Bitter Medicine
In 1976, Ben Martini was diagnosed with schizophrenia. A decade later, his brother Olivier was told he had the same disease. For the past thirty years the Martini family has struggled to comprehend and cope with a devastating illness, frustrated by a health care system lacking in resources and empathy, the imperfect science of medication, and the s …
Judgment, The
In the third and final novel of Feather and Bone: The Crow Chronicles, Kyp and the remains of the flock emerge tattered but alive from their fiery ordeal in the human colony. Pursued by the vengeful Kuper and his fanatical Collection, they flee south, outnumbered and exhausted. Flying through a strange land, where food is scarce and unknown enemies …
Martini with a Twist
Absurdity reigns in multiple award-winning author and playwright Clem Martini’s newest collection of work, Martini with a Twist—five plays spanning two decades of Martini’s career, from 1989 to 2009.
A lonely elephant handler befriends the half-blind woman who drove through his yard, a severed head in a suitcase life support system is given a …
Mob, The
The Mob is the saga of a crow family, the Kinaars, who are faced with troubled times. When the family converges for the annual Gathering, a mob mounts a revenge attack on a cat -- with disastrous consequences. The Gathering should be a time to rejoice. Instead, it becomes a time of fear, danger and uncertainty, when ancient laws and customs are tes …
Plague, The
In the second installment of Feather and Bone: The Crow Chronicles, a mysterious plague hits the Kinaar family. Crows lie dead all around the Gathering Tree and the terrified survivors scatter. Sick and alone, Kyp knows only that he must find Kym, who has been captured by humans and taken far to the east.
A crow without a flock flies on only one win …
The Blunt Playwright
Examines dramatic structure, discusses the creative process, explores the nature of character in dramatic work, provides a number of writing exercises that are useful for generating text, and cites international playwrights throughout.
â??There are no rules. There exists a large body of advice regarding the writing of playsâ?¦ but in the end, there are no rulesâ??and no policing body to enforce them, even if there were.??
â??from the introduction by Clem Martini
The Greek Playwright
Picking up where The Blunt Playwright left off, Clem Martini returns to the subject of playwriting, turning his attention to the lessons modern playwrights can learn from the ancient Greeks. Outlining the major playwrights of the era, their major works, and the impact they had on our modern understanding of drama, Martini weaves his direct, informa …
The Judgment
In the third and final novel of Feather and Bone: The Crow Chronicles, Kyp and the remains of the flock emerge tattered but alive from their fiery ordeal in the human colony. Pursued by the vengeful Kuper and his fanatical Collection, they flee south, outnumbered and exhausted. Flying through a strange land, where food is scarce and unknown enemies …
The Mob
The Mob is the saga of a crow family, the Kinaars, who are faced with troubled times. When the family converges for the annual Gathering, a mob mounts a revenge attack on a cat -- with disastrous consequences. The Gathering should be a time to rejoice. Instead, it becomes a time of fear, danger and uncertainty, when ancient laws and customs are tes …
The Plague
In the second installment of Feather and Bone: The Crow Chronicles, a mysterious plague hits the Kinaar family. Crows lie dead all around the Gathering Tree and the terrified survivors scatter. Sick and alone, Kyp knows only that he must find Kym, who has been captured by humans and taken far to the east. A crow without a flock flies on only one wi …
Things That Go Bump
These six recent Canadian plays for elementary school age audiences is a companion volume to 2009’s Things That Go Bump, Volume 1.Lig & Bittle by Elyne Quan and Jared Matsunaga-Turnbull:The story of Lig, who is big, and Bittle, who is little, as they embark on a funny, wild and adventure-filled journey to a place called Perfeckt Phitt, in hopes t …
from foreword by Kit BrennanThings that Go Bump, Volume 2 : Plays for Young Audiences is a collection of recent Canadian plays for elementary school age audiences; it is a companion volume to Things that Go Bump, Volume 1: Plays for Young Adults.These six plays are road and audience-tested, seasoned by professional and touring productions covering most of Canada’s provinces and into the United States. Through humour and great characters, the scripts explore large issues with an entertaining verve.Three of the plays (Lig & Bittle, Bluenose and Under the Big Top) employ the art of clowningâ��in various ingenious manifestationsâ��to explore large themes of longing and belonging. Two of the plays (The Secret Life of the Octopus and The Incredible Speediness of Jamie Cavanaugh) take place in the child’s real-life world of school and home, but follow them beyond and into the world of imagination and exploration. A Giraffe in Paris is based on a real event in the early nineteenth century, and whisks the audience into a travel adventure. Cast size for the plays varies from two to four actors.The playwrights reside in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver; as well as writing for young audiences, they also write for film and television, they are directors and actors, they teach at universities and other professional training schools. The theatre companies which workshopped, commissioned and/or produced and toured the plays are based across Canada; these fine companies include Black Theatre Workshop (Montreal), Carousel Players (St. Catharines), Citadel Theatre (Edmonton), Concrete Theatre (Edmonton), Geordie Productions (Montreal), National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Neptune Theatre (Halifax), Persephone Theatre (Saskatoon), Quest Theatre (Calgary), Roseneath Theatre (Toronto), and Theatre New Brunswick (Fredericton).Everyone involved in theatre for young audiences will speak of the wonderful sense of fun it generatesâ��and also of the exciting honesty of the audience. If they love it, they’ll tell you so; if they’re bored, you’ll know it. I asked each writer to talk about their experience writing this play, why and how it came about, what happened in the play’s evolution, and how it has been received by the young people for whom it was created. These notes by the writers can be found at the end of each script.
Three Martini Lunch
Nominee, Governor General's Literary Award for Drama, 2001
Well-known playwright Clem Martini whets the appetite for three one-act plays.
In "Conversations with My Neighbor's Pit Bull," Robert Teller tries to get along with his neighbor via his pit bull.
In "House of Glass" 12?year?old Ellen must make amends with her neighbor for stealing condoms fr …
Too Late
In TOO LATE, 15-year-old Greg is in a teen sex offenders’ facility because of an assault on his stepsister. He hates the professionals who try to help him and can’t wait to go home. When he enters a room for a meeting, his mother is there crying. Her partner, whom Greg calls Step Dude, sits at her side. They have come to tell Greg they don’t …
Train Wreck and Too Late
Some mistakes can never be repaired.
The narrator of Train Wreck is looking back at the year she was 15 . . . She is in love with a bad boy named Johnny. Johnny's friends play a cruel trick on a misfit named Suzy by convincing her that Johnny is attracted to her. When the prank goes too far, the narrator wants something big to happen to prove Johnny …
