Fighting words . . . Lainie and Mariam have it out for each other, so it’s no surprise when they finally come to violent blows in the middle of their high school’s drama room. That’s when Caddell Morris, an ex-professional actor and newly minted student teacher, steps in. By teaching the girls the art of stage combat, he hopes to help them understand more about the roots and costs of violence. But when he convinces the drama teacher to let them play Mercutio and Tybalt in their school production of Romeo and Juliet, swords, words, and egos battle and clash. Can they find a way to work together?

Writer, director, dramaturg, and actor, Mieko Ouchi trained at the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting Program, the Women in the Director’s Chair Program, and the National Screen Institute. Her award-winning films have screened at over thirty festivals, including the Toronto and Vancouver International Film Festivals and Asian American film festivals in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Her plays The Red Priest (Eight Ways To Say Goodbye), The Blue Light, The Dada Play, Nisei Blue, I Am For You, Consent, The Silver Arrow, and Burning Mom have been translated into six languages, been finalists for the 4 Play Series at the Old Vic, UK; the Governor General’s Literary Award; the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award; the City of Edmonton Book Prize; and Sterling Awards, and have been recognized with the Carol Bolt Award, Betty Mitchell Awards, and the Enbridge Playwrights Award for Established Canadian Playwright. Her work as a director and dramaturg—both at Concrete Theatre where she was Co-Artistic Director and Artistic Director for thirty-one years, and with writers and companies across the country—spans TYA to indie to large-scale work. Mieko now works as Associate Artistic Director at the Citadel Theatre. She lives in Edmonton with her husband Kim and their dog Nara.

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