finsta

SYNOPSIS
Drew has suddenly stopped speaking to Quinn at school. When Quinn finally corners him to ask what’s up, Drew says he discovered Quinn’s finsta: a second, private Instagram account where they share more personal content. When Drew sent a follow request, it was denied; even though they’ve been close friends since childhood. Hurt and confused, Drew confronts Quinn about the finsta, prompting a complicated discussion on consent, boundaries, queer allyship, and what a ‘safe space’ looks like in the social media era.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
finsta was commissioned by Boca del Lupo in Vancouver, BC in partnership with Roseneath Theatre in Toronto, Ontario for the 2023 youth-focused iteration of Plays2Perform: a series of new published works by Canadian playwrights packaged together in a box set and made available to be performed and discussed by students in schools across the country.

No Big Deal

Nominee - Best New Play (BroadwayWorld Toronto Awards, 2023)
Nominee - Best Theatre for Young Audiences Production (BroadwayWorld Toronto Awards, 2023)
Nominee - Best Direction of a Play (BroadwayWorld Toronto Awards, 2023)
Nominee - Best Ensemble of a Play (BroadwayWorld Toronto Awards, 2023)
Nominee - Best Performance in a Play (Broadway World Toronto Awards, 2023)
Nominee - Best Scenic Design of a Play (BroadwayWorld Toronto Awards, 2023)

“A beautiful portrait of the evolving friendship between two young men that both explores how friendships change over time and also the ways that boys inherit/learn masculinity and gender expectations.” - Nick Malakhow, playwright

SYNOPSIS
Best friends Ariel and Grayson are working at a horrible theme park for the summer to save up for college following their high school graduation. Their plan is to be roommates and take their first steps into adulthood together. But tensions created by their increasingly different ideas of growing into manhood - and a complicated incident involving fellow employee Lucy - might be enough to threaten the stability of their friendship. A funny, challenging, humane play for young audiences about toxic masculinity, bro culture, and consent.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
Early development of No Big Deal was supported by Theatre Aquarius in the 2018/2019 Playwrights Unit, then by Roseneath Theatre in 2020 through residency funded by the Ontario Arts Council. The play remained in deep development at Roseneath under the dramaturgy of Andrew Lamb.

PRODUCTIONS
No Big Deal made its world premiere with Roseneath Theatre in Toronto, Ontario as part of the 2022/2023 theatre season. The production - Roseneath’s first in-person since before the COVID-19 pandemic - toured to Ontario schools and had a brief run in Hamilton presented by Tottering Biped Theatre. The original company featured Davinder Malhi, Julie Phan, and Gregory Waters under the direction of athena kaitlin trinh, with set & costume design by Jackie Chau, sound design by Verne Good, stage management by Joanne Rumstein-Ellis, production management by Cassidy Sadler, and dramaturgy by Andrew Lamb.

Read a brief script sample. Watch the trailer for Roseneath Theatre’s production here. Full perusal copy requests or production inquiries can be directed to Michael Kras, or to Ian Arnold at Catalyst TCM.

The Team

Winner of the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Prize
Nominee - Tom Hendry TYA Award (Playwrights Guild of Canada)
Finalist - Safe Words New Canadian Play Award (safeword.theatre)

“As relevant and human as it is entertaining, The Team is a significant addition to the Canadian theatre ecosystem.” - Colin Bruce Anthes (Artistic Director, Essential Collective Theatre)

“Playwright Michael Kras has created a phenomenal piece that has audiences whispering in shock, stifling laughter, and crying in silence.” - DARTcritics

SYNOPSIS
Bobbie Brantwood has just returned to school following the suicide of her brother Ben, a former basketball superstar. To process her grief, she joins the White Oak senior girls’ basketball team as they prepare for a live-or-die battle to championships. The crushing weights of expectation, grief, fear, and identity loom as each player reaches the end of high school and stands on the precipice of their uncertain futures.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
The Team was developed at Theatre Aquarius under the dramaturgy of Luke Brown, with support from the Theatre Aquarius Playwrights Unit and the Ontario Arts Council. It was also workshopped with safeword.theatre as a finalist for the Safe Words New Canadian Play Award, and with Queen’s University and Thousand Islands Playhouse as winner of the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Prize.

