Date/Time
Date(s) - June 29, 2023
8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Location
Pacific Theatre
Categories No Categories
The Wednesday event begins at 7 pm.
The third annual New Roots Festival celebrates Work In Process by inviting audiences into the development of new theatrical works. This is a chance for you to hear readings from our Working With community playwrights’ group.
The festival spans four days of free readings, with audience feedback and interaction after each event. A celebration of creation is the perfect way to send off our season and close out our New Roots Campaign.
All our New Roots Festival events are free to the public, with a Pay What You Think It’s Worth donation option.
Reserve your tickets today!
THE FESTIVAL LINEUP
MONDAY JUNE 26
8:00 PM | SPARROW’S NEST
by Tina Teeninga
13-year-old Josie lives an idyllic life with her Mom and best friends in her small leafy Ontario town in the 90’s; freedom and time to ride bikes, wade through creeks, and swim in or skate on the local lake. But when jarring, unexpected circumstances begin to rend apart friendships, community, religious beliefs, and family, feisty Josie must fight back with all her spirit. What can a single 13-year-old do in the face of evil, not to mention systemic injustice? According to Josie, a heck of a whole lot! A coming-of-age story with a host of colourful characters told with humour, grit, and authenticity. Content Warning: harsh language, sex scenes, and discussion of sexual violence.
TUESDAY JUNE 27
8:00 PM | A GOOD MOTHER
by Kathy Parsons
Occasionally a very wrong choice can make something so much better – but for who? And for how long? Over twenty years ago I wrote A Good Mother as a short exercise in a playwriting class at York University. I had always been concerned about the welfare of children and in this play my real life concerns met my imagination. The result is an exploration of what happens when someone does something very wrong in order to try to make things right…with far reaching consequences. A Good Mother had a staged reading by PT seven years ago and now, with new feedback and an almost exclusively female cast here it is again. Perhaps it’s close to being finished! I am grateful to be a part of PT’s Working With, an encouraging and talented group of writers.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 28
7:00 PM | THE MAKE UP LESSON
by Laara Ong
I was inspired to write this short scene because I had come across one too many stories of families breaking up because parents could not accept their child’s sexual identity. This scene is playing out my fantasy of the beginning of redemption between a parent and their child.
8:00 PM | THE WAKE OF LEROY MCGUIMNESS
by Emmett Hanly and Sam Hanly
On a cold, blizzarding winter’s eve in a small, old west town in the middle of nowhere, five mourners assemble in the local saloon for the wake of one not-so-dearly departed Leroy McGuinness. They reminisce upon the life of an old, sour cowboy, each in their own equally sour way. However, when accusations of foul play amidst the mourners are shot across the bar, tensions rise until the dead can no longer simply sit by and watch. This raucous murder-mystery-comedy leaves no sentence unspoken without as many words as physically possible in its affectionately genre-bending chaos.
THURSDAY JUNE 29
8:00 PM | CRAZY GIRL: THE MUSICAL
by Sydney Jade Ballard and Sierra Haynes
This sung-through musical is centered around Alison Hale, a young woman who unexpectedly becomes pregnant. Expecting a child can be difficult for anyone, but for Alison, pregnancy will pose a unique set of challenges. Alison is diagnosed with perinatal OCD, which means she experiences obsessive thoughts about hurting her unborn child. After hitting rock-bottom, Alison finds herself disconnected from her family and having lost control of her old life. Through newfound faith and the support of those around her, Alison’s journey is a universal story about discovering the light in a desolate world and finding meaning in something bigger than ourselves.
CONTENT ADVISORY: pregnancy loss, depiction of intrusive thoughts.
https://pacifictheatre.org/pacific_theatre_play/new-roots-festival-2023/