Meet the 2025 playwriting unit cohort!
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Heather Rumbolt Heather fell for theatre as an actor in 2009. Her professional roles have included Hope in the world premiere of Bernie Stapleton’s The Oracle of Gros Morne (TNL, 2010), Annette in Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage (Stage West, 2015), and Bart Simpson in Anne Washburn’s, Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Hard Ticket Theatre, 2019). Heather has always been an avid blogger, and worked, professionally, as a columnist with Saltwire (2020-2023). She got her feet wet writing for theatre with her contribution of Cookie McJingles (performed by the captivating Renee Hackett) to the uber talented Willow Kean’s highly acclaimed 2022 production of The Christmas Momologues (LSPU Hall). Her forthcoming play - which she will whittle to its intended form during the Seedlings Project - Lady Parts - will bring humor and “real talk” to the stigmatized yet uniquely debilitating epidemic of pelvic health issues women and AFAB folks suffer from. Heather was born and raised in Elmastukwek (Corner Brook) and is a proud member of Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation. Play in Development: Lady Parts Lady Parts is, on the surface, a funny but honest revelation of one woman’s lifelong intrigue with her own body - and the vulva in general - stifled by shame that pre-existed that improvised sex-ed class from the centenarian Catholic nun in the late 80’s. Raye - a peri-menopausal, 40-something - begins by informing her therapist that she’s handing in her notice; her fifteen year career as a pelvic health physiotherapist - while noble in its inception - is not worth the gnawing resentment it seems to fuel. Raised solely by her staunch Catholic Grandmother, Raye has spent her life grasping for a deeper connection to her womanhood. Through empowering these women, perhaps she could - what? - finally feel her own womanly power? A power once promised to her - and to all women - by her beloved late grandmother, Nukumij, a wise Mi’kmaq elder. Ugh- the retrospective naivety feels like shame. And Raye is done with shame. Buffered by relatable tales of “finding the hole”, “asymmetrical labia” and “ill-timed queefs”, Raye laments the colonial underpinnings that continue to silence and subjugate women and stigmatize their bodies. But just before she hands in the towel, an ancestral message awakens Raye from her bitter trance. The sacred power of a woman's body has never been lost, just silenced. And only through storytelling - sharing the epic stories of our muffled muffs (Raye’s words, not Nukumij’s), can we reclaim it. Dramaturge - Santiago Guzmán |
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Ijeoma Vivian Ezeike
Ijeoma Ezeike, is a Nigerian storyteller and a spoken word artist. She tells stories about women and for women. She read voraciously and started writing at an early age because she felt she was in a better position to write the type of stories she enjoyed. Her themes circle around women oppression, Indigenous and traditional practices that oppress women, and women emancipation. Ijeoma is a feminist and an activist, particularly concerned with the Rights of the minority (LGBTQ+) and Immigrants. She has partnered and volunteered with organizations like The Jesuit Refugee Services in South Africa and Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative (WHER), Nigeria, in her mission to achieve equity and equality for all. She is currently doing her Masters program in Applied Literary Arts at Memorial University, Grenfell Campus, Corner Brook and working on an Anthology called … And Other Stories. Play in Development: The Times Nkem at 24 years old and “barren”, has been in her husband’s house for 8 years. After losing her husband in a suspicious circumstance, her mother-in-law is pointing a finger blackened with allegations at her. It is left for Nkem to choose whether to dance to the tune of the drums her husband’s family is beating or finally take a stand with her own family for once. Dramaturge: Ana Pitol |
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Judith
