KRISTA MARUSHY
PLAYWRIGHT
Krista is an award-winning actor and playwright based in Calgary, AB. She’s a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and holds an M.F.A. in playwriting from Hollins University. Her resume spans full-lengths, one-acts, and radio dramas that feature dynamic females, deep questions, and a penchant for magic realism. Her radio plays can be experienced online through Burnt Thicket Theatre and the (exp)lore podcast with Jupiter Theatre. Her children’s play is published by YouthPlays (and available on Amazon). You can follow her creative adventures and find news on upcoming shows and productions on Instagram @krista_marushy.
For full scripts or production inquiries contact k.marushy@hotmail.com
Click here for examples of Krista’s work as a freelance designer & publicist for theatre.
THE GREEN HOUSE
Full Length Play (3 W, 2 M)
Susanne wades into uncertain terrain when she unravels a family mystery involving a daring escape, a foreboding dream, a sole survivor and a trial by fire. Facing off against her formidable mother and a fiercely loyal sibling, she plunges into the past to navigate the fantastical story of her childhood. As inexplicable events come into focus, missing pieces align themselves to reveal a narrative she somehow missed the first time around. A bold new play about looking back to see who you’ve become and what can happen when you re-examine life’s most defining moments.
WORLD PREMIERE: Rosebud Theatre - September, 2025
Workshop Production: Alumnae Theatre - May, 2025
Finalist: Alberta Playwriting Competition 2024
Winner: Scripts on Fire - Fire Exit Theatre 2019
Staged Reading: Fire Exit Theatre - May, 2019
”A perfect witch’s brew of small-town isolation. A coming of age fable and a modern mystery full of poetic magical imagery. It feels like it is old and new at the same time, all rooted in complex and eccentric characters that make a family thick with tension that needs release.” - Neil Fleming, Alberta Playwrights’ Network
Full Length Play (2 W, 1 M)
At the Evergreen, a rural diner off the beaten track, an ex-pastor with a broken marriage rebuilds his life within the refuge of solitude. When an inquisitive customer divines information a little too close to home, and a series of coincidences prove particularly meaningful.. two strangers are left to wrestle with the purpose behind their connection and their place in each others’ lives.
An intimate story of stumbling upon someone who has strength to make you stronger.
WORLD PREMIERE: Fire Exit Theatre - February 2019
PRODUCTION: Burnt Thicket Theatre - February 2023
STAGED READING: Factory Theatre at Greenville University 2018
WINNER: Scripts on Fire - Fire Exit Theatre, 2018
EVERGREEN
THE LAST SUPPER CLUB
One-Act Play, 35 minutes
4 characters, open casting
In 2022, audiences were invited to participate in Communion, a unique theatre experience featuring the world premieres of three short plays and an opportunity to share more than just space. An installation event interspersed with food, this sold-out offering inspired meaningful conversation and community connection.
An eclectic group of foodies meets at community hall once a month for their version of communion. When an unexpected stranger accepts an unintended invitation, a startling level of chaos ensues. Featuring a flexible cast of 4 to reflect the diversity of humanity, The Last Supper Club is a comedy that reimagines what sacraments mean in contemporary times, and how we caretake and spiritually nourish ourselves and each other.
WORLD PREMIERE: Fire Exit Theatre, 2022
Featuring Chelsea Restall, Shelly-Ann Morgan, Mike Thiessen, Cassandra Garbutt. Directed by Heids MacDonald. Set Design by Dale Marushy
Poster Design by Emily Cooper
Pacific Theatre 2014/2015 Season
CULTIVATION
Full Length Play, Flexible Cast, 3 M/2W
A recently discharged soldier shows up at a charismatic church retreat refusing to participate but remaining secretive about his motives for attending. His ensuing relationship with the pastor’s daughter provkes a controversial past to surface which puts into question the systems of faith everyone creates to survive. A dynamic exploration of human complexity and the often disturbing relationship between religion and warfare.
”Kris is a sensual, thoughtful and energetic writer. Her play, ‘Cultivation’, finds the perfect balance between challenging and serving an audience. She deftly blends realistic elements with dynamic expressionist touches that make us feel for and along with these characters while simultaneously being forced to question our own cherished beliefs and complacencies about love, life, religion, and the very nature of power.” - Todd Ristau, Director of The Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University
SEMI-FINALIST: Ashland New Plays Festival
SCRIPT-IN-HAND STAGED READING: Working With, Pacific Theatre 2015
Featuring Byron Noble, Kayla Heselwood, Holly Pillsbury, Giovanni Mocibob, and Ron Reed. Directed by Ian Farthing.
Full Length Play , Flexible Cast, 2 M/4W
Curated by Val Lieske & Krista Marushy
Original material by Krista Marushy and additional artists.
Remember when talking brought people together? Take a deep but playful dive into a Variety Show exploring the lost art of humane interaction. It’s an unpredictable performance featuring an assortment of original conversations ranging from surprising to surreal to uncomfortably honest. Have you ever chosen a side? Dug in your heels? Plunge into a brand new take on an age-old problem: how do we agree to disagree and still maintain connection?
***
Conversations With…? is designed to highlight original writing from an assortment of community voices. The play contains 3 Scripted Acts (10-15 minutes each), with a Spinning Wheel to determine scenes in-between. For the 2022 performance, Artists submitted short scenes/monologues inspired by “Conversation: the ability/inability to connect through conflict.” Our host and hostess filled transition time when performance order was determined by the Wheel (along with prizes and audience interactions).
A unique theatre experience that looks trickier than it is; Conversations With… ? offers theatres an opportunity to interweave their own community into the conversation.
