An Art Gala Hosted by Literal Trash

A night unlike any other. A social occasion for the not-so-social. Literal Trash (pronouns: it/trash) is the living, thinking, feeling bag of trash, returning to the Tranzac Main Hall after a gentle 8-month residency in 2025. Still introverted, still excited to meet people, this time it has the honour of working with local illustrator Ian MacDonald (Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game, Magic: The Gathering, Sideshow Art Prints).

Ian has created very special works of art depicting trash’s life offstage for the first time. The night will be structured around the unveiling of each work of art and its stories, as the literal bag of trash conducts casual Q&A segments with Ian to dive deep. Real deep. Hopefully, not too deep.

Come for the art, relaxed comedy of ironic meet & greets with the sentient, unscented bag of trash that does not have eyes, and an overall night of chill, wholesome, immersive connection—all to challenge traditional ideas of art, comedy, and community.

Gala tickets are free, so please RSVP to help us know how many chairs to set up. Any donations made in cash at the event are also accepted!

This work acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Creator/Performer Bio

Creator/performer of Literal Trash and other physical comedy characters, Adam has been performing since 2017. His love of Disney/Pixar, anthropomorphic character design, and sentimental storytelling keeps him going. It’s a good mix. He has, ironically and unironically, engaged audiences in many ways, ranging from Toronto Sketchfest and the Long Winter inter-arts festival to multiple immersive art parties hosted by Hercinia Arts Collective.

This gala is Adam’s second unscripted project involving Literal Trash with support from the Canada Council for the Arts. He believes in continuing to experiment with the artist-audience relationship. In doing so, he opens discourse, advocating for creation that pushes beyond Eurocentric connotations of theatre, and challenging perceptions of comedy as only stand-up comedy. These things matter, or maybe they don’t. Audiences decide!

Instagram: @adam_upsidedown

2025 Residency Recap Video:

CBC's Fresh Air Radio Interview: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-193-fresh-air/clip/16164032-a-fresh-air-first-ismaila-interviews-trash-bag

Visual Artist Bio

“Ian MacDonald, or ‘Moose’ as he’s known in some circles, was born in eastern Canada in 1988. He’s a graduate of animation, and after having previously worked a brief stint on the My Little Pony television series, now uses his knowledge acquired through that medium to apply to concept design, painting and art direction for licensed products…” – Sideshow Art Prints.

Ian’s talent and undying love of fantasy have even led him to illustrate artwork for trading card games, including Magic: The Gathering and Disney Lorcana. This makes him the perfect choice for depicting the Literal Trash character in 2026, as long as the bag of trash isn’t too awkward about it!

Instagram: @ian_macdonald_art

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