Local Theatre Monologues With Exciting Two Night Tradition

Navigating through strange times, a local theatre competition is returning with a dystopian twist.

Taking place on Friday March 14 and Saturday March 15th, Post Productions will host the 4th Annual Edele Winnie Women’s Monologue Competition (EWWMC.) Staged at the Shadowbox Theatre (located at 103b – 1501 Howard Avenue,) the two night event will see women from the area perform as characters from the playwright’s latest collection, Underwire: 100 Dystopian Monologues for Women.

Considering the title, those taking part will have a unique selection to choose from.

“Underwire is a dystopian fiction that focuses on what life could be like for women living in a world where men are the enemy — literally,” said coach and judge, Fay Lynn. “Women and men are at war – and the men are losing. At least that’s what the government in this fictional world would have us believe. Each monologue provides a glimpse into the life of a woman living in this world. Remember, this is a dystopia. There is humour, heart and empathy for all people in these monologues.”

Often used to showcase an actor’s range and how well they can capture audiences, monologues are especially valuable for auditions. When it comes to film, some famous examples include Robin Williams’ speech to Matt Damon on the park bench in Good Will Hunting, Mo’Nique’s breakdown at the end of Precious and Jack Nicholson’s “You Can’t Handle The Truth” confession in A Few Good Men. Those from Winnie’s latestbook are generally three to five minutes.

Performing both nights, registered contestants will present their monologues for female judges from the local theatre industry and live audiences. Both groups will then submit scores for each actress with Winners being chosen based on the highest combined average from both nights: It all culminates as contestants learn their fates along with the crowd on March 15.

Featuring 11 participants, the field is wide open.

“contestants this year range in age from 21 to 60, which is quite a span,” said Potter. “Some of them have been acting in our regional theatre and film industries for quite some time, often with multiple companies. Some are absolute veterans of the ]EWWMC.] Some are dipping their toes into live performance for the first time, or for the first time in many, many years. One, Michelle Mainwaring, served as a judge in 2023 and 2024 but wanted to try being a contestant this year. It’ll be interesting to see how her experience as a judge – not to mention her vast experience as an actress – informs her performance.”

First place will see the gold level winner walk away with $300, silver level will earn $200 for second place and the bronze level winner will get $100 for third. All other runners-up will also earn $50 so no one walks away empty handed.

Beyond cash, a specific element also provided an added benefit to actresses. Ensuring no one hits the stage unprepared, those taking part received two coaching sessions. Starting with Joey Ouellette as early as possible, contestants met with Lynn about a week later.

Approaching foundational elements, Ouellette helped actresses with things like movement, character and voice. He also introduced the Shadowbox Theatre to those unfamiliar with the venue so everyone felt comfortable with performing at the facility.

Having a week to further rehearse and develop their monologues, Lynn then focused on refinement.

“I provide input on what’s working and what isn’t from the perspective of an audience,” she said. “I offer what recommendations and guidance I can to help each contestant push their performance to the peak of their abilities. I’ve been telling the contestants to treat our sessions as their ‘dress rehearsal.’ Also, as the co-owner of the venue and one of the producers of the event, I try to answer any questions they may have about logistics and help them prepare as much as possible mentally for the performances.”

Judges for this year’s event include Vice-President of Arts Collective Theatre (ACT) Moya McAlister, Executive Director of Revolution Youth Theatre Shana Thibert, Post Productions Artistic Director Lynn and independent actor Maggie Marchenkowsky. While the first three have all been judges before, this is the latter’s first time sitting with the panel.

Even so, everyone was brought on for their unique strengths and experiences.

“McAlister’s work with ACT has spanned working on several different kinds of productions with different groups of people, including youth and the elderly,” said Potter. “Those productions have spanned the whole breadth of what theatre has to offer. Thibert is a veteran producer and director who’s worked primarily with youth from the age of seven onward, helping them learn the entire scope of theatre skills including acting. Lynn has a couple of decades worth of experience as an actor with many different companies and has also been a prolific director and producer, as well as a playwright for the last nine years. Marchenkowsky is the least experienced of our judges and new to our panel. However, she’s a very accomplished actor. Most importantly, she was the winner of last year’s competition. She actually approached us about being a judge this year because she wanted a different kind of experience and we loved the idea.

Using a format similar to American Idol, foregoing a play’s structure has other advantages. Getting the opportunity to perform over two nights, contestants can take feedback and audience reaction into consideration for night two. Bringing in different groups also allows contestants to be judged with more diversity. With the Shadowbox Theatre only holding about 50 people, Post wants as many people as possible to see performances too.

Coming from a unique place, the result lets people connect in many ways.

“[Winnie] writes women whose personalities and stories resonate differently with different audience members,” said Potter. “These books contain 100 monologues – that’s 100 characters in 100 different stories, all of them unique. Certain stories and characters will resonate with some people more than others. Since each one of them is different, by the end of each night of performances multiple characters will have resonated with every audience member. It helps that there’s always an undercurrent of empathy to [Winnie’s] writing. She writes about strange people who, as you come to empathize with their strangeness and their situations, make you realize how strange you are as well as how strange you aren’t.”

Presented at the Shadowbox Theatre, the 4th Annual Edel Winnie Women’s Monologue Competition will take place on March 14th and 15th. Showtimes are at 8 p.m. with doors opening at 7:30. Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased online or at the door via cash, debit or credit if seating remains..

Featuring a little bit of everything, it’s a show theatre goers won’t want to miss.

“People should come to see the 2025 Edele Winnie Women’s Monologue Competition because it’s a lot of fun,” said Potter. “It’s just a great time every year. They’ll get to experience a whole range of emotions while being introduced to a diverse array of compelling and unique characters. They’ll feel joy, sorrow, curiosity, anger, surprise, fear and more emotions than I can name. These effects are a combination of the genius of [Winnie’s] writing and the talents of each individual contestant. There’s nothing else like it in Windsor-Essex.”