Julia Lederer

Julia Lederer

An internationally acclaimed writer, Julia's plays have been produced across North America and in Europe. Her work has been described as “brash, poetic, and fiercely original” (NOW Toronto), “laced with sophisticated poetry and wry insight” (Los Angeles Times), and as, “ris[ing] to a rare level of universal truth, all while making us laugh. A lot.” (NewCity Stage Chicago). Julia's most widely-produced...
An internationally acclaimed writer, Julia's plays have been produced across North America and in Europe. Her work has been described as “brash, poetic, and fiercely original” (NOW Toronto), “laced with sophisticated poetry and wry insight” (Los Angeles Times), and as, “ris[ing] to a rare level of universal truth, all while making us laugh. A lot.” (NewCity Stage Chicago). Julia's most widely-produced play, WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN, was in the Theatre @ Boston Court's Polly Warfield Award-winning season, in addition to being nominated for several awards, including the Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle's "Best Production”. The original version of WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN is published by J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing.
Most recently, Julia's collection of one-act plays, REALITY THEATRE, had its US premiere at Trapdoor Theatre, and her new play, GATHER, written with Julie Ritchey, was produced at Filament Theatre (both in Chicago).

Julia has also written several narrative audio pieces that have been featured on podcasts in the U.K. and U.S., as well commissioned by the Toronto Fringe Festival and Convergence Theatre in Canada. With the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, she adapted WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN into an audio drama.

Julia's films have screened at major festivals worldwide, including the Toronto International Festival. Her film, IT'S NOTHING, was selected as "Short of the Week" and is currently streaming on Omeleto (US) and CBC Gem (Canada). Her first feature, her adaptation of WITH LOVE AND A MAJOR ORGAN, is in post-production, for a 2022 release. Julia has been short-listed for the Sundance Film Festival development labs three times. She was selected from over 800 applicants for CBC's emerging writers room, to work on KIM'S CONVENIENCE (CBC/Netflix).

Julia has also written essays for publications including: Intermission, She Does the City, The Town Crier (of The Puritan), etc. Her book of poetry, I've Been Thinking About Vanishing, will be published by Baseline Press in the fall.
She is represented by Great North Artists Management in Toronto.
www.julialederer.ca

Plays

  • With Love and a Major Organ by Julia Lederer
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
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    Keyword: magical realism, poetry + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: magical realism, poetry, contemporary fable, technology, comedy, love, emotions, romance, human connection
    In an act of courage and rash emotion, Anabel gives her heart to a stranger she meets on the subway.
    He disappears with it and her limbs begin to fall asleep. She needs to get it back.
    George is on the run, but keeps getting distracted by romantic comedies and feelings he's never had before. Not all of them are his own. Mona is online speed-dating and seeking therapy from GoogleShrink to...
    In an act of courage and rash emotion, Anabel gives her heart to a stranger she meets on the subway.
    He disappears with it and her limbs begin to fall asleep. She needs to get it back.
    George is on the run, but keeps getting distracted by romantic comedies and feelings he's never had before. Not all of them are his own. Mona is online speed-dating and seeking therapy from GoogleShrink to feel more connected to the real world. Then a stranger appears on her doorstep in search of a missing heart.

    Whimsical, funny, and wildly original, With Love and a Major Organ is a unique exploration of love in the age of technology. Why is it that we are ever more connected and yet we have never felt more alone? A modern day fable about what it costs to give your heart away, and what happens when you discover you actually have one.

    "[A] show that stands out above the others... just about perfect... rises to a rare level of universal truth, all while making us laugh. A lot.”
    - NewCity Stage, Chicago

    "Lederer’s dialogue is laced with sophisticated poetry and wry insight into the isolation faced by a generation.”
    - The Los Angeles Times

    "A brash, poetic and fiercely original voice that's equal parts pee-your-pants funny and get-out-that-Kleenex poignant." - NOW Magazine, Toronto

    * There are 2 versions-- the published 60 minute version (link to book below), and the newer 85 minute version that premiered at the Theatre @ Boston Court, October 2017. Both are available. The attached pages are from the longer version.

    * Age, gender, and enthicity are open. With the adjustments of pronouns, this play has been performed with three women. Other combinations are also possible.
  • Boxed In by Julia Lederer
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: quarterlife crisis, absurdism
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, satire
    Keyword: quarterlife crisis, absurdism
    Jackie has moved into a cardboard box on Yonge Street. Her friends don't know what to do. She tells them to just get used to it and it will become normal, eventually.
    Kate and Beatrice try to convince her to find another way to live, but Jackie becomes more and more accustomed to her box. And it's hard to stay friends with a box.

    Through creating our own limitations, can we...
    Jackie has moved into a cardboard box on Yonge Street. Her friends don't know what to do. She tells them to just get used to it and it will become normal, eventually.
    Kate and Beatrice try to convince her to find another way to live, but Jackie becomes more and more accustomed to her box. And it's hard to stay friends with a box.

    Through creating our own limitations, can we avoid disappointment?
    When something that is considered abnormal or unhealthy provides solace, is always it wrong? 
    A one-act comedy, written for the age of the 'Quarter-Life Crisis'.
  • Reality Theatre: A Collection by Julia Lederer
    Cast: 
    3–9
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    Genre: adventure, comedy + 6 more
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    Keyword: funny, contemporary
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, fable/folktale, melodrama, parody/spoof, political, satire
    Keyword: funny, contemporary
    8 short plays and 4 storylines in 1 hour, Reality Theatre is a completed whole with extractable parts, written for audiences with shorter and shorter attention spans.

    It's All in the Timing meets BlackMirror, with a bit of Waiting for Guffman thrown in for good measure.

    Reality and fantasy blur for a woman typecast as a spoon in Beauty and the Beast.
    A man grapples...
    8 short plays and 4 storylines in 1 hour, Reality Theatre is a completed whole with extractable parts, written for audiences with shorter and shorter attention spans.

    It's All in the Timing meets BlackMirror, with a bit of Waiting for Guffman thrown in for good measure.

    Reality and fantasy blur for a woman typecast as a spoon in Beauty and the Beast.
    A man grapples with how to tell his best friend about the contract he once signed in blood in exchange for eternal youth. The internet evaporates into thin air. People stare at each other for entertainment instead of watching reality television.

    Reality Theatre is a fast moving collection of short, inter-woven plays that explore our anxieties about change, the acceleration of technology, and maintaining human relationships in a world quickly becoming less and less human.

    One-act plays can also be performed as individual pieces or in pairs.
    The full collection can be performed by 3-9 actors, depending on how it's cast.
    (Productions to date have been performed by 3).

    "Julia Lederer’s plays are full of off-the-wall observations and imagination and Reality Theatre is the latest example... Intriguing. Recommended."
    - Lynn Slotkin, The Slotkin Letter

    "I wish I would have written down some of Lederer's one liners - her witty writing had me laughing the entire play." - Taylor Long, Broadway World Toronto (SummerWorks Production).

    An article about the play, it's inspiration, structure, and themes: http://bit.ly/2gI1DRk
  • Frame by Julia Lederer
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: Art and Artists, high school + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: Art and Artists, high school, Art and Painting
    “We know exactly how to restore a painting, but we have no idea how to restore a person.”

    Mary and Laura are in the back room of a gallery, both drawn to the same piece of art: a large, empty frame. The painting they each see pulls them in, exposes their secrets, and ultimately connects them. Even just for a moment.