This teen playwright is making history at a local theater with her debut play 🎭

An out-of-this-world play filled with heroics, crazy wigs and a grand battle of good versus evil is debuting in Tucson this weekend at the Live Theatre Workshop’s Children’s Theatre.

The heartfelt satirical show, “No Other Nemesis,” written and musically composed by 17-year-old playwright Catherine Oda breaks tradition at the local theater — it's the first play written by a teen playwright to debut in the children’s regular theatrical season. 

Most productions at the children’s theater are written by adult, professional playwrights within the community and filled with prerecorded music tracks. “No Other Nemesis” will feature live music played by Oda herself when the show opens on Jan. 28.

“There are the short plays that end up being produced within the Young Playwrights (competition) and the fact that ‘No Other Nemesis’ made it to our regular children's theater season is really the exception,” said David Ragland, Live Theatre Workshop’s marketing and communications director. “Like, this does not happen. This is the first time that it has ever happened.”

For Oda, Live Theatre Workshop has been a constant throughout her childhood as she and her siblings have been involved with the theater from a young age. She actually wrote the first draft of “No Other Nemesis” four years ago.

“I've been doing theater for longer than I can remember,” she said.

Oda originally submitted “No Other Nemesis” for the children’s theater’s Young Playwrights of Tucson competition — an annual competition where local students from sixth to 12th grade submit original plays for a shot of having them produced during a week-long workshop, versus Oda's that was selected to be put on during the regular season.

Last year, Live Theatre Workshop received between 45 and 50 submissions and approved six of those submissions for production, according to Amanda Gremel, Live Theatre Workshop’s director of children’s programming.

“When she submitted ‘No Other Nemesis,’ I instantly knew that could be one of our shows,” she said. “She didn't even know at the time that she writes in our genre — it's a children's theater show that can be fun for all ages. And Catherine is such a smart and witty playwright that there was no way I was gonna not have this show someday on our stage.”

Oda’s play revolves around a couple of characters — a heroic alien and karate expert played by Gremel and a villainous doctor played by Holli Diffin, whose rocky relationship is put to the limits when a new villain arrives in the city they are constantly fighting over, according to Live Theatre Workshop’s website. Oda’s sister, Claire, has a role in the production, too.

“I love this show a lot,” Oda said. “It has a special place in my heart because this was actually, I think, the first play that I ever finished, the first draft I submitted to the very first Young Playwrights like four years ago. And so the process of coming up with this show was just like, ‘I think that more children's plays should be about superheroes.’ So I wrote a superhero show and then it got selected (in the competition). ... And then it sort of gradually turned into an entire musical about the power of friendship and punches.”

Oda worked on the script for “No Other Nemesis” on and off for around four to five months with the assistance of mentors at the theater who helped her evolve the story’s plot. Since her time with the theater, she has written over 15 short plays.

Although “No Other Nemesis” was written and composed by a teenager (soon-to-be adult) and features “silly tropes of wacky wild villains and over-the-top heroes,” Oda said, the production isn’t just for kids but for the whole family.

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“I am really proud of this show,” she said. “And I know that anyone who goes to see it will have a great time because it's a great time with the actors and our amazing director and the stage manager and it's live music, which is always really fun. So, I'm really nervous, but I'm also super excited. And I know that all the hard work that everyone's done will pay off.”

Oda’s play is set to run from Jan. 28 to Feb. 12 at the Live Theatre Workshop’s Children’s Theatre, located at 3322 E. Fort Lowell Road.

The theater has gone through a few changes over the last couple of years — most notably, a venue change in 2020 from its previous location on Speedway.

But something that hasn’t changed over its 20-year history is providing a stage and second home for those who are passionate about all things theater.

“I've seen potential in Catherine ever since she walked through our doors,” Gremel said. “She talks about being shy and when I started at Live Theatre Workshop as a senior in high school, I was very introverted (too). And once you catch that theater bug, it's in you for life, you don't get rid of that bug. And with Catherine, I could tell she was maybe a little bit shy. But once we got going, she soon really came out of her shell and started to show us her personality, which is lovely and delightful.”

Oda plans to attend the University of Arizona to study creative writing and film after she graduates from high school this spring. She hopes to work on children’s television shows once she’s done with college.

“I have addressed before how kind of shy and antisocial I was and theater hasn't really changed my personality a lot,” Oda said. “But it's really helped me find where I fit within this amazing opportunity. Because at first, I was acting and that was amazing. It really helped with my confidence as a speaker and as just a person in life. But what I really love is how I found a place that is perfect for me as someone who is not necessarily the person who wants to be in the spotlight, where I get to write and I get to help behind the scenes. So something that theater has really taught me is how to fit every role, but also how to find the role that was specifically almost curated for you as a person.”

If you go

What: “No Other Nemesis” written and musically composed by Catherine Oda.

Where: Live Theatre Workshop’s Children’s Theatre, 3322 E. Fort Lowell Road.

When: 5 p.m. Saturdays, Jan. 28, Feb. 4 and 11; 1 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 29, Feb. 5 and 12.

Cost: $10 per child, $12 per adult. COVID-19 guidelines can be found here.

For more information, visit the theater's website.

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