The Crossword of Hope by Matthew Sheppard & Pamela Edwards

The play opens with the eccentric, majestically robed Madame Emotion, a theatrical guide who commands the stage with an academic flair. She invites the audience to help her solve a 2018 newspaper crossword puzzle titled "Can You Solve 'The Crossword of Hope?'". Asserting that hope is the driving force of human existence, she explains that each clue in the puzzle represents an emotional synonym or facet of hope. As the puzzle is solved piece by piece, despite Madame Emotion being frequently interrupted by the comedic bickering of her sidekicks Carol and Frank. The audience is thrust across space and time into a series of deeply moving human vignettes that will make you wonder what are you really hoping for? Keywords: Hope; homelessness; homeless issues; social commentary; magic; imagination; dating; friends; teenage life; homeless encampments; family issues; divorce; love; romance; dancing; laughter; school; teacher; physical education; volleyball; art; sickness; death; dining out; medical setting; 2SLGBTQ+ issues; 2SLGBTQ+ acceptance Produced at the Avalon West Regional Drama Festival, Carbonear NL, 2025 Genre: Drama, Play with Music, Mystery Acts: 1 Run time: 45 minutes Suitable for students 12+ Content notes: Contains significant references to the death of a parent/spouse and intense grief, medical/hospital settings, discussion of life-or-death situations, references to homelessness and poverty, parental pressure and emotional distress, coming out and period-typical/outdated LGBTQ+ humour, and mild references to animal dissection Cast size: 12 actors Male roles: 3 Female roles: 7 Other roles: 2 Casting notes: The "other" roles could be played by any gender. The roles vary from teenagers to adults. There are many quick costume changes in this show. The doubling up on multiple roles are as follows: Madame Emotion Patrick / Patricia | Waiter / Waitress (1) Mr. Stenton | Bill | Alex Graham (2) Dr. Novak | Secretary | Candace (3) Mrs. Fairfield | Coach Connors | Kelsey | Sheena’s Mom (4) Frank (5) Carol (6) Lorraine | Emma (7) Noah / Nora | Ben/Bella | Harley (8) Mike | Sheena’s Dad (9) Julie | Ben/Bella’s Mom | Kelly (10) Ophelia | Sheena (11)