Rex McGregor
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    • Love Those Cockroaches
    • Surfing in Munich
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    • A Supportive Wife Supports Her Wife
    • Feline High-Rise Syndrome
    • President Charles Evans Hughes
    • Table in the Air
    • Triple Helping
    • Mother of Chemistry
    • Unromantic Bouquet
    • Smile on a Mask
    • Grounding Santa
    • Horror at Sea
    • Retha's First March
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    • Pseudo-Human Resources
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    • Aleema the Boy Girl
    • Who Remembers Éponine’s Sister?
    • Lullaby for a Librarian
    • Garage Invasion
    • Trumpettes Anonymous
    • Amazons of Tomorrow
    • Dueling Judges
    • Murder Runs in Our Family
    • Cheerleaders and Cheeseburgers
    • The Girl Who Would Rather Not Grow Up Just Yet
    • Gab Irish-Like
    • Wayward Seniors
    • This Particular Crevasse
    • Almost Immortal
    • Sugar Horror
    • Helga Goes Bats
    • Lost Judgment
    • Public Deaths
    • Taking the Plunge
    • Fingers and Toesies
    • Becky and Tom
    • Zany Planets
    • Battle for the Front Seat
    • Speechless
    • Kindness Pays
    • Help Found
    • Henry the Seventh (If Shakespeare Was Honest)
    • Marked for Deletion
    • Welcome to Belarus
    • Her Daughter's Doll
    • We Aren't Aliens
    • The Mama and the Papa
    • Cushion
    • Phony on a Twig
    • Phenomenals Anonymous
    • Possible Fathers
    • Cobra v Tiger
    • Party Crasher on a Mission
    • Canary Now
    • Enemies on a Date
    • Higgledy-Trilogy
    • Marietta's Ultimatum
    • Tina, Queen of Scots
    • One Wish Each
    • Horrifying Mary
    • Refloat Our Whale
    • Geordie Heroine
    • Cathy Haunts Catherine
    • Skull Against the Sky
    • The Ghostly Christmas Pest
    • Outfox
    • Fire Up
    • Kurt and Orla
    • Save the Sasquatch
    • Next Door Nativity
    • Restoring Romeo
    • Librarians Embrace Fiction
    • Turn of the Tidier
    • Best Chance Café
    • Roasting Death
    • Fountain of Youth
    • The Power of Enchantment
    • Clash of the Lorde Fans
    • The First Christmas Presents
    • Grandis, Juliette
    • Herding Catastrophes
    • Penelope's Feast
    • Money Talks Too Loud
    • Eleventh Night
    • Extreme Decluttering
    • Courtesy
    • Natasha Toughs It Out
    • Estella Expects a Lot
    • Twilight of the Grizzly
    • Love and Acoustics
    • Pull Together
    • Tempting Sabah
    • Boot's Trip
    • Unsuspecting Donor
    • The Fruits of Lust
    • Placating Antonio
    • Abigail Wades In
    • Unfurl
    • Eradicting Apathy
    • Revenge of the Brain
    • Who Loves More
    • Chest-Beating for Gentlemen
    • That's No Mannequin (That's His Wife)
    • Put Down the Gun
    • Shredded
    • It Could Be Anyone
    • Skull
  • Plays
    • I Love an Earthling
    • Sunshine in Every Window
    • Margaret Thatcher Changes the World
    • Tricky Intervention
    • Girls Rock the Classics
    • Miss Imposter
    • Girls on the Brink
    • Rebellious Izzy
    • Lady Godiva Womans Up
    • Three Weird Mornings at the Library
    • Female Scientists to the Rescue
    • Queen Takes Emperor
    • Grow Up, Girls
    • Brink Time
    • Manipulative
    • The Sword and the Gown
    • Safe Trip
    • Pacific Caper
    • Thena and Taz
    • Stale Obsession
    • The Librarian with Kaleidoscope Eyes
    • Nine Plays Wonder
    • Clash of the Delusions
    • Lady Godiva Doesn't Ride Again
    • Margaret Thatcher Hits New Zealand
    • Wind Above the Water
    • Unpardonable Virtues
    • Nude with Tuba and Skull
    • Triple Fandango
    • Snatched
    • Hour of Misjudgement
  • Audio plays
    • Contains Nudity
    • This Particular Crevasse
    • Wind Above the Water
    • Lament of the Failed Alcoholic
    • Pacific Caper
    • Brain in the Trash
    • Above the Stave
    • Finesse
    • A Flying Visit
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    • Tabby's Plague Diary
    • Boot's Vacation
    • Nourishing Marion
    • Sweet Fright
    • Olive Struts and Frets
    • Sweetness and Light
    • The One Waving
    • A Bride for the Pope
    • Derrick's Tactic
    • Post-Baby Body
    • Beaver Loves Otter
    • Will Kemp's Turn
    • An Educated Palate
    • Shakespeare's Protestation
    • Officially Recovered
    • Carriage Horse Chat
    • Kia Orāna, Joe
    • Elizabeth's Revenge
    • The Roses or the Bat
    • Phoenix on Ice
    • The Frog-Footman's Statement
    • Innocent Glutton
    • Frida Kahlo Must Be Jewish
    • The Reluctant Barker
    • Lady Godiva's Daughter
    • Friar Oswald's Confession
    • Let's Just Chill
    • Erica, Oswald and Shakespeare
    • Speechless
    • The Clueless Bishop
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    • Dinah Might

