God's Middle Name

By Jennifer Overton

God's Middle Name is the compelling tale of one mother's journey through the uncharted territory of raising an autistic child. Jennifer is the mother of the child with autism. The play, in a series of episodic scenes, follows Jennifer's family over the course of 10 years: from confusion to a life-altering diagnosis, through stages of denial, anger, depression, bargaining and finally acceptance. Along the way are flights of fancy and a great deal of humour, found both in Jennifer's own approach to the challenge, and in Nic's perception of the world around him. Written with sensitivity and lightness of touch, the play does not flinch from describing the grief involved in parenting an autistic child, yet the dominant emotion is one of joy in Nicholas' accomplishments. God's Middle Name premiered at the On The Waterfront Festival at Eastern Front Theatre in 2006. The play earned Jennifer the 2007 Robert G. Merritt Award for Best New Play, and In Good Company the award for Best Production. The production went on to the prestigious Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Ottawa and then had a very successful provincial and Canadian national tour. The play was also shortlisted for the coveted Lieutenant Governor's Masterworks Award in 2008 and 2009.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scirocco Drama
• Release date: Jul 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781990737244

Jennifer Overton

Born and raised in Ancaster, Ontario, Jennifer Overton is an actor, educator and writer living in Halifax. Her professional acting credits span twenty-five years with major roles in theatre, television, and film. Jennifer also directs, and recently served as Acting Artistic Director at Festival Antigonish. She teaches in the Theatre Department at Dalhousie University. Jennifer's writing career, a newer form of creative endeavor for her, has had enormous success. Her initial writings about life with her autistic son aired to great acclaim on CBC Radio's First Person Singular series. The success of these reflections has brought her publication in magazines and journals as well as her first book, Snapshots of Autism: a family album (Jessica Kingsley Pub.) Jennifer is currently working on a new play about autism for young audiences, titled Spelling 2-5-5. She is the proud recipient of the 2007 Nova Scotia Provincial Autism Centre Sobey's Green Jacket Award for her contribution to the autism community.

Book preview

Cover: 'God's middle name', written by Jennifer Overton, published under Scirocco Drama, by J. Gordon Shillingford, shows the lower legs of a woman resting on a rock, next to a waterbody.

god’s middle name

Jennifer Overton

God’s Middle Name

first published 2010 by

Scirocco Drama

An imprint of J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing Inc.

© 2010 Jennifer Overton

Reprinted 2013, 2017

Scirocco Drama Editor: Glenda MacFarlane

Cover design by Terry Gallagher/Doowah Design Inc.

Author photo by Sue Siri

Printed and bound in Canada on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Manitoba Arts Council and The Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, for any reason, by any means, without the permission of the publisher. This play is fully protected under the copyright laws of Canada and all other countries of the Copyright Union and is subject to royalty. Changes to the text are expressly forbidden without written consent of the author. Rights to produce, film, record in whole or in part, in any medium or in any language, by any group amateur or professional, are retained by the author.

Production inquiries should be addressed to:

[e-mail]

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Overton, Jennifer

God’s middle name / Jennifer Overton.

A play.

ISBN 978-1-897289-54-9

I. Title.

PS8629.V47G64 2010 C812’.6 C2010-903495-3

J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing

P.O. Box 86, RPO Corydon Avenue, Winnipeg, MB Canada R3M 3S3

To my boys.

A very specal thanks to David, my partner in life and art, for his profound contributions to both.

Contents

Production Notes

Production History

About Author

Prologue

Chapter 1

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Contents

Production Notes

Production History

About Author

Prologue

Chapter 1

Guide

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Contents

Production Notes

Production History

About Author

Prologue

Start of Content

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Production Notes

A few notes. To accomodate fast, seamless changes, the use of projections is useful to establish various locations, and the set can be very simple set pieces, configured as needed.

Two actors play all the roles; one actor plays Jennifer and the detective, the other actor plays the remaining roles, i.e. Nic, David, the doctor, and the detective. The convention that the actor plays multiple roles is set up early. There is no need to adopt naturalistic ‘age’ acting; for instance, Nic sitting with his legs outstretched and spinning the wheels of a toy truck makes it clear that he is a toddler. It should be noted that, for the character of Nic, exclamation marks denote agitation and anxiety rather than excitement.

It is important that the character of Nic be portrayed with dignity and specificity. There is no room for a generalized or whitewashed interpretation. Intense study and consultation with one familiar with autism is essential.

Production History

God’s Middle Name was first produced by In Good Company Theatre as part of Eastern Front Theatre’s On the Waterfront Festival, Toronto, May 2006 with the following cast:

Jennifer Overton

Réjean Cournoyer

Directed/Dramaturged by.................................................Scott Burke

Set, Projection, and Costume Design by ....................... Denyse Karn

Lighting Design by ................................................. Bruce MacLennan

Sound Design by ....................................................... Michael Doherty

Stage Manager ......................................................................Sally Crate

Marketing/Administration ................................................Tina Smith

In Good Company wishes to thank the sponsors of the premiere production: the Nova Scotia Provincial Autism Centre, the Craig Foundation, O’Regan’s Automotive Group, The MacLeod Group, and the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage.

A black and white headshot of the smiling author Jennifer Overton.

Jennifer Overton

Born and raised in Ancaster, Ontario, Jennifer Overton is an actor, educator and writer living in Halifax. Her professional acting credits span twenty-five years with major roles in theatre, television, and film. She spent ten years on faculty in the Theatre Department at Dalhousie University.

Jennifer’s writing career, a newer form of creative endeavor for her, has had enormous success. Her initial writings about life with her autistic son aired to great acclaim on CBC Radio’s First Person Singular series. The success of these reflections has brought her publication in magazines and journals as well as her first book, Snapshots of Autism: A Family Album (Jessica Kingsley Publishing).

Jennifer is currently working on a new play about autism for young audiences, entitled Spelling 2-5-5. She is