PRODUCTIONS
The world premiere of The Team was produced in the 2018/19 season by Essential Collective Theatre in association with Theatre Aquarius and the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. The original cast featured Lennon Bradford, Emily Lukasik, Kaitlin Race, Laura Welch, and Kaylyn Valdez-Scott under the direction of Colin Bruce Anthes and Michelle Mohammed, with lighting and set design by James McCoy, sound design by Ethan Rising, costume design by Jo Pacinda, stage management by Jessica Campbell Maracle, and production management by Rebecca Walsh.

Read a brief script sample. Full perusal copy requests or production inquiries can be directed to Michael Kras, or to Ian Arnold at Catalyst TCM.

Lydia

Selection - Frost Bites Festival, 2019

“Tense, unapologetically real” - View Magazine

SYNOPSIS
In their high school’s choir room over lunch hour, Dillon is helping James write a song that James will use to publicly profess his love for a mysterious girl named Lydia. But things don’t add up: Dillon has never heard of a Lydia, and James has never been seen with a girlfriend before. Who is Lydia? Why is James afraid to talk about her? A searing short play about consent, desperation, and crossing the line.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
Broken Soil Theatre was selected to participate in the 2019 Frost Bites Festival, an annual site-specific performance festival in Hamilton, Ontario. Lydia was written and developed specifically for the festival, created with inspiration from a chosen space inside New Vision United Church.

PRODUCTIONS
Lydia premiered with Broken Soil Theatre as part of the 2019 Frost Bites Festival, produced by the Hamilton Fringe. The 20-minute play performed multiple times in a night for audiences inside an intimate shared space at New Vision United Church, with Michael Kras as James and Stephen Ingram as Dillon.

The Year and Two of Us Back Here

Shortlist - Wildfire National Playwriting Award (Major Matt Mason Collective)

“Funny, devastating, and heartwarming. You’ll be shedding tears of joy and sorrow throughout.” - Centre Stage, 101.5 The Hawk

SYNOPSIS
Rain and Isaac spend exactly one year working together in the worst hat store in Hamilton and maybe even the world. Both at their own yearning standstills and desperate for connection, they struggle to overcome themselves while struggling to sell overpriced headwear. A love letter to loneliness, longing, and losing.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
The Year and Two of Us Back Here was originally developed at Theatre Aquarius as part of the 2017/18 Playwrights Unit. Development was supported by the Ontario Arts Council through grants recommended by Theatre Aquarius and Essential Collective Theatre.

PRODUCTIONS
The Year and Two of Us Back Here premiered with Broken Soil Theatre at the 2018 Hamilton Fringe Festival. The original company featured Sarah Hime and Stephen Ingram, with direction by Michael Kras and set, costume, lighting, and sound design by James McCoy. The play has subsequently been produced multiple times at high schools and universities throughout Canada and the United States, and is currently being adapted to screenplay.

Read a brief script sample. Full perusal copy requests or production inquiries can be directed to Michael Kras, or to Ian Arnold at Catalyst TCM.

#dirtygirl

Winner - Audience Choice Award (Hamilton Fringe Festival)

“Clever and worthwhile… a seemingly quotidian teenage crisis that quickly spirals downwards into an eminently relatable ghost story.” - Raise the Hammer

SYNOPSIS
Kiera is celebrating her best friend Bridget’s birthday when she discovers a naked photo she sent to her boyfriend James has ended up on Twitter and is rapidly going viral. The night then turns into a fight against the world, each other, and themselves. Did James post the photo? Or is something far more sinister going on? A techno-horror story about the monsters that lurk behind our screens.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
#dirtygirl was originally developed with the support of the Ontario Arts Council through grants recommended by Roseneath Theatre and Young People’s Theatre.

PRODUCTIONS
#dirtygirl made its premiere with Broken Soil Theatre at the 2016 Hamilton Fringe Festival. The original company featured Claud Spadafora, Cass Van Wyck, and Matthew Power, with direction by Michael Kras and set, lighting, costume, and projection design by James McCoy. The original production received the Hamilton Fringe Audience Choice Award.

#dirtygirl is currently back in development. Inquiries about the script can be directed to Michael Kras, or to Ian Arnold at Catalyst TCM.