Threatened Panda Fights Back

10-minute comedy
As the World Wildlife Fund’s poster boy for endangered animals, Ling enjoys a comfortable life full of adulation and all the bamboo he can eat. But when a rival species challenges him for the role, he risks losing everything.

CHARACTERS:
LING, male giant panda, extremely overweight and vain
YAN, female giant panda, on heat
MR D, weird-looking bird, nervous 
MRS D, weird-looking bird, cheerful, very pregnant

AWARDS
Threatened Panda Fights Back was the JUDGES CHOICE Week 1 at Short+Sweet Illawarra, Harbour Theatre, Shellharbour, Australia, October 4-7, 2018.
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Patrick Harrison (Ling) and Kaylee Ashton (Yan)
Threatened Panda Fights Back won two awards at Short+Sweet Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand, September 20, 2015.
  • BEST COMEDY SCRIPT
  • PEOPLE'S CHOICE
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Mustaq Missouri (Ling), Georgina Silk (Mrs D), Irasa Siave (Yan), Rex McGregor (writer), Katie Burson (director). Front: Tom Wardle (Mr D)

PRODUCTIONS and READINGS
Towne Street Theatre 10 Minute Play Festival
Stella Adler Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
[Postponed]

Directed by Starina Johnson

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(online reading)
A Fresh Start
Caravan Productions
Bromsgrove, UK

January 28, 2021

Cast: Derek Hartley (Ling), Tracey Mann (Yan), David Phillips (Mr D)​, Matilda Wale (Mrs D)

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Derek Hartley (Ling), Matilda Wale (Mrs D), David Phillips (Mr D)​ and Tracey Mann (Yan)

(audio recording)  
​Onstage/Offstage
Ithaca, New York​
November 1, 2020

​P​
roduced by George Sapio
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Playbytes by Playwrights: Lost and Found
LowellArtsTheater
Lowell, Michigan
​November 1-9, 2019

Cast:
Casey Berg (Ling), Kelsesy Ohle (Yan), John Foley (Mr D), Vicki Kavanaugh (Mrs D)
​
Directed by Ken Parrish
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John Foley (Mr D), Vicki Kavanaugh (Mrs D), Kelsesy Ohle (Yan), Casey Berg (Ling)

Acting Up! 2019
The Orange Players
High Plains Community Center
Orange, Connecticut
October 25-26, 2019

Puppet troupe: Thomas Homa (Ling), Brittany Homa (Yan), Hailey Bendar (Mrs D), Albert Burton Glassman (Mr D), Colette Gardner (Keeper 1/ Pandas), Cyndi Consoli, (Keeper 2/ Pandas)

​Directed by Sharon Murphy-Boski
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Albert Burton Glassman (Mr D), Hailey Bendar (Mrs D), Thomas Homa (Ling), Brittany Homa (Yan), Colette Gardner (Panda)
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Cyndi Consoli, (Keeper 2/ Pandas), Thomas Homa (Ling), Brittany Homa (Yan), Colette Gardner (Keeper 1/ Pandas), Hailey Bendar (Mrs D), Albert Burton Glassman (Mr D)

Short+Sweet Dublin
​
Sean O'Casey Theatre
Dublin, Ireland
​October 22-23, 2019

Cast: 
Emmet Lindsay (Ling), Lorna Brennan (Yan), Saundra Fitzgerald (Mrs D), Bryan Smith (Mr D)

