company History
Up your Nose and In your Toes (U.N.I.T.) Productions began in 2005 as an ad hoc collaboration between director Byron Laviolette and performers Heather Marie Annis and Amy Lee with the sole intention of exploring the techniques of Pochinko clowning. The company members trained with international performer, musician and busker Pete Jarvis (Silver Elvis). The collective’s signature characters, Morro and Jasp, were born out of this process.
With our three original children’s shows (The FUNtastical Friendship of Morro and Jasp, The Truth According to Morro and Jasp, and Morro and Jasp GO GREEN) we performed at the Kids Venue at the Toronto Fringe for three consecutive years (2006-2008), and toured to the Atlantic and London Fringe Festivals. We performed twice at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal for their Saturday Morning Children’s Series; at Sick Kids Hospital; the Vaughan City Playhouse; and numerous schools throughout the GTA. In the fall of 2009 we toured Toronto, Scarborough, and Hamilton with a co-production of The Bully Show: Clown in the Round,an anti-bullying show for elementary schools which was developed and produced in partnership with Mixed Company Theatre. 2010 saw Morro and Jasp GO GREEN on a three-week spring tour to promote Earth Week and The Bully Show tour elementary schools throughout the GTA, and the Hamilton/Waterloo area in the fall.
Our first full length adult show, Morro and Jasp do Puberty premiered at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in 2008. It was then remounted at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2009, where it played to sold-out houses and was awarded Patron’s Pick at the Tarragon Extra Space. It garnered rave reviews (receiving five stars from both EYE Weekly and NOW Magazine) and was named Outstanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble by NOW Magazine. It was subsequently held over for the Best of the Fringe at The Canadian Stage Company’s Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs.
U.N.I.T. Productions produced Morro and Jasp do Puberty in 2010 in both Montreal (at Le Nouveau Theatre Ste. Catherine) and Toronto (at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Backspace). It was an official selection featured in the 2010 NY Clown Theatre Festival. In 2010 the show was nominated for Canadian Comedy Award for Best Play. In 2011 Puberty toured to the Edmonton Fringe Festival where it sold out its run and won rave reviews.
In June 2010 our second adult show, Morro and Jasp GONE WILD premiered at the Toronto Festival of Clowns and then was redeveloped for its run at the 2010 Toronto Fringe Festival where it received critical acclaim and sold-out the entire run of the show. The production won Patron’s Pick at the Tarragon Theatre Extra Space and was named Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Production by NOW Magazine. After its Toronto run, Morro and Jasp GONE WILD toured to the Winnipeg Fringe where it was performed on eleven consecutive nights at a site-specific venue in the picturesque Stephen Juba Park alongside the Red River. The production was called a “stand out” in the festival by the Winnipeg Free Press and garnered much attention for being the only site-specific and outdoor work at the Winnipeg Fringe that year. The setting in combination with the production was so successful that the festival has chosen to use it as a model for future outdoor and site-specific endeavours. U.N.I.T. Productions produced GONE WILD at Theatre Passe Muraille in March of 2011 and it was invited to the Amuse Bouche Festival in New York City in September of that year.
In January 2012, Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself premiered at the Next Stage Festival. The entire run of the show was sold out on the second day of the festival and so U.N.I.T. Productions remounted an hour-long version of the show in association with Cahoots Theatre Company at their space. Almost the entire run of the show was sold out and the show was nominated for 3 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, winning one for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble."
In July 2012, U.N.I.T. premiered Of Mice and Morro and Jasp at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The show was created at The Clown Farm on Manitoulin Island with John Turner of Mump and Smoot. It is an adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic novel, Of Mice and Men. It played to sold out houses in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Edmonton and won much critical acclaim.
In addition to our independent theatre work, Morro and Jasp have appeared at a number of events, fundraisers, and festivals including the LabCab Festival at the Factory Theatre, the Toronto Festival of Clowns, Lunacy Cabaret, Pandemonium Machine, Lower Ossington Theatre Youth Series, the HarbourKIDS Festival, Red Nose District, the Ronald McDonald House, and the Stop Community Centre.
