Is My Microphone On?
- Publisher
- Playwrights Canada Press
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2022
- Category
- Gay & Lesbian, Canadian
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780369103734
- Publish Date
- Sep 2022
- List Price
- $18.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780369103741
- Publish Date
- Sep 2022
- List Price
- $13.99
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 11 to 18
- Grade: 6 to 12
Description
In another life I was a small bubble of foam on a wave coming to shore, and the wave broke, and I burst, and that was it. Before that I was a small stream, for centuries. And in another life I was a mortal girl. Which is this life. After thousands of years, I have a mouth. So if you don’t mind, Mom, Dad, I’m going to speak. I’m going to shout. When I become a human I’m going to use some words. Can you still hear me? Is my microphone on?
Young people have inherited a burning world. In this urgent and lyrical play, they reckon with the generations who have come before them, questioning the choices that have been made, and the ones that they will yet be forced to make. Is My Microphone On? is a play in the form of a protest song, in which a chorus of young performers hold the audience to account, and invite them to experience the world together anew.
About the author
Jordan Tannahill is a playwright and filmmaker currently living between his hometown of Ottawa and London, UK. His work has been presented in theatres and festivals across Canada and internationally. He won the 2014 Governor General's Award for Drama for his book Age of Minority: Three Solo Plays and was shortlisted for the prize again in 2016 for Concord Floral (also a recipient of the 2015 Carol Bolt Award). Tannahill's book Theatre of the Unimpressed: In Search of Vital Drama (2015) was called "essential reading for anyone interested in the state of contemporary theatre and performance" by The Globe and Mail, and is on the curriculum of several North American universities. Tannahill has been described in the press as "the future of Canadian theatre" (NOW Magazine), "the hottest name in Canadian theatre" (Montreal Gazette), and "the posterchild of a new generation for whom 'interdisciplinary' is not a buzzword but a way of life" (The Globe and Mail).
Awards
- Short-listed, Governor General's Literary Awards
Excerpt: Is My Microphone On? (by (author) Jordan Tannahill)
One day
I will not think you know everything
Or even as much as me
Or maybe much at all
I will be disappointed
In you
In myself
For trusting you
I will have to change my thinking
Realise I am the adult
I am the one taking care of you
I don’t hate you because you’re weak
Or because you’re scared
Or because you’re wrong
I told my Dad: I know you’re older than me in this life, I grant you that.
But who knows how long it’s taken our souls to get here?
There was one life I lived where I was a dog. I was owned by a family and they were very good to me.
And there was another life, when I was a car. And this man drove around inside of me, just going to different appointments and stuff. And then he got rid of me, and I was in a junkyard for years. Just years and years sitting there, underneath all of these other crushed cars, because even though they crushed me into a cube, my soul was still stuck inside.
And then in another life I was like a… a small bubble of foam on a wave coming to shore, and the wave broke, and I burst, and that was it, it was very quick
But before that I was a small stream, for centuries
And in another life I was a mortal girl
Which is this life
And in this life, I finally have the power to speak
After thousands of years
I have a mouth
I have words
So if you don’t mind
Mom
Dad
I’m going to speak
I’m going to shout
When I become a human
I’m going use some words
Editorial Reviews
“It’s terrific theatre. Invigorating, challenging, entertaining . . . This is what political theatre should be.”
Sam Mooney, Mooney on Theatre
“Unnerving . . . Disarming.”
J. Kelly Nestruck, The Globe and Mail
“An urgent call to action . . . Now, more than ever, we need to listen.”
Glenn Sumi, NOW Magazine
