Theatre Direct Canada, one of the country’s leading producers of new provocative drama for young adult audiences, shook the stage in 2000 and 2002 with their Buncha Young Artists Festivals. Both festivals presented a quartet of exciting new dramas by some of the most dynamic young playwrights in Canada. Now Scirocco has selected four of the eight works for this important collection that highlights Theatre Direct’s sharp–edged style of theatre and offers a powerful tool for young actors, high school drama classes, and professional theatre artists who want to explore the authentic voices and stories of young adults. The plays include Misha by Adam Pettle, The Phoenix Rides a Skateboard by Kate Rigg, Boyz by Paul Dunn, and Pop Song by Sean Reycraft.

Paul Dunn is the author of Boys and Highâ??Gravelâ??Blind, which opened the Studio Theatre at the Stratford Festival, and has been recorded as a radio drama for CBC. He has worked in theatres across the country as an actor and is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. Adam Pettle was born and raised in Toronto and returned home after two years of study in Montreal. His first play, Therac 25, has received numerous productions across the country and is being adapted for CBC Radio. A graduate of the National Theatre SchoolÂ?s playwriting programme, Adam was the playwrightâ??inâ??residence at the Canadian Stage Company, where he completed a production draft of his play ZadieÂ?s Shoes. Born in Glencoe, Ontario, Sean ReycraftÂ?s plays include One Good Marriage, Stranger Things Happen, and Roundabout. For Pop Song, Reycraft won the Chalmers Canadian Play Award (Theatre for Young Audiences). Pop Song has been adapted into a short film and premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. Kate Rigg was born in Toronto to an Indonesian mother and an Australian father. She is the writer of cult hits KateÂ?s Chinkâ??Oâ??Rama: Featuring the Chinkâ??Oâ??Rama Dancers and Birth of an ASIAN. She is known for irreverent standâ??up comedy and has spoken on/written about race and representation in Time magazine, The Globe and Mail, The San Francisco Examiner, NPRâ??Pacific Time, THIS magazine, NOW magazine, and A magazine.

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