Mr. Brown brings Art to Greenwood

When you’ve directed school plays for 17 years, you may have to dig deep to choose your next school-appropriate production.

For Doug Brown, Greenwood teacher and long-time director, that looked like digging deep into his own creativity and drive to write his own original piece.

“I would fill notebooks with ideas,” he said. “The idea for Art came to me and I saw a need for it in the canon. I approached my colleague Emily Borden [fellow Greenwood drama teacher and Director, Arts] to confer about whether it was a good premise. She agreed. And encouraged me to write it.”

During a short health-related leave of absence in 2022, Mr. Brown set his mind to writing. 

“I worked and worked but just had the premise and the outline of the characters,” he said. “From idea to first draft, it’s been a three-year process.”

Set in 1998, Art is a comedy of errors that centres around a suburban family. A series of phone calls and knocks at the door interrupt their day, and provide issues they have to deal with.

“It’s everyday people, not everyday things,” Mr. Brown said. 

In the spring, when decisions were being made about the 2025-2026 school productions, Mr. Brown set his sights on Art, with Ms. Borden’s support.

“Ms. Borden was away last year and she’d reach out to me and say, ‘Doug, how is it coming along?’” Mr. Brown recalled. “It was so motivating. Immediately I’d get back to work on my draft.”

He was also motivated by Greenwood’s enthusiastic theatre community. 

“Our current Grade 11 and 12 are spectacular students,” he said. “I knew they could do the show justice, so I wanted to do it this year with them. It’s a dramatic, physical comedy and I knew they could do it and I knew I could get the best out of them.”

So, this summer, Mr. Brown set out to complete the script.

“I did 9-to-5 writing days, finished my draft and shared it with seven or eight trusted friends for feedback.”

He received vital feedback and made some changes, and then continued this process of sharing and amending drafts over the course of the summer. Then, he collected a group of trusted peers to conduct a read-through.

“I invited actors, playwrights and friends to do a reading. There were Greenwood people there, too,” he said. “And people were laughing! I was so happy to hear their laughs. You know there’s a vulnerability in sharing your creative work.”

Following the reading, Mr. Brown continued to make edits. In September, he had his final script.

Auditions for the senior play took place last month, and rehearsals are underway. Mr. Brown will co-direct with Greenwood teacher Hailey Scott.

When the curtain goes up, the play doesn’t belong to the playwright anymore, Mr. Brown said.

“The play is now in the hands of the actors,” Mr. Brown said. “They have already put their own into it. I cannot wait to see it all come together.”

The world premiere of Art will take place in the Greenwood Theatre January 14-16, 2026. Watch W@AG for ticket information.