presentation. Jurors will watch up to 10 minutes of every submission.

We are on the lookout for new digital sketch comedy shorts for a curated programme to be screened in front of a live audience, and then available on demand. We are looking for a wide variety of comedy shorts, musical comedy videos, animated shorts, web series spotlights - as long as the content was created after January 1, 2022.

We are happy to accept digital submissions from anywhere in the world!

LIVE Artist Submissions can be submitted through "Zone Festival" until November 30 at:
https://form.zonefestival.com/?k=tscf_p1

Do you have a show that's outside the box? Not sure if your work is a good fit? Reach out to us to discuss before completing your application with any questions or ideas. Email us at info@torontosketchfest.com

WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

TOsketchfest offers creators access to a free/low-cost professional development/learning series, including hands-on workshops, panels and networking events with in-person and online options for comedy enthusiasts.

Awards & Prizes

TOsketchfest Film Festival includes the Outstanding Comedy Short Award (for digital shorts/short films).

More info:
https://www.torontosketchfest.com/the-festival/awards/

Rules & Terms

**APPLICATION DEADLINE** – Submissions must be completed November 30, 2022. Submissions will be juried by the Festival producers and an advisory panel of industry professionals. Artists will be notified of programming decisions by email in January 2023.

**APPLICATION FEE** – The processing fee for all applications is $25 (CAD and includes HST). The submission fee is non-refundable. If the application fee is a barrier to your submission please feel free to reach out to Ivan Hutomo, Digital Producer, at ivan@torontosketchfest.com for an access code.

**ACCESSIBILITY** – Closer to the Festival dates, all selected entrants will be required to provide accessibility information about their content, for uses such as sensory descriptions and captioning files.

TOSketchfest is committed to increasing accessibility at every level of the Festival. If you require any accommodations for this submission process or would like to discuss accessibility further, please reach out to Ivan Hutomo, Digital Producer, at ivan@torontosketchfest.com.

**COPYRIGHT / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY**
The work you submit to the Festival may not violate or infringe any copyright, patent, privacy right, publicity right, trademark, service mark or any other personal or property right of any person or entity. By submitting an application to TOsketchfest you agree that you have paid and/or will pay in full all license fees, clearance fees, and other obligations, of any kind, arising from the exhibition of the Film in connection with the Festival.

**SUBMISSION GUIDELINES**
This festival is rooted in the traditions of sketch comedy. The content you submit must be scripted, and it must be comedic. Ensemble work, solo work, music, animation, digital shorts... these are all eligible as long as they are scripted. We will not accept improv or stand-up sets. If you have content that is outside the box (i.e. podcast or other audio, panel shows, partially-scripted/interactive) please contact us by email before submitting and application (info@torontosketchfest.com)

We accept applications from new, emerging, and established troupes, but your TOsketchfest submission should not be your first piece of work. You must have some history of live or online performance or digital content creation. We are actively seeking work from creators from equity-deserving groups. If you require accommodations or assistance in order to complete your application, please contact us by email (info@torontosketchfest.com)

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If you have any questions about submitting to TOsketchfest23, please feel free to reach out to Ivan Hutomo, Digital Producer, at ivan@torontosketchfest.com

7 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Heather Hawthorn Doyle

    This is an absolutely fantastic festival that I can highly recommend! They embraced our micro short "I Don't Want Him Either" giving us publicity during the festival and we were so honoured to be on their opening night. And then the best thing? Today I came home to a cheque from them because they revenue share! Love this festival!

    May 2022
    Helpful
  • Lisa Cheong

    Great festival! While it was online due to the pandemic, it was still really well organized and well run!

    May 2021
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  • Kaili Turner

    Thank you so much Toronto Sketch Festival for hosting my sketch and having me on the pre-show IG. It gave me a chance to have a great time, talk a little about the impetus for my sketch, and meet some other badass women comedy makers.

    April 2021
    Helpful
  • Matt Levy

    The Toronto Sketch Comedy Fest had it all. An amazing lineup, well produced shows, fantastic communication from the organizers (they sent us every participant's social media handles- that was amazing for networking!) and most importantly professionalism. I'll be raving about this one for awhile. Can't wait for an in-person edition in the future.

    April 2021
    Helpful
  • Mike Mildon

    An amazing festival that showcases all the hilarious and up and coming comedians/filmmakers in Toronto (and Canada!). The staff and organizers are also incredible humans and super helpful throughout the festival.

    April 2021
    Helpful