In March 2020, theatre artists from across the country working in isolation during the global pandemic read an unjuried selection of new plays created during these times of crisis. Want to join in next time? Join our mailing list to find out more! Want to support The Villains Theatre and the work that we do? Click here to donate!

Playwrights were given three days to submit scripts on the theme of "connection", and performers and directors were asked to submit expressions of interest. Teams were assigned to scripts, and each group was given a day and a half to determine how to work together while employing social distancing. Readings of the new scripts were filmed, and this is the resulting short play video compilation.

This is one way - of many that will spring up over the coming months - for artists who have been impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic to get together and create.

Through the month of March, viewers had the opportunity to donate towards the participating artists via a Paypal link or via etransfer - 100% of donations from that drive went directly to the artists, many of whom have lost their jobs during these unprecedented times.

Want to watch a single play? Here are the timecodes for each team:

00:01:40 - STOOP by Dan Bray
Directed by Julia Schultz
Featuring Susan Coyne

00:06:50 - SHACKED by Emma James
directed by Laura Vingoe-Cram
Featuring Emma James, Nicole Keeping, Kim Parkhill, and Garry Williams

00:17:07 - ONION PLAY by Kathleen Dorian
Directed by Stephanie Kincade
Featuring Moneesha “Misha” Bakshi

00:23:30 - Excerpt from TWO FRIENDS AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Breton Lalama
directed by Meghan Hubley
Featuring Rooks Field-Green and Sansom Marchand

00:26:50 - WINDOW PLAY by Katie Clarke
Directed by Jozel Bennett
Featuring Daniel Morrison and Keith Morrison

00:31:30 - THE VIRTUAL REMEDY by Jesse Harley
directed by Carey Bray
Featuring Andrew Chandler

00:43:12 - THE BIG LITTLE ADVENTURE OF BEEBEE AND RUSSEL - collective creation
created and performed by Kirsten Bruce, Christian Ludwig Hansen, Adriana Loewen, and Ella MacDonald

00:48:19 - THE GIRL IN THE BLUE DRESS by Simon Pelletier
Directed by Kyle Gillis
Featuring Shanlon Gilbert

00:56:50 - A SHORT STORY TO TELL CALLED "12 FABULOUS WINDOWS" by Edie Chunn
Directed by Logan Robins
Featuring Alex Cubbon and Sarah Bell-Etkin

01:04:23 - BREAD BABY by Mark Foster
directed by Andrew Chandler
Featuring Kyle Gillis and Dan Bray

01:22:10 - THE PEOPLE VS. WALTON FIG VS. THE PEOPLE by Keith Morrison
Directed by Dan Bray
Featuring Noella Murphy, Lesley Smith, and Schoel Strang

01:32:33 - ST. RITA by Lily Falk
directed by Sarah Deller
Featuring Jessica Barry

01:41:13 - LOVELY, LONESOME LIMBO, or PERDITA by Brandon Lorimer
directed by Rebecca Wolfe
Featuring Nick Cox, Audrey Eastwood, Lara Lewis, Malia Rogers, Madeline Savoie, and Cassie Westbrook

01:55:20 - FROSTBITE by Carey Bray
Directed by Jackson Nair
Featuring Jakob Creighton

02:03:34 - WHY ONLY ME by Shanlon Gilbert
Directed by Emma James
Featuring Sean Baker, Taryn Hanrahan, Patrick Lewis, and Sarah Smith

02:09:18 - MOONCHILD by Mike Chandler
Directed by Zac J. Comeau
Featuring Sean Baker, Ivy Charles, Erin Gaudet, and Alan Slipp

02:17:38 - INTERNOT by Sarah Higgins
Directed by Matthew Downey
Featuring Sarah Higgins, Ian Morrison & Sarah Richardson

02:36:45 - ODE TO JONES' by Zac J. Comeau
based on the famous YouTube video by Robert Lazarik Hines Directed by Dorian Lang
Featuring Gabriel Christie, Simon Pelletier, Evan Martinez, Jessy Matthews, and Loryn Taggart

Please note, the following piece is a separate file and can be viewed online here: https://youtu.be/UfA7KUJq65Y

TANGO LESSONS by Rebecca Wolfe
Directed by Logan Robins
Featuring Linda Meian and Logan Robins With Dani Robins as MOM and Delilah the Cat as Herself

Project coordinators: Colleen MacIsaac and Dan Bray