Truthhorse was born out of the comedic and filmic stirrings of a group of actors, writers, musicians and artists. Their first project as a collective began in August 2000 with informal meetings held to plan out a parody of the hit CBS reality series, Survivor. Although the idea was well developed before the filming began, the majority of the script was written on location, leaving a great deal of room for improvisation. SURVIVAL, as it was brilliantly called, blossomed into a 34 minute short film, and premiered at The Bob, the long-standing annual comedy revue at the University of Toronto. The cultish success of SURVIVAL propelled the boys into constant production. Over the next year, Truthhorse would begin writing and producing a range of original comedy shorts. On December 1, 2001, www.truthhorse.com was born and was launched at The Rivoli, in Toronto. Fifty minutes of new shorts were screened before a standing crowd of over 250 folks. This was the T-horse's first screening event. Soon after, JOE GURLIARM was selected as one of five finalists for Showcase's 2002 Diva Short Film Contest. Muchmusic Television also brought attention to the web site as "one to watch." Then in the Spring of 2002, Truthhorse had its national television debut when the CBC aired WILDGLIDERS on ZedTV. On March 22, 2003, Truthhorse held its second Toronto screening event at The Opera House. The evening was a true multimedia event featuring local visual artists Parishil, with music provided by CKLN radio show pros Circle Research. A capacity crowd of 850 people entered this landmark concert hall to stand and watch 70 minutes of new Truthhorse material. Following on the heels of The Opera House show, Truthhorse was invited to be the first-ever house act at Toronto's famed Monday night comedy venue, the ALT.dot COMedy Lounge. Truthhorse is currently taking a break from the ALT.dot, after 14 months of having a ball contributing to this weekly show. In May of 2003, MAXIMUM CROSSBOW was aired on CBC radio to advertise the Second Cine Awards, that night going on to win the 'Spoof' category. As a result of the win, MAXIMUM CROSSBOW was sent to Chicago to be screened at the Chicago Improv Festival. At the end of the summer, in September 2003, Truthhorse won the category for Best Comedy in Toronto's The Cabbagetown Short Film & Video Festival. On September 5 & 6, 2003, Truthhorse held its third screening showcase in Toronto, this time to launch a 6-episode television show of its own, set to debut on Rogers Television. These two nights were held at Tim Sims Playhouse at Toronto's Second City building. Forty-five minutes of new Truthhorse material was shown; plus we were delighted to have Second City sketch favourites, The Imponderables, perform as part of the show. On September 18, 2003, Truthhorse debuted its first television episode on Rogers Television at 10:00 pm. Each of the six episodes were entirely produced by Truthhorse and featured a handful of Toronto's own sketch comedy troupes and comedians, showing up in the show as weekly guest spots. As Truthhorse's cyber-tentacles continue to reach a wider audience, and now with 6 new episodes airing nationally in Canada on The Comedy Network, Truthhorse eagerly awaits what's next - be it ascension to heaven's pearly white corridors, or a swift kick in the crotch. Stay tuned.
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