April 14, 2016 Chris Tolley

PlayME – New and noteworthy, top ranking drama podcast

Latest Episode: Bed and Breakfast (Interview with Mark Crawford)

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Listen to past plays and short stories in our archives.

 

Bed and Breakfast (Interview with Mark Crawford)

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Chris talks to actor and playwright Mark Crawford, who shares how growing up as a gay kid on a farm in southwestern Ontario has impacted his writing and the audience he likes to reach. He talks about why he feels rural theatre-goers are ready for queer narratives, why he doesn’t mind being “accessible” and what he’s learned from eavesdropping on audiences.

 

 

 

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Bed and Breakfast (Part 3)

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By Mark Crawford. Brett and Drew’s neighbours rally around the couple to show their support. Meanwhile, Brett starts digging into Maggie’s past, asking questions about a photo he found of her when she was young. Their renovator Doug investigates the culprit behind the ransacking of their home and uncovers a family secret. Brett and Drew learn something that has them questioning whether they can ever call this place home.

 

 

 

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Bed and Breakfast (Part 2)

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By Mark Crawford. Brett and Drew throw themselves into transforming Aunt Maggie’s home into a chic and modern getaway. They meet the locals and befriend a lesbian couple who help make them feel at home. They quickly become involved in the community and even find themselves volunteering to help organize the local Santa Claus parade. But one day they come home to find their house vandalized with homophobic slurs. Not everyone in the town wants them there.

 

 

 

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Bed and Breakfast (Part 1)

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By Mark Crawford. In the dark, a phone rings. Early-morning calls are never good news. Brett and Drew wake up to learn that Brett’s Aunt Maggie has died. Then they learn they’ve lost yet another Toronto house they were trying to buy. Soon they find themselves on a road trip to attend Aunt Maggie’s funeral. Once they arrive at her small town, they get another surprise: Aunt Maggie has left Brett her century-old home. When Drew is passed over for a much-anticipated work promotion, the couple decides to ditch Toronto, move to Aunt Maggie’s house and start a B&B. But how will the residents of this small community receive a gay couple from the big city?

 

 

 

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This Is How We Got Here (Interview with Keith Barker)

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Chris talks to playwright Keith Barker, a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, who explains why he’s drawn to writing about loss and how his family has been touched by suicide. He also reflects on what it might mean to “feel deep love and no regrets,” how nature helps us grieve and why he does his best writing when he like giving up.

 

 

 

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This Is How We Got Here (Part 3)

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By Keith Barker. We keep moving back and forth in time. Paul confronts Jim about a perceived betrayal, later to find out it may have been an act of mercy. Liset drives the creature from the garden, and her sister disappears into the backwoods to find it. Paul and Lucille finally meet by the tracks and remember an old story. “One day, as sometimes happens, things changed.”

 

 

 

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This Is How We Got Here (Part 2)

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By Keith Barker. We trace family tensions back in time. They start off arguing about one thing — dirty laundry, smashed plates, a broken hand — but eventually get to the thing no one really knows how to talk about. A son and nephew, “a good kid,” who took his own life. Sharp words and serious accusations fly. But Lucille finds hope in a creature who keeps visiting the garden.

 

 

 

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This Is How We Got Here (Part 1)

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By Keith Barker. We meet Paul as he tries to visit his estranged wife, Lucille, on the first anniversary of their son Craig’s death. But Liset, Lucille’s protective sister, sends him away. “Some days are better than others and today is not one of those days.” Then, Paul is visited by Jim — his best friend and Liset’s husband. The two men have grown distant, and an argument about “fruits” quickly turns into something deeper.

 

 

 

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Between the Sheets (Interview with Jordi Mand)

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Laura talks to playwright Jordi Mand. The Toronto-based playwright, who has worked with some of Canada’s most prominent companies, shares why she’s drawn to female-driven narratives and why she loves to craft characters that represent some of her greatest fears. Jordi also shares the audience’s emotional reactions to her hit show and how it led to some candid post-show confessions.

 

 

 

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Between the Sheets (Part 3)

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By Jordi Mand. Marion digs for details about Teresa’s future and starts to poke holes in her naive plans. Teresa’s inexperience shows as Marion lays out what life might look like for her a few years from now. Teresa reveals she has a lot more at stake than Marion knows, and they realize they share some common ground and have both experienced heartbreak. Marion asks Teresa for help to get her life back to the way it once was, but Teresa discovers the depth of Marion’s revenge.

 

 

 

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Between the Sheets (Part 2)

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By Jordi Mand. Accusations fly from both sides as the women argue about how they’ve arrived in an adversarial situation that threatens Marion’s family. Marion corners Teresa with probing and intimate questions about her personal life. Teresa refuses to answer her queries until she can’t take it anymore and decides to fight back. She lands a blow that promises to blow up Marion’s home life.

