RUNAWAY
by Mika Laulainen
RUNAWAY premiered at the FAMILY THEATRE FESTIVAL
THEATRE SKAM | MAY 2015
A SHOW ABOUT LOVE, LOSS, ACCEPTANCE… AND EXTRATERRESTRIALS
Sixteen year old Sam Stewart values the environment – she doesn’t even eat fish. She’s gone under the radar and organized a rally led by David Suzuki… who hasn’t shown up! Sam now needs to convince his supporters to help her save the world from a devastating fate. But her concerns are much more imminent than global warming, threats of a pipeline, or the need to embrace veganism. With frantically little time, Sam will take any help for her campaign, even from a mysterious stranger who may be more than they appear to be. Sam’s story takes us on a journey from crazed activism to a place of real heart. A bittersweet slice of life with a dash of humour and a pinch of song.
“Breathtaking and touching. Everyone must see this new work. All ages will be moved by this wonderful and insightful play!”
“Mika Laulainen’s two-person play near the creek held the audience captive as the plot transformed from an environmental rally to an emotional coming-of-age tale.”
“Suffice to say this cast of two makes the most of their 10 minutes and takes the audience on such a soulful journey that it moved a three-year-old in the audience to get up and give Laulainen a spontaneous hug. (Any actor who can make a kid that can barely talk feel their pain gets a big thumbs-up in my book.) With this charming piece, Laulainen just earned “actor to watch” status in my reviewer’s notebook.”
There’s a preview of the show from the Times Colonist, but it has spoilers so I won’t link it. Read an excerpt of said preview, below!
“The Runaway started as a 10-minute piece for Theatre Skam’s annual Bike Ride, an outdoor summer performance in which short shows are presented along the Galloping Goose Trail. The expanded piece — a combination of the comedic and dramatic — looks at how people deal with trauma, said Laulainen, a University of Victoria theatre graduate.”
DEVELOPMENT
Première - May 2015
Workshop Presentation - May 2014
Intrepid Theatre YOU Show Workshop - February 2013
Bike Ride Festival 10-minute playlet - July 2012
The production received two professional workshops with Theatre SKAM under the amazing scrutiny of Matthew Payne, Kathleen Greenfield, and Max Johnson. Devising for this play has been done for Intrepid Theatre’s YOU Show with Randi Edmundson in 2013. The show was developed from a 10 minute piece I co-created with Rae Takei for Theatre SKAM’s Bike Ride Festival (now SKAMpede) in 2012.
PREMIERE
Presented at the Family Theatre Festival in association with Theatre SKAM
Produced & Commissioned by Theatre SKAM
Dramaturgy by Shawn Macdonald
Directed by Graham Mcdonald
Designs by Halley Fulford & Freya Zazu, mentored by Catherine Hahn
Performed by Randi Edmundson, Jess Amy Shed, and Kieran Wilson/Jonathan Mason
60 minutes | 2f/1m
Performance Rights available at Canadian Play Outlet