New Works Festival: the pieces

Blood Drive

A vampire figures it’s much easier to get his blood at a local blood drive than it is to hunt humans. He figures wrong.

Written by Derek Czajkowski
Directed by Josh Ashley
Performed by Luna Croven (Patron), Diana Lobb (Nurse Louise), Siddart Kumar Saravana (Patron), Anna Nero (Lucy), Matthew White Pendleton (Man/Vampire), and Shrijith Ramaswami (Father Callaghan)

The Evil Snake Lady Will Ruin Your Life

The Evil Snake Lady says she will ruin José’s life if he enters her territory, and yet, he does so anyway. A study on social dynamics and social exclusion with an unhappy ending.

Written by Caspian Stonehouse
Directed by Hanna Freitas
Performed by Zivy Hardy (The Evil Snake Lady), Linus Ma (José), Ashley Miller (Raven), and Kristy Shute (Felicia)

Towering Expectations

Dragons! Drama! Dick jokes! With a fairy’s guidance, part-time knight Jerome scales a tower in search of treasure. But the treasure has its own ideas about how things should go…

Written by R. Conway
Directed by Josh Brach
Performed by Patrick Cooper (Jerome), Rory Flannigan (Fairy), and Anna Nero (Adore)

Are We Done Yet?

The Williams family gather every year to celebrate Thanksgiving. In 2019, things began to change. For the next three years, their family dynamics are tested. Can they navigate through the effects of the Pandemic when relationships become strained.

Written by Jackie Wray
Directed by Steven Elliott Jackson
Performed by Aidyn Anthony (Connor), Jeremy Hawkins (Joe), Henry Kelly (Frank), Heather MacDonald (Barbra), Hannah Schroeder (Kelly), and Tushar Sood (Dave)

The Burial of the Dead

A homeless man asks a priest to help him bury his junkie friend, whose body was found in a dumpster.

Written by Derek Czajkowski
Directed by Josh Ashley
Performed by Luna Croven (Angel), Siddart Kumar Saravana (Angel), Hanna Freitas (Kat), and Henry Kelly (Henry)

I didn’t want to come here today

A woman talks to her counsellor about the loss of her mother

Written by Zivy Hardy
Directed by Diana Lobb
Performed by Laura Chartier

Andi’s Voicemail

A phone leaves a voicemail for its person, who has recently gone through a breakup.

Written by Mel Mah
Directed by Zivy Hardy
Performed by Katherine Schill

I Quit

Dr. Laura Campbell has quit her job as a Literature professor in the wake of university budget cuts, and started a career as a YouTuber; this is why.

Written by Morgan Anderson
Directed by Diana Lobb
Performed by Oriana Abrahamse

Out of Ordar

The night before they leave their hideout in the small town of Ordar to fix a recent mistake, two second-rate thieves get a surprise when their recent mistake just happens to show up.

Written by Timothy Finnigan
Directed by Matt Walsh
Performed by Josh Brach (Hewitt), Kieron Higgs (Mink), Kyle Logue (Sylvie), and Shirley Ma (Nicki)

Mandatory Branded Fun

Written by Michael L. Davenport
Directed by Talia Dmitrienko
Performed by Shannon Broekhoven (Mandy), Quay Lewis Brown (Dave), Patrick Cooper (Chad), and Zaniq King (Trish)

Old Friends

Jennifer and Amy have known each other for over 50 years. Each of them have had very different life experiences. Jennifer feels compelled to reveal a side of herself to Amy that no one knew.

Written by Jackie Wray
Directed by Zivy Hardy
Performed by Diana Skrzydlo

Waiting for Her to Come Back

Reflective monologue on everyday struggles with emptiness, denial, and despair.

Written by Shrijith Ramaswami
Directed by Rachael MacIntosh
Performed by Caspian Stonehouse

Waterloo

A friendship between two women, developing in their early twenties and progressing through their lives as they make choices which define them.

Written by Zivy Hardy
Directed by A. A. Dandy
Performed by Morgan Anderson (Sarah Novak) and Zaniq King (Isabela “Izzy” Jiménez)