 

 

 

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Between the Sheets (Part 1)

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By Jordi Mand. Marion, a middle-aged working mother, arrives at her son Alex’s private elementary school — ostensibly for the school’s parent/teacher night. Teresa, Alex’s twenty-something teacher, wasn’t expecting her but reluctantly agrees to a brief meeting about Alex’s academic progress. The two share a tense exchange about school policy and Teresa’s teaching style until Marion reveals the real reason for her unannounced visit.

 

 

 

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Other Side of the Game (Interview with Amanda Parris)

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Laura talks to playwright Amanda Parris. The Governor-General Award-Winning writer and CBC host shares how sitting in a prison waiting room filled with women sparked the idea for “Other Side of the Game.” In a world saturated with shows about the justice system, she says stories tend to follow those arresting or being arrested. “They don’t follow the woman who has to clean up the mess…” She also explains why she isn’t a purist when it comes to theatre and why it’s so important to preserve the work of Black female artists.

 

 

 

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Other Side of the Game (Part 3)

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By Amanda Parris. Beverly tries to help Kahlil, who is growing more paranoid. But he wants something from her that she isn’t willing to give him. The day of the march arrives, and suddenly Khalil has changed his mind about letting Beverly deliver her much-anticipated speech. Then suddenly Kahlil is arrested, Akilah is wanted and Beverly is pulled in a million directions. Meanwhile, Nicole bails Devonte out of jail while Shevon is arrested. Both women question where to place their loyalty. Warning: this episode contains coarse language and a racial epithet.

 

 

 

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Other Side of the Game (Part 2)

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By Amanda Parris. Beverly gets asked by Khalil to write a speech for an upcoming march. Still, she can’t help but notice the struggles of the other female members of the group, like Akilah, who doesn’t get those kinds of opportunities anymore. Back in the 2000s, Nicole faces the roadblocks of expensive childcare while helping her friend Shevon, who is caught up in a toxic relationship with her gun-dealing, cheating boyfriend. Warning: this episode contains coarse language and a racial epithet.

 

 

 

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Other Side of the Game (Part 1)

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By Amanda Parris. Beverly is a university student in the 1970s looking to join the Black activist movement in Toronto. She meets resistance from Khalil, the male leader who questions her commitment to the cause. Decades later, in 2006, Nicole is a new mom trying to create a better future for her young son. She runs into her ex-boyfriend Devonte, who’s fresh out of jail. Both Beverly and Nicole work to understand these complicated men. Warning: this episode contains coarse language and a racial epithet.

 

 

 

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Winners and Losers (Interview with Marcus Youssef and James Long)

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Chris talks to Marcus Youssef and James Long. The award-winning Vancouver playwrights and performers shared how they accidentally created their hit show while playing a warm-up game for a different show they were co-writing. They also share the rules they put in place for their intentionally “dangerous” semi-improvised play, and what they’ve learned at the “edge of the potential loss of friendship.”

 

 

 

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Winners and Losers (Part 3)

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By James Long and Marcus Youssef. Some tougher topics and deeper jabs prompt James to decide it’s time to debate his dad. His life couldn’t be more different than that of Marcus’s dad, and all the ugly stories start to spill out. Then, with parents out of the way, the friends turn on each other. The game gets as personal as personal gets.

 

 

 

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Winners and Losers (Part 2)

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By James Long and Marcus Youssef. The game moves to the tense terrain of Marcus and James’ fathers. Marcus says his dad is a big winner because he emigrated from Egypt, went to Berkeley University, and became a wealthy, successful executive. James doesn’t want to talk about his dad. But Marcus reminds him, that’s how the game works.

 

 

 

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Winners and Losers (Part 1)

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By James Long and Marcus Youssef. Real-life friends Marcus and James play a game. They sit across from each other and pick people, places and things to declare either “winners” or “losers.” They start with microwaves and Mexico but soon move to more personal matters. Who has more street smarts? Who has more privilege? And which man was raised by a loser?

 

 

 

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‘That’s So 2020’ showcase + Behind The Scenes

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The longest, shortest, weirdest, most surreal year in our recent history is about to come to an end and we wanted to celebrate. PlayME’s special 2020 episode features five shows that we feel speak to this unique moment in time. Plays, mostly recorded remotely during the age of physical distancing, that have inspired, moved and transported us during this turbulent time. Plus, we pull back the curtain to share how we pulled this off working from home (ft. eavesdropping spouses and minor earthquakes).

 

 

 

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Horror Highlights (Halloween Special)

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Now that the nights are longer, we find ourselves at the time of year when we’re most willing to give into our fears and visit the darkest places of our imagination. PlayME’s special Horror Highlights episode features some of the most haunting shows we’ve featured on our podcast. We have a Pandora’s box full of horrors and thrillers that we wanted to resurrect in time for Halloween — because listening to scary stories makes us feel a little less alone with our fears. (Warning: this episode contains strong language and graphic imagery.)

