During this pause in our programming due to COVID-19, we'd like to introduce the fabulous writers who are currently developing new plays with us!

Are you a playwright interested in creating work for young audiences? We'd love to hear from you! We accept script submissions year-round and will also be announcing a new playwright development program this month!

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Click here to learn more about all of the writers we are currently working with

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First up: Katey Hoffman!

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Green Thumb audiences may know Katey from her performances in CELESTIAL BEING by Dave Deveau, and as the playwright of WHAT IF, which premiered in 2018 and explores themes of friendship and social anxiety.

Katey's new play, LIKE IT OR NOT, is a comedy for elementary school audiences that explores friendship, body image, and social media.

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If you could describe yourself in 3 words what would they be?

Katey: Awkward, Compassionate, Tall.

Besides writing equipment, what is your must-have item/snack/music during a writing session?

Katey: I love to listen to instrumental music when I’m writing—lyrics distract me! Lately I’ve been really into Alexandra Stréliski, a Canadian composer and pianist from Quebec, but you can’t go wrong with any Study Playlist on Spotify. I start my day with a big bowl of oatmeal (I’m in my thirties now) so snacking isn’t necessary until the afternoon, in which case I opt for crackers and cheese or an apple dipped in peanut butter or any chocolate I can find. Drink-wise, it’s been tea with milk ever since moving to the UK. Once I’ve showered, checked the news, and all the dishes are done, I sit at the dining room table with noise-cancelling headphones on and try to tune out the outside world. Some days are easier than others.

What's your favourite part of the playwriting process?

Katey: I love the beginning stage and the end stage… It’s the massive bit in the middle where it can become a slog for me. In the beginning, my sole aim is to explore, throwing any idea on the page. It’s about going too far and having fun with it. I love the end of the playwriting process because I’m finally able to see the story as a whole and enjoy the characters’ journey. The work near the end is more about making small changes—how can it be funnier? Clearer? Overall just better? It’s about tightening the screws, which I find very nit-picky yet satisfying. Handing over the script is really hard though... I feel like I could spend years tweaking!

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About LIKE IT OR NOT:

Zoey and Leah are best friends. They have been inseparable since kindergarten. But at the beginning of grade six something has changed. Leah begins to hang out with Makayla, the fashion leader and most popular girl in school, and soon finds herself buying new outfits and posting pictures on her new fashion app, in the hopes of gaining “likes” and “followers”. LIKE IT OR NOT takes a close look at how young girls can become obsessed with their perception of who they are and how they are seen, both on social media and in school. Join Zoey, Leah, Madame Lagrange, Makayla, and Coach Dana as they try to understand the pressures of finding out who you are in a world that is obsessed with body image and social media “likes”.

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About Katey Hoffman:

As a playwright, Katey co-wrote The Surrealists, Karaoke: The Musical (Studio 58), The After Party, The New Years Party (Pull Fest), The Bush Party, The Tie Breaker (Theatre SKAM), and the critically-acclaimed The After After Party which won Vancouver’s Pick-of-the-Fringe, The Georgia Straight Critic’s Pick, the CULTCH-ivating the Fringe Award, and was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Award. Katey's coming-of-age comedy, Green Lake, was produced by Solo Collective and nominated for 6 Jessie Richardson Awards including Outstanding Production. Katey is also co-creator of LXDY PARTS, a popular feminist sketch comedy show in Vancouver showcasing the city’s funniest female-identified performers. In September 2018, Saint Joan’s Seven, an original screenplay co-written by Katey, was selected as one of six scripts across the country to compete in the Toronto International Film Festival’s PITCH THIS competition and she’s currently working on an original screenplay commission with Telefilm. Katey is presently studying a Masters in Scriptwriting at the University of East Anglia. She is a graduate of Studio 58.