About the Play:

The Envelope is a full-length comedic drama by Vittorio Rossi. How does the Canadian film industry measure up? Drawn from his own experiences, Vittorio Rossi exposes the bureaucratic institution that is the Canadian film industry. We follow an established playwright, as he struggles to get his new play, Romeo's Rise, turned into a movie for the big screen and runs smack into the idiocies of government film financing in Canada.

The Envelope sheds light on the way movies in English-speaking Canada are made and its relationship with the film industry in the US, particularly in Hollywood. Michael Moretti, a successful Canadian playwright and director, is still searching for his break in the film business. While excited actors gather in a local Italian restaurant, two producers jockey for the film rights to his new play premiering at an Old Montréal theatre. He has an agreement with a Los Angeles-based indie American producer to shoot the script low budget when his Canadian-friend-turned-movie-producer Jake Henry, comes to offer him a far more attractive deal to turn Romeo's Rise into a Canadian movie. Jake is assured of "the envelope" of the play's title: a tempting $6-million in government funding, but only if Moretti is prepared to surrender control of the creative process to mindless bureaucrats in the public film-funding agency and rewrite his play to meet their conditions. If he agrees to the deal he will profit handsomely from a movie that no one will ever see. The US Indie film maker can't offer the same budget, but has connections to large companies and the potential for bigger audiences. So does Moretti sell his soul, take the money and run? Or does he accept the American deal that doesn't pay nearly as much, but he'd retain complete artistic control, which allows the work to be produced intact for American audiences? Made in Canada movie projects generate more red tape than red carpet winners in this satiric and engaging play about the state of the English-Canadian film biz.

The Envelope premiered in 2015 at the venerable Centaur Theatre, the oldest English-language theatre in Montréal.

Cast: 2 female, 5 male

What people say:

"A humorous satire with a bitter, sometimes nasty edge, [takes] dead aim at Canadian film producers and government bureaucrats who 'make movies that no one ever sees.' Hard-hitting on the one hand, sweet as sugar on the other, The Envelope left the impression of a well-baked, enjoyable piece of Italian pastry." — Montréal Gazette

"It's a fascinating glimpse into the world of moviemaking ... The Envelope is essentially a play about idealism, greed and artistic integrity." — The Métropolitain

"Packed full of bright characters and big personalities, The Envelope was a wonderful glimpse into the life of theatre and film industry workers ... The script itself was quite well-written. The language sparkled throughout the show, and the exchanges between characters were conversational and genuine." — The Concordian

About the Playwright:

Vittorio Rossi is a playwright, actor, director and screenwriter who grew up in the Ville-Émard district of Montréal and still lives there. He has established himself as a significant Italian-Canadian voice on the English-Canadian stage. His plays have been produced in Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, New York City, Boston, Syracuse, and The Stratford Festival in Ontario.