 

 

 

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The Quarantine Chronicles: Home School

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A couple of overwhelmed Quebecois parents are caught off guard when their children make a power-play. A thriller by Governor General’s Award winner Erin Shields.

 

 

 

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The Quarantine Chronicles: Blue Rare

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A swanky restaurant invites a naive food reviewer to taste a truly rare dish. A humorous horror by Dora Award winner Kat Sandler.

 

 

 

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The Quarantine Chronicles: Saving Grace

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A strained relationship between two sisters, who are separated by much more than a border. A family drama by Dora award winner Rosamund Small and Governor General Award winner Nicolas Billon.

 

 

 

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The Quarantine Chronicles: Liming

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Travel to a distant future where Rihanna rules the world and people are mandated to socialize … or else. A sci-fi by Secret Life of Canada co-host Leah-Simone Bowen.

 

 

 

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The Quarantine Chronicles: Mizuko (Water Baby)

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A couple at a lakeside cottage is haunted by a mysterious presence trapped between two worlds. A Japanese-infused horror story by Governor General Award winner Hiro Kanagawa.

 

 

 

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The Quarantine Chronicles: Raking Light

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Deep within the Prado in Madrid, an art historian restores Velázquez’s famous Las Meninas painting while society crumbles outside. A drama by Governor General Award winner Jordan Tannahill.

 

 

 

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The Quarantine Chronicles: Don’t Get Me Startered

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A novice baker is gifted a sourdough starter with a mind of its own. An absurd comedy by Mark Crawford, 2020 nominee for the Leacock Medal for Humour.

 

 

 

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Introducing: The Quarantine Chronicles — a special summer series

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You hover on the edge of two realities. Behind you is the life you’ve always known, growing more distant with each passing hour. Ahead is a world you could never have imagined. This summer, PlayME proudly presents: The Quarantine Chronicles. The chronicles are seven short works of audio fiction written by top Canadian playwrights. Namely: Jordan Tannahill, Kat Sandler, Hiro Kanagawa, Erin Shields, Mark Crawford, Leah Simon-Bowen, Rosamund Small and Nicolas Billon. All were invited to write short audio plays that capture the spirit of our distanced, disorienting and deranged times — with wonderfully weird results.

 

 

 

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The Show Must Go On: Sir John A: Acts of A Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion by Drew Hayden Taylor

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Part 1:

Bobby Rabbit has some unfinished business with Canada’s first prime minister. When he finds out his grandfather’s medicine bundle has been rotting away in a British museum, he talks his buddy Hugh into taking a road trip with him all the way to Kingston. There they plan to pull off the ultimate heist. At a roadside McDonald’s they meet a university student named Anya who is licking her wounds after a nasty breakup. She joins them on their journey.

 

Part 2:

Back on the road, tensions in the car mount between Bobby and Anya as they square off about everything from racism to colonialism to the lingering effects of residential schools. They both know their fair share of history but see it from different perspectives. Hugh borrows Anya’s knife to makes some peanut butter road trip snacks, but when he accidentally lets slip their plans, she pulls it and a can of bear spray on them and demands answers.

 

Part 3:

At a bar on a break from the road, Bobby and Hugh share the real reason they are heading to Kingston with Anya. She storms off after a heated debate and Hugh warns Bobby that he has to stop making smart women angry. Hugh convinces her to continue on the journey to Kingston as he doesn’t want to leave her alone in the middle of nowhere. Anya reveals she has secrets of her own. In Kingston, Bobby is confronted with an unexpected presence.

 

Bonus Episode: Interview with Drew Hayden Taylor

Laura talks to Drew Hayden Taylor, who was visiting Toronto from Curve Lake First Nations. They talk about why he decided to tackle the daunting task of writing a comedy about Sir John A MacDonald, how he went from self-taught to nationally celebrated and why he’s actually feeling quite good in these uncertain times. (Hint: he’s been quite busy!)

 

 

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The Show Must Go On: Three Women of Swatow Up by Chloe Hung

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Part 1:

Grandmother is drinking gin naked while reading the Bible when she hears an anxious voicemail from Mother. The message says she wants to know how to make drunken chicken, which is odd because she is a vegetarian. Only her abusive husband eats meat at their home. Grandma keeps her worries to herself when Daughter comes home and the two quarrel over alcohol, weight, and life in general. Grandmother decides to go to Mother’s apartment. There she makes a grim discovery.

