Tag Archives: Playwrights

Gil Garratt, director, actor, artistic director

Gil Garratt is the artistic director of the Blyth Festival.

In the podcast we discuss the first time Garratt auditioned for the Blyth Festival. The director Paul Thompson invited Garratt to meet a a coffee shop, but the audition took place at a surprising location miles away. It was an audition unlike any other, one that Garratt will never forget.

Garratt shares his progressive thoughts on the Canadian dramaturgical and development process, adding that working on comedies can be the most divisive of all genres. “I have witnessed, in the rehearsal of comedy, more relationships destroyed, friendships obliterated over the course of the comedy, than I have working in tragedy.”

We also delve into Garrat’s development work, examining the process behind bringing Mark Crawford’s hit comedy “The Birds and The Bees” to the stage.

Since debuting at The Blyth Festival “The Birds and the Bees” has gone on to be performed at several theatres across Canada.

Garratt graduated from the National Theatre School’s Playwriting Program and holds an Honours BA from the University of Waterloo, and an MA from the University of Guelph.

Show Notes
The Blyth Festival
“The Birds and the Bees” at Victoria Plahouse Petrolia.
New York Times – The Pigeon King and the Ponzi Scheme That Shook Canada

Listen to Other Episodes

Robert Chafe, playwright

Robert Chafe Podcast

Robert Chafe is an award winning playwright whose work has been seen across Canada, the UK, and Australia.

He was just nominated in the drama category of the 2017 The Governor General’s Literary Awards, for his adaption of Wayne Johnston’s novel, “The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, into a stage play.

Two of Chafe’s plays (“Tempting Providence” and “Butler’s Marsh”), were shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for Drama. His play “Afterimage” won the award in 2010.

Robert is Artistic Director and playwright for Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, where he frequently collaborates with NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Jillian Keiley.

In the podcast we discuss his transition from playwriting to writing a collection of short stories.

Robert shares his experience seeing his plays on stage and watching the audiences’ reaction to them.

He mentions that observing audiences has lead him to understand that “how I feel about my work actually has nothing to do with how an audience is going to experience it.”

Show Notes
Robert’s collection of short stories “Two-Man Tent” on Amazon.
Robert Chafe on Twitter.
Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland’s website.

Writers Irene Sankoff & David Hein, Come From Away

Come-From-Away_card

Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the co-writers of the hit Broadway show “Come From Away,” are my guests on this podcast.

Irene and David’s path to success began with a playful musical at the Toronto Fringe Festival, “My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding,” which attracted the attention of producer David Mirvish who brought the production to a larger theatre.

Mirvish also discovered “The Drowsy Chaperone” at the Toronto Fringe, so the pressure for “Wiccan Wedding” to succeed was high. Things went well and soon they were working on “Come From Away.”

“Come From Away” is set in the town of Gander, Newfoundland, in the week following the September 11 attacks, when 38 planes were ordered to land unexpectedly in the small town.

The people of Gander opened their homes and their hearts to the thousands of travelers, from all over the world, who were stranded.

Come From Away, Irene Sankoff and David Hein, podcast

In the podcast Irene and David reveal how their creative process began with a trip to Gander, Newfoundland to interview the town’s people and collect true stories that became the foundation for the musical.

They explain the development process, that included meaningful workshops with theatre students at Sheridan College’s Canadian Music Theatre Project and Goodspeed Musicals, a non-profit organization dedicated to musical theater based in Connecticut.

The students at both locations worked on the script and Irene & David discuss how significant this process was to shaping the show.

You’ll also hear how the show hits the sweet spot between David’s love of folk music and Irene’s love of Broadway musicals.

Click for the “Come From Away,” Original Broadway Cast Recording

On opening night Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau attended the show and met with Irene and David.

Click the arrow near the top of this page, or this iTunes link, to listen to this podcast about “Come From Away.”

Show Notes
Irene Sankoff and David Hein on Twitter.
Come From Away’s website for tickets, vdieos, etc.
Come From Away on Twitter.
Sheridan College Music Theatre Performance Program.
Goodspeed Musicals.
Washington Post article mentioning Trump’s decision not to attend opening night.
The Grand Theatre Gala with special guest Michael Rubinoff.
Review of “My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish-Wiccan Wedding” at the Toronto Fringe.
About Mirvish Productions
The Toronto Fringe.
Irene and David “A Love Story Times Two” by J. Kelly Nestruck.
“Come From Away” Original Broadway Cast Recording.