PUBLIC READINGS
PAZ
7pm - 10pm, March 3rd, 2026
Second Space, LSPU Hall (3 Victoria St.)
A child goes missing after her Filipina nanny is fired.
Written by Alicia Payne with dramaturgy by Sara Tilley.
Second Space, LSPU Hall (3 Victoria St.)
A child goes missing after her Filipina nanny is fired.
Written by Alicia Payne with dramaturgy by Sara Tilley.
Alicia Payne is a multidisciplinary storyteller who works in theatre, film, television, and radio. Professional memberships include, ACTRA, CAEA, Dramatists Guild of America, and Playwrights Guild of Canada where she served as president. Alicia’s work has been presented in festivals and conferences such as: Toronto Fringe Festival; WorldPlay (British Columbia); Atlanta Black Theatre Festival; Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. Readers’ Theatre of New Work at the International Black Theatre Festival (North Carolina); and Valdez Theatre Conference (Alaska). One of Alicia’s plays has been translated into Danish. Residencies include: Gros Morne Playwrights Residency; A Room of Her Own (AROHO) Retreat; and Tapestry Opera LIBLAB. Alicia's facilitation practice incorporates adaptive change and youth leadership workshops, as well as leadership training simulations. Alicia is the audiobook narrator of Flower Diary by Molly Peacock and a cofounder of Arbez Drama Projects. Alicia believes in the power of storytelling to build community.
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Sara Tilley's work bridges writing, theatre, clown and puppetry. She’s written, co-written or co-created fifteen plays, as well as the award-winning novels Skin Room and DUKE. As a dramaturge, Sara has worked on numerous plays locally, nationally and internationally over the past twenty years. She ran She Said Yes! theatre company in St. John’s from 2001-2016. The company produced new work, offered Clown through Mask and Neutral Mask training, and ran Mail-Order Dramaturgy, a long-distance dramaturgy program which connected playwrights and dramaturges from multiple continents. Through She Said Yes!, Sara co-founded the Women’s Work Festival, along with White Rooster Theatre and RCA Theatre. She never imagined WWF would become a standalone organization, let alone one that continues to evolve and thrive twenty years later. Sara is currently writing a third novel and creating a solo pop-up puppet theatre, The Old Stump. She lives in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador.
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Judith is a songwriter and vocalist who draws inspiration from a blend of R&B, pop, Afrobeat, and blues, creating a soulful sound that resonates widely with her audience. An emerging soul artist with a passion for music that heals, comforts, and uplifts, she is known for fusing heartfelt storytelling with soothing melodies that connect deeply with listeners. Her artistry has earned her Multiple MusicNL and East Coast Music Award (ECMA) nominations, affirming her growing impact and recognition as a powerful new voice in Canada’s soul, pop and R&B scene
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Baptiste Neis
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Kathleen Katruskha Moreno
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Kabaso Wamunyima
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MODERN VINTAGE
7pm - 10pm, March 4th, 2026
Second Space, LSPU Hall (3 Victoria St.)
Lorraine and Ethel, sisters in their sixties, are living in their childhood hometown, a small to medium sized town in Newfoundland and Labrador called Port Might. The play opens with Ethel in their family home of over one hundred years, sitting at a small table applying her make-up. The house was left to her by their brother who recently died. Ethel has just had a big Flee Market and has sold a lot of the contents of the house. This morning, Lorraine enters to find furniture dismantled and the house in a state of flux and disarray. Ethel tells Lorraine she is leaving, and she is selling the house. This shocks Lorraine who had great plans of her own for the family home. Through their conversation, arguments, and reflections, we get a glimpse into their lives, their hopes - realized and dashed, paths taken and not taken, and their relentless search to make sense of it all.
Written by Amy House with dramaturgy by Donna Butt.
Second Space, LSPU Hall (3 Victoria St.)
Lorraine and Ethel, sisters in their sixties, are living in their childhood hometown, a small to medium sized town in Newfoundland and Labrador called Port Might. The play opens with Ethel in their family home of over one hundred years, sitting at a small table applying her make-up. The house was left to her by their brother who recently died. Ethel has just had a big Flee Market and has sold a lot of the contents of the house. This morning, Lorraine enters to find furniture dismantled and the house in a state of flux and disarray. Ethel tells Lorraine she is leaving, and she is selling the house. This shocks Lorraine who had great plans of her own for the family home. Through their conversation, arguments, and reflections, we get a glimpse into their lives, their hopes - realized and dashed, paths taken and not taken, and their relentless search to make sense of it all.
Written by Amy House with dramaturgy by Donna Butt.
Over the span of her career Amy House has been a performer, comedienne, writer, producer, director and a strong advocate for the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Sector. In 2002, Amy became the Artistic Animateur of RCA Theatre Company where for fourteen years she was at the heart of the development, and producer of, well over fifty original plays by Newfoundland and Labrador playwrights. She is currently working on her own new play, working title Modern Vintage. Amy is the past president of ACTRA Newfoundland, the past Chair of MusicNL, and sits on the Board of Business & Arts NL.
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Donna Butt (born 1952) is a renowned Newfoundland theatre pioneer, actor, director, and co-founder of Rising Tide Theatre Company. Based in Trinity, she led the company for 46 years, significantly boosting local cultural tourism through productions like the Trinity Pageant. She is a member of the Order of Canada. She began working with the Mummers Troupe before founding Rising Tide, where she specialized in producing work that reflected local history and culture. In 2024, she transitioned to the role of Founder/Senior Producer to focus on archival projects and the expansion of the Rising Tide Arts Centre. She was appointed to the Order of Canada on October 30, 2003, for her contributions to theatre and cultural tourism.
