About
the Book:
Theatre Direct Canada, one of the country's leading producers of
new provocative drama for young adult audiences, specializes in plays
by youthful writers aimed at yet more youthful audiences and which
alternates between taking plays into schools and having the schools
come to them. Theatre Direct shook the stage in 2000 and 2002 with
"Buncha' Young Artists Havin' Their Say." The four-play
Festivals presented in the Backspace at Theatre Passe Muraille in
Toronto featured a quartet of exciting new one-act dramas with
weekday matinees for schools and evening and weekend performances for
the general public. The plays are neither written by nor intended for
children; instead some of the most dynamic young playwrights in
Canada, who have growing experience but are still young enough to
know of what they speak, address themselves to teens and
twentysomethings.
In Shakin' the Stage editor Glenda MacFarlane has
selected four of the eight plays for this important collection that
highlights Theatre Direct's sharp-edged style of theatre and offers a
powerful tool for young actors, high school drama classes and
professional theatre artists who want to explore the authentic voices
and stories of young adults. Especially recommended for
school and contest use.
The plays in Shakin' the Stage include:
• Misha is a one-act drama by Adam Pettle:
Victim. Killer. Witness. Young Jew kills a fellow young Jew. The
deconstruction of a violent schoolyard murder as told by the one who
survived. A chilling play
inspired by a real-life murder, Misha
is a powerful investigation of male identity, faith, and violence.
(Cast: 3 male)
• The Phoenix Rides a Skateboard a one-act drama by Kate
Rigg: A young adopted
Asian girl struggling to find her identity in white Canada
enters the world of skating and skateculture. Along the way she
kick-flips Asian stereotypes as she flies, leaps and rides the rails
of teenage life as the one who no one gets.
She's also searching online for her birth parents, looking for clues
to her past and direction for her future. (Cast:
1 female)
• Boys a one-act drama by Paul Dunn about growing
up, and realizing what it means to be a man. This solo show delves
into the lives of three men: a busker, a fast food junkie, and a
commitment-shy gay student who are connected by their lack of
direction and bewilderment at 20-something life. A story of ABBA, Ham
and Cheese Sandwiches and Army Fetishes. (Cast:
1 male)
• Pop Song a one-act drama by Sean Reycraft
(Chalmers
Award Winner, 2000):
Set entirely on the dance floor of a high-school gym, it follows the
recalcitrant Steve and the engaging Stacey through the gestation of a
teen romance. Inspired by the real story of a teen who gave birth to
a baby during her prom, Pop Song
looks at a teenage couple's affair backward, through a series of
vignettes that take place at school dances. (Cast:
1 female,
1 male)
What people say:
"None of these plays resolves
itself into a comfortable moral position but each represents a
serious attempt to wrestle fundamental issues of humanity."
— Toronto Star
"These artists are certain
that young people are uncertain, definite about adolescent confusion
and emphatic about the rootlessness of contemporary youth."
— The Globe & Mail
About the Editor:
Glenda MacFarlane is a Canadian playwright and performer.
Her work has appeared in several anthologies, on CBC radio and on
stages across the country.