 

Part 2:

After arriving at Mother’s home, Grandmother is confronted with a grisly mess in the bathtub that she must help clean up. The two generations of women argue over tea, emojis, and who is responsible for the bloody crime scene that has unfolded. They try to scrub the bathroom of evidence when the Daughter unexpectedly arrives. Dark family secrets are revealed.

 

Part 3:

The women flash back through a history of abuse. Grandmother has had to watch Mother repeat her mistakes and is determined to keep Daughter from following in the same footsteps. Three generations of Swatow women discover they are bound by more than blood.

 

Bonus Episode: Interview with Chloe Hung

Chris talks to Chloe Hung who is currently living and working in LA. The Three Women of Swatow playwright shares why her relationship with her two grandmothers inspired her to write about family lore, how she likes to subvert people’s expectations about demure Asian women, and the differences she has learned between writing for the stage versus the screen.

 

 

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The Show Must Go On: Cowgirl Up by Anna Chatterton

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Part 1:

The crowd goes wild as cowgirl Cassidy and her trusty horse Starbright successfully qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Red Deer Alberta, but first-time jitters make for a disastrous first run. Just as Cassidy considers calling it quits, the rookie pair catch the attention of three cowgirl goddesses who miss the crackle and the hustle of barrel racing. Joyce, Effie and BB have returned to Earth from their skybox above to mix with the mortals. They pledge to teach Cassidy how to cowgirl up.

 

Part 2:

After a huge win at the Canadian Finals Rodeo, fledgling cowgirl Cassidy wants a little time away from her horse and the Goddesses to celebrate. She saddles over to the bar and meets Jed, a Cowboy who doesn’t think much of Cowgirls or “can chasing.” After some whiskey and a two-step on the dance floor, Cassidy leaves her beloved horse out in the pen until the wee hours. Neither she nor her horse feel great the next day. Has she already blown the big race that will lead them all the way to the Calgary Stampede?

 

Part 3:

With the stakes as high as ever, Cassidy and her horse Starbright enter the ring for the next barrel race, but something isn’t right with her mare. After a nail-biting ride, they manage to win but Cassidy knows her horse. Starbright won’t’ be up for the next competition and it’s all Cassidy’s fault. The Goddesses try to comfort her and encourage her to work with a new horse for the next race. But after coming all this way with Starbright, can she really compete without her trusted friend?

 

Bonus Episode: Interview with Anna Chatterton:

Laura talks to Anna Chatterton who is physically distancing at home in Hamilton with her family. The Cowgirl Up playwright explains how she got interested in rodeo culture, the parallels she’s discovered between artists and cowgirls, and reveals which real-life women inspired some of her characters.

 

 

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The Show Must Go On: The Runner – by Christopher Morris

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Part 1:

Where is Jacob? He doesn’t know. All he does know is that he is a volunteer for Z.A.K.A, an Israeli organization responsible for putting the bodies of Jews back together following accidents or terror attacks. And he is cold and wet. As he grapples with the memory of an attack, he starts to piece together the moment when he rushed to a scene of violence to find a dead Israeli soldier and a dying Arab girl clinging to life. He makes a life-altering decision.

 

Part 2:

The Arab girl haunts Jacob’s every thought. He thinks of her when he is sent to Ukraine to unearth remains from a mass grave. And when he slips through the door into a crowded nightclub in Tel Aviv on a hot and humid night. He wonders if God is punishing him for what he does in the dark. Then the head of Z.A.K.A calls him in and breaks some bad news.

 

Part 3:

Reeling from the loss of his job at Z.A.K.A, Jacob flees to his brother Ari’s home in an Israeli settlement. The two brothers, on opposite sides of an ideological argument, get into a dispute and Ari tells Jacob he doesn’t belong in Israel. Jacob decides he must see the Arab girl once again. He finds her home and bangs on her door. Not long later, he realizes exactly where he is.

 

Bonus Episode – An interview with Christopher Morris:

Chris talks to playwright Christopher who is self-isolating at home in Toronto, about how he first became interested in the Jewish volunteer force ZAKA when he was just a teen growing up in Markham. He also shares why it took almost a decade and several trips to Israel to write The Runner, and why he is compelled to write characters who are pushed to extremes.

 

 

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Secret Life of a Mother – by Hannah Moscovitch with Maev Beaty and Ann-Marie Kerr co-created with Marinda de Beer

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Part 1:

Two months after giving birth to her son, a mothering app sends Hannah Moscovitch a tip: “Consider getting back in the sack with your husband, even if you don’t feel ready!”(Let’s just say it didn’t find her in the mood.) Together with friend and performer Maev Beaty, Hannah sets out to write the antithesis to the chirpy notification: the untold realities of motherhood and the taboo subjects that moms don’t openly share … starting with miscarriage.