​Directed by Ciara O'Sullivan
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Emmet Lindsay (Ling). Photos by Alice Stands.
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Lorna Brennan (Yan)
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Saundra Fitzgerald (Mrs D) and Bryan Smith (Mr D)

Pyro PlayFest: The Winds of Change
Paris Junior College
Paris, Texas
​April 25, 27, 28, 2019

Cast: Will Walker (Ling), Kathleen Hays (Yan), Lisa Martin 
(Mrs D), Raden Phillips (Mr D)

Directed by Frederic Doss
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Raden Phillips (Mr D) and Lisa Martin (Mrs D)
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Will Walker (Ling) and Kathleen Hays (Yan)

Short+Sweet Illawarra
Harbour Theatre
​Shellharbour, Australia
October 4-7, 2018

Cast: 
Patrick Harrison (Ling), Kaylee Ashton (Yan), Isabella Whitcher (Mrs D), Flynn Mapplebeck (Mr D)
​
​Directed by Cara Severino

* Winner: JUDGES CHOICE Week 1
*2nd place: PEOPLE'S CHOICE Week 1
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Patrick Harrison (Ling) and Kaylee Ashton (Yan)
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Flynn Mapplebeck (Mr D) and Isabella Whitcher (Mrs D)
Review
"A panda named Ling (Harrison) is the poster boy for endangered animals until science brings two dodos (Mapplebeck & Whitcher) back to life. A humorous and creative piece with plenty of funny sex-based humour and winning comedic performances, aided by panda make-up and great dodo costumes, by all four. Understandable why it won first place with the judges." - Dylan Horvat

Short+Sweet South India
In Transit Ensemble
Edouard Michelin Auditorium
Chennai, India, July 11-14 & 28, 2018


Cast: Ajay Ram (Ling), Madhumeetha B (Yan), Akshay Sureth (Mr D), Shilpa Ivaturi (Mrs D)

Directed by Sushant Alexander

Week 2 Weekly Prizes
  • Best Director (joint winner): Sushant Alexander
  • Special Mention - Actor (Female): Shilpa Ivaturi 
  • Special Mention - Performance: Threatened Panda Fights Back
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Ajay Ram (Ling), Sushant Alexander (director), Akshay Sureth (Mr D), Shilpa Ivaturi (Mrs D), Madhumeetha B (Yan)
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Shilpa Ivaturi (Mrs D) and Akshay Sureth (Mr D)

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Ménagerie à Trois
Theatre Hawke's Bay
The Playhouse
Hastings, New Zealand
July 20-29, 2017

Cast: Ali Beal (Ling), Peter Berry (Yan), Jack Garvey (Mr D), Nathalie van Egten (Mrs D)

Directed by Cam Lithgow

​

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Ali Beal (Ling), Nathalie van Egten (Mrs D), Jack Garvey (Mr D)
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Nathalie van Egten (Mrs D), Peter Berry (Yan), Ali Beal (Ling), Jack Garvey (Mr D)
Review
"The best part of the evening is the short, sweet and side splitting Threatened Panda Fights Back, by Rex McGregor.  Ali Beal morphs into an hilarious Ling – WWF’s poster boy for endangered animals, and Peter Berry a very whiskery and believable Yan, Ling’s amorous mate.  When the pandas discover they are about to be usurped by a miraculously now un-extinct pair of dodos, they swiftly hatch a plan to dispatch of the couple.  Jack Garvey and Nathalie Van Egten are wonderfully awkward dodos as they totter around the stage, and the play is so absorbing I was surprised, and disappointed, when it ended." - The Hook

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Cutting Edge Comedy
​Hokitika Dramatic Society
​Old Lodge Theatre
Hokitika, New Zealand
​June 22 - July 1, 2017

​Cast: Jim Butzbach (Ling), Raewyn Cooper (Yan), Terry Michele Gee (Mrs D), Jason Thompson (Mr D)


D​irected by Sue Asplin

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Jim Butzbach (Ling) and Raewyn Cooper (Yan)
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Raewyn Cooper (Yan), Jason Thompson (Mr D), Terry Michele Gee (Mrs D), Jim Butzbach (Ling)

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The British Theatre Challenge Act II
​Sky Blue Theatre Company
Lost Theatre
​London
​April 7, 2017

