Artist statement below.

KIKI DRANIAS, also professionally known as Purple Divine, is a Greek-Canadian poet, award-winning playwright and theatre producer.

Kiki’s debut play, GOING UP, a 40-minute immersive and site-specific theatrical presentation, was performed live for 14 sold-out shows in November 2019 on board Elevator #1 at LE 5800 St. Denis, Montreal. The show was produced by Purple Divine. Winning  three categories: Outstanding New Text, Outstanding Emerging Playwright & Producer, Outstanding Independent Production, the inaugural production received seven nominations at the 2020 META (Montreal English Theatre Awards). The script also received Official Selection at the New York Independent Cinema Awards and Los Angeles Independent Women Film Awards.

Her second theatrical project WHERE IS ANTON was performed live at the 30th Montreal Fringe Festival in June 2021 for six sold-out shows at MainLine Theatre. Kiki wrote and directed the play and produced it under her Purple Divine creative banner.

With support from Canada Council for the Arts, Kiki wrote and produced her third play, THE LOVE TRIAL, an 80-minute modern Greek tragedy. This theatrical presentation was performed live in December 2021 for seven shows at the Masonic Temple Hall in Montreal.

Kiki has also authored BLOOD IS BLUE., a well-received poetry collection published by the Purple Divine banner.

To showcase her work and the work of others, this woman artist founded the creative and public relations banner PURPLE DIVINE. More info on Kiki can be found on www.purpledivine.com. Have a browse!

ARTIST STATEMENT: I express myself through writing poetry, plays and film scripts to explore the mystical, emotional, and psychological dimensions of the human experience. For the sake of self-respect, my work pays homage to the voices in my head and the quests of hyperbolic nature their respective characters go on, for their personal resurrection to occur. My life’s current and past oppressive forces motivate me to flash boldness and self-belief, which is what brought me to found Purple Divine; a creative banner whose mission is to produce and publish soul-stirring, transformative experiences for stage and page. I enjoy examining identity and challenging the various concepts of power and vulnerability through an avant-garde lens. As a fiction writer who draws from personal experience and Greek heritage, I use my storytelling tool for awakening and liberation; often asking if the key to the ‘shackle’ is molten or swallowed. Mythological undertones fused with empathic rawness are character elements of the boundary-pushing impact I like my work to make, in both conventional and non-conventional presentation settings. With every next creation, my goal is to keep offering an artistic event through a visceral journey into love, loss and a satisfying sense of participation and vainqueur.