Stephanie Fung

Stephanie Fung (they/she) is an interdisciplinary performance artist from Toronto who is fascinated by the concept of convention and how we contest culture. A performer, writer, director, producer, educator and theatre critic—they are particularly influenced by artistry that is indulgent, subversive and counter-cultural.

Stephanie was recently awarded the Nathan Cohen Awards for Outstanding Emerging Critic. They are also a facilitator for the Toronto Fringe’s New Young Reviewers program and recently participated in Canada’s first IBPOC Critics Lab with Intermission Magazine and Stratford Festival. Their publications can be found in the Canadian Theatre Review, Generator TO, Kingston Theatre Alliance, and Intermission Magazine.

Initially developed through Nightwood Theatre’s Write From The Hip, Stephanie is working towards a final draft of their play ‘As a former fat kid’ with the support of Studio 180, Buddies in Bad Times, and now Tarragon Theatre. Learn more at http://www.stephaniefung.ca.

Shaharah Gaznabbi

Shaharah Gaznabbi (they/them) is a Guyanese-Canadian ACTRA actor, writer, and comedian. They are pursuing a BFA in Playwriting & Devised Theatre in York University’s Theatre program. Shaharah is part of this year’s cohort for Nightwood Theatre’s Innovators Program, and graduated from Second City Training Centre’s Conservatory Program. Shaharah recently finished a full run of their solo-show “What Can Indian Look Like? Can It Look Caribbean?” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and received The Neurodiverse Review’s Birds of Paradise Theatre Emerging Artist Award. They have also made their television debut playing the character of Noor in season 3 of CBC’s Run the Burbs!

Instagram – @huckkingfilarious

Twitter – @TheHarzGaz

Antong Xu

Antong Xu (he/him) is a settler, born and raised in Qinhuangdao, China, now based in Tkaronto. Sometimes he performs, sometimes he writes. He is currently working on his first full-length English-language play, while also procrastinating on several other projects that may never be completed. Though he is still trying.

Preye Godwin

Preye Godwin is a 20 year old Nigerian multidisciplinary artist currently studying Theatre & Film and English & Cultural Studies at McMaster University. They go by all pronouns and identify as agender. Preye is interested in all forms of arts including creative writing, drawing, theatre and film. They have performed in plays at Theatre Aquarius for the Brave New Works festival, the Hamilton Fringe, the Frostbites Festival, and acted in McMaster’s 2022 major fall production “Force of Habit.” In their writing, they like to focus on themes of mental health, generational trauma, spirituality and identity in the context of queerness and religion. Preye is excited to be a part of this year’s National Young Playwrights Unit and hopes to learn all there is about scripting performances alongside other young aspiring playwrights.

Alice Wu

Alice Shuang Wu (she/her) is a writer and actor based in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang (Montreal). Fluent in French, Spanish, and Mandarin, she continually strives to expand her empathy and cultural understanding. Her play-in-progress, Countercurrents, follows an ambitious journalist whose new roommate—her divorced mother—falls prey to a dangerous conspiracy theory. An early draft won McGill’s Lionel Shapiro Award for Creative Writing. You can catch Alice behind-the-scenes at the Montreal Fringe Festival this year as the assistant director and co-producer of Pindorama, a very Brazilian comedy.

Nathaniel Hanula-James

Local YPU Facilitator

Nathaniel Hanula-James (he/him) collaborates on theatre performances as a dramaturg, actor, writer and administrator. Born and raised in Vancouver (the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations), he now makes his home in Toronto/Tkaronto. Nathaniel was Associate Dramaturg at Nightswimming, where he assisted in the nurturing of new work. As an actor, performance credits include Iphigenia and the Furies (Theatre Passe Muraille), Towards Rebirth (Shakespeare in the Ruff), and Tiny Treasures (Manitoba Theatre for Young People). Creation projects include: Untitled Flamingo Play, a solo show about a queer child in search of a role model, which Talk is Free Theatre premiered in 2022; Flux in the City, a collaboration with Wesley Lincoln Reibeling about the future of Canadian cities; and a new play about a queer marriage of convenience in 1950s Toronto. Nathaniel is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada (Acting), McGill University (BA Drama & Theatre), and Humber College (Arts Administration). He is an alumni of Teesri Duniya’s Fireworks Playwriting Program and the Paprika Festival’s Creative Producers and Administrators program.

Paula Wing

National YPU Facilitator

Paula Wing is a playwright, translator, dramaturge, and teacher. Plays on stage in 2025 are: Wicked Nix, an adaptation of the book by Lena Coakley, at Young People’s Theatre; a translation of Stefano Massini’s Intractable Woman at Brandeis University; and Roadkill, a play for teen audiences for Roseneath Theatre, planned for the 2025-26 season.  Paula is in demand as a dramaturge, recently helping playwrights birth plays for Tarragon, Young Peoples Theatre, and Akpik Theatre. She is always involved with play creation and development. Paula has been a story consultant for the Calgary Stampede Museum, and for many years wrote program notes for productions at Soulpepper Theatre. She teaches nationally and internationally, regularly going across the province with the Gryffon Trio’s Listen Up program, among others. She has taught playwriting at Tarragon Theatre for more than 15 years, in their Local and National Young Playwrights Units. Paula is a Sessional Professor at the University of Windsor and the University of Waterloo and for the past thirteen years she has been the creative writing instructor at the Native Men’s Residence in Toronto

Jonnie Lombard

Assistant Dramaturg

Jonnie (they/them) is a creator, performer, and half-decent baker stumbling through the side-quests of sentience. Their work looks for the ‘extra’ in the ordinary, the camp and melodrama in our everyday comings and goings, and the liberating silliness of a live performance space. They are so excited to be back with the YPU this year, continuing to develop their perspectives on playwriting and dramaturgy while supporting a whole new group of emerging creators through the journey of a story.

omo pastor!

by Preya Godwin
Thursday, June 13 2024

Genesis Alagoa, the last born of Bonny Island’s most renowned pastor, is thrust into a life-threatening ordeal when a former flame is shot at a party, and a note with her name, along with four other names of friends and acquaintances from secondary school, is left behind, citing them as prey to one of the major university cults on the island. Suddenly, Genesis must confront several fears and anxieties, including those surrounding her beliefs, sexuality and who she has always wanted to be vs. who she is expected to be.

Director: Pablo Ogunlesi

Cast:

GENESIS ALAGOA / IFEOMA – Makambe K. Simamba

AANU OLOLADE / MUYIWA – JD Leslie

AZEEZ – Ngabo Nabea

BENJI – Durae McFarlane

Countercurrents

By Alice Wu
Thursday, June 13 2024

Journalist Veronica Guo is on the cusp of her dream career. A fellow at the fictional Boston Daily, she is determined to prove herself and secure a permanent position speaking truth to power. Yet when her recently divorced mother, Rong Li, moves in with her, Veronica is shocked to learn that her mother has become a conspiracy theorist, convinced that 5G radiation is killing Americans and determined to spread the truth before it is too late. As Veronica tries to talk sense into Rong, she grapples with the value of her work and whether facts can really change minds—or if prejudice and paranoia are the stronger forces.

Director: Karthy Chin

Cast:

VERONICA GUO – Madelaine Hodges

RONG LI – Shiong-En Chan

Jessica/Maureen – Christine Horne

Conor – Simon Pelletier

As a Former Fat Kid

By Stephanie Fung
Friday, June 14 2024

No one wants anything to do with Egghead. Not even Egghead.

Food is an unspoken form of love for Chinese families, unless you’re nature’s cruelest joke!

No—food, family, love—those are liabilities.

This is not a story about identity or culture clash. As a former fat kid is a mixed-media Buddhist

odyssey following someone caught in the cycle of running away again, and again, and again, and

again, and again, and again, and again, and again—

—until the parts of themselves they’ve tried to kill off finally catch up and haunt them.

Or until Egghead finishes the job.

Director: Jade Silman

Cast:

Egghead – Emily Jung

Lil’ Reaper G – Ziska Louis

Various -Kenley Ku

Various – Sze-Yang Ade-Lam

Protectors of the Lost Scribe

by Shaharah Gaznabbi
Friday, June 14 2024

Are women ever truly safe, even in death?

Because even in death, she’s in hiding. When a Scribe is murdered by the man she was betrothed to, the women closest to her must lean on each other to protect her body until they can give her a proper burial in the morning.

Protectors of the Lost Scribe is a Muslim-Queer retelling of the story of Sheherazade from 1001 Arabian Nights (with a splash of Antigone), and is, at its heart, grounded in storytelling as a vehicle for love.

Director: Michelle Rambharose

Cast:

Scribe – Mina Zaghari

Queenie – Marium Masood

Imum – Fatma Naguib

Table

by Antong Xu
Friday, June 14 2024

Table is born (assembled) in an immigrant family. Table then learns about the world as well as themself. Table talks. Table witnesses. Table dies. In the end, on a trash mountain, Table is resurrected.

Director: Karthy Chin

Cast:

Table – Felix Hao

Mom / Chair 1 – Yawen Zhang

Dad / Chair 2 – Richard Tse

Daughter / Robot – Leon Tsai

Oprah Lemorin is an emerging performer, playwright, and director who recently moved to Toronto for new career opportunities. She’s really keen on introducing her talents as a multidisciplinary artist to Toronto’s theatre community. Her style of writing is absurd, witty, blunt, unexpected, and imaginative. She’s excited to take part in Tarragon’s local YPU program and looks forward to developing her writing skills, and exploring and broadening her voice as a playwright.

Jonnie (they/them) is a creator, performer, and decent baker based in Tkaronto. Their work seeks to find the ‘extra’ in the ordinary, the camp and the melodrama found in our everyday comings and goings, and the liberating silliness of a live performance space. They are so excited to be a part of the YPU this year, evolving their perspectives on playwriting, and exploring stories of queer self discovery for the legends that they are.

Donovan Hayden is a Black Canadian theatre creator, activist, and political organizer that tells stories intended to engage, challenge, and activate audiences. He strives to tell stories that center the dynamic lives of Black people and their everyday resistance. Calling both Pittsburgh and Toronto home, he is currently based in Toronto and an organizer at Progress Toronto. His goal is to blend activism and Blackness with theatre to create radical art that leads to liberation for all.

Kelsi James (she/her) is a queer and asexual theatre creator, working alternately as a creator, producer and performer. Kelsi has a degree in Musical Theatre Performance (Sheridan) and a certificate in ASL & Deaf Studies (VCC). The questions that compel Kelsi as a creator are: how do I blend theatre with community gathering? How do I build accessibility and care into the bones of my work? How do I honour the queer ancestors, and how can I empower the next gen queers?

James B. Elloso (he/him) is an emerging writer and director based in St. John’s, Ktaqmkuk, or colonially known as Newfoundland. He received his diploma in stage and screen techniques from Memorial University in the spring of 2022. During the summer, he wrote his first short play, “Buried Treasure,” which premiered at the St. John’s Short Play Festival in the fall. This winter, he is continuing work on the script to turn it into a full-length play titled Children of Tomorrow.

Elizabeth Rodenburg (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist, actor, and writer from Guelph, Ontario. Elizabeth is a recent graduate of the University of Windsor’s BFA in Acting program where they had the pleasure of creating and performing their first complete original work entitled Shapeshifter. She is particularly interested in devising work that explores themes of community, belonging, and identity in a way that is accessible and enjoyable for both artist and audience.

And So The Siren Sings

And So The Siren Sings is an interrogation of asexuality, of mermaid mythology, and of why we hypersexualize the siren to the point of vilification. We dive through lore, we sing and move together, we unlearn our understandings and assumptions of sirens, and we share six different perspectives on Siren Songs — which, in truth, are six different queer perspectives on compulsory sexuality. Through metaphor, and in community, we come together to challenge our understandings of sex and sexuality, and move towards joyous community celebration of queerness and all of our (a)sexualities.

Cast:

Alison Beckwith
Emma Burke-Kleinman
Melissa Mackenzie
Ben Page
Sarah Miller – Assistant dramaturg and stage directions

Children of Tomorrow

Water Lilies

Two art thieves – one a veteran and one completely new to the game – who coincidentally decide to rob the same art gallery on the same day. Emelia is hoping to reconnect with an old lover, while Birdie is trying to make sense of who she is and what she wants. Although they are both very different people with very different motives they’ve ended up here tonight because of a strong need to belong – to connect with others, to have a community, to understand who they are. Set in the late 80s at the height of the AIDS crisis, the play explores themes of identity, alienation, and the capacity everyone has for love and connection.

In Search Of…

Written by Oprah Lemorin
Directed by Coko Galore

EEK! or ‘The Mice Turned Me Trans’ Play

Written by Jonnie Lombard
Directed by Cole Alvis

White Crimes

Written by Donovan Hayden
Directed by Tanisha Taitt

Ajahnis Charley

Mariel Calvo

Kais Padamshi

Shyanne Duquette

The Fickle Light of Spring by Ajahnis Charley

The Fickle Light of Spring examines the hilarity and heartache that happens when Brandon and Z, two halves of a young, gay interracial couple, decide to come out to their traditional immigrant parents.

ARTISTIC TEAM
Director: Coko Galore
Z (Jia Zhong-Qin) – Minh Ly
Brandon Marks – Daniel Jelani Ellis
Mr. Jia – Richard Tse
Mrs. Jia – Carolyn Fe

How to Drink Mate by Mariel Calvo

How to Drink Mate delves into the traditional cultural practice of yerba mate and how you’re “supposed” to drink it. Part tutorial and part diary, we follow the matrilineal experiences, memories, and stories from one family journeying between Argentina and Canada

ARTISTIC TEAM
Director: Anita La Selva
Peli –Natasha Ramondino
Marta –Paulina Pino-Rubio
Tia Rosa – Augusto Bitter
Alma – Monica Garrido
Misc. Men – Augusto Bitter

Halal by Kais Padamshi

When even home and its people seem as foreign as himself, a young boy questions the role of faith against choice and self-determination. Set in modern-day Kenya, Halal weaves together the heart of family, faith, tradition, love and the will to stand in one’s truth. When challenged by both the world around him and his own kin, where not even faith seems to hold him close amongst all else, young boy questions’ How can one be forsaken for who he is, if all men are created in God’s image? What does this reveal about the creator? How can one claim that which has not claimed them?

ARTISTIC TEAM
Director: Mike Payette
Aboud – Isaac Cunningham
Hakim –Savion Roach
Baba – Paul Smith
Dadi – Ordena Stephens-Thompson

Omisimawiw by Shyanne Duquette

Omisimawiw is based on two strangers meeting on the Edmonton Metro line LRT. Finding out they are sisters this sparks questions in each sister around their identity, and relationship with indigeneity. Both sisters individually reckon with how indigenous identity is interwoven with others’ definitions and examines how youths forage for connections to their cultural identity after having been disconnected and discouraged from doing so.

ARTISTIC TEAM
Director: Dillan Meighan-Chiblow
Jackie, Auntie Jay – Theresa Cutknife
Marina, Chrissy – Cheyenne Scott
Voice-over, stage directions – Dillan Meighan-Chiblow

Jordan M Burns

Rose Goodwin

Jameela McNeil

A Pineberry’s Past by Jordan M. Burns

What would you do if half of you was drowning? Living in a perpetual fog, Mixed, half-white, and half-indigenous, attempts to share the story of their life over a home-cooked meal in their childhood kitchen. A place of joy, family, decay, and silence; Mixed is left gasping for a community of their own. Trying to navigate the present while negotiating the vicious memories of times gone by, Mixed finds themselves putting on a show one last time.”
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright: Jordan M. Burns
Director: Christopher Stanton
Mixed – Herbie Barns

Hermaphroditus by Rose Goodwin

Hermaphroditus is an exploration of queerness, belonging, and visibility. It takes the Greek gods and puts them into our world, focusing on the relationships between the gods and gender. This play is an intimate look at what transness looks in relation to one’s relationships, life’s work, and belonging in the world. Hermaphroditus is found by Charlico and finally finds their place on earth with other queers. As they find themselves, they recognize that trans folks are under attack, leaving the safety of earth to take their rightful seat on Olympus. Will the pantheon have room for another Goddex?
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright: Rose Goodwin
Director: Cole Alvis
Hermaphroditus – Avery-Jean Brenan
Charlico – Jacob MacInnis
Hera – Rachel Cairns
Zeus – Titus Androgynous

Orange Skies by Jameela McNeil

Samira is trying to move on. Engrossed in the frivolous tasks at her joyless housekeeping job, she distracts herself from a lost dream, her mother’s worsening condition, and the boy who stole her heart one hot summer night in 1957. When a new love comes knocking at her door she is plagued by memories of her first love and a night that changed her forever. As she relives the secret affair in her mind, she is confronted with a difficult decision. Rectify the past or continue to run from it?
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright: Jameela McNeil
Director: Natércia Napoleão
Samira – Hillary Warden
Maria – Sarah Nairne
River – Oscar Dirkx

Boom! by Magda Uculmana-Falcon

A physical altercation in a classroom, between a teacher and a black, female student, goes viral. Friends of the student involved seek justice on her behalf, but then BOOM! Another incident at the school grabs the world’s attention, and thwarts their pursuit. BOOM! is a play about three black, teenage girls, trying to be heard in an institution that won’t listen.
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright: Magda Uculmana-Falcon
Director: Lisa Karen Cox
Cast: Meghan Aguirre, Rosina Ferede, Alyssa Pothier, and Brianna Wright

Sol by Araceli Ferrara

SOL follows the story of a woman trying to rebuild the past. Set in her memory, Sol revisits her fourteen-year-old self during the 1973 coup d’état in Chile, when political tensions threatened the fragile bonds of family. SOL is an exploration of memory and the things we do in order to survive.
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright: Araceli Ferrara
Director: Rosa Labordé
Cast: Katarina Fiallos, Kathy Martinez, Adriana Moraes-Mendoza, Walter Moraes-Mendoza, Xanath Fuentes Natanson, and Dre Rivas

You Better Second Line! by JD Leslie

Welcome to New Orleans! Where death is a celebration and crickets play jazz music to keep souls at rest. Brave and his cricket family welcome you with open arms to the graveyard as tonight is moon’s day; the one time of the month when souls can pass onto the other side. But what happens when a soul can’t be put to rest? What happens when you aren’t ready to move on? And what happens if there ain’t no moon? One thing’s for sure…you better second line!
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright: JD Leslie
Director: Audrey Dwyer
Cast: Meghan Aguirre, Walter Moraes-Mendoza, and Pablo Ogunlesi

Tony Tran

Meara Khanna

Charles Manzo

QUEENS by Tony Tran

Everyday gay Asian man, Ray, finds his dating habits challenged when he accidentally dates his first Asian. QUEENS is a queer comedy about the aspects of racial dating, cultural and sexual identity, and knowing when you’re enough.
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright: Tony Tran
Director: Gloria Mok
Cast: Christopher Cruz, Jonathan Dick, Pearl Ho and Warren Kang

Little Boxes by Meara Khanna

After finding an eviction notice on their door, Nina and Jenelle face losing their home and independence. Desperate measures are called for, even if it means breaking the law. Little Boxes is an exploration of friendship, entrepreneurship, and finding your worth in a world where the least is expected of you.
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright: Meara Khanna
Director: Eva Barrie
Cast: Alex Franks, JD Leslie and Cait MacMullin

Sunny Side Up by Charles Manzo

Sunny Side Up is a Canadian immigrant play about the intricate relationship between a Filipino father and his daughter. Set in Toronto, the play explores themes of familial sacrifice, hope in the face of societal barriers, and the passions we set aside to support our loved ones.
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright: Charles Manzo
Director: Byron Abalos
Cast: Christopher Cruz, Daniella Dela Peña, Sean Williams

Young Playwrights: Tyisha Murphy, Sarah Hilton, Ruby Urlocker (pictured above with Caitie Graham), Sara Durante & Jenn Boulay

Instructors/Directors: Caitie Graham, Paula Wing, Marcia Johnson, Esther Jun

Young Playwrights: Sam Beland, Zavian Buchanan, Julie Phan

Instructors/Directors: Anne Wessels, Caitie Graham, Marcia Johnson, Andrea Donaldson, Paula Wing

I Didn’t Even Know her Name by Zavian Buchanan
Directed by Marcia Johnson

Hope by Emily Phan
Directed by Andrea Donaldson

In The Heart of The Beholder by Sam Beland
Directed by Marcia Johnson

Young Playwrights: Raluca Petria, Jonathan Martins, Nam Nguyen, Courtney Buxey-Hill, Chrstian Lischak
Supported by Tarragon Playwrights-in-Residence: Maria Milisavljevic, Jordan Tannahill, Anna Chatterton, David Yee
Instructors/Directors: Anne Wessels, Caitie Graham, Rashida Shaw, Marcia Johnson, Andrea Donaldson, Paula Wing

Young Playwrights: Julie Zenderoudi, Theo Gallaro, and Erum Khan
Instructors/Directors: