The Burloak Theatre Group, one of Oakville's three principal theatre companies, is opening their 2021 season tonight with Sorting it Out, a new play by local playwright Matteo Esposito.
It's the first presentation in "a season of new works" and, as the pandemic continues delaying the return of live entertainment, will be presented online, streaming for free on both Facebook and YouTube.
But scheduling the premiere performance tonight is no accident: March 27th is World Theatre Day, so today was the perfect choice for the show's debut. And it's been a long road for Esposito: he's been working on the half-hour play for almost four years.
"The play started as a true experience on the bus," says Esposito, "and this interaction with another person became the play." Esposito has autism, and it was in 2017 he had a negative experience being talked down to while riding a city bus; something that's happened far too often.
Matteo continues, "I said 'I’ve had enough of these people'. I wanted to create a story about that." And that's exactly what he did.
Fast forward a few years, and Matteo has been workshopping and refining his play in several venues since. He's performed private performances for groups in town, workshopped it at the Barrie Theatre Lab, and had a small tryout at St. Thomas Aquinas high school in 2019.
"The play at first was more controversial," says Esposito. "But now it’s tighter and more put together. Seeing it, the final product, in Oakville feels really really gratifying. To see it in a full product makes me proud."
For a final product, the Burloak production (opening their 2021 digital season of new plays) will bring Sorting it Out to its widest audience yet. Both Esposito and the show's director met with Oakville News to talk about the project.
Burloak President Tim Cadeny himself is directing the show, having worked with Matteo when he began volunteering with the company last year. About this play, Cadeny says, "It’s a poignant play by a passionate playwright." And he's right - if Esposito has nothing else, he's got passion.
"We’re always looking for new material and new works," says Cadeny. "We thought it would be a really good opportunity for our virtual season, and Matteo's been fantastic to make adjustments so it translates to the online setting."
About what drew him to this play, Cadeny continues that Esposito has "written some interesting, three dimensional human characters. We entered on who they are, embracing that this is a Zoom style show." As a director, he's added green screens and backdrops to add some theatricality to the peice.
Once the virtual show is done this weekend, Sorting it Out has more life ahead of it. Esposito is in negotiations to move the show to play an Off-off-Broadway venue in New York, possibly as soon as fall 2021. For that show, he'll also be the scenic designer (which he's currently studying to do at Sheridan College in their technical theatre program.)
But Esposito's drive and determination to have his story told is what makes his play most captivating. So what does he hope people take away from the performance?
"There's a message of inclusivity of honestly," he says, "a message of not judging a book by its cover. I think people will take these messages home with them."
Sorting it Out is being presented by Burloak Theatre Group for free online this weekend on both YouTube and Facebook Live. The show is at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Saturday, March 27, 2021 and at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, Sunday March 28.
While the show is being made available for free to everyone, Burloak Theatre Group is also gladly accepting donations for their work to support their costs of production. You can donate to them here.