What to know
- On the Air is a Canadian play by Toronto-based actor and writer Ephraim Ellis, now on stage at the Bloor West Village Players Theatre until Jan. 31.
- The heartwarming comedy follows a Toronto ad executive who returns home to revive his late father’s community radio station, sparking old conflicts and new romance.
- Inspired by Ellis’s own small-town roots and love of local radio, the play features popular music and a multi-generational cast.
- A post-show talkback with Ellis and members of the cast takes place this Thursday, offering audiences insight into the play’s themes and creation.
A love letter to community radio, family ties and the quiet dramas of small town life is now playing in Toronto’s west end, written by a local television star-turned-playwright.
Toronto-based actor and writer Ephraim Ellis is behind On the Air, a Canadian play on stage for three more nights at the Bloor West Village Players Theatre as the third production in the theatre’s five-play season.
As a longtime actor and writer, Ellis has an extensive portfolio, including his work in the Canadian shows Murdoch Mysteries and the Degrassi: The Next Generation legacy, notably as character Rick Murray.
Featuring popular hits, a multi-generational cast and a story rooted in connection, romance and second chances, Ellis says concepts of On the Air had been brewing since 2010, where he originally had it written as a television pilot titled Loon FM.
After five years in the making and a whole global pandemic later, On the Air made its world premiere in 2023 with a heartwarmingly hilarious story that has had community theatre groups reaching out for the rights to stage it.
The story centres on a Toronto advertising director who returns to his hometown to revive his late father’s struggling community radio station. What begins as a professional reset soon turns personal, as old conflicts resurface and a rekindling with a high school crush emerges.
Ellis, who drew inspiration from his early TV pilot, said the story is also a loose reflection of his family’s small town upbringing.
“My family lives in Haliburton, Ontario right now, and there’s a community radio station up there called Canoe FM that we often listen to. And there’s just this one bizarre day we’re listening to it, and the DJ comes on and says, ‘We found this chainsaw on the side of the road. It’s just a good chainsaw. I don’t know if anybody’s lost it. They should pick it up,’ Ellis recalled. “It was just such a weird, bizarre moment that I was like, ‘I feel like there’s a story here.’ And that kind of got the ball rolling in developing the rest of the story.”
The Village Players production is co-directed by Jennifer Monteith and produced by John Acuna and Bridget Jankowski, who worked together to bring the play’s intimate, character-driven story to life on a community stage for the theatre’s 53rd season.
The trio described the play in three words: community, fun and relatable.
“We can see ourselves in each of these characters, or see our friends or our neighbours, the people we love, the people we hate,” Monteith tells Now Toronto. “There’s something for everybody in it.”
Acuna says so far, the play has had a positive reception among patrons – even managing to pull in a full house amid a winter storm earlier this month.
“They love it,” Acuna shared. “You’ve got to have some kind of joy post-holidays and winter blues. So, we’re really happy that we’re giving the patrons some kind of fun thing to see.”
A post-show talkback session featuring Ellis and members of the cast is scheduled for this Thursday, where audiences can get a chance to dig deeper into the play’s themes and creative process.
“It’s a really fun time,” Monteith emphasized. “It really drives the community of the theatre and our audiences, and gets them more involved in asking questions.”
Beyond On the Air, Ellis recently wrapped the Thunder Bay production of his second play, adventure comedy Bigfoot, and he’s set to premiere a third — spy comedy Secret Service, later this summer at the Lighthouse Festival Theatre.
For audiences looking to check out the new production on the block, he hopes they leave with a sense of connection.
“I hope people leave wanting to call someone in their family that they haven’t called in a while,” he said. “But more realistically, I wrote it to be like a funny romantic comedy. So I hope that people leave, like, feeling happy.”On the Air continues its run at the Bloor West Village Players Theatre until Jan. 31.
