What The Festival, co-founded by Byron Laviolette and Alicia DiStefano, is a four-day event dedicated to the promotion, presentation and popularization of Clown, Puppetry and Drag performance. The festival is the flagship operation of the Strange Maker Collective, which also hosts the annual SPRING THING variety cabaret series.
What follows is the second post in a quarterly series of thoughts, reflections, and observations on WTF’s journey throughout 2025.
Hello again!
At What The Festival our goal is to create as much JOY as possible! For EVERYONE!
Being a theatre festival that provides a home for what we call ‘Strange-Makers’ - Drag, Clown, Puppetry, etc - we are all about celebrating differences and being inclusive of types of performances and people who are often excluded.
We talked last time about how the world is a scary place right now. People are often divided, uncertain and afraid. It feels more and more unsafe for those who look, think, act, or simply are different.
What better time to throw a party where everyone is invited!?
(It’s happening May 3rd. You should come!)
(Cabaret Cast Photos - SPRING THING 2.0)
As with all our events, we want participants to not only enjoy the entertainment they bought a ticket to see, but to feel included in a fun and exciting environment that extends beyond the walls of the theatre and considers the experience of our guest’s from arrival-to-exit.
We take our parties seriously. You have to if you want:
To create JOY when there is so much sadness and separation.
To give people a distraction and escape from their worries and fears even if it's only temporary.
And to create as much love, light and connection in dark and uncertain times.
Hospitality goes a long way in creating enjoyable entertainment and providing an atmosphere for sharing, socializing and making new friends. That is why when you come to a WTF event you can expect some of the following…
Lobby Entertainment: We love to enhance our events by including interactive performances before our shows. This is also a great way to include a larger variety of artists in our programming. In the past we’ve offered things like Magic, Tarot card readings and provided twisted balloon hats and flowers to create excitement and play before performance events.
Atmosphere: We like to get noticed and be colourful. You won’t miss us at one of our events because of our bright pink and white decorations and signage. You can also expect funky music that will boost your energy and many photo opportunities for social media sharing. We want to create the impression that this is THE PLACE to be!
Community: We want to be the place where community happens, strengthens and grows, and where new connections are formed. This is why we offer a welcoming lounge space where audience members and artists feel invited to mix and mingle between shows.
Treats: We want our audience to be greeted with the addicting smell of (FRESH!) popcorn being made and a candy hat being passed around for anyone needing a sweet treat. For an element of surprise, we often include raffles for free swag and tickets to our next event. Everyone deserves a treat every once in a while.
(Lobby Entertainment - WHAT THE FESTIVAL 2024)
So, to make it clear:
Will you be greeted upon arrival and made to feel welcome?
Yes.
Will staff and volunteers help you find your seat and the nearest washroom?
Of course!
Will there be decorations, refreshments and fun and games?
You betcha!
Inside of the theatre, things can definitely get wild - especially with the type of programming we offer which includes an eclectic mix of Drag, Clown and Puppetry plus a healthy dose of Burlesque, Bouffon, Circus and Magic. To consider audience members who are less familiar with this kind of party, we have our cabaret hosts prepare our audience for what’s to come. This includes:
Encouraging our audience to reward the risks our strange-making artists are taking with high energy and an invitation to play along.
Preparing audiences to know how to engage with performances if willing or how to subtly signal for a performer to pick someone else by making a “X” gesture with their arms.
Informing audiences about things like the ABC’s of Drag: Applaud and @ us, Bills/tipping, and Consent!
These considerations further our ability to ensure everyone to play in a way that feels SAFE and FUN!
We believe that what makes a party great is the people who participate and the shared experience they have. As much as possible, we offer discounted or free community tickets for anyone who wants to attend our events but have limits to what they can afford to increase accessibility and give back to our community. We also include our partners and allies to take part in the festivities. In the past, we’ve included various organizations in terms of fundraising and spreading awareness about upcoming events. This includes:
The Toronto Fringe Festival
The Toronto Burlesque Festival
Glad Day Bookstore
CAMH
All of this isn't always easy. It creates additional costs and coordination on our part, but we feel it's worth it for the JOY and INCLUSION we can create.
Sounds fun?
It is. And you’re in luck. We’re hosting SPRING THING 2.0 on Saturday Mar 3rd at Youngplace (180 Shaw Street) and everyone's invited!
SPRING THING is WTF’s annual celebration of surviving the winter which includes a one-day, two cabaret series that showcases all things WEIRD, WILD and WONDERFUL. You can learn all about our acts, our wonderful hosts - Morro and Jasp (THING ONE, 2pm) and Kenneth Cheung (THING TWO, 7:30pm) - as well as our ‘OTHER THING’ by visiting www.wtfestival.ca/now
We’re thankful once again to GENERATOR for giving us this space to share our thoughts, ideas and dreams, and we hope to see you at SPRING THING 2.0!
(In fact, we have a special discount code ‘SPRINGTHING5’ you can use for $5.00 off tickets. You’re welcome.)
Until next time!
- The WTF Team
#bettertogether