Westmount. Late October, 1995. Only days before the second Quebec referendum. Things are falling apart at home for fifteen year old Felix, so he has begun masturbating to release the stress. He watches the two gay men next door have sex on their balcony while his mother works on her late season gardening, while his sister heals her broken arm, and while Dad is nowhere to be found.
But when one of the neighbors mysteriously goes missing, Felix sees an opening, and leaps at the opportunity to quickly take his place.
No Jumping is a love letter to Montreal; a theatrical dark comedy following a broken family trying to survive through the nature, grief, and widening schisms of a breaking world.
***
This production is part of the New Worlds Festival.
No Jumping is dedicated to Thomas & Thomas, my father, & men…
I began writing this play, because before I was a trans-woman, I was a gay man. Throughout my transition, I’ve been in a contentious battle to decipher what that means. The splits that have emerged between myself and the men in my life while I undergo my medical and social transition feels like I’m grieving my old self while joyfully transforming into who I am. I can’t ignore, however, the loss I feel knowing that I no longer am considered a part of the fraternity of these men, reckoning with feeling that I can’t be a part of their world, at least in the
same way.
There is an obvious beauty in being different. And the truth is I’ve always been a trans-woman, though I would be remiss to ignore the years of my life I’ve spent trying to fit myself into a box that would end up not including me. Questions regarding this peculiar positionality emerged—does my presence in men’s spaces feel obvious? Dangerous? What are the lines in the sand? What hurdles, or leaps, do people make in order to clearly define the line between myself, and them?
– Jojo O’Neil
The first time I read Jojo O’Neil’s No Jumping, the play left a deep impression on me. I remember feeling the pulse of our own splitting world coursing through the dialogue and life of these incredibly flawed and beautiful characters. I remember feeling hopeful falling through that split. I remember feeling beautiful.
No Jumping calls us to reflect on several universal questions of our human condition and collective existence. Where do we find love? What are we jumping toward? How do we fix the split? My favourite among them all: who has access to beauty – who deserves to be in the garden?
I am extraordinarily proud of and grateful for the creativity and labour, from the entire team, that has gone into building this production. My gratitude also extends to you, the audience, for coming in and completing the final piece for a performance.
Thank you and enjoy the show.
– Azal Dosanjh
The New Words Festival is the culminating project of the graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada’s English Section. Two brand-new, never-before-produced plays run in repertory during the students’ final week at the School, just days before graduation. Written by students in NTS’s Playwriting Program, and realized by students in the Acting, Production Design and Technical Arts, and Set and Costume Design programs, the plays produced at the New Words Festival mark the end of the students’ formal training and the beginning of their professional careers. A showcase for exciting new talent, New Words is particularly poignant for the playwrights whose plays reach the public for the very first time during their tenure at NTS. Join us in celebrating these artists who will shape the future of Canadian theatre by taking in both exciting productions on offer this year!
–Andrea Romaldi, Director of the Playwriting program
Duration: 90 minutes
Hydro-Québec Studio
Monument-National Campus
(St-Laurent metro)
1182 Saint-Laurent, Montréal
The show is in English.
Everything seen on stage and all that goes on behind the scenes is created by students in Playwriting, Production Design and Technical Arts, Set and Costume Design, Directing and Acting, under the guidance of professional guest artists.
Thanks to our solidarity ticketing system , you can choose from four pricing tiers the one that best fits your situation.
The available prices are as follows:
Accessible: $8.85
Regular: $26.10
Solidarity: $49.09
Impact: $95.08
Every ticket purchased supports our programs while helping make theatre more inclusive and accessible to all.
Please note that tickets must be purchased online by credit card.
Questions or need help? Contact Place des Arts customer service team.
Jojo O’NeilP3
Scotia BrownerA3
Dianne Dowd
Owen CarterA3
Louis (Lewis) Green, Phil
Rainbow KesterA3
Sidney
Nikola MasriA3
Felix, Louis Archambault
Fernando Maya Meneses (Set and Costume Design, 2023)
Set Designer
Jen Viens
Intimacy Coordinator
Sky Gilbert
Dramaturg
Azal DosanjhDIR
Director
Nila DuttonSCD3
Costume Designer
Angeles Silva LizarragaSCD3
Props Designer
Joao VelosoPDTA3
Lighting Designer
Shivonne StevensPDTA3
Video Designer
Katie WebbPDTA3
Sound Designer
Duncan GouldIR
Production Manager
Nico NogueraPDTA3
Technical Director
Sephora N’KosiPDTA3
Stage Manager
Will IsenorPDTA1
Assistant Stage Manager
Teddy MacRaePDTA2
Head Carpenter
Kathleen GreeningPDTA2
Head of Lighting
Sara StarlingPDTA2
Head of Video
Matthew IvanoffPDTA2
Head of Sound
Kyra MevisPDTA1
Carpenter/Video Assistant
Caitlyn GrantPDTA1
Carpenter/Sound Assistant
Zoé Cajelait-AschPDTA1
Carpenter/Lighting Assistant
Molly Bowden CummingsPDTA1
Carpenter/Crew
Julie PaterPDTA1
Carpenter/Crew
Aydin DezellPDTA2
Carpenter
Maiyah JohnsonPDTA2
Carpenter
Andrea Lundy
Program Director and Production Management
Rebecca Harper
Movement
Nancy Benjamin
Voice
Jonathan Patterson
Music
Henrique Santsper
Fight Director/Intimacy Coach
Marjorie Lefebvre
Technical Coach
Angela Rassenti (Set and Costume Design, 2008)
Properties
Véronique Pagnoux
Scenic Painting
Guillaume Simard (Création et production, 2010)
Head Carpenter – Scene Shop
Christian Larochelle
Scene Shop Carpenter
Guillaume Ménard-Crête
MN Stage Carpenter
Camille Pilon-Laurin
MN Head of Lighting
Bianca Bernier
MN Head of Sound
Julia Metzger
Costume Project Manager
Michael Slack (Set and Costume Design, 2001)
Costume Project Manager
Hugues Auguste
Costume Workshop Assistant
Margarita Brodie (Set and Costume Design, 2020)
Costume Design
Andrew Scriver (Production Design and Technical Arts, 2015)
Lighting Design
Andy Moro
Video Design
Richard Feren
Sound Design
Neha Ross
Stage Management
Joshua McIntosh
Technical Direction
Michel Proulx
Cutter
Marie-Helene Gervais
Stitcher
Raphaëlle Rieu
Stitcher
Nadine Jafar
Eco Project Manager
Legend: A Acting, SCD Set and Costume Design, PDTA Production Design & Technical Arts, DIR Directing, PW Playwriting, IR Independent Resident, NP New Pathway, NPR New Pathway Resident // 1 First-year student, 2 Second-year student, 3 Third-year student
The land on which we are gathered has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations. It is part of the traditional unceded territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka, whose rich cultural heritage continues to teach us that respect, dialogue and peace are pillars of democratic governance.
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