Gallery of Winners

Successful, smart playwrights who invested in their plays.

This is a sample of ten talented, tenacious playwrights who booked one-on-one sessions or had workshops, went on to get contracts and have productions. Some scripts have won awards!

• 
  Leanne Allen is Development Executive at Next North Entertainment, Director at LA Media and screenwriter in Victoria BC. Leanne brought me in to work on her scripted 1-hour series, The Park.

  “One hour on the phone with Caroline and it feels like I’m half done. I’m still in a bit of a shock. How did she do that?!” – Leanne Allen

  The Park-You can take the girl out of the trailer park…actually, she’ll do it herself thank you very much. A coming-of-age story about escaping the white ghetto. To find out more about her and her writing go to lamediainc.ca

• 
  Maria Crooks is an emerging playwright and we have worked together on three scripts – all have gone on to have productions, and one received a nomination for a CAT Award for Best Original Script.

  “I met Caroline for the first time when I took a playwriting course that she was teaching. Her instructional style was clear, precise, and detailed blended with humour and an obvious love for the art of playwriting. Her ability to gently encourage and inspire, gave me the confidence to write my first play. Since then, Caroline has done the dramaturgy on my plays, all of which have been produced because I trust her keen knowledge and skill as a dramaturg and her capacity to be honest, yet compassionate. I feel completely comfortable working with her. Her probing, insightful questions allow me to clarify my intent and focus my writing. She has helped me to shape and polish my work without ever telling me what to write. So, the feeling of accomplishment that I experience when a piece is completed is even more satisfying because of that. Having her guiding hand to help and support me has been invaluable.” – Maria Crooks

  The Servant — set in the 1960’s in Jamaica and Canada it is about a poor servant woman and her desperate efforts to achieve a better life for herself and her children despite the many forces against her. The Age of Love is a whacky comedy about an inheritance a free-spirited grandma, a libidinous young man, his jealous mam, a weirdly eccentric doctor and a ruthlessly ambitious talk show host. The Mary Mink Story is about a black woman who lived in Toronto in the mid19th century – a tale of untrammeled ambition, ruthlessness deceit and one man’s relentless efforts for the truth.

  To read her scripts contact her at calmari@shaw.ca

• 
  Bremner Fletcher Duthie lives in New Orleans. We worked one-on-one and had a workshop of '33 (a kabarett). He took this super successful one man show to the Thespis Theatre Festival, the Armmono Theatre Festival & toured in the Balkans, Ukraine, Russia, Germany. His play received Five Star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has been performed at festivals across North America. His play has also won awards in Russia and Asia.

  “Writing for theatre, the process can become about adding many, many good ideas and many, many exciting moments and characters and it can eventually turn into a labyrinth of good intentions from which there is no escaping How to clear away the extraneous ideas and cut to the chase? How to know what is working? Caroline, in her role as dramaturg, was that outside eye who was able to offer me a clear vision of what I already made, and how to get myself out of the knot I had tied around the performance. She identified the sore of the show, understood what I was trying to say and gave me techniques for bringing that to the fore. I’ve since toured this show across North America and for audiences from Mongolia to Mexico to Moscow, often performing for audiences who do not speak English. I’ve been thrilled to feel how they react to the deep emotional journey of this character. I owe a great debt to the amazing dramaturgy of Caroline Russell-King - Big, Big Wow! Focused, insightful, direct, friendly (affordable!!)” – Bremner Fletcher Duthie

  ’33 (a kabarett) — In the ruins of a Cabaret theatre, an actor finds himself alone after his friends have disappeared, arrested by the authorities. In order to escape the same fate and survive, the actor should run and vanish into the night, but an audience has slipped through the broken door. So, in tribute, he uses all his talents to joyously recreate the acts of the missing company.

  To find out about performances visit bremnersings.com

• 
  Rod Hayward is a professional playwright from Quebec, Canada. We worked together on three of his plays. Living in the Spaces went on to have its premiere at The Globe Theatre in Regina. The Reluctant Disciple is scheduled to have a workshop in 2021 and a musical is also in the works.

