Out on a Limb: Short Plays by New Playwrights edited by Kit Brennan

What is the new generation of Canadian playwrights writing about? What makes them turn to theatre as the medium of choice? As they graduate from writing programs and intensives across the country, as they produce their work and take it to the festivals, what stories are they telling us?  

This exciting anthology answers those questions. The writers come from theatre and creative writing schools across Canada, and the settings of their plays take us from large urban centres to small rural communities. Many of these new writers are young, some are not so young.  These 12 short works by Canada’s newest playwrights focuses on one-act plays that feature a small cast (one to three actors) and can be performed in under an hour.

The characters range from sweet to unsettling, and all stops in between. The plays are witty and wise, they are often hilarious. They offer fresh perspectives on universal problems: how do I find love?  How should evil be dealt with?  What do I do about loss? What makes a good person? 

This anthology will be of particular interest to students and teachers looking for current, challenging scene work for young actors.

Included:

• Almost, Again — Briana Brown

• Kiss Me Outside the Box — Carmen Cartterfield

• Mature Young Adults — Wesley J. Colford

• The Stillbirth — Kara Crabb

• Waterfront: The Blessing — Leah Jane Esau

• The Kharkiv Letters — Alexa Gilker

• Red — Jordan Hall

• Bathsheba — Jennifer Kearney

• The Motherhouse — Tamara Lagrandeur

• Mrs. Ferguson's Bed — Sherryl Melnyk

• Crazy Love — David Sklar

• Third Person — Brandon Wicke