How Prince Made Me A Better Playwright
Some plays are symphonies, some are pop songs, and we can’t label one as better than the other.
You’re Not Helpless, You’re Comfortable
Pass Over puts audiences in an uncomfortable position, and I think that’s necessary. Sometimes the people who have been comfortable the longest need to be uncomfortable for a change.
Kindness From Strangers
Why am I so concerned with making Blanche palatable to audiences?
A Not-So-Simple Truth
These are the truths that I can’t help but come to this story with.
The Greatest Showmance
“Showmance” is not a real word; it was invented by people in the acting industry. For those of you not familiar with the term, this is how Steffi DiDomenicantonio’s dictionary defines the word: two co-stars are working together in a show and are playing love interests. Time passes and the onstage feelings get confused for real-life feelings.
My 20-year journey with Charlotte
It started with an obsession, an idea I could not shake, a meeting with someone whose life seemed to hang in the balance, and for whom I might be a champion.
Where are the playwrights?
In my final critique at the National Theatre School of Canada some 40 years ago, Joel Miller, who at the time was running the English acting program, turned to me and said “we know you have had some success with your little monologues and mask characters here, but do not ever, ever think you can be a playwright.”
Emerging Across Canada: Ontario and Quebec
Whether that was in Montreal or from mentors in Edmonton, I had this image in my mind of this terrible place where people were always mean and dreams went to die.
An Unexplained Injustice
We all have demons inside of us. We all have those monstrous thoughts, but what is it about our circumstances that allows us to act on them?
The Letter Makes It Real
…a standard white envelope with my name written in a hand I don’t recognize and an ominous return address: Washington State Prison.
Beyond the Baby Blues
Speaking about postpartum without judgement is key to continuing the conversation and breaking the taboo.
See Me
As a dark-skinned black woman I experienced this firsthand, particularly during my high school years. At that time it seemed like my skin was always something to talk about.
Revitalizing Japanese Canadian Identity
Internment was a defining collective experience, yet the ways in which we do or do not remember it remain at odds between generations.
My Family’s Story
The piece tells the story of how this played out for us, but it is not a unique event.
The Phoenix and the Fire
As if I’d been sucked through the phone and appeared on the other end of the line, I could see an abstraction of the house against a blue sky with its windows ablaze.
Forgetting the Fear
I used to isolate myself backstage and cry after we performed for our first audiences. The energy they brought into the room utterly rocked me.