 

Part 2:

Hannah, played by Maev, confides her fear that she — someone who can tune out oncoming traffic — won’t be a good mother. Also, would the pain of labour expose something ugly at the bottom of her psyche? After hours of contractions, gas to relieve the pain, and a team of doctors staring at her, she finds out.

 

Part 3:

After her son Elijah’s birth, Hannah is struck by the urge to sing him traditional Hebrew songs mixed with a smattering of Céline Dion. Both Hannah and Maev reveal their birthing war wounds before they agree that labour isn’t even the hard part. They wrestle with guilt and shame for having ambitions beyond raising babies. Then one boozy summer in Stratford, they give each other a special kind of permission they both need.

 

Bonus Episode – an interview with the SLOM Competitive:

Laura talks with Hannah, Maev, and Ann-Marie who are all working from home and mothering during isolation in Halifax, Toronto, and Lunenburg, N.S. The three women share how they wrote (and re-wrote and re-wrote) the story, why they wanted to complicate cheerful talk about motherhood and how damaging it is to keep women in the dark. “No one tells birth stories publicly or honestly.”

 

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Take d Milk, Nah – by Jivesh Parasam

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Part 1:

Jiv is Canadian. Jiv is Indian. And Hindu. And West Indian. And Trinidadian too. Or maybe he is just colonized. In order to explore all these hyphenated identities, he creates the first-ever Hindu-Caribbean-Canadian identity play — even though he hates identity plays. He starts with a brief history of indentured servitude in Trinidad, and his family.

 

Part 2:

Jiv is the first in his family to be born in Canada and raised in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Here some people call him black, while his own family calls him “white boy”. Jiv goes on a teenage quest to Trinidad to untangle his roots and become more legitimately “third world”. Things do not go as planned.

 

Part 3:

Jiv shapeshifts again to prove identity is pretty trippy. Maybe we are all “Jiv”. Maybe this is all an illusion. But then a memory from Junior High brings him crashing back down to earth. Disaster strikes on 9/11 and Jiv feels forced to choose an “identity raft”. He’s not proud of his choice. He asks certain “Jivs” to skip to the next episode.

 

Part 4 – Epilogue:

We all meet again for one final thought from our multi-hyphenated hero. Here’s why it matters how we choose to define the divides between us, and within us.

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carried away on a crest of a wave – by David Yee

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Part 1:

In 2004, the deadliest tsunami in recorded history tore through over a dozen countries around the Indian Ocean. In a series of vignettes, David Yee imagines the people left behind in disaster’s wake. In Australia, a scientist notes that the planet got smaller the day of the disaster. In Malaysia, two brothers toss family treasures to save their house from descending into the sea. In India, a priest tries to prove that his parishioners were saved by divine intervention.

 

Part 2:

The tragedy travels all the way to Toronto where a radio DJ defies his bosses to perform a parody of Tears for Fears. In Sri Lanka, a man speaks frankly to a child orphaned by the tsunami. And in Thailand, a man mourns his beloved wife in the company of an highly-specialized escort.

 

Part 3:

The ripples extend far below the surface of the earth as two men endlessly fall down a hole. In Salt Lake City, an FBI agent questions a bereaved mother about the child she lost in the tsunami. And on a sandy beach in Ko Phi Phi Island, Thailand, two men sit together deciding who is responsible for the tragedy.

 

Bonus episode – Interview with David Yee:

Chris talks to Governor General Award-winning playwright David Yee, who is currently isolating from home and workshopping a new play over Zoom. Yee reflects on why “underused” actors of colour often resort to writing their own stories, and why he wanted “Carried away on the crest of a wave” to be too big for small theatres. He also shares where he was when he first heard about the devastating 2004 Tsunami, and why he felt compelled to write an anthological play about “the lives that it touched, brought together and destroyed.”

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Crawlspace by Karen Hines

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Part 1:

Writer Karen Hines dreams of homeownership so when she discovers a lemon yellow coach house advertised as a “condo alternative,” she decides to invest her life savings. She adores the granite countertop and the walk-in closet and its lack of basement. But on move-in day, she sits on the window sill and it crumbles beneath her. She soon learns that she hasn’t bought a coach house. She’s just sunk everything she owns into a glorified car garage.

 

Part 2:

Karen learns that not only is her coach house actually a converted garage, but also that it’s encroaching on her neighbour’s property. And because her neighbour won’t sell her the land, she can’t sell the house. And because she spent all her money on the house, she can’t afford to do the repairs. She falls deeper into debt and despair, and then she notices a mysterious foul odour emanating from god knows where.

 

Part 3:

The stench pervading from somewhere is a mystery no one can solve. Karen incurs tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt to find the problem and … deal with it. Karen’s coach house goes from bad investment to a health hazard. She must get out.

 

Bonus episode – Interview with Karen Hines:

Laura talks to playwright and performer Karen Hines about her solo show Crawlspace. Hines explains how her play was inspired by her true-life experience of buying a home, how it fundamentally changed her as a person and redefined her concept of home.

