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.
Artistic Team
PLAYWRIGHTS
TINA TEENINGA SPARROW’S NEST
Teeninga derives great joy in working with others to tell stories as both a writer and actor. Recent credits: playing Sherlock Holmes in Baskerville (White Rock Players), writing and readingTree-Girl and reading contrasting roles for Keith Murray’s Abamma in last year’s New Roots Festival (Pacific Theatre). During the pandemic’s theatre-deficient years, she co-produced, wrote for, and read in The Tarts’ online playwriting showcase. Further back: acting, writing and producing Wolf at the Door (Otherwise Productions), writing and acting Saddest Girl in the World. Other produced plays: Broken Things, Normal, and River Bottom Baby. Teeninga sends gratitude to her local Tuesday night film acting group, fellow Tart playwrights, and her PT writing community. And finally, always, love and admonishment to James, Calla and Theo.
KATHY PARSONS A GOOD MOTHER
Kathy is an award winning playwright who received her BFA from York University in Creative Ensemble and Playwrighting. She has a long relationship with Pacific Theatre (PT) through acting, directing and dramaturgy. Thanks to a PT’s sponsorship, she studied Dramaturgy at Simon Fraser University and she was PT’s Literary Manager for several years where she focused on new play development and script reading. Kathy is also a playwright for Eastside Story Guild, a local children/youth theatre program at Grandview church.
LAARA ONG THE MAKE UP LESSON
Laara has acted for a number of years in theatres across Canada and was nominated for a Jessie award for her role in Golden Child as well as a Sterling award for Mom, Dad, I’m Living with a White Girl. Her love of storytelling has led to her writing and sharing her personal stories on CBC Radio, and during the last few years has made some short videos on her various experiences during the pandemic. It has also been her privilege to work at Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre in various capacities over the years to see exciting new diverse work being developed and put on the stage.
EMMETT HANLY and SAM HANLY THE WAKE OF LEROY MCGUINNESS
Emmett Hanly is a member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia living and working on the unceded territory of the Squamish (Skxwú7mesh), Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), and Tsleil-Waututh (Səl̓ilwətaɁɬ) Nations. Emmett is passionate about creating genre-bending art that is both surreal and politically engaged, specifically focusing on topics such as queerness, religious trauma, and decolonization. Selected acting credits include Under the Needle (Stone’s Throw Productions), The Lost Souls of Gastown (Forbidden Vancouver), and The Neverland Night Circus (Geekenders). Selected playwriting credits include Under the Needle (Stone’s Throw Productions), The Wake of Leroy McGuinness (Gallery 7 Theatre), and Reach (SAMC Theatre). Emmett also sings and plays guitar in a post-punk band, Rougaroux.
SYDNEY JADE BALLARD CRAZY GIRL: THE MUSICAL
Sydney Jade Ballard is an emerging multi-disciplinary artist from Vancouver, Canada. She has an extensive background in various art forms, including piano, composing for musical theatre, singing, music theory, assistant music directing, playing in orchestras, and playwriting. Sydney has attended the Broadway Student Summit Workshops twice in New York City and taken multiple songwriting classes at Berklee College of Music in Boston. She feels grateful to have learned from well-known songwriters in the industry, such as Kara Dioguardi (one of P!nk’s co-writers), Wrabel (co-writer for P!nk and Kesha) and other industry professionals such as Laura Osnes (Tony Award nominated Broadway star) and Peter van Reesema (music director for Broadway’s Hamilton). Sydney has been commissioned to write music for events at Capilano University, where spent two years in the Musical Theatre Diploma Program while taking additional songwriting courses. She was also the Assistant Music Director for the university’s spring musical, A Chorus Line.
SIERRA HAYNES CRAZY GIRL: THE MUSICAL
Sierra Haynes (she/her) is an emerging, award winning multi-disciplinary artist from Regina, SK. She is an Artistic Associate at The Globe Theatre in Regina, SK, and facilitator at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. Sierra comes from a devised theatre background. Sierra’s writing has been produced by The National Theatre School, Studio 58, and The Globe Theatre. Recent stage credits include: A Tonic for Desperate Times (Theatre Gargantua); Miss Caledonia (Globe Theatre); The Red Priest (Guild Festival Theatre); upcoming The Drowning Girls (Guild Festival Theatre) and her directing debut at Studio 58 this upcoming fall 2023. Musical theatre credits include: Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family Musical (Regina Lyric Theatre); Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray (Regina Summer Stage); Faraday in the workshop of new Canadian musical Monoceros (Studio 58/The Musical Stage Co.). Composing credits include: Paper (Globe Theatre); The Radium Girls (Studio 58); Lady Macbeth and the Not Quite Dead (MusicalTheatre Works); and Emilia (United Players of Vancouver) where her work was reviewed as “stirring”. Sierra’s music reflects both her passions for folk and bluegrass sounds and Broadway musicals. She is a proud graduate of Studio 58. Her website is www.sierrahaynes.ca
Showtimes
MONDAY JUNE 26
8:00 PM | SPARROW’S NEST by Tina Teeninga
TUESDAY JUNE 27
8:00 PM | A GOOD MOTHER by Kathy Parsons
WEDNESDAY JUNE 28
7:00 PM | THE MAKE UP LESSON by Laara Ong
8:00 PM | THE WAKE OF LEROY MCGUINNESS by Emmett Hanly and Sam Hanly
THURSDAY JUNE 29
8:00 PM | CRAZY GIRL: THE MUSICAL by Sydney Jade Ballard and Sierra Haynes
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