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Pat the Dog Playwright Centre speaks with playwright Evan Tsitsias about his recent production, Aftershock. Evan says:

Aftershock was originally written in 2009 as part of Pat the Dog’s 24 hour Playwriting Contest with the IMPACT festival. It placed 3rd.

I then worked with Lisa O’Connell on developing the script with the hopes of entering it into Summerworks. It was also part of Magnetic North’s piece/meal series before it premiered at Summerworks.

Synopsis: Anna has just returned from one of those “Extreme Makeover” shows on television. She returns to the trailer she lives in with her eccentric family who are all shocked at her transformation and not sure how to communicate with her now.  This makeover ignites a sea of change in everyone around her, except for Anna, who doesn’t know what to do with her new and improved self.  She finds she has to take some desperate measures to get herself to finally move, in any direction.

I don’t think there is enough cyberspace to tell you how much I learned from this experience. The most valuable lesson I learned is the art of true collaboration. You truly are only as good as your collaborators. I also learned to put my ego aside for the benefit of the piece. I learned patience…a lot of it! I learned to keep an open mind and spirit and not treat my words preciously or as sacred text. I learned to take risks and trust that process is more important than product.  I learned not to analyze the tone in which people ask you questions about your script.  I learned how vulnerable it makes you when people speak your words out loud.  And that was just the first day of rehearsal!!

What did you wish you had known going in?
Basically I wish I had known everything from the first question above. I had no idea how much work it was going to be which I think is actually better. I have produced many shows in the past but for some reason this one was the most challenging of all. Probably because I was so close to it.

How has the process of getting a play produced at Summerworks affected your voice as a playwright?
The festival itself was an amazing experience. The audiences and the word of mouth was incredible and the atmosphere is charged with creativity and nurturing and fun. It gave me confidence that I can follow this path and not be frightened of my voice, whatever the response to the work may be. It definitely showed me I can take a risk and have it pay off. I’m not sure if it directly shaped or affected my voice but it definitely shaped my perception of playwriting.

What were the audiences like?
The audiences were incredible.  This festival thrives on word of mouth and the audiences are on the hunt for good work.  They really changed drastically night to night, as did the show. Some were very vocal, some were very intense and focused, and some were a mixture of both. Still not sure which one I liked best. It was interesting for me to watch each show and see what the audience responded to every night, whether it was in the same moments or different ones and trying to figure out why they responded to those moments that particular way. One constant in each show was the audible gasps every time the character began to mutilate herself. It was a thrill to hear such vocal responses. Felt like they were right there, along for the ride.

Did the audience reaction change how you felt about your play? If so, how?
It didn’t change the way I felt about the play itself, but it did change the way I approached my rewrites. It was such a valuable experience to treat the Festival as a preview of what the show would become and evolve into. I think that is my favourite aspect of Summerworks. A chance to experiment in an environment that is geared towards process.

Aftershock got a lot of reviews. Were the reviews positive or negative and how did they affect you?
I would say almost every review was extremely positive. I still find it a little strange to be reviewed on a new work that is only one hour long, truncated due to the time limits of the festival.  I approached this process as a “workshop” or a chance to preview the show with an audience. My first viewing of the show in full with tech etc. was in front of the opening day audience, so it was a surprise for me as well. It’s daunting when you think of reviewers critiquing your piece when you know it’s in stage one of its development process. So I had to prepare for whatever the reviews said. I knew there were holes in the script because of the time constraints and so I took them all with a grain of salt. I’ve developed a very thick skin through this process.  I’m just grateful that the reviews were so positive!

There was, of course, one review that put a negative spin on the exact things I was aiming for.  It was my favourite review because I felt like I accomplished exactly what I wanted, even though the reviewer disagreed with my intention. I do take a little nugget from each review that has helped in the rewrites. I wish we lived in a world where reviews didn’t matter but they absolutely do. Not to my inner world, but to the outside world, unfortunately they can dictate the future of the piece.

