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In the past decade I've devoted most of my playwriting energies to Theatre
for Young Audiences or TYA as it's known in the trade. I've had my plays produced
at some of Canada's most respected Young Audience theatres, including Youtheatre
and the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young
People (formerly Young People's Theatre).
Putting on a Show: Theater for Young People
This book, published in 2004 by Second
Story Press, contains the scripts
of four of my young-audience plays and photos from the various
productions, plus a detailed section that explores the history
of theatre, what
makes it distinct from other forms of storytelling, suggestions
for how to go about creating a play, and descriptions of the roles
of the director, designers, etc. An engaging, accessible book
for kids interested in theatre and a valuable classroom resource
for teachers. An excerpt from Putting
on a Show is available online.
The plays included in Putting on a Show are:
 The Seven
Ravens is an adaptation of a fairy tale by the
Brothers Grimm about a young girl who travels to the end of the
world to find her seven brothers and free them from a curse that
has turned them into ravens. The play received a 2003 Dora Award
for best performance, as well as a nomination for best
young
audience play. It was produced in 2001 and 2002 by Montreal's Youtheatre, directed
by Michel Lefebvre, the company's Artistic Director. The Seven
Ravens played to sold-out audiences in Quebec, New Brunswick, the
National Arts Centre in Ottawa and the Lorraine
Kimsa Theatre for Young People in Toronto.You can find
out more about The Seven Ravens and the company's other productions
at www.youtheatre.ca.
Loon Boy is a drama about a young boy who
confronts his own inner demons when he's sent to live with a
foster mother who lives on a lake with nesting loons. It was a winner
of a 1994 Chalmers Canadian
Children's Play Award for young audience theatre. It was produced
by Carousel Players in 1999 and again
in 1998.
Ezzie's Emerald is a musical,
based on my novel of the same name, about an overweight girl
who meets
up with a comical fairy godmother and finds her true strength.
I wrote the book and lyrics for the show and the music is by
composer Phyllis Cohen. It was produced by Carousel Players in
1995.
Foundlings is a coming-of-age tale
set in ancient Greece. It was written on commission by Young People's
Theatre during my
tenure as playwright-in- residence in 1999-2000. The play had a month-long
workshop at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta in May 2001.
The workshop production was directed by Annie Szamosi
and co-ordinated by Ron Chambers of the U of Lethbridge Theatre Department.
Other Plays
Right of Passage was a large-scale outdoor theatre
work incorporating music, mask, stiltwalking and puppetry, which I wrote in collaboration
with director Anne Barber and designer Brad Harley. It was presented on Toronto Island
in July 2000 by Shadowland Theatre, with a cast and company of more than eighty people,
including professional actors, young performers and community members. You can find
more
information about this unique show at the Shadowland site.
I've written a number of other plays, including Unpacking (1995), a one-act
drama; Precipitous (1992) a comic monologue about childbirth; The Cookie
War, a comedy produced at the Blyth Festival in 1988; Different (1987)
a young audience drama; Risk Factors, Winner of the 1980 National Women's
Playwriting Award; and Six-East (1976) a comedy co-written with Francine Volker.
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