common

Common is a trilogy of short plays about dignity in crisis, humanity in trauma; it is about seeing beyond the upheaval and hardship of young people experiencing homelessness. The characters are seeking purpose, friendship, love, acceptance and above all, visibility.

All parts are set in the same place: the Common Room of an urban youth crisis centre in Downtown Toronto, Canada.

Part I [The List] is about the friendship between a silent client named Ming and a gender-queer client named Dre. Ming muses about the benefits and freedom of being invisible, while Dre offers her unsolicited life advice on everything from technology to romance to the best part-time jobs. Dre tries to find a way to smuggle a back to school present to their estranged younger sister. 

Part II [or Hope is in Winnipeg] is a window into the beginning and end of a tumultuous  relationship between Becca, a mysterious girl from Winnipeg and Snaps, an urban lofty-dreamer of a boy. It is written in non-sequential, disjointed order, to reflect the constant chaos inherent in that downtown shelter community. It is a play about trust, hope, longing and the circumstances that lead to or create barriers for falling in love. 

Part III- Chester Breaks His Glasses [or Bricanyl] On the eve of Chester’s 21st birthday, he is in the Common Room, after hours, with a pair of broken glasses in his hands. Chester is in crisis - when he turns 21 he officially “ages out of the system” and is no longer a Crown Ward. And that means he can’t call his caseworker Wendy – who always made sure he got his glasses. In the middle of his crisis, Ming breaks her self-imposed silence and implores him to stay. 

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

Hope is in Winnipeg received formative development in a playwright residency with Project:Humanity. Further development was made possible through the Tarragon Playwrights Unit. 

Hope is in Winnipeg and The List had significant development in workshops provided through Studio180’s In Development and In Schools programs. These two plays were longlisted in the Top 30 for the 2019 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, the UK’s largest playwriting competition. 

Chester Breaks His Glasses [or Bricanyl] was completed in June 2021. This play’s development was significantly supported by Cahoots Theatre Company’s Promising Pen Prize, awarded in Spring 2021.

All three parts have been generously supported by The Toronto Arts Council, The Ontario Arts Council and The Canada Council for the Arts.

COMMON was workshopped and presented to an invited group in May 2022 at The National Theatre Studio, London UK. It was directed by Hannah Joss.

Common Part I was an early commission of Project:Humanity. Additional development provided through Tarragon Theatre and Studio 180. The project has been generously supported by Toronto Arts Council and The Ontario Arts Council.

COMMON was the 2022 Recipient of The Playwright Guild of Canada’s Tom Hendry Award for New Drama and the 2023 Voaden Prize for Playwriting Competition Honorable Mention.

the cottage guest

The last play of The Prairie Trilogy, The Cottage Guest is set in 2017. The Cottage Guest has been generously supported by the Ontario Arts Council and is commissioned by The Blyth Festival.