Past Shows:
Of Mice and Morro and Jasp - Edmonton Fringe Festival 2012, Winnipeg Fringe Festival 2012, Toronto Fringe Festival 2012
Best New Play, Oustanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble (NOW Magazine 2012)
Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself - Cahoots Theatre 2012; Next Stage Festival 2012; Lab Cab Festival 2012
2012 Dora Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble"
Dora Nomations for "Outstanding Production" and "Best New Play"
The Godot Cycle (with Yes Let's Go) - Toronto Fringe 2011
Morro and Jasp GONE WILD - Amuse Bouche Festival, NYC 2011; Theatre Passe Muraille 2011, Winnipeg Fringe 2010; Toronto Fringe 2010; Toronto Clown Festival 2010
Patrons' Pick 2010; Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble (NOW Magazine 2010)
Morro and Jasp: In a Pickle - Pandemonium Machine 2011; Lab Cab Festival 2010
Morro and Jasp do Puberty - Edmonton Fringe 2011; NY Clown Theatre Festival 2010; Theatre Passe Muraille 2010; Theatre St. Catherine, Montreal 2010; Toronto Fringe 2009; Best of the Fringe, Toronto 2009; Winnipeg Fringe 2008
Patrons' Pick 2009; Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble (NOW Magazine 2009); 2010 Canadian Comedy Award Nomination for Best Play
Morro and Jasp GO GREEN - School Tour, Ontario 2011; School Tour, Ontario 2010; Vaughan City Playhouse 2009; Centaur Theatre 2008; Sick Kids Hospital 2008; Toronto Fringe 2008; School Tour, Ontario 2008
Outstanding Production for Young Audiences, Outstanding Ensemble (NOW Magazine 2008)
The Bully Show: Clown in the Round (with Mixed Company Theatre) - School Tour, Ontario 2010; Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, February 2010; Harbourfront Centre 2009
The Truth According to Morro and Jasp - Centaur Theatre 2008; Atlantic Fringe 2007; London Fringe 2007; Toronto Fringe 2007
The Funtastical Friendship of Morro and Jasp - Toronto Fringe 2006; Toronto Festival of Clowns 2006
Reflections, York University, Toronto, 2005
Past Appearances:
Toronto Festival of Clowns Opening Night Cabaret, June 3, 2011
Lunacy Cabaret, Centre of Gravity, March 12, 2011
The Red Nose District, Bad Dog Theatre, February 21, 2011
Morro's Sorrow, The Big Comedy Go-To, London, 2009
Canada Day Out and About, Toronto, 2008
Toe Jam, UNIT Fundraiser, Toronto, 2008
Ronald McDonald House, Toronto, 2007
Canada Day Out and About, Toronto, 2007
Pick Your Nose and Eat It, UNIT Fundraiser, Toronto, 2007
The Human River Walk, Garrison Creek, Toronto, 2006
Toronto Festival of Clowns, Distillery District, Toronto, 2006
Canada Day Out and About, Toronto, 2006
Eco Arts and Media Festival, York University, Toronto, 2006
Faculty of Environmental Studies Orientation, York University Toronto, 2006
Smile Canada, Stop Community Centre, Toronto, 2006
With our three original children’s shows (The FUNtastical Friendship of Morro and Jasp, The Truth According to Morro and Jasp, and Morro and Jasp GO GREEN) we performed at the Kids Venue at the Toronto Fringe for three consecutive years (2006-2008), and toured to the Atlantic and London Fringe Festivals. We performed twice at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal for their Saturday Morning Children’s Series; at Sick Kids Hospital; the Vaughan City Playhouse; and numerous schools throughout the GTA. In the fall of 2009 we toured Toronto, Scarborough, and Hamilton with a co-production of The Bully Show: Clown in the Round,an anti-bullying show for elementary schools which was developed and produced in partnership with Mixed Company Theatre. 2010 saw Morro and Jasp GO GREEN on a three-week spring tour to promote Earth Week and The Bully Show tour elementary schools throughout the GTA, and the Hamilton/Waterloo area in the fall.
Our first full length adult show, Morro and Jasp do Puberty premiered at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in 2008. It was then remounted at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2009, where it played to sold-out houses and was awarded Patron’s Pick at the Tarragon Extra Space. It garnered rave reviews (receiving five stars from both EYE Weekly and NOW Magazine) and was named Outstanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble by NOW Magazine. It was subsequently held over for the Best of the Fringe at The Canadian Stage Company’s Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs.
U.N.I.T. Productions produced Morro and Jasp do Puberty in 2010 in both Montreal (at Le Nouveau Theatre Ste. Catherine) and Toronto (at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Backspace). It was an official selection featured in the 2010 NY Clown Theatre Festival. In 2010 the show was nominated for Canadian Comedy Award for Best Play. In 2011 Puberty toured to the Edmonton Fringe Festival where it sold out its run and won rave reviews.
