The Small Town Boy and the Mob
by Bryce Alexander Dudley
Bryce Alexander Dudley was born in Cobourg Ontario. Since moving to Toronto he has worked for, Fringe, Next Stage, SummerWorks, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Massey Hall, The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre, Toronto International Film Festival and various independent. Having worked for the Fringe itself for the past five years, and in various other performance outlets for eight, he's also Factory Theatre's current Front-of-House Manager and Special Event Coordinator.
He trains volunteers and staff alike in the underlying philosophy - the customer is always right. Sometimes, however, the customer is not always right. What happens then? The stuff of tears and laughter, often, but always high drama. Mr. Dudley's play, Excuse You!, explores the many stories from his own experience and submissions from fellow customer service practitioners in theatres and venues across Toronto. Mr. Dudley has decided to move the "pre-show" to the main stage, and put the venue employees and its various patrons in the spotlight. With a script based on personal experience and research, he has headed back to the writer's desk to bring a voice to his observations.
Something was missing. I had moved to Toronto, and was working in the food and beverage side of theatre, and around art all of the time, but… it had been four years since I’d worked on a creative project of my own. So, eight months ago, I realized it was the Fringe Lottery deadline… and I put pen to paper.
Having worked for the Toronto Fringe in various capacities over the past five years, I had a clear picture of how things ran, and I wanted this to be the place I made and produced a play. To apply, I needed to create a theatre company name and, as the clock ticked closer to the submission deadline, I kept trying to think of something… something clever, catchy and witty. And, then it came to me - Theatre on a Thought.