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The Boy in the Moon by Emil Sher

Based on the book by Ian Brown

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Part 1:

An early delivery of their son catches Ian Brown and his wife Johanna Schneller by surprise. Their son Walker is born with a rare genetic disorder, which went undetected in the womb. His condition will impact everything from walking to talking to eating. And life changes, completely.

 

Part 2:

Walker is diagnosed with Cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome, a condition so rare only 300 people in the world have been diagnosed with it. Ian and his wife are faced with the task of raising a boy who can’t tell them anything, and soon find themselves imagining everything. They yearn to communicate with Walker and ask him questions. What do you dream at night? What do you think about? Why do you keep hitting yourself?

 

Part 3:

Ian reflects on the beautiful moments — the private language of tongue clicks and the joys of an echoing hallway. He also recalls the worst moments — his wife at the bottom of the darkness, and well-meaning friends who cannot help. The family makes a decision with a profound impact; a turning point with no turning back.

 

Bonus episode – Interview with Ian Brown and Emil Sher:

Chris talks to playwright Emil Sher and journalist Ian Brown about Ian’s bestselling book-turned-play, The Boy in the Moon. Both tell the story of Ian’s quest to connect with his son, Walker, who was born with a rare genetic disorder. The two writers discuss the challenge of portraying Ian’s family on stage; the guilt and shame associated with disability; and why Ian had to rethink the idea of love and where to find it.

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BUTCHER by Nicolas Billon

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Part 1:

It’s Christmas Eve at a Toronto police station, and Inspector Lamb is no longer having a silent night. A drugged old man in a Santa hat and military uniform has been dropped on his doorstep. Around the man’s neck: a butcher’s hook spiked with a business card that reads “arrest me.” The cop makes two calls: to the lawyer on the card and an interpreter who speaks Lavinian. The lawyer arrives first.

 

Part 2:At first, it seems like a Christmas miracle. The Lavinian interpreter arrives to find the old man moaning in pain. Besides being fluent in his language, Elena is also a nurse with some timely advice. As the four wait for an ambulance to arrive, she quickly deduces a lot more about the man — from the hook that hung around his neck to the missing fingernails on his toes. But tensions rise as it becomes clear: the old man isn’t the only one in the room with secrets.

 

Part 3:

“Revenge is the confession of pain … it wants you to feel what it feels.” We all know what it means to kill someone, but what does it mean to break them? No one in the room is playing the same role as when they entered it. No one will ever be the same again.

 

BONUS EPISODE – Interview with Playwright Nicolas Billon

Laura talks to Governor General award-winning playwright Nicolas Billon about his play “BUTCHER”, a dark political thriller set on Christmas Eve. Billon explains why he felt the need to invent a country, and a whole language, to tell the story he wanted to tell; how Hitchcock’s thrillers inspire his writing; and what he thinks of the notion that “you can have peace or you can have justice, but you can’t have both.”

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

 

PlayME NOW: Bunny by Hannah Moscovitch

 

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Laura and Chris revisit the perfect play for summer, Bunny by Hannah Moscovitch. The play explores taboos of female sexuality when Sorrel, a grown-up married woman, finds herself alone in a canoe with a much younger man. She is wrestling with whether to give into her desires, or stick to what society expects for her.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

 

Between Breaths

By Robert Chafe

Part One

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Part Two

 

Part Three

 

Bonus Episode – Interview with Robert Chafe

 

Between Breaths tells the story of Dr. Jon Lien, the “Whale man of Newfoundland,” known for his pioneering efforts in freeing whales from fishing nets. Told in reverse chronological order, the play portrays his final moments when he finds himself trapped in his own body, much like the whales he worked to free. Note: this play includes coarse language.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

 

Huff

By Cliff Cardinal

Part One

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Part Two

 

Part Three

A gut-wrenching yet darkly humorous tale about Wind and his brothers, all caught in a cycle of solvent abuse following their mother’s death. Wind’s fantastic dream world bleeds into his haunting reality, as he’s preyed on by the Trickster. Please note: this play includes explicit language, difficult themes and graphic scenes depicting sexual violence, addiction and suicide. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

 

Bonus Episode – Interview with Cliff Cardinal

Laura speaks with award-winning writer and performer Cliff Cardinal about his gut-wrenching play, Huff. He talks about the taboo subculture of Indigenous kids who abuse solvents and are at risk of suicide, how theatre saved him in high school, and what was like to grow up as the son of iconic actress Tantoo Cardinal.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

The Fish Eyes Trilogy

By Anita Majumdar

Part One: Boys with Cars

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Part Two: Let Me Borrow That Top

 

Part Three: Fish Eyes

 

An interview with Anita Majumdar

 

Bonus Episode!

