PLAYWRITING
I took a playwriting class when I was a teenager and that saved me (and the world) from the stupendous amount of bad poetry I began to write. I’m certain taking the class was a super heroic act that saved everyone from my waxing poetic with waning ability. I was fortunate to attend a high school that had emphasized such classes (playwriting!) and encouraged such dreams (putting on a play!) by getting the students involved in The Sears Ontario Drama Festival – a fabulous, student-focused festival that started in 1946. My first play was called The Last Moon, and the adjudicator said, “Bundle that up and send it off to Samuel French.” I wanted the adjudicator to adopt me, but I guess there was too much paperwork involved. Not long after that the Festival published my play in an anthology of plays titled Concrete Daisy and Other Plays and I contacted Samuel French, Inc. but they’d never heard of me. Thanks to the glorious annual tradition of Fringe Festivals in Canada I continued playwriting for several years. There is no better baptism by fire, complete with critics and an audience. |
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MY OWN PRIVATE ETOBICOKE |
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...her story is leavened by tremendous craft and frequent humour...
...understated, crisply delivered piece...like an excellently written personal essay, performed with just the right degree of characterization. Hits all the right notes for an hour of poignant, funny and ultimately enlightening theatre.
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| My Own Private Etobicoke is a personal account of surviving a childhood rife with secrets, superstition and schizophrenia – all on a steady diet of sugar. The play is a compelling and humorous monologue about growing up in a house where chaos was a constant companion; a story of living with schizophrenia as a family member and ultimately surmounting the shame and stigma that surrounds the disease. Every family has a secret; this was ours. | ||
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My Own Private Etobicoke is now available on DVD, please |
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| IT'S ALL THE RAGE “Makeup is magic. With shadowing and highlighting you can have a different face every day. Makeup is a tool…and like my dad says, ‘Every barn could use a little paint.” |
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I’d include this in my Pick of the Fringe; it’s what all good Fringe plays should be – intelligent, skilful, and very conscious of its audience.
It engages you, draws you near, reaches into your chest – and gives your heart a good twist. ...Fantetti’s exploration of human pain probes more relentlessly – often with powerful, rather hallucinatory results. |
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Beatrice Rivola is a beautician on a mission – to makeover everyone she encounters. She knows salvation lies at the bottom of a compact mirror. Make-up is a proven cure-all for many ailments: broken heart? Low self-esteem? Migraines? Make up can help you. Studies show that purchasing makeup products can lead to a feeling of pure bliss – where everyone likes you, laughs at all your jokes and wants to be your best friend.
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| THE WAITING ROOM “I know the speed of light. I know the names of all the planets. I can name all the capital of all the provinces. I know the largest river, the biggest mountain. I can name all of the seas. I know enough not to stand under a tree in a lightning storm. These are all things I can understand. But I don’t understand why sometimes I get so nervous. Why when I’m happy I cry instead of laugh. Why I feel more alone on a crowded bus during rush hour than when I’m by myself at home. I really do want to know everything, understand everything.” |
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..relationships are examined with candor and perceptive wit...provides a warm, charming and occasionally disturbing look at relationships, communication and interaction.
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A play about the sheer suspense of waiting to be called into the doctor’s office only to experience the joy of wearing nothing but a jumbo-sized Kleenex. The mystery that binds us all – that aisle we all avoid in the drugstore. Now it can be told: everything you wanted to know about feminine protection but were afraid to ask.
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| AN ITALIAN TALE “Love is the salt of your life. Don’t waste the heart God gave you.” |
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A charming and somewhat bizarre sense of humour forms the hallmark of An Italian Tale...
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The big day has finally arrived for the Santoanni family; their youngest daughter is about to get married, thanks be to God and all his blessings, this daughter is interested in tradition. But the bride-to-be is dry heaving in the upstairs bathroom while her mother worries, her father snacks, and her unmarried older sister offers up support under duress. Then the groom arrives, unannounced, unwanted and unhappy because he’s heard a rumour that the bride’s having second thoughts, a rumour started by the bride |
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