Following a critically acclaimed run of WAITING FOR GODOT, this November, COAL MINE THEATRE Artistic Director Ted Dykstra steps off stage to direct the 2018 Obie Award-recipient for playwriting, Abe Koogler’s FULFILLMENT CENTER. The Canadian Premiere production runs at the company’s Danforth Theatre November 16thto December 7th.

A New York Times Critic’s Pick that their critic called “quietly shattering”, Koogler’s drama is set against the backdrop of an online retailer’s shipping fulfillment centre in the New Mexico desert as four lonely lives – down on her luck folk singer Suzan, shipping centre manager Alex, his girlfriend Madelaine, and drifter John - are brought together but struggle to connect. Dykstra directs a prestigious ensemble including Evan Buliung (Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812), Gita Miller (The Sticky), Kristen Thomson (Pipeline, The Wedding Party), and Emilio Vieira (Twelfth Night)– all making their COAL MINE debuts in this raw, surprising, and funny play about the search for intimacy and meaning.

“I heard the mounting buzz about this play when it opened off-Broadway and managed to track down a copy of the script,” says Dykstra. "The characters –all four– were simple, touching, and had lives that ached for something more. The very idea of an Amazon Warehouse being called a 'Fulfillment Center' is wrapped in the kind of delicious irony I adore in a play. I also knew, within the first three pages that, unbeknownst to playwright Abe Koogler, the role of Suzan was written for Kristen Thomson, an old friend and someone whom I love and admire. I literally laughed out loud at the sound of her voice in my head doing the part. So, I went and got the rights, sent it to Kristen, and luckily she wanted to do it. The rest of the cast has come together beautifully, and I cannot wait to be in the room with Kristin, Evan, Gita and Emilio!”

Dykstra and Thomson first worked together as actors in a Factory Theatre production of George F. Walker’s Problem Child in 1997, a role for which Thomson received a Dora Award. Amazingly, the two have not worked together since. FULFILLMENT CENTER stands as their professional re-union almost 30 years later. The production marks another special moment for Dykstra in that his daughter, singer/songwriter Rosie Dykstra, will contribute original music which sound designer Thomas Ryder Payne and associate Sound Designer Erik Richards will weave through the play's scenes.

FULFILLMENT CENTER made its World Premiere with Manhattan Theatre Club off Broadway in 2017. In 2018, in addition to winning the Obie Award for Best New Play for FULFILLMENT CENTER, Abe Koogler also received the Dramatists Guild’s Lanford Wilson Award. Previously, he was awarded the Paula Vogel Playwright Award by the Kennedy Center. His other plays include 2025’s Deep Blue Sound, Staff Meal (2024) and Kill Floor (2015).

Joining Dykstra on the creative team for the Toronto production are Set and Lighting Designer Nick Blais, Costume Designer Des’ree Gray, and Sound Designer Thomas Ryder Payne.

FULFILLMENT CENTER is on stage November 16th to December 7th with performances Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are available now at www.coalminetheatre.com.