Trevor Leigh and Arielle Rombough from the original cast.
Writer’s Block opened on March 14, 2008 at the Studio Theatre at Vertigo Theatres in Calgary, produced by Ground Zero Theatre and Hit & Myth Productions. It was the first test-case publication for B House Publications, a small press I started with my friend Michael J Finner.
It’s a dramatization of a real life situation. While I was Playwright in Residence at Alberta Theatre Projects, the Epcor Centre (where ATP is a resident company) arranged for group benefits for all the employees. After some discussion, I was allowed to join under the job description of playwright. This was significant because we did have the option to apply for long-term disability payments if we could no longer perform our job. I figured all I had to do was fake having writer’s block and I could be supported for life.
This play is a dramatization of that “what-if” situation. With a further what-if: what if, after being approved for benefits, I had written a play.
The play is very autobiographical. Some people liked that, some people didn’t. I think it’s very funny. It has subsequently been produced one other time by a company in the city of Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
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