2025 THA Carol Bolt Award Finalists
Supported by Playwrights Canada Press, Scirocco Drama, Alberta Playwrights Network, Manitoba Association of Playwrights, Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre, Playwrights Workshop Montreal, and Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre.
The Bidding War by Michael Ross Albert (ON)
The city’s last affordable house is for sale. Heads roll and shrimp tails fly when a frantic, 12-hour bidding war erupts during what was supposed to be a routine open house. Agents turn on buyers, buyers turn on agents, and everything spirals into an uproarious dark comedy of desperation and anxiety.
Described by the Toronto Star as “one of Toronto’s most exciting playwrights,” Michael Ross Albert is a Dora Award-nominated writer whose work has been staged across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Production credits include The Bidding War (Crow’s Theatre), Beautiful Renegades (Peggy Baker Dance Projects), Two Minutes to Midnight (The Assembly Theatre), The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome (published in “Best American Short Plays 2014-2015), and Tough Jews (Dora Award nomination, Outstanding New Play). Michael’s work has been presented in multiple Fringe festivals, including Edinburgh, Brighton, and FringeNYC. Five of his plays were staged in the Toronto Fringe Festival, including: The Huns, Anywhere (both: Patron’s Pick, Best of Fringe), and Good Old Days. Michael is currently working on plays commissioned by the Stratford Festival and the Blyth Festival, as well as new works supported by Soulpepper Theatre and the Vault Creation Lab.
Salesman in China by Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy (QC)
In 1983, legendary playwright Arthur Miller embarked on an audacious journey to China, joining forces with theatre luminary Ying Ruocheng and the Beijing People’s Art Theatre. Their ambitious project? Staging a Mandarin-language production of Death of a Salesman, with Ying portraying the iconic Willy Loman and Miller – despite not speaking a word of Mandarin – directing. Facing the monumental challenge of presenting a play deeply rooted in the American Dream to a Communist Chinese audience, Ying and Miller grapple with logistical and personal obstacles, while operating under the scrutiny of a global audience. Skillfully navigating clashing worldviews and external pressures, their experience serves as a litmus test for the power of art to bring these two polarized worlds together.
Leanna Brodie is an award-winning librettist, performer, and playwright. Her plays The Vic, The Book of Esther, For Home and Country, and Schoolhouse have been produced across Canada. She is known for her explorations of the rural/urban divide, the role of the outsider, and the voices of women. Her opera with Anthony Young, Ulla’s Odyssey, was developed by Toronto’s Theatre Direct and Auckland’s Opera Factory and toured the UK with OperaUpClose. Brodie is also a leading translator of Québécois and Franco-Canadian playwrights. Recent premieres: David Paquet’s Wildfire (Factory Theatre, Toronto); Anaïs Pellin’s Clementine (Kleine Compagnie/Carousel Theatre/PHT, Vancouver); Fanny Britt’s Benevolence (Ruby Slippers Theatre/Pacific Theatre, Vancouver); Sébastien Harrisson’s From Alaska (Belfry Theatre, Victoria); Rébecca Déraspe’s I Am William (Stratford Festival, Théâtre le Clou). Awards: Dora Mavor Moore Award, QWF Award, Flourish Prize, Tom Hendry Award. Brodie – a Guelph alumna – received her MFA at the University of Calgary and has served as Assistant Professor at the UBC School of Creative Writing and Artist-in-Residence at Concordia University. www.leannabrodie.com
Jovanni Sy is a Montreal-based director, performer, and playwright. Directing credits include: Wildfire (Edmonton), The Weight of Ants (Victoria), The Five Vengeances, The Orchard (After Chekhov), Yoga Play (Vancouver); Murder on the Orient Express (Calgary); Stitch (Toronto); and Blackbird, Antigone, God of Carnage (Hong Kong). Jovanni has performed across Canada and internationally. Recently, he played Mr. Miyagi in the pre-Broadway tryout of The Karate Kid, the Musical (Gorgeous Entertainment). Other acting credits include Forgiveness (Theatre Calgary) and Noises Off (Arts Club). Jovanni’s plays include The Five Vengeances, Nine Dragons (Jessie Richardson Award), The Tao of the World (PGC Comedy Award), and Kowloon Bay (PGC Drama Award). His solo play A Taste of Empire has been translated into Cantonese and Tagalog. Salesman in China (co-written with Leanna Brodie) received the 2024 Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for Playwriting. It will be published by Playwrights Canada Press in Spring 2025.
In Seven Days by Jordi Mand (ON)
When Rachel returns home, her biggest worry is bringing the right bagels for her stepmother. But when her father announces he will end his life through medically assisted death in seven days, everything changes. Torn between love, faith, and conscience, Rachel must decide: does she try to change his mind or honor his wishes? Unfolding over a week, In Seven Days explores the emotional and ethical complexities of Sam’s choice and its impact on his family and community. At its core, this play is about the universal experience of saying goodbye to a parent and a parent choosing what’s right for them. Regardless of religious or cultural identity, it’s a deeply human story about love, loss, and the weight of letting go.
Celebrated writer Jordi Mand is known for her impactful contributions to theatre, film, and television. Mand’s globally acclaimed plays, including Between the Sheets, Caught, This Will Be Excellent, Brontë: The World Without, and a new stage adaptation of the literary classic Little Women, have been translated and published internationally. Mand has collaborated with many of Canada’s most prominent theatre companies, such as the Stratford Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Nightwood Theatre, the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, the Grand Theatre, and many more. She was a writer for the hit CTV drama Cardinal and has participated in numerous development rooms for Canadian television shows. She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and the Canadian Film Centre’s Bell Prime Time TV Program. Upcoming: Jordi has new plays in development with the Stratford Festival and the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company.
Special thanks to Carol Bolt Award Peer Assessment Panelists: Karen Hines (Chair), Philip Akin, and Robert Tsonos.