CONVERSATIONS WITH… ?
Set Design by Dale Marushy
Featuring Ed Ogum, Czarina Zoleta, Chelsea Restall, Andrew Cooper, Sarah Haggeman, and Krista Marushy.
AUDIO PLAYS
MIDDLE GROUND
One-Act Play, 1 M/1W - 30 minutes
As they procrastinate writing a wedding speech for friends, Allison and Caleb confront the messy realities of their married life to reexamine where they’re at and where they’re going.
Poetry and prose intertwine as they negotiate memories, share uncomfortable perspectives and find the middle ground that could anchor and renew their relationship.
*Note: Middle Ground is both audio drama and a fully staged play.
One-Act Play, 2W - 30 minutes
In the riotous downfall of civilization, city state blocks are separated into territories and defended by suburban inhabitants. A community is put at risk when Mayson Jane, a revered Guardian, violates protocol to induct her daughter into privileged secrets, providing the only chance either one has for escape.
THE XENO STATION
One-Act Play, 2W/1M - 35 minutes
On a windswept hill overlooking a city, a man stands as the sign of his times, bracing for the storm of the century. As a lone sentry, the ground beneath his feet is shaken by a perceptive stranger who holds the key to immortality. A playful and seductive homage to Film Noir, A Dangerous View bridges space and time to name unknown places which can never truly be tamed.
A DANGEROUS VIEW
One-Act Dramedy, 2W / 2M, 30-25 minutes
Nothing much seems to happen in the isolated town of Echo, Nevada… that is until a new kid shows up and disturbs the secret hideout of a group of not-so-friendly misfits. Lulu, Bizzy, and twins Catch & Field spend an afternoon discovering things they never knew about friendship, trust, and a mysterious and disgusting “Death Jar.” A play about making friends, navigating change, and exploring imaginative worlds that are often lurking just under the stairs.
*Suitable for audiences of all ages with roles played either by children, or adults playing children.
SECRET LIFE UNDER THE STAIRS
Published and licensed by YouthPlays
Also sold on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com
PRODUCTION: FRESH BAKED THEATRE COMPANY, Widener University, 2024
PRODUCTION: MIAMI COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL, 2019
PRODUCTION: WONDERWORKS, Bowie State University, 2013
The cabinet opens in, not out. Johanna learns this lesson the hard way. While investigating the disappearance of her mother she ends up descending into the recesses of a mind-bending mystery with inmates of a creepy cabaret. The Curiosities are clever. Their stories are compelling. Someone’s bound to escape, but this cupboard has a catch…
A darkly comic un-cautionary tale laced with satiric songs and twisted theatrical antics.
WORLD PREMIERE: Calgary International Fringe Festival, 2017
WINNER: BEST OF FEST
THE CURIOSITY CABINET
Original music: Kyla Ferrier
Lyrics: Krista Marushy
IN DEVELOPMENT…
The following scripts are awaiting production.
For up-to-date drafts, inquiries, or premiere opportunities, contact k.marushy@hotmail.com
Full Length Play, 3W / 3M (more or less)
The game is unwittingly afoot as Will Shakespeare gets unexpectedly plunged into the not-so-fictional conspiracy surrounding the death of Christopher Marlowe. Can the actor-turned-playwright play detective and uncover the plot before history repeats itself? In a fantastical world that combines Elizabethan history with Film Noir, Murder Red is a suspenseful playground where words lead to murder and the stage has been set for a bloody encore. Can Shakespeare solve the mystery to keep his legacy intact? Or will the power in the pen force him to face an all-too literal-deadline?
A true crime whodunit interspersed with flights of literary fancy. An ode femme fatales, Raymond Chandler, and the giants of Elizabethan theatre.
*Semi-Finalist, BC Playwriting Competition
“Well written script surrounding the mystery of who wrote Shakespeare’s plays and how Christopher Marlowe died. The playwright clearly knows a lot about this time in history and the theatre of the time. It is witty, theatrical and has a meta theatrical quality that is fun.” - Juror #1, BC Playwriting Competition
“Playwright has captured a really nice mixture of genre, film noir, and the world of Shakespeare. Good pace and nice suspense.” - Juror#2, BC Playwriting Competition
”
MURDER RED
One-Act Play, 2W/2M (60 minutes)
Four outlaws responsible for the legend of their infamous and beloved leader gather around a purgatorial campfire to escape the story that has imprisoned them. Will they tell the tale as it has never been shared and implicate themselves for eternity? Or is truth always more complicated than we’d like, and lying in wait for unlikely heroes to finally emerge from their shadows?
Theatrical storytelling mixed with existential questions and emotional substance. A dramatic re-imagining of of a myth and its misunderstandings.
THE LOST LEGEND OF SHERWOOD
Full Length Play, 4W/2M
Pastor Ben throws his congregation for a loop when he follows a prophetic call to live as the Bride of Christ, stripping down in the pulpit to exchange his suit for a wedding dress. Ostracized for questionable theology (and sexuality), he butts heads with Aly: an agnostic journalist profiling his story. But Aly’s agenda is privately fueled by undisclosed connections. In the midst of the mess is Ben’s divorced sister, his gender non-conforming niece, and two older church members taking surprising sides. As Ben wrestles with rejection he re-imagines all things female, experiences the transforming power of uncertainty, and discovers what it means to hold the faith while questioning everything. As Ben and Aly combat opposing ideologies, their fragmented perspectives offer an opportunity for everyone to bridge the often insurmountable divide of religious disagreement.
A dramatic comedy about identity, religion, and unbridled acts of faith.
*Development supported by Alberta Foundation of the Arts