A time of discovery, promise, disappointment, transformation and Covid 19.
Design by John Endo Greenaway of Big Wave Design adapted from image by David Botton, Western Edge Theatre.
Our Ghosts* received its first production at Western Edge Theatre in Nanaimo, Oct./Nov. 2019. Directed by Wendy Wearne, it was an ambitious, intelligent and moving production. My heartfelt thanks to the Western Edge team.
I’m excited to report that a Vancouver area production of Our Ghosts is in the works and will be directed by Rachel Peake. A few months ago, we assembled a stellar cast to workshop the new draft. Enter Covid 19. Exit live workshop.
Hello Janet Munsil and The Canadian Play Thing, Janet’s brainchild to support Canadian plays and playwrights. We livestreamed a reading in April, learned a thing or two and had a terrific experience. Thank you, Janet.
On May 2nd we livestreamed Our Ghosts as part of #CanadaPerforms. Thank you: Facebook, Slaight Music, the RBC Foundation, SiriusXM Canada, and the National Arts Centre / Centre national des Arts. Big thanks also to McMedia Audio Visual Services for their support. The reading was up for a week and received over 2,000 visits and a 5/5 star rating. Amazing. Bizarre. Kinda thrilling.
But I’m a theatre geek, so bring on the live, socially-distanced workshop and reading for a count-on-one-hand invited audience of colleagues later in July! Fingers crossed…
Publication:
It was an honour to have an excerpt of Our Ghosts published in Understorey Magazine Issue 16 (2019): Diverse Stories of Women on Stage, editor
Natalie Meisner.

Polly and the Penthouse: A Spirited Musical Review: Our work-in-progress event at In Tune 2019 was hosted by the Penthouse Nightclub just under a year ago. The joint was packed and jumpin’. Thank you, Penthouse. For their generous support of our work of the script-in-process, Britt MacLeod (composition and lyrics) and I (book and lyrics) give special thanks to Laura Di Cicco, AD of the former Fugue Theatre and Roy Surette, AD of Touchstone Theatre. To the talented and brave In Tune performers who sang, ‘boxed’ and pole-danced… You knocked us out! Thanks also to New Magnetic North Festival for partnering with In Tune.
Following a hiatus, Britt and I are looking forward to getting back at it and turning a creative corner. We think we’ve found a wildly theatrical form in which to bring to life some remarkable Penthouse stories.
We are very grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts for supporting Polly and the Penthouse.

Sarah Roa and Finnegan Howes; photo: Matt Reznek, Bold Rezolution Studio; design: John Greenaway
Centurions and The Centurions Project. Last August, our Evergreen Cultural Centre showcase, directed by Lynna Goldhar Smith, profoundly impacted audiences and the artists involved. The piece was in negotiations for production and related community engaged programming with two Metro Vancouver venues. Like so much theatre everywhere, it’s all up in the air now. To be continued…
We thank Canada Council for the Arts for its support of The Centurions Project.
You can’t keep a good story down. Centurions will be seen and heard. I’m adapting the script. More on this coming soon.
*
Doors and Windows

Doors & Windows*: dark comedy, 1 W & 1 M, a 10 min play & now a short screenplay.
Doors and Windows, the 10 minute play, was in rehearsal for the Or Festival featuring 8 new short plays and scheduled to open in March at the Havana Theatre. Then, you guessed it… Covid! The Festival was postponed to June 2020 then again to March 2021. Thanks to Olivia Etey and the Or Festival team for their determination.
Doors and Windows, a short screenplay adapted from the play, was a hoot to write and the first thing I’ve submitted to film festivals. It made the semi-finals of at least one festival. I’m not allowed to say more than that, but it’s a fun beginning. Lots to learn.
*Thanks Wet Ink Collective for supporting Our Ghosts and Doors and Windows.