Self-producing as a playwright — good or bad? Please explain.
It was both sides of the coin. On one hand, it was great to have more creative control over the process and try to bring as much of my voice into the experience as I could. I was able to choose props, set, creative team etc.,  which allowed me to feel more comfortable.  But on the other side, it was difficult to split my focus as a playwright.  I couldn’t sit there and just listen to the words because I’d be thinking about props, costumes, set, publicity and a million other things that I knew needed just as much attention. I had two amazing co-producers that took a huge load off my shoulders so I would definitely suggest that playwrights/producers collaborate with another producer to take over once rehearsals begin.

Would you do it again? If so, what would you do differently?
Yes I would absolutely do it again and can’t wait for the next phase of this process. In hindsight, I would have given myself more rehearsal time. With a new piece, there were so many questions and rewriting during rehearsals. It would have been nice to take more time to explore the world of the play. I would also have my dramaturg with me for more or all of the rehearsal process. I realized how important they are to the process of producing new work.

What are you working on now?
I’ve already begun working on rewrites for AFTERSHOCK. I started them the day after the festival was over. I was so inspired after watching it in front of an audience that I needed to expand and fix and edit the whole thing. Immediately!! I’m also working on a brand new script. One of my other plays, UNSTUCK, is also being produced as part of the Foundry Theatre’s 2010-11 season so I will also begin working with a dramaturg and director on that piece. I am also initiating a Canadian version of the Lincoln Center Theater Director’s Lab which I’ve attended the last two years in New York. It’s a very exciting project and one that I hope continues to grow year after year. I am working with two other Canadian Lincoln Lab Alum members to create it. So my plate is pretty full and I couldn’t be happier!

We’re doing it again. Pat the Dog Playwright Centre will be hosting our second annual 24-Hour Playwriting Contest from 4:00 PM Friday, October 1st to 4:00 PM October 2nd, 2010.

Fire up the computer, grab your lucky mug and jump into your pjs because this year all contestants write offsite. Hit the keys at home, in a coffee shop, on a bus… the location is up to you. There’s no entry fee and no restrictions on length. All you have to do is write an original script in 24 hours. How easy it that?

Not very. But the rewards could be great. Last year’s winner, You Know I Love You Still by Maggie Clark is slated for a full production as part of  Tottering Biped’s 2011 season. Third place winner, Aftershock by Evan Tsitsias, is playing until August 14th in Toronto at Summerworks to rave reviews in Now Magazine and the Toronto Star.

Rules & Regulations:

1. The contest is open to anyone living in Ontario, except contest Jurors. Space is limited to the first 30 entrants, accepted on a first come, first served basis. To enter you must download and email a completed 24-hour Entry Form-2010 to the email address listed on the form.
2. Entrants can work from a page of prepared notes, but all plays are to be original works.
3. The script must include, in some form, the three secret words we select. These words will be emailed to the participants at 4:00 on Friday, October 1st, 2010.
4. Participants must email their play to scripts@patthedog.org no later than 4:00 PM on Saturday, October 2nd.
5. Scripts must be in electronic format (acceptable extensions include .doc .rtf .pdf or .txt), written in 12 point Arial, Courier or Times Roman, double-spaced between speaking parts, and formatted for 8 1/2” X 11” paper.
6. The title page should contain the title of the play, your name, contact number and email. The play itself must NOT contain your name, but have a header with the play title and page numbers.

Prizes & Notification:
Winners will be announced on our website on Monday, October 4 at 4:00 PM.

Prizes will be awarded as follows:

• First place prize will be $500, a public staged reading of the winning script and full bragging rights. We’ll also feature you on our website in a Q&A.
• Second place: a reading
• Third place: a reading

What do you look for in a script?
For Touchmark I look for a well-crafted dramatic action and characters which will pique the interest and reward the efforts of experienced actors. Whatever the play’s age and origin, it should be capable of enriching the experience of our audience here and now.

