Hot Thespian Action! Ten Premiere Plays from Walterdale Playhouse

edited by Robin C. Whittaker

In Hot Thespian Action! Robin Whittaker argues that new plays can thrive in amateur theatres, which have freedoms unavailable to professionalized companies. And he proves it with ten relevant, engaging playscripts originally produced by one of Canada’s longest-running theatres, Edmonton’s acclaimed Walterdale Theatre Associates. This collection challenges notions that amateur theatre is solely a phenomenon of the pre-professional past. In this, the first North American anthology in eighty years, Whittaker makes an important contribution to Canadian theatre studies. Plays by: Brad Fraser, Mary Glenfield, Warren Graves, Gordon Pengilly, Barbara Sapergia & Geoffrey Ursell, Trevor Schmidt, Jonathan Seinen, Scott Sharplin, Mark Stubbings, and Wilfred Watson.

About the Author

Robin C. Whittaker is associate professor of drama at St. Thomas University. He has written extensively on theatre in Canada and has taught, directed, and dramaturged at universities across the Canada.

Reviews

As a contribution to Canadian theatre, Hot Thespian Action! deserves notice, not just for the novelty of the subject, but for the perceptive commentary in the critical materials and the eclectic collection of undiscovered plays.

Theatre Research in Canada

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The Plays
    1. The Canadian Fact (1967) / Wilfred Watson
    2. Chief Shaking Spear Rides Again or The Taming of the Sioux (1974) / Warren Graves
    3. Mutants (1981) / Brad Fraser
    4. Swipe (1981) / Gordon Pengilly
    5. The Tenth Negative Pig (1983) / Barbara Sapergia and Geoffrey Ursell
    6. The Three Sillies (1983) / Mary Glenfield
    7. Just (1999) / Trevor Schmidt
    8. The Beaver Effect (2002) / Mark Stubbings
    9. [ice land] (2003) / Jonathan Seinen
    10. The Trial of Salomé (2007) / Scott Sharplin
  3. Appendix I: New Plays Premiered by Walterdale Theatre Associates
  4. Appendix II: Music
  5. Notes / Bibliography

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 CA). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.

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