 

 

Set in the hormone-filled halls of Port Moody Senior Secondary School, we meet Naznin. Her story is the first in three inter-woven Bollywood-meets-high school plays where cultures collide, women struggle for status, and heartbreak awaits at every corner.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

PlayME NOW: Better Angels by Andrea Scott

 

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Who should be feared? Who should be grateful? And who should get to tell the story? These questions are as relevant today as they’ve ever been. As Black History Month winds down, the theatre-powered PlayME podcast resurfaces a work that connects past, present and future.

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

What A Young Wife Ought To Know

By Hannah Moscovitch

What A Young Wife Ought To Know Episode 1 / 4

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What A Young Wife Ought To Know Episode 2 / 4

 

What A Young Wife Ought To Know Episode 3 / 4

 

What A Young Wife Ought To Know Bonus Episode – Interview with Hannah Moscovitch

 

 

Set in 1920s Canada, What a Young Wife Ought to Know tells the story of Sophie, a young working-class wife who has a lot to learn about love, sex, and birth control. The play is a brave and honest examination of fertility and family planning, inspired by real stories about young mothers during the early Canadian birth control movement.

Featuring the original Halifax-based 2b theatre company cast that toured Canada – David Patrick Flemming, Rebecca Parent and Liisa Repo-Martell. Directed by Christopher Barr.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

Bang Bang

By Kat Sandler

Bang Bang Episode 1 / 4

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Bang Bang Episode 2 / 4

 

Bang Bang Episode 3 / 4

 

Bang Bang Episode 4 / 4

 

Bang Bang – Bonus Episode – Interview with Kat Sandler

A Factory commissioned world premiere.

Featuring: Sébastien Heins, Jeff Lillico, Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah, Karen Robinson and Richard Zeppieri.

A white playwright uses the shooting of an unarmed young black man by a police officer as a “jumping-off point” for his hit play, soon to be adapted into a major movie. As Hollywood comes knocking, the writer visits the officer involved.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

Bunny

By Hannah Moscovitch

Bunny Episode 1

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Bunny Episode 2

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Bunny Episode 3

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Aroused by inappropriate love, a young woman discovers the power of her own allure. Ever the outsider, she struggles with what’s social acceptable only to find herself increasingly alone in her desires.

A Tarragon Theatre production.

BUNNY was commissioned and received its world premiere in August 2016 at the Stratford Festival – Antoni Cimolino, Artistic Director.

Featuring: Gabriella Albino, Maev Beaty, Rachel Cairns, Matthew Edison, Cyrus Lane, Jesse LaVercombe & Tony Ofori. Directed by Sarah Garton Stanley.

Buy tickets: Plays at the Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, CanadaFeb 21 – Apr 1, 2018Use the discount code, “bunny20” for a 20% discount.

 

http://www.tarragontheatre.com/show/bunny/

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

PlayME NOW: Iceland by Nicolas Billon

 

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In the midst of a severe stock market correction, PlayME revisits Iceland by Nicolas Billon. Set against the backdrop of the 2008 banking crisis, Iceland unearths greed, selfishness, and other ugly human impulses that help fuel the fires of raging capitalism.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

PlayME NOW – Vitals

 

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On the heels of the recent California fires, PlayME revisits a clip from past show, Vitals by Rosamund Small. Listen to get inside the mind of a paramedic in the heat of the action. PlayME NOW is a series of bonus episodes that explore the relevance of previous shows to today’s headline events.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

Prairie Nurse

By Marie Beath Badian

Prairie Nurse Part 1 / 3

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Prairie Nurse Part 2 / 3

 

Prairie Nurse Part 3 / 3

 

Bonus Episode – Interview with Marie Beath Badian

 

A comedy about two Filipino nurses who come to work at a small-town Saskatchewan hospital in the late 1960s. Cultural clashes, personality differences, homesickness, and the amorous but dim-witted goalie from the local hockey team complicate the women’s lives.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

PlayME Season 2 Trailer

Coming soon….

PlayME has joined CBC Podcasts. Coming soon: Prairie Nurse, What a young wife ought to know, Huff, Between Breaths, and The Fish Eyes Trilogy. Welcome to your Digital Theatre.

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

Iceland

By Nicolas Billon

Set against the backdrop of the banking crisis, a confrontation between a real estate agent and a tenant takes an unexpected turn.

Featuring the original cast of Kawa Ada, Claire Calnan and Christine Horne.

 

PlayME – Iceland – Episode 1

PlayME – Iceland Episode 2

PlayME – Iceland Episode #3

 

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 


Vitals

By Rosamund Small

 

A paramedic named Anna spends her days saving lives and dealing with the darkness, cruelty, and sheer incompetence of the people all around her. How many 911 calls can she deal with before she has her own emergency?

