Discover how Canada got the eight-hour workday! Visit the first town to vote on Big Oil! The Ballad of Ginger Goodwin recreates the events surrounding the mysterious death of Albert "Ginger" Goodwin, who led a strike at a Canadian zinc smelter in Trail, BC, that brought the WW I British war machine to a halt. In Kitimat, residents of an industry town in the glorious BC wilderness struggle to decide between economic prosperity and environmental protection when they must vote yes or no to a proposed oil pipeline.

The Ballad of Ginger Goodwin: Cast of 2 women and 3 men

Kitimat: Flexible casting, between 6 and 16 actors of different genders

Three timely and provocative plays by the award-winning, internationally produced Portuguese Canadian playwright Elaine Ávila.

Elaine Avila’s writing is described as “bold, intelligent, forthright, spirited, compassionate, inviting, wide ranging” (Caridad Svich); “open, generous,” (Erik Ehn); “tremendously gifted, innovative,” (Suzan-Lori Parks) and “stunningly effective, poetic and insightful” (Kathleen Weiss).

On Elaine Avila’s plays:

“Subversive, full of surprises.”—Edmonton Journal

“Passionate, hyper-Canadian.”—National Post

“What I love about Ávila’s script is that she never takes the cheap and easy road … complex, nuanced characters … each forced into the re-examination of their core values.”–Vancouver Courier

On The Ballad of Ginger Goodwin: “It’s been nearly a century since Albert ‘Ginger’ Goodwin was shot and killed in the Cumberland bush on Canada’s Vancouver Island, but thanks to people such as playwright Elaine Avila, the legacy of the workers’ rights activist won’t soon be forgotten.”–Cascadia Weekly

On Lieutenant Nun: “You simply must see this show. Absolutely … the daring but true tale of a young 17th-century Spanish nun who trades a sheltered life in the cloisters for the murderous, gambling life of a soldier in the new world … touching, exciting, and surprisingly funny. Cancel whatever evening plans you may have to go see this show while you can. I guarantee people will be talking about it for years to come.”—Monday Magazine

On Kitimat: “It’s a story as familiar to people in the US as in Canada – a large corporation comes to a town where they want to develop or deliver resources and they promise work and money, a boom, if the citizens will let the corporation have its way.”—National Observer