Comedy/ 6 characters, 4 Men, 1 Women/ Full Length, Two Acts

Synopsis: Mark W. Transom, one of Canada’s greatest playwrights, is at the end of his rope. In order to fulfill his contract to artistic director and old friend Jo Harber, he has to create a play in one night or lose everything. Half asleep and half drunk, Transom starts putting theatrical personalities he knows into a simple comedy about putting on a play. As the characters come to life before his eyes, the play seems to be progressing well until, unbidden and without warning, Transom’s son Lloyd appears as a character and the play takes on a life of its own. As the playwright struggles to maintain the upper hand, the out of control writing process brings him closer and closer to the heart of his estrangement with his son. Hilarious and heartfelt, That Darn Plot is a comedy about playwriting, rehearsals, rewriting and rehabilitating reality as well as a sympathetic look at a creative writer who is unable to connect with the people around him, including his only child.

“Fun stuff, and like the booze-and-panic-fueled writing session it depicts,That Darn Plot! moves with manic speed . . . thanks to the spot-on script loaded with great one-liners and scads of crisp dialogue.”
– See Magazine (Edmonton)

“Clever and fast-paced . . . . a hysterical (and sometimes genuinely touching) show.”
– ebhm.org

“Pretty darn funny . . . . sure to entertain anyone with an interest in the process of theatre, or a hankering to be a writer.”
– Birmingham News

Winner of the 2000 Samuel French Canadian Playwriting Contest

Contact information:
Amateur and professional rights:
David Belke
10037 84 Avenue
Edmonton Alberta
T6E 2G6
phone (780) 437-7507
Contact form: http://www.davidbelke.ca/index.php/more/contact-david

About the Playwright: David Belke was born in Winnipeg, Canada but was raised and continues to flourish in Edmonton, Alberta. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.Ed. and where he also studied stage design. He fills many different roles in the theatre: performer, producer, designer, teacher, and award-winning playwright. His plays have been performed across Canada as well as in the United States, England and Northern Ireland. His first full length play was produced for the 1990 Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival, the largest theatre festival in North America. Since then, he has written a new play for each subsequent year becoming one of the Fringe’s mainstays and one of the city’s favorite playwrights. David currently works as resident playwright and designer with Edmonton’s Shadow Theatre where he is also an artistic associate. Shadow Theatre usually produces one of David’s plays a year, either a premiere or a remount. A multiple Sterling Award winner, David also received prestigious Samuel French Inc.’s Canadian Playwrights Award for 2000 and they have since published two of his plays. In addition, he is a cast member of Edmonton’s long-running comedy institution Die-Nasty, the live improvised soap opera. He also serves as a member of the Varscona Theatre Alliance Board and The Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards Committee.

Ten Times Two was first produced by Shadow Theatre, Edmonton, Alberta, 1999