Episode 1

PlayME – Vitals Episode 1

Vitals Episode 2

PlayME – Vitals Episode 3

PlayME – Vitals Episode 4

http://cbc.mc.tritondigital.com/CBC_PLAYME_P/media/playme-cjacISsY-20181026.mp33

PlayME – Interview with Rosamund Small

Photo Credit: Michael Barlas

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells)

By Rose Napoli

#12 Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells) – Episode 1

PlayME – Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells) – Episode 2

Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells) – Eps. #3

Dear Mr. Wells – Bonus Interview with Rose Napoli

 

Laura, a 15-year-old school girl, is in an inappropriate relationship with her English teacher. She is in love, but he’s in a complicated marriage he can’t leave. Things ignite when his wife calls during the couple’s secret night of passion.

Featuring Vivien Endicott-Douglas and David Jansen. The original workshop production was directed by Andrea Donaldson.

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

Quiver

By Anna Chatterton

Quiver – Episode 1

Quiver – Episode 2

Quiver – Episode 3

Quiver Bonus Interview with Anna Chatterton

Maddie’s sweet sixteen sister, Beatrice, is dating someone she shouldn’t. Their brassy single mom, Sheila, makes up with her ex-boyfriend again. So fourteen-year-old Maddie is left to fend for herself with nothing but her bow and arrow.

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

Theory

By Norman Yeung

#19 – PlayME – Theory – Episode 1

PlayME – Theory – Episode 2

PlayME – Theory – Episode 3

PlayME – Bonus Interview with Norman Yeung

Isabelle, a young liberal professor of film theory, creates an Internet discussion board for her class. A mysterious student posts offensive comments and videos, testing Isabelle’s open-mindedness.

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

Better Angels

By Andrea Scott

Better Angels – Episode 1

Better Angels – Episode 2

Better Angels – Bonus Interview with Andrea Scott

Akosua is a young woman from Ghana who has come to Canada to work as a nanny for a couple in Toronto. They insist she is a member of their family, but when they increasingly deny her pay she comes to a chilling realization: she has become their prisoner.

Written by Andrea Scott and featuring Akosua Amo-Adem, Sascha Cole, Peyson Rock and David Christo, the play premiered at Summerworks in 2015 and was originally directed by Nigel Shawn Williams.

Click Here to listen or subscribe in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

Grade 8

By Dwayne Morgan

PlayME – Grade 8 – Episode 1

PlayME – Grade 8 – Episode 2

PlayME – Bonus Episode – Interview with Dwayne Morgan

Grade 8 looks at what it means to be a black father today, and the role men play in young girls’ lives as they grow up and become women. Told through spoken word, this one-man show is part beat poetry and part urban lyricism.

 

Click Here to listen in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

 

The Philosopher’s Wife

 

Featuring: Keith Barker, Aviva Armour-Ostroff, Chala Hunter, and Ishan Davé.

By Susanna FournierDirected by Leora Morris.

The Philosopher’s Wife, is a modern Gothic subverting notions of education, sex, power, and submission.

For more information about the trilogy go to:

 

www.empiretrilogy.com

 

The Philosopher’s Wife – Episode 1

 

The Philosopher’s Wife – Episode 2

 

The Philosopher’s Wife – Episode 3 

New Episode!

 

Click Here to listen in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google PodcastLaura and Chris host conversations with some of Canada’s most celebrated playwrights in front of a live audience. Together, they dive deep into their favourite monologues. d’bi young anitafrika talks about her monologue Mami Wata.

PlayME Mono

 

Episode 1 – d’bi young anitafrika

discussing her play

 

She Mami Wata & the Pussy Witchhunt

 

Episode 2 – Judith Thompson

discussing her play

 

Palace of the End

Laura and Chris host conversations with some of Canada’s most celebrated playwrights in front of a live audience. Together, they dive deep into their favourite monologues.Judith Thompson talks about her monologue from Palace of the End.

 

Episode 3 – Keith Barker

discussing his play

 

This is How We Got Here

Laura and Chris host conversations with some of Canada’s most celebrated playwrights in front of a live audience. Together, they explore their favourite monologues. Keith Barker talks about his monologue from This is How We Got Here

 

Episode 4 – Daniel MacIvor

discussing his play

 

Who Killed Spalding Grey?

 

Click Here to listen in your favourite podcast player – including Apple and Google Podcast

Interview with Erica Kopyto

Thoughts on improving writing.

Chris talks with Erica about the role of dramaturgy in playwriting. Erica walks us through what makes for a great play.

Some of the resources mentioned:

 

The Hero’s Journey

 

Uta Hagen – Respect for Acting

 

Robert McKee – Story

PlayME – Interview with Dramaturg, Erica Kopyto

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