​​​​ Julia Ainsworth


​​​​​​​​SELECTED WRITING




 MEET ME

co-written with Rosaruby Kagan

Full-length interactive, branching narrative play

Produced by Live Action Theatre Project and Teesri Duniya Theatre

Premiered September 29th, 2022


Meet Me is an audience-interactive, branching narrative experience that explores sexual dynamics, cancel culture and consent in the post #metoo era. It tells the story of three characters in an academic setting whose perspectives clash after a night of intimacy goes wrong. The characters, alongside the audience, must navigate the multiplicity of pathways towards resolution.


This play was developed and produced with support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Quebec, Conseil des Arts Montreal, Playwrights Workshop Montreal, the iMpacts SSHRC project led by Professor Shaheen Shariff, and the Cole Foundation. 


Excerpts of Meet Me were presented at the Vanier College 2022  symposium "English Studies in the 21st Century"


​Reviews:

"Provocative well-crafted (& performed) show from Teesri Duniya & Live Action Theatre Project currently playing at McGill Campus. A kind of Sliding Doors-type parallel narrative about sexual politics in academia, with the audience nudging where the story goes." Jim Burke (Funhouse Theatre)


"I found Meet Me to be utterly engrossing."  Sarah Deshaies, CJAD Radio, Sarah's Long Weekend List


"In presenting this striking energy alongside its open discussion of consent, violation, racism, and cancel culture, Meet Me proves to be a thought-provoking, engaging theatre experience that will keep audiences thinking long after the metaphorical curtains close." Dana Prather (McGill Tribune)


Awards

Outstanding Production (Montreal English Theatre Awards 2023)

Outstanding Contribution to Theatre (Montreal English Theatre Awards 2023)

Outstanding Lead Performance (Montreal English Theatre Awards 2023) 




​Press Coverage


Promo video/Trailer


CBC Radio "Let's Go" Interview with Julia Ainsworth and Sabrina Marandola 


CityNews Interview "Quite An Adventure: Immersive Theatre Experience in Montreal"


Westmount Mag interview with Julia Ainsworth, Rosaruby Kagan and Irwin Rapoport


Broadway World


​The Montrealer


The McGill Tribune




MENS REA   

Full-length stage play 


Created with the support of Teesri Duniya Theatre. Selected from a national competition as the first recipient of the Playwrights Guild of Canada Mentorship Program with dramaturgy by Lib Spry. 


Excerpts were publically presented at the McGill Faculty Club in November 2016.




WAKE UP SLEEPING BEAUTY!

One Act stage play for young audiences (ideal for ages 6-10)


(45 minutes, 4 actors)

A modern adaptation for young audiences of  “Little Briar Rose” by the Brothers Grimm, in the genre of choose-your-own-adventure. The audience teams up to wake up Princess Briar Rose and help her take action to save herself and restore her kingdom. 

Produced by The Live Action Theatre Project, directed by Rosaruby Kagan. Featuring Leigh Ann Taylor, Elisabeth Yale, William Ward and Lise Vigneault. Premiered at the Centaur Children’s Series (November 2015) and presented at the 2016 Shortstanding Festival, Springworks Festival (Stratford, Ontario), TADA Festival (Wakefield, QC), Hudson Village Theatre (Hudson, QC), and schools & theatres in the Montreal region in 2017. 


Excerpts of this play were presented at two academic presentations: A special guest lecture at Concordia University on the topic of "Equilibrium as an artist/educator" and the 2016 Artful Inquiry Symposium at McGill University "Emergent Identities through Multi Textural Dialogue" co-presented with Darlene St. Georges (visual artist and educator, PhD) 


Reviews: 

"True interactive theatre. Top-notch performances with lots of spontaneity!"

-Quebec Drama Observer


"This show is perfect for young audiences and parents can enjoy it too! Even I got caught up in the fun and adventure! "

-Eileen Smith - Artistic Producer- SpringWorks Festival



Links/ Press Coverage:


CBC Article


CBC Radio Interview


Springworks Listing


Interview with the Springworks Festival

Review by Byron Toben with the Westmount Mag

Coverage with the Suburban

Interview with Montreal Rampage by Sing Karan





WAYWARD
Feature length screenplay

In 1959, a choir girl runs away from home with an outlaw biker gang but discovers the gang’s social code is as strict as the religious dogma she escaped.

Written with development funding from Jeunes Voluntaires (2012)

Story Editor: Ruth Atkinson 
 




UNFIT FOR BEARS

Full-length stage play


(80 minutes, 5 female actors)

Unfit for Bears goes beyond the prison walls and into the hearts and minds of incarcerated women,  exposing human rights abuses that took place at Canada's Federal Prison for Women.

Produced by Zeitgeist Theatre Collective (September 2011) with production support from the Canada Council for the Arts and development support from the Playwrights Guild of Canada, the Quebec Writer's Federation and Playwrights Workshop Montreal. Presented at Les Ateliers Jean Brillant.


Featuring Catherine Lemieux, Nathalie Tannous, Emilia Xochitl Alvarez, Vanessa Schmidt, RosaRuby Kagan

Inspired by interviews with i
ncarcerated women, correctional officers, social workers and criminal lawyers. The production included an art exhibit by local organization Entre ‘Elles, and a panel discussion with artists and community members.


Reviews: 

"Volatile stories keep emotions on high and give us much to think about"

-Charlebois post


"This brave new production invites us to find hope and dignity in a degrading prison culture" - Midnight Poutine  


Links/Press Coverage: 
Review by Estelle Rosen of the Charlebois Post

Interview with Eylsha Enos of The Link

Preview by Midnight Poutine

Interview with Upstage
 



FLIGHTS OF FANCY
Theatre for Young Audiences, a one-act play


( 3 actors)

Haley has been carried away by her wild imagination. On his mission to rescue her, Tanner is transformed into a lion tamer in a circus! A scientist in a laboratory! A pilot flying through the clouds! Will he ever succeed in bringing Haley home?

Produced by Altera Vitae Productions. Presented at the Centaur Theatre Children’s Series (2010). 

 

P4W  

Promenade/site-specific performance workshop

(60 minutes, 8 actors)

A  correctional officer gives a young woman a tour of the recently closed Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario. In the empty cells and corridors, the prison’s history comes to life and the past collides with the present.


Produced by Zeitgeist Theatre Collective in co-production with Mischief Theatre.

Workshop production incorporated community discussions with the Elizabeth Fry Organization and National Executive Director, Kim Pate.


Links/Press Coverage:

Preview by Pat Donnely with The Gazette

Interview by David Jaffer with the Hour


Reviews: 

"Thoughtful and unprecedented." - Montreal Mirror


"Shining a light on an obscured place in Canadian history" - Montreal Mirror


"Focuses the mind on what it means to be incarcerated. Is anyone ever likely to be corrected by a correctional institution?"

- Pat Donnelly, Montreal Gazette