The genesis of Lee-Anne Poole's fringe offering was actually its catchy title.
"Short skirt butch," says Poole, rolling the words off her tongue. "It seemed like a good beginning, and the story just flowed from there."
Short Skirt Butch is structured as a direct address from Jean (played by Stephanie MacDonald, who also starred in Poole's Splinters), a woman who has been in a three-way relationship whose lovers break up with her to be a couple.
"I wanted to explore how it would feel to be rejected by not one, but two people," she says.
The heartbreak propels Jean to the brink of insanity, and she ends up organizing a gathering for her friends and family to apologize and try to explain her over-the-top actions.
"I thought the eMotion Picture Gallery would be a great place to stage this work, because it's the kind of space someone could conceivably rent for a community event," she explains, adding the audience becomes the invitees to Jean's little confession.
And while Poole says the play has lots of jokes and references that will appeal specifically to the queer community, it will speak to anyone who has ever had their heartbroken. "We've all been there to one degree or another, but with any luck, we didn't act as badly as Jean does!"
