Inside the belly of an enormous underwater leviathan, a scientist, a ship’s captain, a preacher, and an eight-year-old child live in relative harmony, protected from the dangers of the outside world. But everything changes when two new travelers wash up, determined to escape their watery confines.
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
When I first read Sarah Danielle’s Pitman’s fascinating play, Salvage the Wrecked, there was a note in the text saying, ‘This play is not concerned with realism.’ I found this an enticing invitation into the world of this play. However, as we began our collaboration (joining the ongoing work of Pitman and dramaturg Joanna Falck), it became clear to me that this play is concerned with realism when it comes to the characters—complex, flawed, hopeful, and therefore deeply human, beings—but these people exist inside a dramatic structure that embraces a highly theatrical metaphorical capacity. A setting that, as a more recent draft offers, ‘is not concerned with scientific accuracy.’ In the great traditions of storytelling, this play takes us on an epic to more fully engage with the truly undiscovered country—ourselves.
This group of emerging theatre artists has dove in completely to realize these characters’ contradictions and represent this myth of biblical proportions in a black box studio. I’m grateful for the impressive craft and unfailing dedication of the entire team on this project. As these gifted students graduate and enter the professional realm, at a time when investing in our own unique stories and young talent carries geopolitical importance, our country is fortunate that such artists as these are engaging in the vital work of continuing a theatre tradition and furthering a rich performance culture in Canada. I’m thrilled to witness what the journey has in store for them next.
‘Heave-ho and heaven sent!’
Jonathan Seinen (Acting 2007)
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, and Acting, under the guidance of professional guest artists.
At the National Theatre School of Canada, we believe that theatre should be accessible to everyone. That’s why we are introducing a pay-what-you-can ticketing system, allowing everyone to attend our productions regardless of their financial situation.
Audiences can choose from five ticket categories based on what best suits their circumstances. Each ticket purchased not only supports our programs, but also helps make the theatre more inclusive and accessible to everyone.
The available rates are as follows:
Each ticket purchased not only supports our programs, but also helps make the theatre more inclusive and accessible to everyone.
Sarah Danielle PitmanP3
Victoria, BC
Oshen AounA3
Ira / Co-Fight Captain
Lebanon
Jake BunyanA3
Galloway / Co-Fight Captain
Calgary, AB
Traditional and ancestral territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Tsuut’ina Nation, Stoney Nakoda, and home to the Métis Nation of Alberta (Districts 5 and 6)
Jake GeronimoA3
Jude
Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC
Meg GibsonA3
Revel / Poster Co-designer
Kingston, ON
Traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and the Huron-Wendat
Carter GulsethA3
Ishmael
British Columbia
Juliana MonkA3
Lolo
Victoria, BC
Lək̓ʷəŋən Traditional Territory
Jess J. JanderaSCD3
Set Designer
Vancouver, BC
Unceded shared territories of the, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations
Nikki MabiasSCD3
Costume, Hair and Makeup Designer
Montreal, QC
Tiohtià:ke, unceded Kanien’kehà:ka territory
Jake FriesenSCD3
Props Designer
Kelowna, BC
Unceded Sylix Okanagan territory
Kahentanó:ron Bri MontourNPR
Lighting Designer
Kahnawà:ke, QC
Kanien’kehá:ka Territory of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Elizabeth PagePDTA3(NP)
Video Designer
Calgary/Mohkinstsis (Treaty 7)
Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the îethka Nakoda Nations (Chiniki, Bearspaw, Goodstoney), the Otipemisiwak Métis Government (Districts 5 and 6)
Alex SykesPDTA3
Sound Designer
St. Catharines, ON
Traditional Territory of the Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee
Alex JoycePDTA3
Production Manager
Goulds, NL
Ktaqmkuk, unceded traditional Beothuk & Mi’kmaw territory
Zoe DacaPDTA3
Stage Manager
Grimsby, ON
Traditional Territory of the Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee
Vivienne Angélique (Set and Costume Design, 2022)
Assistant Set Designer
Duncan GouldIR
Technical Director
Sara StarlingPDTA1
Assistant Stage Manager
João VelosoPDTA2
Assistant Technical Director
Nico NogueraPDTA2
Head Carpenter
Shivonne StevensPDTA2
Head of Lighting
Sephora N’KosiPDTA2
Head of Video
Max MalfaraPDTA2
Head of Sound
Matthew IvanoffPDTA1
Carpenter/Video Assistant
Maiyah JohnsonPDTA1
Carpenter/Sound Assistant
Kate Munro-BergfeldtPDTA1
Carpenter/Lighting Assistant
Kathleen GreeningPDTA1
Carpenter/Crew
Aydin DezellPDTA1
Carpenter/Crew
Andrea Lundy
Program Director and Production Management
Rebecca Harper
Head of Movement
Lauren Maykut
Head of Voice
Jonathan Patterson
Head of Music
Nancy Benjamin
Dialect Coach
Nicole Moller
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
Jérémie Busque
MN Stage Carpenter and Head of Video
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
Raphaëlle Rieu
Sewist
Hugues Auguste
Costume Workshop Assistant
Floriane Vachon
Wardrobe Storage Supervisor
Joanna Falck
Dramaturge
Amir Ofek
Set Design
Maryanna Chan (Set and Costume Design, 2021)
Costume Design
Florence Cornet
Makeup
Stéphane Scotto di Cesare
Hair
Ken MacKenzie
Lighting Design
Andy Moro
Video Design
Rob Denton
Sound Design
Christine Oakey
Stage Management
Autumn Coppaway
Technical Direction
Alain Spooner
Cutter
Mélanie Turcotte
Costume Breakdown
Julie Fournier
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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