Interview: Kiki Dranias, Writer/Producer of THE LOVE TRIAL at Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple 12/2-12/11

Kiki Dranias burst onto the Montreal theatre scene in 2019 with her theatrical work, GOING UP, which went on to receive seven nominations at the 2020 Montreal English Theatre Awards (METAs), winning three for Outstanding New Text, Outstanding Emerging Playwright & Producer and Outstanding Independent Production. Her follow-up play, WHERE IS ANTON, which she also directed, was performed live at the Montreal Fringe Festival in June 2021, with six sold-out performances. Dranias' new play, THE LOVE TRIAL, a play she wrote and is producing with full support from Canada Council for the Arts, runs December 2 - 11, 2021 at the Masonic Temple Hall in Montreal.

Dranias, like so many artists, found herself miserable, working a "day job" she hated. With the support of her ex-husband, she quit her job and began to write. She found a beautiful loft space, took some writing classes, and with her first play, GOING UP, decided to produce it herself. For her second production, she had landed a spot in the Montreal Fringe Festival and had one week to write WHERE IS ANTON. She was the recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts grant and wrote THE LOVE TRIAL in two weeks. After some developmental workshops, she was also the recipient of a production grant.

On the eve of the opening of THE LOVE TRIAL, I had the absolute pleasure to sit down and chat with Dranias.

HANNIBAL: Tell me a little bit about the venue and the process of creating an immersive space.

DRANIAS: I was having lunch with my friend Howard, who's in the cast. I was telling him that I wish I could get the Masonic Temple. It had been a dream of mine. He looked at me and said, "I know the top guys there!" He sent a text and two days later, I visited. The vibe in here is majestic. It's old. The bathrooms are only for men - it's a fraternity. The venue feels like a courthouse and it works perfectly. The play is a modern Greek tragedy, so I knew that I needed to make sure that everyone in the play understood their Greek roles.

HANNIBAL: Tell me a little bit about THE LOVE TRIAL.

DRANIAS: It's about a bunch of love addicts. Love is something I believe we never talk about when it comes to addiction. I was at a recovery treatment center with a friend of mine for Family Day and I started realizing that everybody just wants love. That's what it is. People go to these other exterior substances/alternatives because of not feeling the love within. So, I came across the 8 Notions of Love, defined by the ancient Greeks. The stars of the play are those 8 Notions of Love. Mind you, I have 14 characters, but they are played by 8 actors. We have only had 4 weeks of rehearsals, which is really intense. I'm scared to death, but it's gonna be sweet! It's been a blessing working with these people.

HANNIBAL: Tell me some of the challenges you face in putting up shows in Montreal.

DRANIAS: It's money. I'm a single mom. I got the grant, but I still had to put in $20,000 of my own money. To break even, I need 600 people to come to the show. I do it for the glory. I love theatre. The only challenge for me is the money. The rest is pure joy, pure pleasure.

HANNIBAL: GOING UP. Nominated for seven METAs, winning three...tell me about that experience.

DRANIAS: In my mind, I won already. I didn't want the actual ceremony to come up because I didn't want to be disappointed. I was so happy with the nominations. Then I won three fu**ing awards! But in the end, it's not about that. You feel rewarded when the show is actually happening. It is a treat, but that's not why we do it. The work is the reward.

HANNIBAL: Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?

DRANIAS: I would like the BroadwayWorld readers to know that there's a killer female playwright out of Montreal who wants to come to New York and LA and she will gladly collaborate. I'm dying to go to the States. This play is really rad. It's about addiction. It's about personal victory.

THE LOVE TRIAL by Kiki Dranias

Directed by Diana Fajrajsl

Produced by Purple Divine

December 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 at 8PM

December 5 at 1:30PM

Masonic Temple Hall - 1850 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, QC H3H 1E4

Tickets are $32 and are available by clicking HERE

STARRING ALPHABETICALLY

Anton May, Bill Rowat, Brett Watson, Christine Rodriguez, Howard Rosenstein, Matthew Kabwe, Tania Kontoyanni, Val Mervis

Set & Costume Design by Cassandre Chatonnier / Lighting Design by Aurora Torok / Sound Design by Diana Fajrajsl / Stage Manager Sierra Alarie

PURPLE DIVINE is an award-winning producing and publishing banner based in Montreal. For more information, visit www.purpledivine.com

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