The Waiting Room
Sixteen-year-old Ruth has died— passed away, bit the dust, kicked the bucket. Instead of heading straight to the afterlife, they are thrust into the Waiting Room, a dimension between life on Earth and their final reward. Along with three other humans trapped there, Ruth must figure out how to “cross over” while dealing with the clashing personalities. The Waiting Room explores suicide, abuse, self-worth, and all the lies we tell.
The Waiting Room
- Playwright: Sonny Duan
- Mentor: Marie Beath Badian
CONTENT WARNINGS: Themes of death, suicide, and abuse; strong language.
Special thanks to Aaron Jan, who encouraged me to apply to be a part of the Paprika Festival in the first place, and my high school drama teacher Carmelo Iachelli, for believing in my abilities.
Sonny Duan is a seventeen-year-old multidisciplinary artist from Hamilton, Ontario. When it comes to film and theatre, they are fascinated by nuances of character and subtlety. While they began as an actor and a visual artist, Sonny has written multiple plays (albeit with varying degrees of success) and is excited to begin sharing their playwriting efforts with the world. They typically find it difficult to take themself and their work seriously, and they have a particular aversion to describing themself. When asked about this, they simply shouted, “Who are you?” and “How did you get into my house?” Silly Sonny– don’t you know that we’re trying to write an artist’s biography here?