  “I have had the pleasure of working with many Canadian dramaturgs, but none more skillful than Caroline Russell-King. Caroline’s own successful career as a playwright has brought her great understanding of the complex components that interact to drive a play from its initiating incident to its final resolution. Despite her extensive knowledge, I have never seen Caroline succumb to the trap faced by all dramaturgs – that of inadvertently imposing her own vision on a work in progress.” – Rod Hayward

  Living in the Spaces – Young Midge Cunningham is reluctant to take piano lessons and her teacher, William Betts, does not have time for a sarcastic student unwilling to learn, a coming-of-age story, which reminds us all of the importance of following your dreams. The Reluctant Messiah - pursued by the roman authorities, Mikhael is fleeing to Aegyptus in an effort to escape his dangerous reputation as a messiah when he meets Ayana, a beautiful, dancer.
• 
  Louis B. Hobson is a playwright and well-known movie and theatre critic. He brought me in to work on his play Murder at Rillington Place at Workshop Theatre in Calgary. He went on to win the CAT award in 2009 for Outstanding Original Script.

  “At the first reading of my script for Workshop Theatre’s Murder at Rillington Place, the cast members were polite and supportive but there was a general consensus the opening of the play in particular was sluggish. With deadlines hovering, I approached Caroline Russell King who agreed to look over the script. She zeroed in on the problem. The opening of the play was bogged down with exposition which she felt was unnecessary. She helped me restructure not only the opening but other weak spots in the script giving the play more urgency and momentum.” Caroline has a keen eye for dramatic tension and an even keener one for dramatic redundancies and her work and advice on Murder at Rillington Place was a key factor in its success with cast, crew and audiences alike.”- Louis B. Hobson

  Murder at Rillington Place – Did John Christie really commit all the murders that happened at 10 Rillington Place in the 1950s in England?

  To contact Louis for a copy of his script go to hoblyzoo@hotmail.com

• 
  Gina Keys is a professional playwright and producer of Gina Keyes Productions in New York City. We worked together on her play Land. A workshop in New York is scheduled when travel restrictions are lifted.

  “Caroline Russell-King encouraged me to care for the details and quality of my work. Caroline asked the questions which required me to tell the truth. She challenged me to listen and value the voices of my characters, to dig deeper and expand my creativity. Most importantly, Caroline believed in me and that was her most powerful tool.” – Gina Keys

  Land is one family's journey to uncover the secrets of their buried past, to strengthen family bonds, and to protect their legacy for the future. In Greenville, Mississippi after the civil war, The Williams family, a family of sharecroppers, acquired the land their ancestors once lived and worked as slaves. The year is 1945 and matriarch Ethel-May, is determined to keep the family legacy alive.

  To read her script contact her at ginakeys.com

• 
  Patricia Milton is a professional playwright from Berkeley California. She and I worked on her comedy Hearts of Palm which premiered at Central Works Theatre and was part of the Theatre Esprit Asia’s 17/18 season in Denver. Her play has also been taught as part of UC Berkeley’s Political Ecology class.

  “Caroline is extremely easy to work with and is genuinely helpful. She asked insightful questions that lead to breakthroughs in the script. Highly recommended.” – Patricia Milton

  Hearts of Palm is a wildly funny satire where unrequited love meets unregulated capitalism.

  Contact Patricia at patricia-milton.com

• 

  Maren Ord Burnham and I worked one-on-one on her musicals and she has had full workshops of her scripts. She produced her play, Feather Pen Fairy Tales in Okotoks to sellout crowds.

  Feather Pen Fairy Tales is a family-friendly romantic comedy, complete with evil villains, silly guards, and a toddler for a king. The story centers on Jack who must write the Kingdom’s best fairy tale in the quest for love and to save his own life.

  “Caroline has mentored me on several accounts over the years. She helped me take an idea and really stretch into something I can be proud of. I can still hear her voice in my head while writing new material when it comes to specific rules along with basic character development that time and again has improved my characters. She is straight-forward and no-nonsense which is something I love most about her approach. She's on my team and wants my script to be the best version of itself, which is a good thing because, hey! So do I.” – Maren Ord Burnham

  Contact Maren for the script and music at marenwburnham@gmail.com
• 
  Rose Scollard professional playwright and founding publisher Frontenac House. Rose and I worked on her play I Ain’t So Tough, which went on to have a production with Urban Stories Theatre in the Motel at The Arts Commons.

  “I loved working with Caroline on my play, I Ain’t so Tough, for Urban Stories Theatre. With her special combination of critical perspective and her sharp wit she helped clean out the dross and make the script cleaner, richer and much more dramatic.” – Rose Scollard

  I Ain’t So Tough — When Jesse receives a legacy from Walter, a soldier she danced with 50 years before, she is not that delighted. She can scarcely remember the guy and feels he’s manipulating her from the grave.

  To read Rose’s script go to rosescollard.com

• 

  Michelle Warkentin is a professional puppeteer. We worked together on her play Family Tear which went on to have its premiere at the Inkubator Theatre then on to the Calgary Fringe Festival in 2017. We also did one on one dramaturgy and a workshop of Rumble Follies, Calgary Fringe Festival in 2021.

  “I have had the distinct opportunity to work with Caroline of a number of playwriting projects and am so deeply grateful for her ability to help me as a developing playwright. When I first asked Caroline for help, I just had an idea, not sure of where I was going or confident that I had anything worth writing about. Caroline's support, her knowledge, her continued faith in me as a playwright gave me the confidence, to move forward, to work through the obstacles of the learning process and to keep going. I cannot stress the value of her support, her wisdom as an amazingly accomplished playwright and her patience in my own unique play writing process. I highly recommend taking the opportunity to work with Caroline and I applaud her as I step into the opening of my next production this summer!!” – Michelle Warkentin

  Family Tear - Dementia becomes a live, invisible force that exposes a family to life choices that have and will continue to change everyone.

  To find out more about her puppet shows go to michellewarkentin.ca

We are the theatre makers

We are a small but determined band of theatre artists who believe that live theatre is one of the best experiences we can have as a human being.

We are passionate about theatre.

We are playwrights who care about creating GREAT scripts.

We want productions for our plays.

We want success so we invest in ourselves and our work.

More winning plays and Playwrights who have worked with Caroline

• Waiting Time
  Amos Altman
• To See Or Not To See; Homecoming
  Ruth Bieber
• Waiting For Waiting For Godot
  Tony Binns
• Flushed
  Meg Braem
• The Vajayjay Monologues
  Lindsay Burns
• The Wall
  Jonathan Chapman
• Come Home
  JC Charlton
• Fever Pitch
  Ellen Chorley
• Lost- The Story of Endangered Species
  Ellen Chorley
• Code Burgundy
  Judith Clark
• E X 3
  Laurel Corona
• The Milky Way
  Colleen Curran
• Safe as Housewares
  Colleen Curran
• Read ‘em and Leap
  Denise Dale
• Shush!
  Denise Dale
• The Inconvenience
  Grant Dawson
• Submarine
  Michelle Deines
• Female Robbery
  Jessica Del Fierro
• Clochemerle
  Derek Demierre
• Peace Talks
  Ryan Dunn and Izzy Salant
• The Chaser
  Bremner Duthrie
• A Woman of a Certain Age
  Wendy Froberg
• Riches
  Wendy Froberg
• Going Public
  Kico Gonzales-Riso
• Bear Belles
  Nicholas Hanson
• The Boiler Room
  Allana Harkin
• The Treasure
  Emily Herman
• Almighty Voice
  David Heyman
• Digby and Glass
  David Heyman
• The Video Game Dance
  Mark Ikeda
• More Than Blood
  Ursila Joraan
• Emily and Roy
  Paul Kaufman
• Seedsavers
  Katherine Koller
• Wife-in-Law
  John Lazarus
• The Invention of Music
  Clem Martini
• Trapped!
  Trevor Matheson
• Not a Shot Fired
  Trevor Matteson
• Seeing is Believing
  Trevor Matteson
• Against the Odds
  Trevor Matheson and Melissa Dorsey
• The Sunshine Café
  Trevor Matheson and Melissa Dorsey Matheson
• Dream Vacation
  Jonathan Monro
• The Cygnet
  Steven Morton
• When All is Said and Done
  Kellee Ngan
• Pirates
  Ward Norcutt
• Meat Puppet
  Leif Olson-Cormack
• The Gardener
  Maren Ord Burnham
• Seven Games
  James O’Shea
• Excess Unwanted Growth
  David Own
• Steffi’s Garden
  Gordon Pengilly
• All Saints’ Day
  Sara Plumpton
• If Romance is Dead… Who Killed it?
  Tracey Power
• s.i.n
  Jennifer Roberts
• Pop Tart Days
  Susan Rogers
• This Way Out
  Annie Rosenberg
• Going to Extremes
  Jacqueline Russell
• No Ordinary Tulip
  David Sealy and Lynn Marie Calder
• Mrs. Kray
  Christen Shepherd
• Five Red Hands
  Dalbir Singh
• Lost and Found
  Alex Stamp
• Takein’ a Chance on Love
  Grant Tilly
• Four AM
  Bronte Weissig
• The Incorrigible Murray Greenbaum
  Jacqueline Wislesky
• Mirrors
  Dawn Burke Wood
• Back Against the Wall
  Helen Young
• A Touch of Grace
  Helen Young

(If you would like your name added to this list – send me a message.)