Other Schools of Thought: Three Dramatic Pieces

Other Schools of Thought is a collection of three unique plays that allow adult audiences to reflect on their past and young audiences to reflect on their future. With stark sets and minimalist presentational styles, they leave no room for condescension—for dismissal of “adult concerns” by the young. In their treatment of sexuality, substance abuse, AIDS and identity crises, these plays open up the common ground between young adults and old children, mapping the personal uncertainties unleashed by everyone’s contemplation of life’s “big questions.” They are ruthlessly honest enough to permit us to see that adult responses of young people to the questions of their future. If these plays are “plays for young adults,” they are so only in the sense that Romeo and Julietis a play for young adults.

Three provoking dramatic pieces that encourage adults to reflect on their past and young people to reflect on their future. These plays Life Science, 2B WUT UR and Cost of Living address the issues of AIDS, sexuality, drug and alcohol abuse, and teenage alienation. Of the writing of these plays, Morris Panych says: "Through these plays I had a chance to replay, in an imaginary way, the years I had missed living; the days and months of inexplicable sorrow and confusion that I had endured, the way most young people endure them in solitude and in silence."

Morris Panych
Playwright, actor and director Morris Panych has been described as “a man for all seasons in Canadian theatre.” He has appeared in over 50 theatre productions and in numerous television and film roles. He has directed over 30 theatre productions and written over a dozen plays that have been translated and produced throughout the world. He has twice won the Governor General’s Award and has won the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award 14 times for acting and directing. He has also been nominated six times for Toronto’s Dora Mavor Moore Award and three times for the Chalmers Award. His classic 7 Stories ranks 9th among the ten best selling plays in Canada, outselling the Coles version of Romeo & Juliet.