From a practical standpoint – is there an ideal number of characters  or script length?
Dozens of plays which would otherwise be ideal candidates for Touchmark are beyond our means because of cast size or scenic demands. I look for plays which have two to five characters and lend themselves to simple and imaginative staging. Occasionally we take on a bigger project.

Does script formatting matter or can it get in the way?
Our scripts tend to have a production history and are usually published so formatting is not a concern.

How do you feel about detailed stage directions?
I believe it’s important to pay attention to a playwright’s directions, especially at the beginning of a rehearsal period. Stage directions, character directions, character and set descriptions and playwright’s notes all have their place. But even a good playwright sometimes gets it wrong when it comes to the words in italics.

What turns you off a script?
If I read fifteen or twenty pages, and I still don’t know what the play is about (or whom) and where it might be headed, I will put it aside.

Does the topic matter as much as the delivery? Or are there topics so important any discussion is worthy of staging?
For me the essential ingredient of a play is a dramatic action. If a script doesn’t have one, it will not play effectively on stage, no matter how worthy the subject matter.

What bad habits from television / movie scripts does a playwright need to break?
Is it a question of breaking bad habits, I wonder, or recognizing that each medium lends itself to certain modes of expression and not others? Generally a stage play tells a story by means of words, a screenplay, by pictures. A series of short scenes with indefinite beginnings and/or endings can be effective in a movie but is exasperating to watch on stage. A full-length film or play should involve a life-changing experience for the main characters. A half-hour TV show doesn’t need to and in most cases shouldn’t.

What is the most important play of the past 100 years and why?
I don’t have a strong conviction about the importance of a particular play; I’m more impressed by the total legacy. As a director I seem to have an affinity for the plays of J.M. Synge and Tennessee Williams (among the acknowledged “greats” of the twentieth century). I’m also an admirer of Tom Stoppard.

Fill in the blank. I wish people would stop telling playwrights to _________________?
“Write what you know.”

If you could give emerging playwrights three pieces of advice, what would they be?

1. Think dramatically! When generating ideas for plays, imagine motivated characters pursuing goals, meeting obstacles, achieving success or failure.
2. Outline your play first. Then develop the outline. If ideas for dialogue occur, jot them down, but keep expanding the outline until you have a feel for the arc of each character and how every scene functions and contributes to the whole.
3. When you come to write the scenes, let them take on their own life. Treat the outline as a guide, not a prescription.

Pat the Dog Playwright Centre’s piece/meal sessions played to full houses during the recent Magnetic North Theatre Festival. Our audience members aren’t the only ones to take notice. Four piece/meal scripts have made their way to theatre festivals in Toronto, Hamilton and Winnipeg.

• Aftershock by Evan Tsitsias is playing at Summerworks in Toronto from August 7 to the 14. Check the website for dates and times.

• Northern Daughter by Donna Creighton will be appearing at  THIN AIR (Winnipeg International Writers Festival) in September 2010.

• An extended version of Bungalow by Vern Thiessen played to rave reviews at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Joff Schmidt gave it five stars in his CBC review saying, “Thiessen chooses details with an expert writer’s attention to detail, teasing at times, revealing just enough to engage us, breaking off at just the right points. What’s revealed is funny without being hammy; touching without being cloying.”

• A Message to Alex Moore by Trevor Copp is playing August 14th at the Tottering Biped’s 2010 Wobbling Ink New Play Event.

It begins with  Shawn DeSouza-Coelho as “The Man in the Window,” performing magic and conjuring the playful spirit that drives the creativity behind piece/meal. Stay for a bite and enjoy a series of thought-provoking excerpts. Intimate and playful, these fresh new works-in-development will breath life into the deserted Artery space.  The line-up includes a mix of pieces from up-and-coming local voices, as well as established artists, including Governor-General-award-winner Vern Thiessen and award-winning singer/songwriter Donna Creighton.

Magnetic North runs June 9 to 19th. See their website for details.

piece/meal runs
June 14 – 16 from 11am-1pm
The Artery at 158 King Street West, Kitchener (map here)
Admission: $15. Free to Industry Series participants. Brunch included.

MONDAY, JUNE 14, 2010

You Know I Love You Still by Maggie Clark

After being held captive for 16 years in her kidnapper’s basement, Eleanor ventures into her first relationship with a man haunted by his own recently ended 15-year marriage. With humour and warmth, the play unravels the story after the story.

Poet/playwright Maggie Clark was full-time Editor-in-Chief of Imprint, UW’s official student newspaper. Her poetry has been published in RATTLE, The Pedestal and ditch magazine.

In the remote New Mexico community of Gehenna, the citizens are spontaneously combusting. In another world, a devastated family searches for missing pieces of their son, after his body returns from war.  Gehanna is a story told in two parts, two worlds, the dreamscape of a hidden, unknown world and the hyper-realism of a world known too well. Hearts escape from mournful chests, angles lose their way, and people disappear with the final telling of their stories.

Adam’s first play, Headache Grey, was produced by Theatre & Company in 1999 and was produced the following year at Buddies in Bad Times. then she was presented in 2003 by Rumble Productions and produced by Shifting Point. Other credits include A Cloudless Sky and Alone, both produced by REIRart. In June, A Map of Somewhere Only We Know will be produced in Toronto as part of the InspiraTO Festival.

Northern Daughter is a one-woman musical sprung from the song of the same name. Liz is from up north: She hasn’t been home in 30 years. Northern daughter comes home.

Donna is a Canadian-acclaimed singer/songwriter. Nominated form a Canadian Fold Music Award, she has won the London Music Award for Folk/World/Celtic 4 times and twice been awarded the Jack Richardson Award. Over the past 10 years she has toured North America with Sirens, sharing the stage with countless talented musicians, including Bruce Cockburn, Philosopher Kings and Lisa Loeb.

TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2010

Aftershock by Evan Tsitsias

Anna has returned from a reality makeover television show. Back in the trailer she shares with her family, she finds them shocked at her transformation.

Evan recently produced Bagged, a short film he wrote for the CBC, airing later this year and screened in March at WIFT. He has also produced the Canadian Premiere of Homebody/Kabul (Dora Nomination) at Berkeley St. Theatre. Evan is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab in New York City.

In 1942, The Government of Canada forced 100 families off 17,500 acres of farmland in the St. Vincent Township of Southwestern Ontario. The reason? The land was needed as an Armored Vehicle Fighting Area to train troops for the war effort overseas. The Tank Range Project explores the farmers’ sacrifice and relevance of the land’s use.

Founding members of the Grey-Bruce Arts Collective, Roger Shank and Jamie Robinson have worked with companies across the nation, such as: The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Canstage, the Lorianne Kimsa Theatre for Young People, the Citadel Theatre and Neptune Theatre. They are based out of Meaford.

Considered the bible of international-style ballroom, Alex Moore’s Ballroom Dancing contains all the steps and elements essential to that art form. There are no new steps and no new conventions. Period. What happens when two gay men question why? An examination of partner dancing: How it works, how it feels and what it says through the eyes of two men who enjoy dancing together and are inquisitive enough to try to figure out why.

Jeff Fox is a professional ballroom dancer, choreographer and author living in Kitchener. Trevor Copp is an actor, mime and ballroom dancer.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2010

The Maple Leaves by Heather Debling

Based upon the true story of the Maple Leaves, a WWI concert troupe formed to boost the morale of the men on the front lines, Deblings’ play considers where duty really lies.

Heather Debling is a writer based in Stratford, Ontario.

A man returns to his childhood home searching for secrets buried in the backyard of his parents’ bungalow. A haunting story of a father, his son, and the mystery that lies between them, this new work is the latest from one of Canada’s most produced playwrights.

