Elena Belyea

Elena Belyea (they/she/he) queer and trans playwright, performer, producer, arts educator, and Artistic Director of Tiny Bear Jaws.

They were born and raised in amiskwaciwaskahikan (colonially known as Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory and have had work produced across Turtle Island and internationally (including Hungary, Austria, Berlin, New York, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Quebec, and Wells). Her play "Smoke" was recently published by Playwrights Canada Press. He's also half of queer sketch duo "Gender? I Hardly Know Them" (on Tiktok + Instagram at @genderihardlyknowthem).

Elena’s plays have received numerous awards, including First Place in the 2015 Wildside National Playwriting Competition with "Cleave" (which was also included as part of the Playwrights Guild of...

Elena Belyea (they/she/he) queer and trans playwright, performer, producer, arts educator, and Artistic Director of Tiny Bear Jaws.

They were born and raised in amiskwaciwaskahikan (colonially known as Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory and have had work produced across Turtle Island and internationally (including Hungary, Austria, Berlin, New York, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Quebec, and Wells). Her play "Smoke" was recently published by Playwrights Canada Press. He's also half of queer sketch duo "Gender? I Hardly Know Them" (on Tiktok + Instagram at @genderihardlyknowthem).

Elena’s plays have received numerous awards, including First Place in the 2015 Wildside National Playwriting Competition with "Cleave" (which was also included as part of the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s 2018 Surefire List). They were also a member of Nightwood Theatre's Write from the Hip Playwriting Unit, as well as recipient of the Tarragon Theatre's RBC Emerging Playwright Award and a 2018/2019 Playwright-in-Residence.

Elena is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada's Playwriting program (2015).

Scripts

I Don't Even Miss You

by Elena Belyea

Synopsis

A video recording. An electric ukulele. A Nirvana Hoodie. A dog dollar.

Non-binary computer programmer Basil (they/them) wakes one morning to discover they are alone. They spend the next three years searching for others and build Orchid, a digital assistant, for company. Until one day, when Basil meets a companion who stays with them for a while, before leaving suddenly and without warning.

Reeling from this...

A video recording. An electric ukulele. A Nirvana Hoodie. A dog dollar.

Non-binary computer programmer Basil (they/them) wakes one morning to discover they are alone. They spend the next three years searching for others and build Orchid, a digital assistant, for company. Until one day, when Basil meets a companion who stays with them for a while, before leaving suddenly and without warning.

Reeling from this loss, Basil attempts to write and record a musical that will serve as an archive of their life after they're gone. Using live music, dance, and video, "I Don't Even Miss You" is bold and multidisciplinary exploration of grief, love, and legacy, and asks how gender, identity, and friendship can exist with no one to perceive them.

Smoke

by Elena Belyea

Synopsis

Aiden’s ex, Jordan, appears at her apartment, seeking clarity around sexual assault
allegations Aiden recently made against Jordan to a mutual friend. Jordan swears to have no
idea what Aiden is talking about, but Aiden is unconvinced. Together, they work to untangle
the events of a university party years before, attempting to find the truth, hold each other
accountable, and figure out what’s next. Smoke is an...

Aiden’s ex, Jordan, appears at her apartment, seeking clarity around sexual assault
allegations Aiden recently made against Jordan to a mutual friend. Jordan swears to have no
idea what Aiden is talking about, but Aiden is unconvinced. Together, they work to untangle
the events of a university party years before, attempting to find the truth, hold each other
accountable, and figure out what’s next. Smoke is an urgent, nuanced, and vulnerable
provocation that challenges audiences of all ages’ preconceived notions of justice, trauma,
forgiveness and love.

This production features two casts performing the same text (Jordan is played by a cis
female and cis male actor on different nights) to invite audiences to consider their assumptions
around gender and sexualized violence.

Miss Katelyn's Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable

by Elena Belyea

Synopsis

"You see, boys and girls... bad things happen to good people all the time. So, it’s our job to make sure we’re as prepared as possible for the innumerable threats that can and will come our way. And not just prepared prepared. Miss Katelyn prepared."

Montreal, Columbine, Newtown, Orlando. Welcome coyotes to your last day of classes at Saint Joseph’s Elementary. Your teacher, Miss Katelyn, knows the world is a...

"You see, boys and girls... bad things happen to good people all the time. So, it’s our job to make sure we’re as prepared as possible for the innumerable threats that can and will come our way. And not just prepared prepared. Miss Katelyn prepared."

Montreal, Columbine, Newtown, Orlando. Welcome coyotes to your last day of classes at Saint Joseph’s Elementary. Your teacher, Miss Katelyn, knows the world is a dangerous place and her lifesaving lesson is about to begin. Winner of Best Production and Best New English Text at the 2015 Montreal Fringe Festival and recently translated into french, "Miss Katelyn's Grade Threes Prepare for the Inevitable" is a fast-paced comedic drama about panic in a post-truth world and one woman’s desperate attempt to keep her students out of harm’s way.

Cleave

by Elena Belyea

Synopsis

For 17-year old intersex Aaron, the new school year means a new chance at life. For Pina, another shot at head cheerleader. For Mark, open season. A stranger intersects with a family in exile from itself. Parents Paul and Carol struggle to keep their secrets from their children, desperate to know the truth. Like a surgeon’s knife before a first incision, the scalpel is poised and ready to slice.

For 17-year old intersex Aaron, the new school year means a new chance at life. For Pina, another shot at head cheerleader. For Mark, open season. A stranger intersects with a family in exile from itself. Parents Paul and Carol struggle to keep their secrets from their children, desperate to know the truth. Like a surgeon’s knife before a first incision, the scalpel is poised and ready to slice.