About the Play:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

Avoidance Tactics is a collection of three plays by Sky Gilbert. Two of the plays, Schubert Lied and Independence take a playful peek at famous people's possible homosexuality. The third play, The Birth of Casper G. Schmidt is a hysterical AIDS-dissident comedy.

Schubert Lied tells the long-suppressed story of German composer Franz Schubert's gay romances and his battle with syphilis. It also deals with the burning question – which is more important, life or art? Schubert Lied was nominated for three Dora Mavor Moore Awards including Best Play. (First staged in 1998 at the Theatre Centre West in Toronto; Cast: 1 female, 2 male)

Independence muses on homophobic theatre criticism in an exploration of the life and work of 1950s playwright American playwright William Inge, dropping him into the centre of his own plays Bus Stop and Picnic. Only this time, his plays are gay. (First staged in 1998 at Factory Studio Cafe as part of Summerworks Theatre Festival in Toronto; Cast: 2 female, 2 male)

The Birth of Casper G. Schmidt a thoughtful comedy about a straight but not narrow couple who befriend a gay obsessive compulsive. Howard, an old-fashioned, effeminate, gay man, lives upstairs from mild-mannered straights John and Mandy. John is bisexual and Mandy knows it, but when Mandy gets pregnant, there are more complications. It's dangerous, scary and riotously funny all at the same time. The Birth of Casper G. Schmidt was a hit at the Toronto Fringe Festival, Edmonton Comedy Festival and Calgary's High Performance Rodeo, and received three awards from the Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival. (First staged in 1998 at Factory Studio Cafe in Toronto; Cast: 1 female, 2 male)

What people say:

"The truth is, Sky Gilbert has more theatrical flair in his little finger than anybody else in the Toronto scene." — The Globe and Mail

"Gilbert is a world-class rambler ... nothing but entertaining." — The Toronto Star

"Canada's bad-boy playwright." — National Post

About the Playwright:

Sky Gilbert is a Canadian teacher, writer, director, filmmaker, and he was co-founder and artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (North America's largest gay and lesbian theatre company) for 18 years. He has had nearly 40 plays produced and written six critically acclaimed novels and three award-winning poetry collections. Since 1997, he has worked at The School of English and Theatre Studies at Guelph University where he is now a Professor.