Vern Thiessen has written for stage, radio and television. His stage plays have been seen across Canada, the US and Europe, including Shakespeare’s Will, Apple, Einstein’s Gift, Blowfish, The Resurrection of John Frum and Vimy. Thiessen is the recipient of numerous awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award, Canada’s highest honour for playwriting.

There’s lots to celebrate. Last week, not only did Pat the Dog Playwright Center sign on our 100th member, we won the Gowlings Literary Award at the 22nd Annual K-W Arts Awards on June 6th. Being first-time nominees, we were taken by surprise.

Eager to hear more? Got a poem to share? Join Pat the Dog and Kevin Sutton in June for more open mike, more SLAM and more great verse.

June Poetry SLAM!
June 26, 2010
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
The Button Factory
25 Regina Street South, Waterloo

Tickets at the door. PWYC, suggested donation $5.

The Pat the Dog Playwright Centre’s Table Sessions are over for the summer. Need your performing arts fix? The region is bursting with creativity.

Visit the Magnetic North Theatre Festival (and Pat the Dog’s piece/meal brunchtime reading series) is in town. And just down the road in Toronto there’s 10-minute plays at InspiratTO, lots of indie pieces at SummerWorks, and cutting edge theatre at the Toronto Fringe. Just to name a few.

We’ll be back in September with a new series of session, workshops, readings and events. Stay tuned for updates.

Recent directing credits also include: And All For Love (National Arts Centre), Generous (Tarragon), Afterplay (Shaw Festival), The Last Five Years (CanStage and MTC), This is How it Goes (Neptune Theatre), Helen’s Necklace (Grand Theatre), and The Play About The Baby (Soulpepper).

Daryl has been awarded the Canada Council’s John Hirsch Prize for an Outstanding Emerging Theatre Director, the Toronto Theatre Emerging Artist Award, and a Robert Merritt Award for Outstanding Director (This is How it Goes).  He is also one of three writer/directors for the interactive feature film Late Fragment, produced by the Canadian Film Centre/National Film Board, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

What do you look for in a script?
A surprise.

From a practical standpoint – is there an ideal number of characters  or script length?
Nope.  I’ll happily sit in a theatre for 9 hours if the playwright earns every minute of it. (Conversely, there’s nothing more excruciating than a 3-hour play that only has 10 minutes of compelling content.)

Does script formatting matter or can it get in the way?
Nope. As long as I understand what’s going on, the format doesn’t matter.

How do you feel about detailed stage directions?
Write the information you need to impart to make the action make sense. Long detailed stage directions become cumbersome in rehearsal and often ignored. If you are selective and concise with stage directions, they stand out better, and have a far better chance of being adhered to.

What turns you off a script?
Cliches.

Does the topic matter as much as the delivery? Or are there topics so important any discussion is worthy of staging?
Doesn’t matter how you deliver the story if you have nothing to deliver. Content is everything.  You must have an important story to tell.

What bad habits from television / movie scripts does a playwright need to break?
Lots of short episodic scenes in lots of different locations.  Storytelling in theatre needs time to develop. Long scenes. Rich dialogue.

What is the most important play of the past 100 years and why?
Wow, that’s impossible to answer.  Though I would say that Caryl Churchill is one of the most important playwrights of the past century.

If you could give emerging playwrights three pieces of advice, what would they be?
I’ll just give you one good one I heard recently. I’m directing “Rabbit Hole” by David Lindsay-Abaire right now.  He explains that as a young playwright, his instructor told him that in order to write a great play he must “write about what scares him most” He had no idea what that meant. Years later, he became a father. When friends of his lost their young child in a tragic accident, he suddenly realized that losing his child was the thing he was most scared of in the world.  And he wrote “Rabbit Hole”, about a young couple losing a child.  And won the Pulitzer Prize for it.