DESIREE AMA
In a quarantine-addled funk, online life-coach Desiree hosts an AMA (Ask Me Anything) to connect with fans and offer her trademark harsh advice.
Title Image of DESIREE AMA by Markian Tarasiuk
In both photos: Meaghan Chenosky
Six years ago, Desiree (she’s a mononym - don’t ask questions) unleashed a raw, impromptu set in a comedy club that ended up going viral. In her heartfelt set/rant, she shared a harrowing story from her personal life and pleaded with the audience to seize the moment - all while using breath-takingly vulgar language.
Now, Desiree has capitalized on her viral success and has a YouTube Channel called What’s Your Deal? With Desiree in which she offers “life-coaching”. But lately she’s grown cynical and doesn’t believe half of the advice she dishes out. In an effort to reclaim her mojo, she hosts an AMA (Ask Me Anything) over Zoom, fielding questions and inviting followers to “call in” to tell their stories. But when a mysterious Caller has a connection to her past, Desiree is reminded of who she used to be, and is forced to confront her cynicism and pain - all over a Zoom call.
Desiree(e) AMA is a comedic, quarantined-themed film/theatre hybrid that was performed during the pandemic summer of 2020. A commission from Upintheair Theatre for the e-Volver Festival and “sequel” to my solo show Desire(e).
VIVA
A contemporary ode to unconditional love.
In both photos: Melanie Reich and Patrick Dodd. Photos by Sotres-Jr photography.
“You don’t need a fancy set and expensive costumes to make theatre. All you really need is a good story, well-told. Local playwright Scott Button... delivers – chills and all – in this world première”
- The WestEnder
VIVA follows two strangers, Alice and Graeme, whose lives become intertwined over the course of one night in Las Vegas. Alice comes to the city in a desperate attempt to secure an organ on the black market to save her dying brother; Graeme is partying with friends when he finds a photo card listing the services of a sex worker—and he becomes convinced the woman is his missing sister. Poetic, dark and thrilling, VIVA is an adventure for audiences.
VIVA was named one of the “Top Ten Productions of 2017” by Vancouver Presents, and is the recipient of the Theatre BC Playwriting Award for Best One-Act Play
Originally produced by Aenigma Theatre and Bright Young Theatre.
The Hunger Room
"There’s nothing like a good, unpredictable thriller, and this play had me guessing until the end."
- Tessa Perkins, The Peak
Above: Raylene Harewood and Camille Legg, photo by Bold Rezolution
Below: Camille Legg and Matt Reznek, photo by Tim Matheson
"If theatre is going to attract young adult audiences, this is the play that will do it. Real, nasty and explicit."
- Jo Ledingham
A crisis takes over a suburban high school when a mysterious stalker begins delivering threatening notes written in blood to targeted female students. When Anna gets a note, her best friend Caitlin is convinced that it’s from “some weird horny guy” because the notes are sexualized and violent. But when more girls start getting notes, everybody becomes a suspect, including the teachers. But what’s really happening underneath all the suspicion? And what’s the “hunger room” that the notes keep mentioning? Students and faculty alike become more and more desperate to expose each other’s darkest secrets – and to protect their own.
Originally produced by Staircase Theatre; workshopped through the Arts Club Theatre Company’s LEAP Program and the University of British Columbia.
Desire(e)
“Everyone’s got a talent. It’s your soul’s way of saying hello.” - Desiree
"It’s very difficult to do a serious drama in ten minutes without coming across as melodramatic and angsty, Scott Button’s one-woman show pulled it off wonderfully.”
-Mack Gordon, Theatre artist
A street smart young woman named Desiree is terrified. Her talent, the reason she was put on this earth, has dried up. After working as a professional surrogate for years, she has lost the ability to bear children - before she could have one herself. At turns a memoir, a stand-up comedy routine and cautionary tale, Desire(e) is all about the dreams we have - and what happens when they don’t come true.
Desire(e) was recently published in an anthology of new ten-minute plays, order a copy here
Originally produced by Sum Theatre (now Speakeasy Theatre) for the Pull Festival, remounted for the Shift Theatre Festival.