Behind the Curtain with Monica Davis: The Story of A Canadian Werewolf in Maine
What happens when a first-time playwright brings a destination wedding, an eccentric family, and a possible werewolf together in a remote Maine cabin? For Monica Davis, the answer began somewhere along her daily commute.
Most people spend their drive to work thinking about the day ahead. Monica Davis sometimes spends hers imagining what might happen if a Canadian werewolf turned up in Maine.
Davis, a performer with Machias ACT, is making her playwriting and directing debut with A Canadian Werewolf in Maine, an original dark comedy that combines family secrets, supernatural suspense, and a wedding weekend that may not go quite as planned.
The idea for the play didn't begin in a theater. It began in her car.
A Werewolf on the Daily Commute
Davis spends roughly two and a half hours driving to and from work each day. When she isn't listening to music, audiobooks, or podcasts, she lets her imagination wander.
“If I'm not listening to music, an audiobook, or a podcast, I like to sort of drift into stream-of-consciousness mode, bouncing from one ‘What if...?’ scenario to the next in my head.”
One of those wandering thoughts became the title A Canadian Werewolf in Maine, a playful twist on the film An American Werewolf in London. The idea stayed with her until she decided to find out where it might lead.
The result is a dark comedy centered on a destination wedding at a remote Maine cabin, where an eccentric assortment of relatives and a possible supernatural visitor promise more than the usual family drama.
Davis has always been drawn to dark comedy and its ability to balance humor with uncomfortable truths.
“There's something compelling about the way it can blend the funny and the frightening,” she explains. “For me, it isn't about making light of horrible things; it's about using humor to examine fear and human imperfection without being eaten up by them.”
Meet Aunt Doris. She's Seen Things.
One of the characters Davis particularly enjoyed creating is Aunt Doris, the bride's well-traveled aunt who has collected a lifetime of unusual experiences.
Doris has seen plenty of strange things during her adventures around the world, but she always returns to Maine. She's happy to share her stories with anyone willing to listen, and very little seems to rattle her.
That makes her an especially intriguing guest at a wedding where not everything is quite what it seems.
Davis promises twists, red herrings, and a deeper theme beneath the comedy, although she's keeping that last detail to herself.
“There is an underlying theme, but I don't want to divulge what it is. I'm interested to see if audiences figure it out.”
In other words, audiences may want to pay attention between the laughs.
From Spooky Stories to the Stage
Long before she imagined writing a play, Davis was a quiet child who loved reading. An encouraging sixth-grade English teacher introduced her to an after-school writers' club, where young storytellers could share their work without fear of judgment.
The experience stayed with her.
Through high school and beyond, Davis occasionally wrote spooky short stories and poetry, eventually discovering theater through acting classes. Yet writing an entire play wasn't something she considered until last year.
Her experience as a performer helped her imagine how the characters would move, speak, and interact onstage.
“I wanted each character to have the kind of personality that an actor can really sink their teeth into,” she says.
Her background in psychology also shaped the story. Even in a comedy involving a possible werewolf, Davis believes the characters need recognizable motivations, weaknesses, and secrets.
“At the end of the day, even a play about werewolves only works if the characters also feel like familiar people.”
She began by developing those characters, then placed them together in a cabin for a wedding weekend. As she continued writing, their personalities sometimes took the story in directions she hadn't anticipated.
When the Characters Come Alive
It's one thing to write a play. Watching other people bring it to life is something else entirely.
For Davis, directing her first original production has meant discovering how much the actors contribute to the characters she imagined.
“Writing is usually such a solitary process, so seeing the play come to life with a cast of great actors has been really exciting.”
After several weeks of rehearsals, she began to see moments when the performers seemed to become the characters she had written. Sometimes their choices revealed something she hadn't considered.
Those discoveries have been among the most rewarding parts of the experience.
Her hopes for the audience are simple. She wants people to have fun, enjoy a few surprises, and leave the theater smiling and talking about what they've seen.
Finding a Creative Home in Downeast Maine
Behind the supernatural comedy is another story, one about the importance of having a community that encourages people to try something new.
For Davis, Machias ACT has provided exactly that.
“Being a part of Machias ACT has given me the opportunities to challenge myself as an actor and try new things like playwriting and directing, all while being surrounded by people who genuinely love making theater.”
The group believed in A Canadian Werewolf in Maine from its first table read, giving Davis the encouragement to continue developing her first play.
She describes theater as an important creative outlet and source of connection, one that has introduced her to wonderful people and helped her discover new possibilities for herself.
Davis already has ideas for another play that she hopes to explore in the spring. She's also looking forward to returning to the stage as an actor.
Every Story Begins Somewhere
When asked what advice she would offer someone in the community who has a story to tell but hasn't yet found the courage to share it, Davis doesn't hesitate.
“I'd say just start. You don't have to have everything figured out, and you don't have to wait until you feel ready.”
She knows what it's like to venture into unfamiliar creative territory, question whether an idea will work, and keep going anyway.
“If there's a story that keeps tugging at you, follow it. Share it with people you trust and see where it leads.”
For Davis, following one wonderfully strange idea led from a long commute to a remote fictional cabin, a cast of characters with secrets, and an original production on the Downeast Maine stage.
Not bad for a little daydreaming behind the wheel.
See A Canadian Werewolf in Maine
A destination wedding, a remote cabin, a missing guest, and a family with secrets. What could possibly go wrong?
Machias ACT presents the premiere of Monica Davis's original mystery-comedy at the Milbridge Theatre, 26 Main Street, Milbridge.
Performance Dates
Saturday, November 21, 2026, at 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Sunday, November 22, 2026, at 2:00 PM
Tickets: $20 general admission | $15 students
One Last Question...
We couldn't resist asking Monica one final question: If she could invite any three people, living, historical, or fictional, to a remote cabin in the Maine woods for dinner, who would they be? And would she trust them after the power went out?
Her guest list? Novelist and humorist Jason Pargin, British actress Olivia Colman, and actor, comedian, and woodworker Nick Offerman.
An intriguing combination, especially if the evening takes an unexpected turn.
As for whether she'd trust them in the dark?
“I'd say, mostly. Nick would be fixing the problem, Olivia would be at ease keeping our spirits up, while Jason would be explaining seven increasingly plausible theories about why we were all doomed.”
Sounds like the beginning of another play, doesn't it?