Cast: 
Tom Hall (Ling), Josie Mills (Yan), Helen Watkinson (Mrs D), David Eaton (Mr D)

Directed by 
Stacey Norris ​

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Josie Mills (Yan) & Tom Hall (Ling)

Play Time
Second Sons Theatre Company
Theatre N16
​London
September 2, 2016

​Cast: 
Alex Knott (Ling), Samantha  Van Dyk (Yan), James Watkins (Mr D), Milly Dunk (Mrs D)

Directed by Samson Hawkins ​
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Alex Knott (Ling), Samantha Van Dyk (Yan)
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Samantha Van Dyk (Yan), Alex Knott (Ling)

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Take Ten Festival 2016
Between Us Productions
13th Street Repertory Theatre
New York, NY
April 27, 29 & 30, 2016

Cast: Roger Dale Stude (Ling), Julie Baber (Yan), Patrick Harman (Mr D), Morgan Patton (Mrs D)

Directed by Susane Lee

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Roger Dale Stude (Ling), Morgan Patton (Mrs D), Patrick Harman (Mr D) & Julie Baber (Yan) in Threatened Panda Fights Back, New York
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Julie Baber (Yan) & Roger Dale Stude (Ling) rehearsing
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Morgan Patton (Mrs D) & Patrick Harman (Mr D)
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Patrick Harman (Mr D), Morgan Patton (Mrs D), Julie Baber (Yan), Roger Dale Stude (Ling)

​(Staged reading) 
Saving Endangered Species International Playwriting Prize
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
Los Angeles, California
​April 4, 2016

Cast: Mark Anthony Williams (Ling), Sonia Jackson (Yan), Andre Mathieu (Mr D), Anita Borcia (Mrs D)

Directed by Michele Spears
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Mark Anthony Williams (Ling)
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Sonia Jackson (Yan)
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Andre Mathieu (Mr D)
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Anita Borcia (Mrs D)

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10-Minute Play Festival
Cutler Bay Community Theater
Artistic Vibes
​Miami, Florida
​March 18-19, 2016
​
Cast: John Eubanks (Ling), Pam St. John (Yan), J.J. Greenstein (Mr D), Melissa Billings (Mrs D)

Directed by Maggie Eubanks

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Pam St. John (Yan), John Eubanks (Ling)
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John Eubanks (Ling), Pam St. John (Yan)
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John Eubanks (Ling), Melissa Billings (Mrs D). Back: J.J. Greenstein (Mr D), Pam St. John (Yan)
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Melissa Billings (Mrs D), J.J. Greenstein (Mr D)
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Melissa Billings (Mrs D), J.J. Greenstein (Mr D)
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John Eubanks (Ling)
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Pam St. John (Yan)
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John Eubanks (Ling)
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J.J. Greenstein (Mr D), Melissa Billings (Mrs D)

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8 Tens @ 8 Festival
Actors' Theatre
Santa Cruz, California
January 8 - February 7, 2016

Cast: Chad Davies (Ling), Karin Babbitt (Yan), Anita Natale (Mrs D), and Jim Schultz (Mr D)

Directed by Helene Simkin Jara

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Karin Babbitt (Yan), Chad Davies (Ling), Anita Natale (Mrs D), and Jim Schultz (Mr D)

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10-Minute Play Festival
TheatriVasles
Salle du Théâtre
Vasles, France
October 16-17, 2015

Cast: Alan Peel (Ling), Lynn Vaux (Yan), Debbie Adamson (Mrs D), Jim Luff (Mr D) 

Directed by Tim Fitzgerald

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Debbie Adamson (Mrs D) & Jim Luff (Mr D)
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Alan Peel (Ling) & Lynn Vaux (Yan)

Short+Sweet Theatre
TAPAC (The Auckland Performing Arts Centre)
Auckland, New Zealand
September 8-12 & 20, 2015

Cast: Mustaq Missouri (Ling), Irasa Siave (Yan), Georgina Silk (Mrs D), Tom Wardle (Mr D)

