Each show was given 2 minutes on stage to sell their show. Here are the previews I enjoyed the most:

High Life – Ryuzanji Company (Japan)

A Canadian play written in English translated into Japanese then performed in Canada by Japanese actors with surtitles. They’re doing two productions: one set in Ontario, one in Japan. I’m not sure whether it’s actually going to be any good, but it’s cool.

History: Deleted Scenes and Extras – Nile Saguin (Toronto)

Intelligent stand-up.

In And Out Of The Dark – Treehouse Productions (Toronto)

The program guide describes this as “physical theatre” and the actress does indeed have great physicality. But there was also a bunch of speaking going on in the preview. It made no sense but it was great.

Not Fit For Flight – Modern Myth Physical Theatre (Victoria)

Great avant-garde modern dance movement.

Nouns Are People Too – Dave Morris and Missie Peters (Victoria)

Spoken word improv by the top improv performer and one of the top spoken word poets in town.

Oh Winnipeg! A Surprising Musical Memoir – John Pippus (Vancouver)

The preview was a great little bit about learning to play blues harmonica, which Pippus definitely can do. I have no idea what the rest of the show is about (I hope not Winnipeg), but if you like blues harmonica…?

Today Is All Your Birthdays – Uncalled For (Montreal)

The preview was really high energy and made no sense but dropped all the right phrases to get my interest: “the self is a narrative construct”, “Large Hadron Collider”, etc.