7th Annual InspiraTO Festival, Alumnae Theatre (Mainstage),

June 1-10, 2012

18 directors wanted

Step 1.   Read a play (click on the play title).

Step 2.   Decide which play(s) you'd like to direct. You can request to direct up to four plays (if selected you will direct only one).

Step 3.  Email inspirato@ca.inter.net with your name and phone number. In the subject line write: Direct A Play. Answer these four questions for each play you wish to direct:

a)      What you found interesting about the play

b)      What your general approach would be in directing the play

c)      Your experience/training in directing/performing arts

d)      Your availability. (We will be holding auditions in March. 

      Rehearsals will be held in April/May. Tech runs are in late May/early June)  

Please keep it concise: no more than two paragraphs for each play.

This is a non-paying, non-equity event.              

If you wish to audition for a part (41 roles) we will post the audition schedule here in late February. Auditions will be in March; rehearsals in April/May; performances in early June.   

The plays are posted for the purpose of selecting directors and actors. Click on the title of the play to read the script.  Any use of a play, either in whole or in part, must have the expressed permission of the playwright. 

Comedic Plays

YOUTOPIA by Chaney Kwak.  Is privacy a right or a form of selfishness? In a world where technology makes everything public, a woman fights to remain invisible. Anyone who has ever used social media will find this romp hilarious. George Orwell's 1984 re-spun.   (2F, 2M).

IN FINE PRINT by Bara Swain.  Bertha visits her vision-impaired best friend, Madeline, for dating advice. Before Bertha can act on Madeline's advice, her future is revealed in fine print.  If only sitcoms had such spunk. (2F).

CAMPING OUT by Anne Flangan.  Three pre-teen Girl Scouts on an over-night camping trip are both giddy and anxious over their budding sexuality and uncertain visions of the future. A retrospective of the innocence that eventually escapes us but not before putting a smile on our faces. (3F).

MISSING by Robin Pond.  A policeman attempts to deal with an overly chatty woman's concerns regarding her missing husband. The woman's verbal bating keeps us guessing as to what really happened. A play that looks at how we cope with being alone. Witty. (M, F).

THE COMMON GROUND by Bryan Boodhoo.  Can one be a visual artist without the use of one's sight?  What is art? What is life? A tale told with panache about how two men who attempt to answer this perennial question.  (2M, F).

PIGEONS IN LOVE by Jeff Carter.  A young couple has been dating for some time.  Now they're trying to live together as a couple, but the cooing sound of pigeons in the airwell test the strength of their relationship. A trivial annoyance that ultimately confronts a bleaker truth and adds up to riotous theatre. (M, F).

Drama Plays

BLONDIE by Meghan Gardiner.  Inspired by the true story of a B.C. politician who got hooked on drugs and went from living the high life to being a low life. One particular night guilt and remorse catches up to him. Poetic brutality.  (M).

SEEN and UNSEEN by Maximillian Singh Gill.   In Libya after the fall of Qaddafi, Ali, a dissident who was tortured by the intelligence services, confronts Khalid, a collaborator with the regime whom Ali suspects informed on him. Leaves you with a chill down your spine. (2M).

BACKFIRE by Leslie Powell.  A woman keeps her identity a secret from a solider who bullied her until she gets him where she wants him. But he has a secret of his own. This story never lets you off the hook until the end  -- when it backfires. Gripping. (M, F). *Please note the Artistic Director of the festival will be directing this play.

POSITIVE I.D. by Peter Dickinson.  A cop seeking a quick conviction. A victim unsure of what - or who - she's seen. And an accused kid able to look deep inside each of their souls. A play that asks the question, "are we blind to what we see?" Uncomfortably close to home.  (2M, F).

BROKEN ENGLISH by Nina Ki.  Kyle struggles with his mother's vision of himself as the perfect Korean son, while his mother struggles with what Kyle reveals. This tale of culture clash is told with simplicity and offers a stark truth that stays with you long after the final curtain. (M, F).        

Absurd/Fantasy Plays

STANDING AT THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE OF DISUNITY by Stanley Toledo.  The light changes and a young man starts to step off the curb. As he does, a stranger grabs his arm, warning him not to step out. Foresight captured delightfully. (2M, F).

SEVEN SECONDS BEFORE THE CONFLAGRATION by Jen Silverman.  Carmen loves Uncle Brim. Uncle Brim loves a painting. Uncle Brim convinces Carmen to help him steal Modigliani's Reclining Nude. An imaginative and moving way to tell a story about confronting our obsessions. (2F, M).

THE PAPER SWAN by Amina Henry.  Ramona and Kyle met on the internet. On the eve of their seven-month anniversary, Kyle begs Ramona to do the one thing she's refused to since they met: let him see her face.  A satire that exposes what we usually don't like to admit to. Clever. (M, F).

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE by Greg Vovos.  Lucy comes across a commercial that boasts about a special new product - a custom-made entertainer designed specifically for her needs.  Once her special entertainer arrives, Lucy's life changes forever.  There's more to this slapstick then meets the eye.  (4F, M).

TATTOO by Dominik Loncar. Two strangers are given the same address to a tattoo parlour and when they arrive realize it's only a hallway. There's only one way out: stepping into the wild. Are we prepared to run with the wolves in our own lives? Intriguing. (M, F). 

BEYOND WHERE THE HORIZON LIES by Rod McFadden.  Two characters spend time looking for something, though they have no idea what that something is. The pacing, a minimalist dialogue, and timing keeps you engaged. (2 actors any gender).

ALL YOUR BOSSES ARE BELONG TO CHINESE by Nelson Yu.  Jimmy Yang's visit to Balzac's Coffee Shop in Toronto's Distillery District takes a weird turn when a visitor from the future, a member of a racist party, proclaims Jimmy to be a great leader.  Bravely bizarre.  (2M, F)