Hot Thespians get nod for Canadian Comedy Award

Advertisement

Advertise with us

WINNIPEG comedy troupe Hot Thespian Action must be doing something right. Of funny. Or righteously funny.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/06/2012 (5228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG comedy troupe Hot Thespian Action must be doing something right. Of funny. Or righteously funny.

For the second consecutive year, the five-person team has been nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for best sketch troupe in Canada.

The announcement comes as the perennial fringe festival favourites make their national TV debut on the Winnipeg Comedy Festival episode titled The Super Good All Star Musical Variety Special, airing on CBC Tuesday, June 12, at 9 p.m. The episode also features Canuck comics SCTV vet Andrea Martin, Jessica Holmes, Sean Cullen and Gavin Crawford, and is the last to screen of this season’s episodes filmed live at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre in April of 2011.

“It’s been a long wait, but it’ll be worth it,” says Hot Thespian Action member Garth Merkeley, “We’ve seen a preview of the special, and it’s great! We still can’t get over the fact that Andrea Martin says our name!”

The Canadian Comedy Awards are held annually to recognize comedians in all fields. This year, the prizes are awarded Aug. 23-26 in Toronto.

The troupe will returning to July’s Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, with a new collection of sketches entitled Body Language. The group has won Best of Fest at the Winnipeg Fringe for the past three years.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 12 minute read Preview

Jets bench boss Arniel talks rebuilding from last season’s struggles

Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe 12 minute read Yesterday at 5:42 PM CDT

Scott Arniel has a lot on his plate these days.

But the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets took some time Thursday to sit down with Free Press hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe to discuss a number of topics on the eve of a new hockey season. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Wiebe: What was the evaluation of last season like? What did you personally do in an attempt to improve after going from first-overall to 26th-overall?

I just went back and looked at things and made sure my communication was where it needed to be with my players. Was my communication where it needed to be with my boss, with my general manager (Kevin Cheveldayoff)? How our coaching staff worked. How we handled highs and lows. Things I felt I could have done better.

Read
Yesterday at 5:42 PM CDT

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Preview

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping (except food and gas) and important decisions after 9 p.m. The moon is in Gemini.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Your mind is focused, giving you common sense and practical ideas. This is an excellent day to sign up for a course or learn something new. Don’t hesitate to listen to the advice of someone older or more experienced because after all, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Read
Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

Woman took ‘meaningful’ responsibility after disposing of body: lawyer

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Preview

Woman took ‘meaningful’ responsibility after disposing of body: lawyer

Dean Pritchard 4 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2026

A woman who was threatened with death if she didn’t help dispose the body of a Mexican man murdered in the basement of a North End home should serve no more jail time, a judge has been told.

Devlin Langlois, 25, has pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder in the March 2025 killing of 28-year-old Diego Moscoza.

“By pleading guilty, Ms. Langlois has already taken meaningful accountability for her actions,” defence lawyer Joshua Rogala told King’s Bench Justice Candace Grammond at a sentencing hearing Monday.

He urged the judge to sentence Langlois to the equivalent of 14 months already served, plus two years supervised probation.

Read
Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2026

Transit, roads and city council’s priorities

Erna Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Transit, roads and city council’s priorities

Erna Buffie 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Did any of you happen to notice that the week of Sept. 14 marked an interesting confluence of events in Winnipeg? First up was the mayoral debate on public transit. Second was an announcement that the city would be undertaking a survey to determine whether their citizens’ “transportation needs” are being met.

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Man who killed two Indigenous women, was accused of killing third, back in prison less than year after statutory release

Erik Pindera 4 minute read Preview

Man who killed two Indigenous women, was accused of killing third, back in prison less than year after statutory release

Erik Pindera 4 minute read Yesterday at 4:06 PM CDT

A Winnipeg man convicted of killing two First Nations women more than a decade ago — with charges stayed in a third slaying — has been sent back to prison less than a year after he left under conditions.

Parole Board of Canada officials revoked 67-year-old Shawn Lamb’s statutory release after a hearing last week.

“Your actions are not beyond your control, yet you continue to wilfully make poor decisions that place the public at risk,” board member Arun Kundu-Thomsen wrote in a decision released this week.

Lamb gained statutory release — a legislated conditional release most federal inmates automatically qualify for after serving two-thirds of their sentence — in November last year and lived in several Ontario facilities for federal offenders.

Read
Yesterday at 4:06 PM CDT

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Preview

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: Caution! Avoid shopping (except food and gas) and important decisions until after 3:30 p.m. today. After that, the moon moves from Gemini into Cancer.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

This is a creative day for you. Because you’re the artisan of the zodiac, tap into your talents and make some art or explore one of your many hobbies. However, avoid intense discussions with partners, spouses and friends. Keep things light.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Read
2:00 AM CDT