THE BURNOUT CHRONICLES
A trilogy of stories about weird young people in Toronto trying to exist.
3x Plays. 3x Exciting Venues. 3x Hybrid Experiences.
PROJECT STATUS: Staged reading fundraiser sold-out in September, 2021. TO Fringe run July, 2024 entirely sold-out. Fall Ontario tour coming soon!
Vol. 1 - 86 ME
“To 86 something means to eradicate, to cancel, to kill… but really what it means is to escape.”
Welcome to Our Lady Kensington! A failing independent, Kensington Market pub acquired by a stupid corporation.
After the service manager is fired, the strung out, dysfunctional staff come together to save their radiantly toxic culture and watering hole. 86 ME captures the brutal yet romantic experience of Toronto's bartenders, staged in a bar for an immersive, hilarious, interactive tragicomedy with no scene breaks (no age requirement for admission).
Setting: A Bar or Restaurant. 7 Roles (gender fluid).
2024 Cast: Luke Kimball, Marianne McIsaac, Ben Yoganathan, Mia Hay, Elizabeth Rodenberg, Jeff Gruich, Carson Somanlall.
2024 Prod: Chris Johnson (dramaturg), Teryn Lawson (producer), Sabrina Pye (stage manager), Jackson Doner (writer/director).
2021 Cast: Sienna Singh, Deivan Steele, Ben Yoganathan, Luke Kimball, Isabelle Ellis, Zoë Barrett-Wood, Jeff Gruich.
2021 Prod: Chris Johnson (dramaturg), Patrick Lynn (prod manager), Amanda Lynn (stage directions), Elena Damus (marketing manager).
PROJECT STATUS: First produced by Theatre by the Bay for the inaugural Simcoe County Theatre Festival, summer 2022. RETROGRADE sold out halfway through the run for the 2023 TO Fringe Festival!
Vol. 2 - RETROGRADE
“Retrograde is when a planet looks like it’s moving backwards… but it’s actually not, it’s moving forwards. So, it’s just an optical illusion… and for like half a second… Mercury is moving faster than every other planet… and I just think that’s super brave and cool of Mercury, honestly.”
Summer 2021. A run down concert venue in Toronto becomes a sanctuary for four of Kensington Market’s artistic youth. Traumatized by lockdown, these codependents gather for a weekly jam session that transcends into an exercise on how a generation with access to all information ever chooses a belief system by which to live.
Setting: A Concert Venue. 4 Roles (1x Non-binary /1x M-identifying/2x W-identifying)
2023 Cast: Anthony Palermo, Chloé Castrucci, Hilary Wheeler, James Llewellyn Evans.
2024 Prod: Tara Mulcahy (producer/marketing manager), Patrick Lynn (production/stage manager), Jackson Doner (writer/director).
2023 (Theatre by the Bay Production): Ashley Frederick (director), Sarah Gervais (actor), Taylor Cranston (actor), Celio de Andrade (actor), Kelsey Jensen (stage manager), Theatre by the Bay (producer) and other essential festival staff for the Simcoe County Theatre Festival 2022.
2022 Collaborators (Development): Carson Somanlall, Isabelle Ellis, Luke Kimball, Chris Johnson.
PROJECT STATUS: In development, reach out for questions!
Vol. 3 - KILL YOUR LANDLORD?
“What would you do to own property in Toronto?”
A group of ne'er do wells stumble upon an opportunity when they find out their crack smoking landlord is on the run. Theatre meets thriller… maybe slasher?