TFS’s Leslie Cserepy Wins Outstanding New Work at Ottawa Fringe for 1ForUOne4Me
Leslie Cserepy recently won the award for Outstanding New Work at Ottawa Fringe for his first solo show, 1ForUOne4Me.
The TFS Campus Administrative Assistant said the show is heavily inspired by the world of Bouffon-style clowning – a kind of anti-clown based on mockery and satire that he learned during three weeklong intensives hosted by the Sweet Action Theatre last year.
“The Bouffon charms their audience, while exploring the underbelly of society and humanity, holding up a mirror to the audience to have them laugh….at themselves. I used all my vacation time at TFS taking those workshops, because I’ve always been fascinated by it,” said the Yellowknife native, who moved to Ottawa before high school.
1ForUOne4Me, which took Cserepy a solid five months to bring to the stage, is a collection of Bouffon bits where he first does something for the audience, and then does something for himself.
“The show is loosely scripted and involves heavy interaction with the audience. It’s absurd and at times challenging,” he explained.
“My goal was to make audience laugh, but then question why they’re laughing. It deals with themes of anger, what we do to distract ourselves, and catharsis.”
Having the show win Best New Work at Ottawa Fringe was something Cserepy said he’ll never forget.
“It’s the hardest I’ve worked on anything. I did almost everything by myself, while working full time and auditioning at the same time. It’s also completely self-funded. It’s a miracle this thing even got made,” he said, noting that he’s hoping to bring an updated version of the show to Toronto some time in 2025
“I’m very proud of myself for getting it done and that audiences resonated with it so much. Winning Outstanding New Work at my home Fringe is something I’ll always remember.”
But just because Cserepy can now cross doing a solo show before the age of 35 off his bucket list doesn’t mean he’s ready to slow down at all – in fact, it’s just the opposite. Winning the Ottawa Fringe Award has only made him realize that he’s got that much more work to do, and he’s anxious to jump back in.
“I have plans and goals. It’ll be exciting the see where it takes me,” he said.
In the meantime, audiences can catch him at his monthly improv shows:
Cserepy joins his improv group the Soft Ruffians at Comedy Bar Bloor on the first Thursday of every month for a night of unhinged comedy mined from how audience members present themselves on their Hinge, Bumble and Tinder dating profiles, blowing the doors open on life, love and thirst traps. For more info, click here.
On the second Thursday of every month, Cserepy’s improv duo Café Au Lait take to the stage at Comedy Bar Bloor to improvise a brand new, 40-minute movie out of thin air – complete with music, action scenes and plot twists! For more information, click here.
