About the Plays:

The Hope Slide has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues.

Little Sister has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues and Female/Female Scenes.

The Hope Slide and Little Sister are a pair of award-winning one-act plays by Joan MacLeod, which were a Finalist for the 1995 Governor General's Award for Drama (Canadian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize). The Hope Slide is a poetic elegy for the souls we lose too soon in this world, whether through natural disaster or disease. Little Sister follows a handful of high-school students through a turbulent chapter of their lives, examining the teenage preoccupation with self-image and presenting a hauntingly clear portrayal of eating disorders. Both plays are particularly suitable for schools and play contests.

The Hope Slide is a dramatic comedy about Irene Dickson, an actor touring a one-woman show about the Doukhobors, a small sect of Russian pacifist dissenters. Irene is having a restless night on tour and travels back in time to when she was 15, recounting the haunting memories of Three Doukhobor Martyrs and the lives they affect decades later. The Doukhobors are a Russian religious group who immigrated to western Canada and who place their own ideals above the government's demands. As the ideals clashed, protesting began with the burning of B.C. Schools, the blowing up of government buildings and bridges, and naked protest marches, which of course is thrilling to a young and vibrant fifteen- year-old girl named Irene. The Hope Slide touches on the meaning of hope, for both the passionate teenage truant Irene and the discontented adult Irene, who's dealing with a friend's disease related death. Joan MacLeod adds to the mix the Hope Slide, a 1965 mudslide disaster that buried a BC highway and killed four motorists, including a Doukhobor.

The Hope Slide premiered in 1992 at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto and won the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award in 1994. This Canadian classic is suitable for high school drama contests and one-act festivals and is also a staple of the fringe festival circuit. (Cast: 1 female)

What people say:

"A gripping portreait of one woman's search for meaning in face of disillusionment and despair." — Ottawa Citizen

"A passionate and rich examination of the human condition's precariousness." — Victoria Times-Colonist

Little Sister is set in a high school, and tackles serious health issues such as self-image, weight preoccupation and eating disorders in teenaged girls. It tells the story of five teenagers – three girls and two boys – who are caught in the web of contradictory messages about how they should look, feel and behave. Despite its willingness to investigate profound problems, Little Sister never loses sight of the laughter that carries us through them.

Little Sister premiered in 1994 at Theatre Direct in Toronto and won the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award, Theatre for Young Audiences in 1995. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and is an ideal choice for high school drama contests and one-act festivals. (Cast: 3 female, 2 male)

What people say:

"The dialogue is utterly convincing, with no trace of condescension towards the characters. A terrific script for high-school production, and by no means unsuitable for older audiences." — Books in Canada

"A humorous, bittersweet examination of love, honesty, communication and relationships with family and friends." — Globe & Mail

"A serious investigation into how our serf-esteem is governed by our physical appearance and our relationship with others." — The Toronto Star

About the Playwright:

Joan MacLeod is an internationally celebrated Canadian playwright. She grew up in North Vancouver, lived for eight years in Toronto as playwright-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre, before settling on Bowen Island just outside Vancouver. Since 2004, she has taught at the department of writing at University of Victoria. Her plays have been extensively produced around the world, and she has won multiple theatre awards, including the recipient the Governor General's Award, two Chalmers Canadian Play Awards and the 2011 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, Canada's largest theatre award.