PlayWrights Cabaret 2010
The adventure continues! Over the last seven years, the work of local writers has been showcased through the PlayWrights Cabaret. Nineteen 10-minute scripts have been chosen from a broad range of submissions and presented as staged readings in our McManus Studio Theatre. The form of each submission is up to each writer.
The Grand Theatre continues to be committed to developing and encouraging local writers through dramaturgical feedback, workshops, seed grants and commissions.
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This year's pieces are:
Lucy Williams - Sandwiched
Kids are always a handful, but aging mothers are supposed to behave.
John Krisak - In the Village
Cultures clash as a British 13-year-old visits his grandfather in the mountains of Crete.
Diane Vanden Hoven - Strings
Deb and Jeremy are in the Husky parking lot. Will this really be the last night of their relationship?
Laura Wythe - Educating Mothers
For teenage mothers who need to collect welfare, it’s back to school.
Helen E. Patterson - Love 15
A verbal tennis match exposes a couple’s affection, anxieties and nastiness.
Paul Kinsella - Now See Hear
We meet Jim and Janet, husband and wife; each with physical challenges, on the day Janet delivers some life changing news.
Kathleen Brammall - I Wassa Angel
Junie, a little girl in a 60-year-old woman’s body, takes us into her world.
Lynda Martens - Poison
A visit to sharp-tongued Mom on the farm opens up new and dangerous possibilities.
Petryna Venuta - I Don’t Like You / The End
Four intersecting voices give glimpses of relationships in transition.
Michael Wilmot - Exit Strategy
Breaking up – practice makes perfect
John Huff - The Right Clothes
They’re both dating other people now- but when they encounter each other while shopping- it’s not fur that flies…
Clyo Beck - Copyright Violations
It’s 2040 and you need copyright clearance to say just about anything
Terri Griffin Burman - Nelson
Two brothers have found and renovated a canoe. A neighbour arrives to check if it’s her father’s canoe and family tensions appear.
Denise Hay - Mrs Wallace Dupree
Lillian and the woman down the hall never speak, but they think about each other a lot.
Len Cuthbert - The Maladroit Romeo
Not even close to the marriage proposal that he’d planned.
Maridon Duncanson - Shakesperience
If Shakespeare had a late night talk show.
Steve Mielczarek - Worms
A revenge fantasy for a gal who suffered a terrible haircut.
Dorian Mills - Saeculum
A retired hit-man returns home to find a working hit-man waiting for him.
Richard Nagel - Couch Surfing
A quiet evening with an overnight guest turns into an extraordinary imaginative adventure.
Thursday Jan 21 at 8pm and Saturday Jan 23 at 6pm
Sandwiched Lucy Williams
Strings Diane Vanden Hoven
I Don’t Like You Petryna Venuta
I Wassa Angel Kathleen Brammall
Exit Strategy Michael Wilmot
In the Village John Krisak
Poison Lynda Martens
Now See Hear Paul Kinsella
Educating Mothers Laura Wythe
Love 15 Helen E. Patterson
Friday Jan 22 at 8pm and Sat Jan 23 at 9:30pm
The Right Clothes John Huff
Nelson Terri Griffin Burman
Copyright Violations Clyo Beck
Mrs Wallace Dupree Denise Hay
Couch Surfing Richard Nagel
The Maladroit Romeo Len Cuthbert
Saeculum Dorian Mills
Worms Steve Mielczarek
Shakesperience Maridon Duncanson
Additional Information
8th Annual PlayWrights Cabaret
The PlayWrights Cabaret is in its 8th year at The Grand Theatre. This year 19, 10-minute scripts are being featured from January 21 to 23. The four shows will be in the intimate McManus Theatre with cabaret style seating.
Artistic Director Susan Ferley began PlayWrights Cabaret when she came to The Grand in 2003. She believes it is a chance for the theatre to give back to local playwrights for all of their hard work. “This is an opportunity for local artists to interact with artists here at The Grand,” she says. “It’s like taking the pulse of a community.”
Jeff Culbert had been directing for PlayWrights since its inception in 2003. “When you look at great literature there is always a local component to it,” Culbert says. “With a focus on local playwrights we can hear what affects Londoners and find out what is occupying people’s minds.”
This year there were 40 submissions for the annual cabaret, and 19 were selected. Ferley is most excited for the variety that is being showcased this year, “The range of work, styles and variety is the most interesting component to me.” This year there is a range of scripts that focus on everything from relationships to canoes and everything you could imagine in between. “I enjoy when people take the opportunity to play, explore and take the leap to try a different style of writing.”
There will be four local actors acting out all 19 scripts. “It is always interesting from the actors’ perspective,” Culbert notes. “Over the course of two nights one actor is portraying 15 to 18 characters. These characters can range from a six year-old to an 85 year-old. It is a fun and challenging experience for the actors.” Aidan deSalaiz, Jim Doucette, Rachel Jones and Rona Waddington are the actors who will be taking on the scripts.
This year’s PlayWrights Cabaret is being directed by Susan Ferley, Jeff Culbert and Heather Davies. Work will be showcased from local playwrights including Lynda Martens and Michael Wilmot.
From the serious to the funny it is always guaranteed to be an enthralling experience.