Calgary Fringe Trailer and Interview

I’m doing the Calgary Fringe Theatre Festival as a digital performer, with my show about being laid off from a cell-phone ringtone company, Lord of the Files (short trailer above.) This is the first time Lord of the Files had been available online, so you haven’t seen it before, here’s your chance. It’ll be on-demand until August 14th. Tickets are available here.

Here’s an interview I did with the Fringe:

2021 CALGARY FRINGE SUMMER ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

TODAY’S FEATURE ARTIST: Lesley Tsina

SHOW: Lord of the Files (https://tickets.calgaryfringe.ca/event/366:18/)

WHAT DRIVES YOUR PASSION AS AN ARTIST? My brain is very full at any given moment. It’s crammed with trivia, obsessions, memories of terrible jobs, arguments I did not have or did not win. And in general, I’m too polite to say what I’m thinking a lot of the time. So basically, I do comedy and tell stories to keep my head from exploding.

BIGGEST INFLUENCER(S): Josh Kornbluth, Lauren Weedman and Brian Finkelstein. All great solo performers in different ways. Also, Claudia Shear for writing “Blown Sideways Through Life,” which is just the best solo show title.

SHARE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF WE DON’T KNOW (AND WOULD SURPRISE US TO HEAR): I am the author of a fake oral history of Windows 95 titled “Restart Me Up: The Unauthorized, Un-Accurate Oral History of Windows 95.” I watched the Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston 30-minute infomercial for Windows 95 all the way through, twice, in order to write it. If you have not heard of that, you are…fortunate? Anyway, it’s frighteningly well-researched for a funny book and also quite short, so you should read it.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BREAKFAST ROUTINE? I feed the cats first (always) and then make instant coffee and toast with some combination of butter/jam/peanut butter/almond butter/honey/mascarpone on it. I eat breakfast in the living room in front of my laptop and get meowed at until I let the cat smell the toast and lick butter off my fingers. Once the cat gets his butter snack, the day can begin.

TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS: go to www.calgaryfringe.ca#yycfringe2021

New video: Returning Your Stuff

I did the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival last week and got into the finals of their Monologue Slam. Here’s my monologue – which I originally wrote as part of a sketch show set at a funeral. And yes, I did build that coffin. Ah, the magic of contact paper.

Hero Hotel: Season 2

Hero Hotel, an audio podcast based on the very funny kids’ graphic novel by Yehudi Mercado, just released their second season. I worked on the new season with a bunch of other fun writers.

In this adventure comedy, Chet Zebrowski works at his Grandma Zee’s hotel for superheroes. When hijinks and mayhem erupt – all while the heroes are on vacation and unwilling to lift a finger – it’s up to Chet and his super-powered cat Boomer to save the day. But will catering to the needs of these demanding supers push Chet too far?

You can listen to it here: https://pinna.fm/HH

New Thundercats Episodes!

Hey! I had two new ThunderCats Roar episodes air this week, “Mandora’s Law” and “Berb-cules.” One features my first-ever song in an episode and the other has a full-on giant robot fight!

My next episode, “Mini Mongor” airs Nov 12th at 8am on Cartoon Network and is available here and on various other streaming platforms the next day. Check it out!

Laws! Laws! Laws! Laws! Laws! Laws! Laws! Wow!

Her Wanton Wager

I’m back on Becky Feldman’s romance novel podcast Too Stupid to Live discussing Grace Callaway’s second Mayhem in Mayfair book, “Her Wanton Wager,” which we both loved. Highlights: Handjob gazebos, gambling hells and whether or not people said “whatever” in the Regency period. I’d say NSFW but what does that even mean these days? Also, probably the most giggling I’ve done on a single podcast, ever.

Too Stupid to Live: Cheap Romance Novel Reviews · Her Wanton Wager with Lesley Tsina

Community Cast Reads “Cooperative Polygraphy”

If you missed it, the cast of “Community” reunited for a table read of “Cooperative Polygraphy” last week. This is the Season 5 episode that I was in, so it was particularly cool to watch. Pedro Pascal played Walton Goggins’ part and Jim Rash played my part (!) Pedro Pascal broke spectacularly at one point – it’s worth the watch just for that.

You can see the original on Netflix, or watch a clip here: