In this anthology of plays by young emerging playwrights–Joseph Aragon (To Forgive, Divine), Ginny Collins (The Good Daughter), Rose Condo (pyg), David Ferber (PACT), and Primrose Madayag Knazan (Shades of Brown)–five exciting new voices tackle themes of forgiveness, teen suicide, self-image, cultural assimilation, and rum running on the prairies. To Forgive, Divine challenges the Christian principal of redemption as it affects a mother and daughter trying to find their way back to each other; Shades of Brown uses the Filipino immigration experience to explore cultural assumptions, interracial dating, racism, and that elusive sense of belonging that we call “home”; The Good Daughter dives deep into the delicious genre of black comedy, exposing a highly dysfunctional family of three women running rum on the prairies; PACT looks at teenage suicide with a darkly hilarious, disturbing, and ultimately hopeful effect; and pyg tells the funny and touching story of one woman’s struggle with loneliness and the relentlessly impossible ideals our culture’s media imposes on us. Breakout takes the reader on a journey through the minds of five young and vibrant voices, capturing the angst and humour and heart of a generation of playwrights grappling with that precipice between the teen years and adulthood.
About the Editor
Brian Drader is an actor, writer, teacher, and dramaturge who makes his home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His plays have been produced in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Awards for his writing include the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Award, the Philadelphia Brick Playhouse New Play Award, and the Lambda Literary Award for Drama (USA). His play Prok was also nominated for the Governor General’s award and the McNally Robinson Book of the Year. Brian’s other plays include Liar, The Norbals, S*it (a play for teens), The Fruit Machine, Curtsy, and To Be Frank. Brian served as the Director of Playwriting at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal from 2004 to 2017, and is presently the Executive Director of the Manitoba Association of Playwrights.
