Written by Jane A. Smythe
SYNOPSIS: The Session is based on a short story by Jane A. Smythe called “The Bear.” The short story was about a traumatic event dealing with sexual assault. While the play is based around that traumatic event, it is about the process of healing rather than the event of trauma itself. Three characters go on a journey up a mountain. The Male plays a mountaineering explorer, a school guidance counsellor, a therapist, as well as the shared male figure in the memory of 21 and 13. 21 is a woman who experiences sexual abuse from her now ex boyfriend. She explores her pain through a series of sessions with a therapist, as well as through her stand up comedy routines. She meets a 13 year old girl who is going through a similar situation and was sexually abused by her boyfriend on school property. 13 is also an aspiring slam poet. They experience emotional memory crossings in scenes throughout their journey. They meet and find the strength in solidarity of their situations as they approach the summit of the mountain.
DEVELOPMENT: The Session was first produced at the University of Toronto Drama Festival in February 2014. It won three awards for the play including the IATSE Award for Technical Achievement for lighting, an Award of Merit for playwriting and Jane A. Smythe’s performance of 21, and a Viewer’s Choice Award. After the festival, playwright Jane A. Smythe spent the summer of 2014 interviewing people to gather more source material. For the past year it has been workshoped through Glass Reflections to further develop the writing as well as presented at various public readings. The Session was also workshopped in Pil Hansen’s dramaturgy class at UofT in 2014.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS:
Deborah Lim, Cait Caulfield, Lena Slanisky, Minniffia Campbell, Caitie Graham, August Bitter, Michelle Coburn, Elizabeth Der, Julia Howman, Jessica Tomlinson, Maxwell Toulch, Mariah Ventura, Jayden Hsueh, Travis DeWolf, Echo Zhou,
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