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Oakville playwright debuts production in NYC Jessica Anderson's poignant -- and frequently funny -- My Purple Wig `is not about death or diagnosis, but rather living with cancer between those events' by Abigail Cukier Special to the Beaver Artscene 23 | Wednesday, December 4, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Jessica Anderson wrote her first touring production in Grade 5. "I always liked writing. I wrote a play in Grade 5 and it toured the Grade 5 classes of Chisholm Elementary School (in Oakville). I always did it as a hobby," Anderson said. That hobby is now a career and the Oakville native just had a play debut in New York City. My Purple Wig tells the story of one woman's often outrageous attempts of dealing with her terminal cancer. Evelyn has cancer and decided the best way to die is to be prepared to die, much to the chagrin of her family. She auditions the musicians for her funeral, tours funeral homes for competitive rates and wears wigs in all colors of the rainbow. As her methods get more erratic, her family must decide whether to come together or fall apart. The play was chosen by Heiress Productions, whose mission is to produce new plays while raising awareness and relief funds for cancer organizations. Since 2006, the company has produced six acclaimed plays at Theatre Row Theaters, a collection of renovated historic theatres in Times Square. Anderson, 29, had worked on My Purple Wig for approximately six years. She originally wrote a snippet for a festival and realized she wanted to know how it Jessica Anderson ends. More recently, she was asked to read it at another festival and wrote a new draft. When she learned about Heiress Productions' mandate, she entered its annual playwriting competition. "I forgot about it because it took a while and then seven months later, I heard it was shortlisted," she said. Last March, she was asked to read My Purple Wig at Pat the Dog Playwright Centre in Kitchener, Ont., which provides script services to aspiring writers. That was the day she got the call. She wrote another draft within a week. Then she went to New York to do a reading to compete with another writer. "You could have peeled me off the ceiling. I was so excited. Even just to go to New York and do the readings," said Anderson. The show ran from Nov. 7-24. "It was kind of amazing. After working on it for years, it almost doesn't feel real when you watch it happen in front of you and see the audience respond to it. You can't put it into words," Anderson said, describing how she felt opening night. Heiress Productions co-founder Laura Faith, who also appears in My Purple Wig, says this is the first of its plays that actually deals with cancer. "This poignant -- and frequently funny -- play touched so many of our competition judges and audience members when we presented informal readings. What seemed to resonate most was the fact that My Purple Wig isn't about death or diagnosis, but rather, it focuses on living with cancer between those events," reads the description in the production's playbill. Anderson went to the Etobicoke School for the Arts in Toronto before majoring in theatre and English at Queen's University in Kingtson, Ont. In 2007, she took the script-writing program at Algonquin College in Ottawa and then worked in arts administration at the Ottawa Little Theatre. She recently moved back to Oakville to focus on her writing. Anderson received the 2012 RBC Tarragon Emerging Playwrights Award for her fulllength play The Gods and Calvin Brewer. She did a reading of that play at the Tarragon on Nov. 26 and has another reading as part of the Thousand Islands Playwrights Unit in the coming weeks. "Then, I have a nap," she said. "I know this business is cyclical. I can have this happen and then have a slow year. I will work on new stuff and just keep going." Christmas Wonders & Beyond Celtic Christmas concert Saturday night The Oakville Celtic Fiddle Orchestra is tuning up for its Celtic Christmas concert Saturday (Dec. 7). The concert starts at 7 p.m. at the Glen Abbey United Church, 1469 Nottinghill Gate. More than 40 musicians will perform a lively blend of jigs and reels and, of course, a selection of traditional Christmas carols. Tickets for the concert are $10 for adults and Reduce Reuse Recycle $5 for children under age 12. Proceeds will be used to help pay for a scholarship program from the Academy of Music and Big Brothers Big Sisters. For tickets or more information, visit www. oakvillecelticclub.com or contact the Oakville Academy of Music, 1026 Speers Rd., at 905-8451227. Music for CHRISTMAS For many, Christmas is filled with joy, extravagant gifts and food a plenty. Yet, for most of our clients who live below the poverty line, the season looms as a time of real despair and hopelessness. Where will the next meal come from and how will even the simplest of gifts be afforded to children? At Kerr Street Ministries you can help us come alongside some of our neediest neighbours to make this a real season of hope, joy and love. For more information or to forward a tax deductible donation contact us today @ Kerr Street Ministries, 485 Kerr Street, Oakville ON L6K 3C6 905-845-7485 ext. 208 by Francis Poulenc and a selection of the most beautiful carols to celebrate the holidays GLORIA FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 & SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2013­7:30PM David Bowser, Music Director and Conductor Featuring Erica Warder, Soprano · Anne Marie Leonard, Accompanist presents Clear View Christian Reformed Church 2300 Sheridan Garden Drive, Oakville · Adults $25 in advance, $30 at the door · Students $15 · Children 12 and under free Tickets · information: www.oakvillechoral.com / 905-302-9017 or 905-338-3823 www.kerrstreet.com Help for the Present ~ Hope for the Future