In June 2010 our second adult show, Morro and Jasp GONE WILD premiered at the Toronto Festival of Clowns and then was redeveloped for its run at the 2010 Toronto Fringe Festival where it received critical acclaim and sold-out the entire run of the show. The production won Patron’s Pick at the Tarragon Theatre Extra Space and was named Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Production by NOW Magazine. After its Toronto run, Morro and Jasp GONE WILD toured to the Winnipeg Fringe where it was performed on eleven consecutive nights at a site-specific venue in the picturesque Stephen Juba Park alongside the Red River. The production was called a “stand out” in the festival by the Winnipeg Free Press and garnered much attention for being the only site-specific and outdoor work at the Winnipeg Fringe that year. The setting in combination with the production was so successful that the festival has chosen to use it as a model for future outdoor and site-specific endeavours. U.N.I.T. Productions produced GONE WILD at Theatre Passe Muraille in March of 2011 and it was invited to the Amuse Bouche Festival in New York City in September of that year.
In January 2012, Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself premiered at the Next Stage Festival. The entire run of the show was sold out on the second day of the festival and so U.N.I.T. Productions remounted an hour-long version of the show in association with Cahoots Theatre Company at their space. Almost the entire run of the show was sold out and the show was nominated for 3 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, winning one for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble."
In July 2012, U.N.I.T. premiered Of Mice and Morro and Jasp at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The show was created at The Clown Farm on Manitoulin Island with John Turner of Mump and Smoot. It is an adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic novel, Of Mice and Men. It played to sold out houses in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Edmonton and won much critical acclaim.
In addition to our independent theatre work, Morro and Jasp have appeared at a number of events, fundraisers, and festivals including the LabCab Festival at the Factory Theatre, the Toronto Festival of Clowns, Lunacy Cabaret, Pandemonium Machine, Lower Ossington Theatre Youth Series, the HarbourKIDS Festival, Red Nose District, the Ronald McDonald House, and the Stop Community Centre.
Past Shows:
Of Mice and Morro and Jasp - Edmonton Fringe Festival 2012, Winnipeg Fringe Festival 2012, Toronto Fringe Festival 2012
Best New Play, Oustanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble (NOW Magazine 2012)
Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself - Cahoots Theatre 2012; Next Stage Festival 2012; Lab Cab Festival 2012
2012 Dora Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble"
Dora Nomations for "Outstanding Production" and "Best New Play"
The Godot Cycle (with Yes Let's Go) - Toronto Fringe 2011
Morro and Jasp GONE WILD - Amuse Bouche Festival, NYC 2011; Theatre Passe Muraille 2011, Winnipeg Fringe 2010; Toronto Fringe 2010; Toronto Clown Festival 2010
Patrons' Pick 2010; Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble (NOW Magazine 2010)
Morro and Jasp: In a Pickle - Pandemonium Machine 2011; Lab Cab Festival 2010
Morro and Jasp do Puberty - Edmonton Fringe 2011; NY Clown Theatre Festival 2010; Theatre Passe Muraille 2010; Theatre St. Catherine, Montreal 2010; Toronto Fringe 2009; Best of the Fringe, Toronto 2009; Winnipeg Fringe 2008
Patrons' Pick 2009; Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble (NOW Magazine 2009); 2010 Canadian Comedy Award Nomination for Best Play
Morro and Jasp GO GREEN - School Tour, Ontario 2011; School Tour, Ontario 2010; Vaughan City Playhouse 2009; Centaur Theatre 2008; Sick Kids Hospital 2008; Toronto Fringe 2008; School Tour, Ontario 2008
Outstanding Production for Young Audiences, Outstanding Ensemble (NOW Magazine 2008)
The Bully Show: Clown in the Round (with Mixed Company Theatre) - School Tour, Ontario 2010; Lower Ossington Theatre, Toronto, February 2010; Harbourfront Centre 2009
The Truth According to Morro and Jasp - Centaur Theatre 2008; Atlantic Fringe 2007; London Fringe 2007; Toronto Fringe 2007
The Funtastical Friendship of Morro and Jasp - Toronto Fringe 2006; Toronto Festival of Clowns 2006
Reflections, York University, Toronto, 2005
Past Appearances:
Toronto Festival of Clowns Opening Night Cabaret, June 3, 2011
Lunacy Cabaret, Centre of Gravity, March 12, 2011
The Red Nose District, Bad Dog Theatre, February 21, 2011
Morro's Sorrow, The Big Comedy Go-To, London, 2009
Canada Day Out and About, Toronto, 2008
Toe Jam, UNIT Fundraiser, Toronto, 2008
Ronald McDonald House, Toronto, 2007
Canada Day Out and About, Toronto, 2007
Pick Your Nose and Eat It, UNIT Fundraiser, Toronto, 2007
The Human River Walk, Garrison Creek, Toronto, 2006
Toronto Festival of Clowns, Distillery District, Toronto, 2006
Canada Day Out and About, Toronto, 2006
Eco Arts and Media Festival, York University, Toronto, 2006
Faculty of Environmental Studies Orientation, York University Toronto, 2006
Smile Canada, Stop Community Centre, Toronto, 2006