All Lit Up Press Picks for the Holidays: J. Gordon Shillingford

White Girls in Moccasins by Yolanda Bonnell

“Yolanda Bonnell is one of my favourite writers, and her play White Girls in Moccasins is deliciously subversive. Our heroine, Mizkozi, is a child of the ’90s, hooked on pop culture. So when she embarks on a journey to discover her Indigenous roots, it becomes both a serious quest for the reclamation of her identity and a surreal game show populated by familiar celebrities. In this poignant and poetic coming-of-age story that is also somehow hilarious, Yolanda makes cogent points about colonization, reconciliation, and white supremacy.”

Find White Girls in Moccasins here on All Lit Up or use the Shop Local button to purchase from your local indie bookstore.

I Am William by Rébecca Déraspe, translated by Leanna Brodie

“I absolutely love I Am William, an ingenious and witty family play which imagines that the teenage Shakespeare had a sister named Margaret—and that it is Margaret who’s actually writing all those classic plays. I Am William is exuberant and brimming with clever wordplay, and it also delivers a great message about gender equality. By acclaimed Quebec playwright Rébecca Déraspe, English version by translator extraordinaire Leanna Brodie.”

Find I Am William here on All Lit Up or use the Shop Local button to purchase from your local indie bookstore.

Five Minutes to Curtain by Linda Lori Burgess

“For several years in the ’90s, I worked with teenagers to create original plays, so I thought I knew a lot about the subject. But editing Linda Lori Burgess’s Five Minutes to Curtain was a revelation! She developed, over the course of twenty-plus years as a drama teacher, a method for creating original plays with students that is so organic that it is almost magical. Any teacher who puts on a play, holiday concert, pep rally, or ceremonial presentation will appreciate Linda’s advice about rehearsing, directing, marketing, and more—but if you’ve ever wanted to try creating devised or collective theatre, this book is an incredible resource. A perfect gift for any teachers on your holiday list.”

Find Five Minutes to Curtain here on All Lit Up or use the Shop Local button to purchase from your local indie bookstore.