ORIGINAL PLAYS
“Linda Griffiths” segment in “Shadows in the Nooks”
(Part of a 1.5-hour biographical show about women in Canadian theatre) 1 female/female-identifying (late 50s), white
A dire medical diagnosis leads legendary Canadian actor and playwright Linda Griffiths to reconsider her artistic career choices. Should she have stayed in Canada to write experimental plays, or should she have gone to LA and made a fortune ‘lolling seductively on the hood of a talking car’? And what should she do now? Part of a collective show about the pioneering women who helped build Canadian theatre.
“A Little Bite of Paradise”
(40 min and 20 min versions) 1 female/female-identifying (40-50s), 1 male/male-identifying (late teens)
After a mother loses her son to an opioid overdose, Wayne (the son’s teenage drug dealer) loses a big delivery. Does the dead boy’s mother have anything to do with its disappearance, and why does she insist on hiring Wayne to help in her garden?
Produced as part of the juried New Ideas Festival, Toronto, May 1-5, 2024. Directed by Ilana Linden. Starring Jeremy Ferdman and Danielle Cox.
“Recipe for a Riot Grrrl”
(30 min) 2 females or female-identifying (40s).
When the leader of a ’90s Riot Grrrl band decides to quit and become a baker, her sister and bandmate fights to save their feminist punk rock dream.
2023 Production: 35th New Ideas Festival 2023, Toronto. Directed by Ian Prinsloo. Starring Lawrie Carruthers Hopkinson and Natalie Stephenson.
“Unsettled” (aka “Brontësaurus”)
(90 min) 1 female/female-identifying (50-ish), 2 male/male-identifying (30, white; 30, black).
When a Canadian divorcée arrives in a depressed Yorkshire town, a struggling tour guide pretends to be the aristocrat of her period drama dreams, hoping to get a job in her wealthy family’s UK branch plant. But, when he involves his best friend in the ruse, issues of race, class, and imperialism arise, changing their lives forever.
Big Ideas Festival Staged Reading, Alumnae Theatre Company, Toronto, June 22, 2022. Directed by Pat McCarthy. Dramaturgy by Carolyn Zapf. Earlier 2022 developmental reading for Next Stage, with direction and dramaturgy by Temilola Gafaar.
“Mad”
(60 min) 2 females/female-identifying (20s; 50-60s), 2 males/male-identifying.
An actress playing Joan of Arc must care for her mentally ill mother while confronting a director who conflates female anger with madness.
New Ideas Festival workshop and reading, Alumnae Theatre, Toronto. Directed by Nancy Guertin. Staged reading, The Alchemist Theatre, Hamilton, ON.
“Cheezie”
(10 min) 1 male/male identifying, 2 other actors (any or no particular gender)
What happens when a junk-food-addicted raccoon invades the life of a health-conscious, animal-loving vegan and their much less vegan-ish boyfriend? A short, three-hander comedy. Write Now Festival, Toronto, December 3, 2023.
SHORT TV SCRIPTS
“The Right Leg” (5 min) A young doctor discovers he’s amputated the wrong leg of a notorious biker gang leader. Nominated for a Ryerson University CE Film Program screenwriting award.
“Roller Coaster” (20 min) Four tween friends seek adventure at their local theme park. A spec script for Decode Entertainment’s TV cartoon comedy Girl Stuff/Boy Stuff.
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Toronto Arts Council First Time Writer’s Grant
Nominated for Toronto Metropolitan University CE Screenwriting Award for “The Right Leg”
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Post-doctoral Research Fellowship
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship