Odd Jobs by Frank Moher

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Odd Jobs, Theatre Network, Edmonton, Alberta

Drama/ 3 Characters, 2 Women, 1 Man/ Full Length, Two Acts

Synopsis (From the Los Angeles Times): “Tim is a Canadian assembly line cowboy smarting from having been laid off and replaced by a robotic arm. Mrs. Phipps is an elderly former mathematics professor for whom Tim offers to do the odd jobs of the title. And Ginette is Tim’s French-Canadian wife, whose determined self-improvement wins her a way out of the complaints department at Sears (where she works) and into the higher-paying realm of systems analyst.

“Snags develop when these three people’s needs intersect and their universes don’t, trapping Tim like a hypotenuse between the women.

“Sounds like just another drama of family conflict? The difference comes in the depth of field, the shifts of each gravitational pull and the frequent lyricism of Moher’s writing (lyrical but not mawkish).

“If Ginette takes the new job, it will require that she and Tim move to another town. But Tim has inadvertently become more necessary to Mrs. Phipps’ well-being than he intended — and she to his . . . . The dilemma that threatens their interdependency calls into question everything each one of them believes.”

International praise for
Odd Jobs:
“A penetrating look at a human triangle . . . eloquent, engrossing, and lean.”
– Los Angeles Times

“Odd Jobs is only odd in the unexpected riches it contains. And Frank Moher is a name to get to know, eh?”
– Washington Times

“Whimsically humorous . . . a little gem of a play.”
– Baltimore Evening Sun

“A rare find – a play that is as moving and insightful as it is entertaining.”
– Ottawa Citizen

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Single Lane Entertainment,
650 Little Blvd.,
Gabriola Island, B.C.,
Canada,
V0R 1X3.
Ph.: (in North America) 1-855-757-9216 or 250-247-9216
Email: info@singlelane.com
Playwright’s website: FrankMoher.com

About the Playwright: Frank Moher’s plays have been produced internationally, at theatres including South Coast Repertory (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Detroit Repertory Theatre, Round House Theatre (Silver Spring, Maryland), the Canadian Stage Company (Toronto), the Wellington Repertory Theatre (Wellington, New Zealand), Workshop West Theatre (Edmonton, Alta.), the Asolo Theater (Sarasota, Fla.), Alberta Theatre Projects (Calgary), Dodona Theatre (Prishtina, Kosova), The Mingei Theatre (Tokyo), and OmaDa Theatre (Athens, Greece). He has won a Los Angeles Drama-Logue Award for Writing (for Odd Jobs), the Edmonton Sterling Award for Outstanding New Play (for both The Third Ascent and Prairie Report,), and is published by both ProPlay and the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Frank has taught at the University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta (where he was a Distinguished Visiting Artist), and is currently an instructor in scriptwriting and journalism at Vancouver Island University. He has also worked professionally as a literary manager and dramaturg, and written for publications including The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Saturday Night magazine, The Georgia Straight, backofthebook.ca and salon.com.

Odd Jobs was premiered by Theatre Network and Catalyst Theatre, Edmonton, in November, 1985.

Also by Frank Moher on ProPlay:

“In Odd Jobs, the proposal that experiencing art should leave you at least a little wiser, a little richer is as sound and real as a heartbeat.”
– Winnipeg Free Press

“A soft-spoken, tender drama . . . skillfully drawn.”
– Indianapolis Star

“Deceptively simple .. . quietly absorbing.”
– The Irish Times