The Women's Script Writing Circle started in November 2024 with two aims:
1) to encourage and support more women to write scripts, and
2) to bring awareness to the paucity of female-driven, female-centered, and female-authored scripts on stage and in film and television.
After 8 months, we are excited to share excerpts from our work with you and to celebrate our success to date.
Join us on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at the Stanley Milner Library (Downtown Edmonton) in the Muttart Theatre (downstairs). Doors open at 6 PM.
TICKETS ARE FREE, but seats are limited.
To reserve your seat, please fill in the following form https://forms.gle/pQ1QJz8cnHDg4AjA7
We are grateful for the support of the Edmonton Arts Council and Edmonton Public Libraries.
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PROGRAM OF EVENTS
6 PM: Doors Open, Mingle with writers
6:30- 7:30 PM: Program begins--Welcome and Excerpts from 5 scripts
7:30- 7:45 PM: Intermission
7:45- 8: 450 PM: Excerpts from 4 scripts and Closing Remarks
8:45 -9:00 PM: Mingle and pack up!
ABOUT THE WRITERS:
Michelle Todd- Michelle is an Edmonton-raised performer whose latest piece Hoodies, was commissioned for Concrete Theatre's Anti-Racism and Change project for Theatre for Young Audiences. Michelle toured Deep Fried Curried Perogies, her one woman show that she wrote and performed at various festivals and conferences in Canada and the U.S. A graduate of MacEwan's Theatre Arts program, Michelle recently performed in After the Trojan Women (Common Ground Arts Society) and you can catch her next in the Edmonton Fringe with Paloma and Joy (Whizgiggling Productions), and Carole of the Belles (100% More Girls).
Heather D. Swain- bio to come
Sandy Paddick- Sandy has been a theatre practitioner in Edmonton Alberta for the past forty years. Sandy’s writing credits include: Naked Lies, Back Pocket Lennie for Azimuth Theatre, Night Without Stars produced by Wagonstage Theatre in Calgary, Enchantment for Workshop West Theatre and Theatre Yes! as well as Crescendo produced by Shadow Theatre. Sandy talked to Sue one day about setting up a woman’s writing circle and here we are!
Lakshmi Puttagunta- Lakshmi is not from the world of theatre. Her world is one of morphology and colour, the world of surgical pathology. With numerous publications in the realm of medical science, her passion remains writing and the telling of stories. Kali’s Daughters is her first attempt at playwriting, and is fortunate to have her closest friend, Sandy Paddick, as her coauthor of this play.
Sue Huff- Sue has written a short film for the National Film Board of Canada, a television series for Alliance Altantis, a play, a bunch of pieces for CBC radio, a bunch of political speeches, and a book. She divides her working hours between supporting parents whose children have eating disorders, helping students in schools with emotional/behavioural challenges, providing workshops for teachers, and acting in films and on stage. When not working, she scuba dives with sharks and octopuses, and starts up projects like this one!
Linda Grass- Linda is an Edmonton-based stage, film, television, voice actor, and nascent playwright. Her latest play, After Eve, was featured at Script Salon in June 2022. She has most recently been seen onstage with Skirts Afire’s production of Dance Nation. She has performed with almost every professional theatre in Edmonton, as well as doing stints in Regina, Winnipeg, and Fredericton. Her work has been nominated for both Sterling and AMPIA awards. In 2024, she was awarded Best Actress for her work in the Berlin International Art Film Festival for Northern Light Theatre’s film/theatre production of The Look.
Linda Wood Edwards-Linda's plays have been to Australia, Washington DC, Yukon, Victoria, Saskatchewan, and across Alberta. Linda’s plays have had many accolades, two Sterling nominations, two tours, and one professional production. Still, the writing never gets easier.
Deanna Clee- Deanna is an Edmonton-based voice and piano teacher, singer, songwriter, actor and now a screenwriter (apparently). Previous writing credits include original musical theatre scripts such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and The Elves & the Shoemaker, performed at the Fringe festival, with Alberta Opera Touring and at Stage Polaris. Her favourite television role was in the Children’s TV series Be Alert Bert. She is very excited to be included in the Edmonton Public Library’s recently released Children’s album Sing it, Edmonton! Songs from the Neighbourhood.
Ellen Chorley-Ellen she/her) is an Edmonton-based playwright, producer, director and arts educator. She is the current Artistic & Festival Director of Nextfest (Edmonton’s annual emerging arts festival), the Academy Director of the Theatre Network Summer Academy, an acting and playwrighting teacher for Foote Theatre School at the Citadel, the Student’s Club Facilitator for the Citadel Theatre. As a playwright, Ellen has had plays produced all over Canada and recently her play Everybody Loves Robbie won the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama at Alberta Literary Awards. Check Ellen out online at www.ellenchorley.com
Michelle Todd- Michelle is an Edmonton-raised performer whose latest piece Hoodies, was commissioned for Concrete Theatre's Anti-Racism and Change project for Theatre for Young Audiences. Michelle toured Deep Fried Curried Perogies, her one woman show that she wrote and performed at various festivals and conferences in Canada and the U.S. A graduate of MacEwan's Theatre Arts program, Michelle recently performed in After the Trojan Women (Common Ground Arts Society) and you can catch her next in the Edmonton Fringe with Paloma and Joy (Whizgiggling Productions), and Carole of the Belles (100% More Girls).
Heather D. Swain- bio to come
Sandy Paddick- Sandy has been a theatre practitioner in Edmonton Alberta for the past forty years. Sandy’s writing credits include: Naked Lies, Back Pocket Lennie for Azimuth Theatre, Night Without Stars produced by Wagonstage Theatre in Calgary, Enchantment for Workshop West Theatre and Theatre Yes! as well as Crescendo produced by Shadow Theatre. Sandy talked to Sue one day about setting up a woman’s writing circle and here we are!
Lakshmi Puttagunta- Lakshmi is not from the world of theatre. Her world is one of morphology and colour, the world of surgical pathology. With numerous publications in the realm of medical science, her passion remains writing and the telling of stories. Kali’s Daughters is her first attempt at playwriting, and is fortunate to have her closest friend, Sandy Paddick, as her coauthor of this play.
Sue Huff- Sue has written a short film for the National Film Board of Canada, a television series for Alliance Altantis, a play, a bunch of pieces for CBC radio, a bunch of political speeches, and a book. She divides her working hours between supporting parents whose children have eating disorders, helping students in schools with emotional/behavioural challenges, providing workshops for teachers, and acting in films and on stage. When not working, she scuba dives with sharks and octopuses, and starts up projects like this one!
Linda Grass- Linda is an Edmonton-based stage, film, television, voice actor, and nascent playwright. Her latest play, After Eve, was featured at Script Salon in June 2022. She has most recently been seen onstage with Skirts Afire’s production of Dance Nation. She has performed with almost every professional theatre in Edmonton, as well as doing stints in Regina, Winnipeg, and Fredericton. Her work has been nominated for both Sterling and AMPIA awards. In 2024, she was awarded Best Actress for her work in the Berlin International Art Film Festival for Northern Light Theatre’s film/theatre production of The Look.
Linda Wood Edwards-Linda's plays have been to Australia, Washington DC, Yukon, Victoria, Saskatchewan, and across Alberta. Linda’s plays have had many accolades, two Sterling nominations, two tours, and one professional production. Still, the writing never gets easier.
Deanna Clee- Deanna is an Edmonton-based voice and piano teacher, singer, songwriter, actor and now a screenwriter (apparently). Previous writing credits include original musical theatre scripts such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and The Elves & the Shoemaker, performed at the Fringe festival, with Alberta Opera Touring and at Stage Polaris. Her favourite television role was in the Children’s TV series Be Alert Bert. She is very excited to be included in the Edmonton Public Library’s recently released Children’s album Sing it, Edmonton! Songs from the Neighbourhood.
Ellen Chorley-Ellen she/her) is an Edmonton-based playwright, producer, director and arts educator. She is the current Artistic & Festival Director of Nextfest (Edmonton’s annual emerging arts festival), the Academy Director of the Theatre Network Summer Academy, an acting and playwrighting teacher for Foote Theatre School at the Citadel, the Student’s Club Facilitator for the Citadel Theatre. As a playwright, Ellen has had plays produced all over Canada and recently her play Everybody Loves Robbie won the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama at Alberta Literary Awards. Check Ellen out online at www.ellenchorley.com
ABOUT THE SCRIPTS
All Our Friends Are Sad by Ellen Chorley
For over the past decade, Ellen Chorley has been writing a catch-all play called "All Our Friends Are Sad." Which is funny but also sad. This excerpt shared in the Showcase is the play's party piece that Ellen occasionally brings out, dusts off and shares.
Chasing the Fat (formerly The Mediocrities) by Linda Grass
A woman receives an unexpected social media request at a pivotal moment in her life, causing her to reevaluate her relationship with her past and her present.
Hashtags by Michelle Todd
Snippets of parenting multi-racial boys in the time of hashtags, social media, and too much technology!
Kali’s Daughters: by Sandy Paddick and Lakshmi Puttagunta
Four generations of women from a small village in Southern India, four women defined and entrapped by the societal restrictions of their time and culture, four women struggling to safeguard their family against poverty and ignorance. This play takes you from the heart of village India to the boardrooms of higher education. The vicissitudes of their journey are unified by an enduring love and gratitude for those who have gone before us, and upon whose shoulders we stand.
Midnight Cry by Sue Huff
Sue started with a blank page on the first day of the Writers' Circle and wrote this film script entirely due to the support and deadlines of the Circle. It weaves two true event narratives together: an evening in 1954, when UFO cult members waited for a spaceship to arrive to save them from a world-ending flood, and a morning in 2021, when Sue's Mom died by MAiD. Themes include: doing hard things, the unbearable pain of waiting, clinging to hope, and cognitive dissonance.
One Drawer by Linda Wood Edwards
A 10-minute play about a nearly-universal problem for people over a certain age – how to deal with all our “stuff.”
The Station by Deanna Clee
When her estranged mother-in-law Sheelagh, now struggling with dementia and failing eyesight, is moved into an extended care facility, Trina unexpectedly finds connection and healing through the whimsical, heartfelt stories of Sheelagh’s childhood growing up in a train station.
2 More Descriptions to Come!!
All Our Friends Are Sad by Ellen Chorley
For over the past decade, Ellen Chorley has been writing a catch-all play called "All Our Friends Are Sad." Which is funny but also sad. This excerpt shared in the Showcase is the play's party piece that Ellen occasionally brings out, dusts off and shares.
Chasing the Fat (formerly The Mediocrities) by Linda Grass
A woman receives an unexpected social media request at a pivotal moment in her life, causing her to reevaluate her relationship with her past and her present.
Hashtags by Michelle Todd
Snippets of parenting multi-racial boys in the time of hashtags, social media, and too much technology!
Kali’s Daughters: by Sandy Paddick and Lakshmi Puttagunta
Four generations of women from a small village in Southern India, four women defined and entrapped by the societal restrictions of their time and culture, four women struggling to safeguard their family against poverty and ignorance. This play takes you from the heart of village India to the boardrooms of higher education. The vicissitudes of their journey are unified by an enduring love and gratitude for those who have gone before us, and upon whose shoulders we stand.
Midnight Cry by Sue Huff
Sue started with a blank page on the first day of the Writers' Circle and wrote this film script entirely due to the support and deadlines of the Circle. It weaves two true event narratives together: an evening in 1954, when UFO cult members waited for a spaceship to arrive to save them from a world-ending flood, and a morning in 2021, when Sue's Mom died by MAiD. Themes include: doing hard things, the unbearable pain of waiting, clinging to hope, and cognitive dissonance.
One Drawer by Linda Wood Edwards
A 10-minute play about a nearly-universal problem for people over a certain age – how to deal with all our “stuff.”
The Station by Deanna Clee
When her estranged mother-in-law Sheelagh, now struggling with dementia and failing eyesight, is moved into an extended care facility, Trina unexpectedly finds connection and healing through the whimsical, heartfelt stories of Sheelagh’s childhood growing up in a train station.
2 More Descriptions to Come!!
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