Good news to pass on.  My play ANIMAL, about a woman who is dealing with mental illness, has advanced to the next round of adjudication in Theatre BC’s Canadian Playwriting Competition.  Each round a play advances, the judges provide a short note for the playwright.  The above words are part of a bigger impression that ANIMAL received.  Here’s the entirety of what they said about my play:  

This play is mysterious, dark, and interesting. A highly original concept that interacts with mental health in a way I haven’t seen before. The dialogue created the sense of family and the distinct characters, while also being stylized in a way that I enjoyed watching take shape before me. I would love to see the set design and imagine this would be a very impactful piece to watch and create. Clearly theatrical, excellent characterization, great dialogue, highly stageable. Well done.

I could not be more pleased with this bit of praise because in this business of writing/art, the artist needs encouragement – a recognition that their words are connecting in some way.  Rejection, is more often than not, the name of the game.  ANIMAL is a play that’s been in my life for over 15 years.  It has had so many iterations I could not begin to tell you how many drafts I have written of this script.  The last draft was completed in 2021 and I have not touched it since because it is the best draft.

Along the way, this new draft has been sent out to competitions and theatres. It was a finalist in the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Competition back in 2021.  When I submitted the play to Theatre BC, it certainly wasn’t my first competition – far from it. Recently, a theatre company has come forward and would like to read it.  We wait and see.  It’s not the first time I’ve been here…and it certainly won’t be the last.

But for now, let’s take a breath and be thankful that Theatre BC saw the value/creativity behind ANIMAL.  My hope is ANIMAL moves on to the next round of judging because the further the play advances, the more attention it gets.

Meanwhile, while ANIMAL was being judged by Theatre BC, I’ve been doing a lot of research and sending out my play WAVES to theatre companies as well as competitions.  The play is being read by a few places right now and has been turned down as well.  I try not to get my hopes too high and yet at the same time, I don’t like the mind set of low expectations.  Either extreme is unhealthy.  Balance is a tricky act. WAVES recently won the Scripts on Fire Play Competition run by Fire Exit Theatre.  Here’s hoping WAVES finds more homes in 2026.

Onward to the next play – THE ROCKER – which feels like I’ve been brainstorming forever.  Fear has crept into my psyche as I’ve been outlining the play for far too long.  Perhaps I fear being rejected and I’m projecting negative future thoughts.  But, by the time I write my next blog, I will have started the dialogue of this mysterious play that is set in an attic and takes place six months after the passing of the father/grandfather.  The family has gathered to clean out the attic, but the 18 year daughter of the family – a spunky woman on a spectrum – has other thoughts on her racing mind and brings nothing but chaos, havoc, hilarity and hard truths to the proceedings.  She challengers the family and ultimately becomes the defiant leader of this disconnected group.  Unexpected revelations and hidden wounds surface as this family reckons with its shady past while desperately trying to define who they are or have become in the uncomfortable present.

The title of this blog – Not My First Rodeo – is an idiom (an expression that has meaning distinct from its literal words).  Not My First Rodeo is defined as someone who has had experience, or is familiar with a particular situation – it’s not something new.  Writing, re-writing, rejections, theatre companies, competitions – all familiar to me.  It’s what I’ve been writing about in this blog. Let’s see where the next rodeo takes me.