This Wednesday, August 6th kicks off the 19th Annual Summerworks Theatre Festival. The first half of Toronto's summer belongs to the scrappy kid sibling Fringe Theatre Festival, in which anything can and does happen. It's unpredictable and that's why it's loved and embraced with plenty of beer.

Summerworks is the older sister home for the summer from studying abroad and is loved for the clarity of vision she’s found. It's a juried festival featuring new work by emerging and established artists, with this year's including 42 stage plays, offsite performances, workshops of plays in development, youth activities and for the second year in a row a music festival!

Under the helm of artistic director Michael Rubenfeld 2008 saw the Summerworks festival embrace Toronto's independent music community with a series of post-play concerts held at the Theatre Centre on Queen West. This new tradition continues in this barely-summer of 2009 with a fantastic lineup of locals and out-of-town guests. Performers include DD/MM/YYYY, Miracle Fortress, Think About Life, Kids On TV, The D'Urbervilles, Forest City Lovers, Sun Parlour Players, Germans and many others, including a benefit concert for Sketch co-presented by not-a-record-label Blocks Recording Club and definitely-a-record-label Arts & Crafts.

All concerts happen at The Theatre Centre (1087 Queen St. W.) at 10pm and best of all they’re all-ages events! Minors! Take this opportunity to see some amazing music in a really cool venue space. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance at Soundscapes, Rotate This or online at www.artsboxoffice.ca.

Listings and information on everything Summerworks can of course be found at their online headquarters: www.summerworks.ca.

And while you’re out and about, don’t forget to check out the theatre part of the festival. You’ll see some incredible, bizarre and moving work that might not ever reach another stage.

- posted by Kevin