Studio 180 IN DEVELOPMENT

launched in 2015

Join us in the writer’s room to experience the intimate reading of a play in process.

Mortified Reading, photo by Dahlia Katz
Elley Rae Hennessy in an IN DEVELOPMENT Reading of Mortified by Amy Rutherford. Photo by Dahlia Katz

We invite you to learn about the writer’s concept, explore a social or political issue through theatre and share your experience of the work with the writer.

“One of my greatest joys as a writer is watching a piece develop and evolve every time I work on it… This partnership with Studio 180 Theatre was a gift to allow me to explore this play without the pressure of a finished product.”

Rachel Mutombo, IN DEVELOPMENT Playwright 2020/21

For playwrights, Studio 180 IN DEVELOPMENT gives you a helping hand as you develop new work exploring provocative social and political issues. We provide you with the time, space, and resources required to bring your insightful ideas to the stage, culminating in a public reading in our Studio Series.

past READINGS

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Taylor Trowbridge, Marcel Stewart, Sara Farb

Tool for Rebellion

Written by Taylor Trowbridge

April 17, 2023

7:00 PM

Crow’s Theatre
Studio Theatre
345 Carlaw Ave

When the Toronto van attack occurred in April of 2018 it brought countless urgent questions to the fore. Born out of a gnawing and personal need, Tool for Rebellion is a verbatim theatre piece that asks how we can possibly disrupt the societal cycles that foster incel (involuntary celibate) culture. A quest that explores the limits of empathy, this piece seeks to generate a vital discussion on how to tenderly move forward and heal.

Taylor Trowbridge

Taylor Trowbridge

RBC Emerging Playwright & Performer

Taylor Trowbridge (she/her) is an actor, educator, and playwright. As an actor, she has performed in productions for theatre companies such as Canadian Stage, The Shaw Festival, Nightwood Theatre, Bard on the Beach, Thousand Islands Playhouse and SummerWorks Festival. She holds an MFA in Acting from York University and a diploma in Journalism from Seneca College. Taylor’s work as a playwright examines near-impossible reconciliation, societal oversight and collective healing, and her documentary play Tool for Rebellion received the Equity Showcase Cayle Chernin Award for Theatre in 2022. Her next play WORK/life combines documentary theatre with off-the-wall satire to investigate the ways that work culture dominates the presence, quality and daring of our one, short life.


Windrush (or Gone To See A Man About A Dog)

Written by RBC Emerging Playwright Marcel Stewart
Directed by Lisa Karen Cox
Featuring daniel jelani ellis
Sound Designed by Andrew Lloyd Johnson
Spoken Word Consultation by Britta B.

February 28, 2023

7:00 PM

Buddies In Bad Times
12 Alexander Street

In this epic tale, a young Jamaican boy named Bwoi Son is left in the care of his grandfather after his parents leave for England. When a storm kills his grandfather, Bwoi Son and his younger siblings are forced to join their parents. Not wanting to leave, Bwoi Son embarks on a quest to find the River Mumma and her Golden Table to make a sacrifice in order to stay in Jamaica forever.

Marcel Stewart

Marcel Stewart

RBC Emerging Playwright

Marcel Stewart is a father, artist, facilitator, and arts administrator who loves smoked gouda. Marcel serves as Artistic Director of bcurrent Performing Arts and as an Artistic Associate for SpiderWebShow Performance. Marcel also sits on the Board of Directors for Essential Collective Theatre. He has worked with Soulpepper, Factory Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Obsidian Theatre, Suitcase in Point, The Theatre Centre, The Blyth Festival, Festival Players, Studio 180, The Grand Theatre, Persephone, Theatre Direct, Carousel Players, and Atlas Stage. For three years Marcel worked at Suitcase in Point as Outreach Director, co-founding the Nest Artist Residency and Electric Innovations, while also executive producing Freedom: A Mixtape and Lost & Found: A Community Mixtape. When Marcel is not creating theatre, he is an arts educator who has facilitated programming for community youth groups, professional actors, and students in university, high school, and elementary. He has taught theatre performance to students at the National Theatre School, Brock University, and Sheridan College. He was a member of the Soulpepper Academy and completed the Theatre Enhancement Program (as a Directing Foreman) through Factory Theatre. Marcel has directed the podcast play Toronto Pigeons (Factory Theatre); the digital play Meet Chloe (Carousel Players) and Serving Elizabeth (Thousand Islands Playhouse). Currently, Marcel is developing an immersive audio theatrical series. Loosely based on his dad’s life in Jamaica, the story weaves together themes of home, grief, family, and the influence of Caribbean mythology. Inspired by the teachings of d’bi young anitafrika, Marcel often returns to the questions: Who am I? How am I? How did I get here? Who have I lost? What is my purpose?


Love Us Most

November 28, 2022

7:00 PM

Crow’s Theatre
345 Carlaw Avenue

Taking place in the women’s dressing room during a performance of King Lear leading up to the places call, during intermission, and then after the show, Love Us Most examines the toxicity of sexism, racism, ageism, and female competition in the theatre industry.

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