You're a good boy. God'll talk to you. If He says take this, put it in your mouth and chew it, you have to chew it first, bite on it real hard, then swallow. You take it Jimmy and know, know that we're thinking of you. Your mother and me and a million people outside these walls, we'll all remember you.
(LEWIS)

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Dave Carley is a Canadian playwright. His plays have had over 400 productions across Canada and the United States and in many countries around the world. They include Writing with our Feet (nominated for the Governor General’s Award), After You, The Edible Woman, Taking Liberties, and Orchidelirium.

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It’s that time of year again!

Migration season is upon us and our skies and green spaces will soon be filling with birds heading north. They are exhausted by the time they get to Ontario, and need to rest after crossing the lake.

Because they are exhausted they are also prime targets for cats. The statistics are shocking – this from the January 29^th Globe and Mail:

Domestic cats in the United States kill up to 3.7 billion birds and as many as 20.7 billion mice, voles and other small mammals each year, biologists estimated on Tuesday.

Cats are probably the biggest human-induced killer of these species, outstripping better-known culprits such as habitat loss, agricultural chemicals or hunting, they said in a study published in the journal Nature Communications.

Cats are natural born killers. Please: keep your cats indoors over the next weeks, as the exhausted birds are easy prey for them. If you must let your cats out, put bells on their collars.

On behalf of our feathered friends – THANK YOU!!!

Newsflash!: March 1, 2013: Congratulations to Elaine Romero for winning the 2013 Blue Ink Playwriting Award for her script “Graveyard of Empires”. The competition was sponsored by the American Blues Theatre in Chicago and there were 1100 entries.

The two Finalists were Dave Carley for “American Detour” and Jim Henry for “Jellofish”.

Beauty in the Eye: An exciting new environmental show, Beauty in the Eye, is being staged at the Etobicoke Civic Centre, Port Hope's main street and other locations this summer and fall. It is a multi-media presentation, with artists Melanie Browne, Barbara Buntin, Frances Clancy, Peter Holton, Herb Jung, Grahame Lawson, Les Manley, Jenny Munro, Alexandra Peters, Jay Robinson, Heather Roy, and Brenda Sullivan. The play stars Michael Connolly, John Fray and Jenny Ryan. Some of the dates are now confirmed, including The Etobicoke Civic Centre (Sept 15, Sept 29) and Port Hope (Aug 10).

Out Late: Tyler has known for a while his father is hiding something. One night - when he hears his father slip out from their family home, he jumps in his truck and follows his Dad downtown. This play is about what he finds. At Georgia State University in July, exact venue and ticketing tba.

The Final Hour: Mark your calendars for Monday, November 4. The Final Hour concert is coming to Toronto's Alumnae Theatre. The evening will include a reading of the new full-length stage version of the CBC hit, and a performance by the singing group The Scat'r'bugs...

Wisconsin and the Death Penalty... Dave's one man show His Last Supper is touring in Madison, Wisconsin in February. His Last Supper is the opening section of Twelve Hours, the story of a man's last half day on Death Row. His Last Supper is being produced by Forward Theatre.

This just in: If you missed the original broadcast of Backbencher, episodes are also available on iTunes.

D Day script now available: the one act school version of The Final Hour is now available from One Act Play Depot. The Final Hour - which Dave wrote with Glenda MacFarlane - tells the story of five Canadian soldiers as they cross the English Channel in the early hours of D Day, June 6, 1944. If you happen to be in Hutchinson, Kansas - check out the production there this spring. And watch this space for news about a special Final Hour Showcase Concert in November in Toronto. For more information or to order the script...

The cast of The Final Hour on the stage of Toronto's Glenn Gould Theatre, June 2004. From Left to Right: Herbie Barnes, Jonathon Crombie, David Cook, Patrick Garrow and (sitting) Matthew Ferguson. The uniforms were authentic and were worn on D Day - they even smelled real!

Dave wins Maggie Bassett Award: It has just been announced that Dave has won the 2012 Maggie Bassett Award. Read the press release here...