Judith is an emerging writer of scripts, plays, and spoken word, passionate about capturing the complexity of human experiences through powerful storytelling. With a background rooted in crafting authentic narratives, Judith has always written as a way to explore emotion, culture, and connection. Now actively seeking opportunities to bring her work to a wider audiences, Judith aims to share pieces that resonate deeply and provoke thoughts. Her work reflects a commitment to both creativity and insight, making them a compelling voice in the world of performing arts. Play in Development: The Engagement Party The Engagement Party follows Chioma, a Nigerian-Canadian woman living in Newfoundland, as she prepares to celebrate her engagement to John, a gentle and well-meaning Canadian man. What should be a joyful evening quickly unravels into a collision of love, culture, and identity when Chioma’s traditional Igbo parents arrive, unaware that their daughter’s fiancé is not Nigerian-Igbo. As tensions rise, the gathering exposes buried expectations, generational wounds, and the unspoken weight of heritage. Through flashbacks to Chioma’s childhood and her mother’s own forbidden love story during colonial Nigeria, the play explores how history repeats itself and how women navigate the tension between duty and desire. With humor, heartbreak, and moments of tenderness, The Engagement Party asks: Can love truly bridge two worlds, or must one part of ourselves be sacrificed for the other? Set against the backdrop of St. John’s, Newfoundland, this moving, intergenerational drama weaves past and present into a powerful conversation about belonging, cultural pride, and the courage to define love on one’s own terms. Dramaturge - Leahdawn Helena |
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Lydia Makaga
Lydia Makaga is a Tanzanian-born actress, playwright, and production coordinator based in St. John’s, NL. She began her film career in 2021, working on productions like Hudson and Rex. Her credits include Saint Pierre, Blueberry Grunt, and Only the Knight Knows. She made her acting debut in Newfoundlanded and Aya and the Masquerades. Her play The Perfect Daughters was featured at the St. John’s Short Play Festival and later in the PARC Cabaret and RCAT Live Magazine Series. Lydia is an alumni of the 2025 Artist Mentorship Program under Montreal’s Black Theatre Workshop. She is part of the Producer Accelerator Program cohort under Stowe Labs and Picture NL. Dedicated to storytelling that reflects her identity and heritage, Lydia continues to explore new creative horizons. Play in Development: The Perfect Daughters The Perfect Daughters is a play set in contemporary Tanzania that follows three sisters, Natalia, Natasha, and Nadine, who each strive to pursue their own dreams while being bound by societal expectations, especially from their Baba (father). The story weaves humour, heartbreak, and resilience as the sisters learn the true cost of putting their desires first. Dramaturge - Santiago Guzmán |
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Thiviya Kana
Thiviya is a multidisciplinary creative with a background in marine conservation. She thrives on collaboration to address environmental challenges and has been writing poetry and fiction since childhood. As a longtime fan of film, she discovered a passion for acting and theatre in more recent years, finding joy in the creative process and storytelling. Always eager to explore new interests, Thiviya embraces a variety of hobbies and sports, continuously seeking new adventures both on and off the stage. She’s excited to explore playwriting as another way to connect, create, and share stories. Play in Development: In Search of Mangoes In Search of Mangoes is an original musical play that tells a powerful story of self-discovery, cultural identity, and belonging. The story follows Sita, a young South Asian woman overwhelmed by juggling the pressures of her career, family expectations, and her own creative aspirations. In a moment of anger and despair, time seems to freeze and Sita is thrust into a magical realm, known as Lanka; a place inspired by the ancient Hindu mythology, the Ramayana. Sita takes center stage as she escapes the clutches of the demon King Ravana and tries to find her way back home. She vows to chart her own path rather than waiting for a savior. Along her journey, she finds friends who help her navigate this mythical realm, where Sita reconnects with her culture, identity and the parts of herself she has long forgotten. In Search of Mangoes explores the internal battles of healing generational trauma, through fantasy, music and even mangoes. Eventually, in a climactic moment, Sita overcomes her internal struggles with her identity and discovers what it truly means to be accepted. Playwright Thiviya explores themes of ageism, cultural identity, societal expectations of women, generational trauma, diaspora, the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, and the fluidity of time while blurring the boundary between myth, fantasy and reality. Dramaturge: Nabila Qureshi |
