Department of Common Sense

A one-act play that lampoons government and bureaucrats. Cheer and laugh as a straight-talking, tequila-sipping minister and two whip-smart women on his staff take on a persnickety bureaucrat in a battle of wills – and wits.

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Stay in touch with new developments at Department of Common Sense by following our blog.

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The 23rd Atlantic Fringe Festival wrapped up on Sunday night in Halifax, smashing box office and attendance records for the 11-day event. The festival reports $68,727 in box office receipts, an impressive 31 per cent increase over 2012, says a festival news release. Ticketed attendance was 24 per cent higher than last year, a new record & of 11,600.

It was great to be part of the success of the 23rd Atlantic Fringe Festival. What a great ride!

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Department of Common Sense posts surplus of comedy

What a fantastic year at the Atlantic Fringe! Happy patrons.

Kate Watson of The Coast reviews Department of Common Sense -- among other plays -- on Day 11 of Atlantic Fringe Festival and reveals the award winners.

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Interview - 89.9 The Wave at Halifax, NS

Listen to Fiona Kirkpatrick Parsons / Interview - 89.9 The Wave at Halifax, NS | Explore the largest community of artists, bands, podcasters and cr...

Fiona Kirkpatrick Parsons, who plays Sophia Smart in Department of Common Sense, chats with JC Douglas about the play as well Hot Mess, the all-female sketch comedy group founded by her Department of Common Sense cast-mate Lianne Perry.

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Chirbit [RyanVanHorne] Information Morning interview

Audio: Information Morning interview Department of Common Sense, Atlantic Fringe - social audio

Playwright Ryan Van Horne chats with Don Connolly of CBC Radio.

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Marc Montgomery of Radio Canada International's The Link interviewed playwright Ryan Van Horne, who wrote Department of Common Sense.

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Play takes humorous look at inner workings of government

Atlantic Fringe Festival 2013 Department of Common Sense Im a sucker for humorous bureaucratic nightmares, probably due to reading the military satire Catch 22 and watching Terry Gilliam's dystopian feature Brazil at an early age. So Ryan Van Hornes homegrown comedy Department of Common Sense seemed to be right up my alley.

The first review is in. I think the cast needs to take another bow after reading that. Great job by them and our director Nick Jupp.

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Arts East shines the spotlight on Department of Common Sense. They give me a little soapbox, too, as I do a Q&A with Michelle Brunet.

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Ministry of Common Sense rules over Atlantic Fringe

A new play at the Atlantic Fringe Festival pokes fun at a core skill sometimes lacking in government: common sense.

CBC TV's Colleen Jones dropped by for our last rehearsal and did this story.

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Seeing local playwright’s Atlantic Fringe Festival debut just makes Common Sense

Sitting in a dark theatre, Ryan Van Horne heard the audience laugh as the actors brought his first play to life, and knew he was hooked. Van Horne’s political satire, Department of Common Sense, begins its Atlantic Fringe Festival run on Saturday about five months after it debuted in the Theatre Arts Guild festival.

Metro Halifax did this story about Department of Common Sense and the Atlantic Fringe Festival.

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NEW HIRE: Great job HR! I love the new inspector for the Department of Common Sense. Sophia Smart is going to do a wonderful job. Can't wait to meet her. Photo by Devaan Ingraham/www.devaaningraham.com

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A clip from the play. Here is what Adele Courage hears when she calls the Ministry of Persuasion maintenance department. Little does she know what she starts when she asks for energy-efficient light bulbs to replace the flickering lights in her office.

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Changed my alarm clock to play Tequila. What a great way to wake up.

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This guy used to do training videos for bureaucrats -- until he met his match.

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Here's our poster! Great job by Mark Adam on this -- he's our resident renaissance man.

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"That's what fiction is about, isn't it, the selective transforming of reality? The twisting of it to bring out its essence?"

Yann Martel, author's note, The Life of Pi

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Department of Common Sense will be performed at the 23rd Atlantic Fringe Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Follow this link to the Facebook page for all the details.