Directed by Katie Burson
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Mustaq Missouri (Ling) and Irasa Siave (Yan). Shovik Nandi Photography
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Tom Wardle (Mr D), Georgina Silk (Mrs D), Mustaq Missouri (Ling) and Irasa Siave (Yan)
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Mustaq Missouri (Ling), Tom Wardle (Mr D), Georgina Silk (Mrs D) and Irasa Siave (Yan)
Review
​"Before a word of Threatened Panda Fights Back! is spoken, the audience is laughing loudly, and it continues throughout this play. It's due to an hilarious scenario created by Auckland playwright Rex McGregor, and assisted by great direction from Katie Burson. The four actors (Mustaq Missouri, Georgina Silk, Siave Irasa, Tom Wardle) are all very good, but there's no doubt the show is stolen by Mustaq Missouri's Panda. What a dilemma he must resolve: as the face of the World Wildlife Fund's Endangered Species programme, breeding would threaten his position. On the other hand…" - Bronwyn Elsmore, Theatreview
Review
​"If you do catch this week’s show, it is worth it for Threatened Panda Fights Back! Written by Short+Sweet veteran Rex McGregor (is there any year that he has missed?), director Katie Burson employs her clowning nous for an imaginative piece about a Panda threatened, not by extinction, but the new hot thing in animal conversation. Mustaq Missouri’s Panda is full of his own self-importance, a rock star and poster boy for WWF. His mate (Irasa Siave) tries many tactics to pique his sexual interest, but he stubbornly refuses: too many Pandas, and they’ll lose what makes them special. His thinking is challenged when very special birds Mr D (Tom Wardle) and Mrs D (Georgina Silk) appear on the scene and lay claim to the enclosure. It’s a great idea, great script, and made vibrant by the cast’s playful and physically astute performances. I’d love to see this enlarged and for Katie Burson to keep an entire zoo." - James Wenley, Theatre Scenes
Review
"Rex McGregor's crowd-favourite Threatened Panda Fights Back, a laugh-out-loud exercise in anthropomorphic absurdity directed by Katie Burson." - Nik Smythe, Theatreview

Studio Players' 10-Minute Play Festival
Carriage House Theatre
Lexington, Kentucky
July 31-August 2 & August 7-9, 2015

Cast: Kody Kiser (Ling), Sherry Jackson Thompson (Yan), Mike Van Zant (Mr D), Shannon Baker (Mrs D)

Directed by Marty Wayman
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Kody Kiser (Ling) and Sherry Jackson Thompson (Yan)
Review
​"Next, we switch gears again for the evening's most unusual selection, Threatened Panda Fights Back by Rex McGregor. Delightfully weird and a little risqué, the show features two famous zoo pandas and two potentially usurping dodo birds. The only way for Threatened Panda to succeed is to let it be as weird as it wants to be, which is what director Marty Wayman went for. With Kody Kiser and Sherry Jackson Thompson playfully owning their roles as a panda couple, and Mike Van Zant and Shannon Baker creating two appropriately bizarre characterizations of dodo birds, the whole piece exudes the playful, silly fun that actors might have offstage or in rehearsal but that we don't get to see in full productions." - Candace Chaney, Lexington Herald-Leader
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Mike Van Zant (Mr D), Shannon Baker (Mrs D), Sherry Jackson Thompson (Yan), Kody Kiser (Ling)
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Kody Kiser (Ling)
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Sherry Jackson Thompson (Yan)
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Shannon Baker (Mrs D)
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Mike Van Zant (Mr D)

Short+Sweet Brisbane 2015
Powerhouse
Brisbane, Australia
July 16-18, 2015

Cast: Trevor Vanstone (Ling), Cherie Moss (Yan), Tammy Linde (Mrs D), Daniel Simpson (Mr D)

Directed Kate Murphy
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Trevor Vanstone (Ling), Daniel Simpson (Mr D), Cherie Moss (Yan), Tammy Linde (Mrs D)
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Trevor Vanstone (Ling) & Cherie Moss (Yan)
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Trevor Vanstone (Ling) & Cherie Moss (Yan)
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Cherie Moss (Yan) & Trevor Vanstone (Ling)
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Daniel Simpson, Tammy Linde, Trevor Vanstone, Cherie Moss
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Tammy Linde (Mrs D) with Trevor Vanstone (Ling)

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King's Shorts Festival of 10-Minute Plays
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada
June 12-14, 2015

Cast: Wayne Currie (Ling), Susan Barker (Yan), Ashlea Viola (Mrs D), Jacob Morrison (Mr D)

Directed by Jeff Styles
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Wayne Currie (Ling) & Susan Barker (Yan)
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Ashlea Viola (Mrs D) & Jacob Morrison (Mr D)
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Script published in A Year in the Caravan, 2020-21.
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