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Blending country-soul with her Irish-Newfoundland roots, Sherry Ryan affirms her place as one of East Coast’s best-loved singer-songwriters. Her song “Stop the Trains” about her father’s railway encounter with the infamous Wreckhouse winds has quickly become a part of the Newfoundland canon of legendary songs. Magically weaving her music with storytelling, Sherry's live show captures her adventurous, open-hearted spirit and rich vocal style described as “so good - so distinct - it’s absolutely unforgettable
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Wendi Smallwood
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Deidre Gillard-Rowlings
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I DON'T FEEL PRETTY / CHU PAS CUTE
7pm - 10pm, March 5th, 2026
Second Space, LSPU Hall (3 Victoria St.)
I Don't Feel Pretty/Chu pas cute is a bilingual (English/French), absurdist dark comedy taking place inside the fractured mind of an alcoholic on a bender. Through spoken-word poetry underscored by the greatest pop hits of the 90s and early 00s, it explores identity, addiction, isolation, motherhood, and intergenerational pain. But in, like, a funny way.
Written by Nancy Kenny with dramaturgy by Annie Valentina.
Second Space, LSPU Hall (3 Victoria St.)
I Don't Feel Pretty/Chu pas cute is a bilingual (English/French), absurdist dark comedy taking place inside the fractured mind of an alcoholic on a bender. Through spoken-word poetry underscored by the greatest pop hits of the 90s and early 00s, it explores identity, addiction, isolation, motherhood, and intergenerational pain. But in, like, a funny way.
Written by Nancy Kenny with dramaturgy by Annie Valentina.
A proud Acadian from New Brunswick, Nancy Kenny is a fluently bilingual (French/English) actor, writer, theatre and film producer, who lives in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. She is best known for the award-winning, critically acclaimed plays, Roller Derby Saved My Soul (Canadian Comedy Award nominee - Best One Person Show), and Everybody Dies in December. Nancy is also the executive producer of On the Fringe, a feature documentary about touring the Canadian Fringe Festival circuit. (Winner: Best Documentary Film, 2023 Screen Nova Scotia Awards). Currently, she is working on I Don’t Feel Pretty/Chu pas cute, an absurdist dark comedy set in the fractured mind of an alcoholic on a bender. Through her company, Broken Turtle Productions, her focus is in stories that explore the role of women, marginalized genders, and 2SLGBTQ+ people in society. She is particularly interested in new and multilingual works, as well as works that explore our humanity with a darkly comedic bent.
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Annie Valentina (she/her) is a Queer Slavic-Canadian director, dramaturg and playwright, currently based in Tiohtiàke/Montreal. Previously a longtime resident of the Maritimes, she holds a theatre degree from Dalhousie University and was formerly the Artistic Associate of Neptune Theatre. She is a past member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors' Lab, and a past playwright-in-residence for Pier 21 The Canadian Museum of Immigration.
Annie has focused her entire career around developing new work, often exploring themes like identity, culture, and the immigrant experience. Notable recent credits include Cult Play by Scout Rexe (Imago Theatre, 2025), The Last Show on Earth(tm)! by Breton Lalama (Neptune Theatre, 2024), and her own Ballad of the Motherland (Neptune Theatre, 2023). |
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Liz Fagan is a multilingual singer-songwriter from St John's NL. They regularly perform as a member of Liz Fagan Band. The LFB LP came out in October of 2025
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Nancy Kenny
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TO OUR ROOTS
7pm - 10pm, March 6th, 2026
Second Space, LSPU Hall (3 Victoria St.)
To Our Roots was inspired by Jamie's close relationship with his grandmother and his experience with being trans in Newfoundland. It tells the story of Aster and their Nanny Hilda. Aster is visiting home, having been away working as an actor in Toronto. Their Nanny Hilda is struggling with the death of her own mother, and is working on assembling a family tree. As the two delve through boxes left by Great Nanny, they discover family secrets and test the strength of their relationship as they discover what they have been hiding from each other.
Written by Jamie S. Merrigan with dramaturgy by Lara Lewis.
Second Space, LSPU Hall (3 Victoria St.)
To Our Roots was inspired by Jamie's close relationship with his grandmother and his experience with being trans in Newfoundland. It tells the story of Aster and their Nanny Hilda. Aster is visiting home, having been away working as an actor in Toronto. Their Nanny Hilda is struggling with the death of her own mother, and is working on assembling a family tree. As the two delve through boxes left by Great Nanny, they discover family secrets and test the strength of their relationship as they discover what they have been hiding from each other.
Written by Jamie S. Merrigan with dramaturgy by Lara Lewis.
Jamie S. Merrigan (he/they) is a trans masc nonbinary actor, artist, and playwright, originally from Corner Brook, Newfoundland. They are a graduate of Memorial University and hold a very fancy BFA in Fine Arts (Theatre). In 2024 they staged their first original short play, Hazards of Being a Resurrectionist, and have since staged two more original short plays in Corner Brook, NL. When they are not writing, they can be found researching Queer history and wandering in the woods.
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Lara Lewis (she/her) is a queer and trans mixed Mi'kmaw theatre artist who primarily works as an actor and dramaturge. Lara is the Associate Artistic Director of the Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre and has worked with writers across Canada and internationally. She is a member of Glooscap First Nation and a two time Theatre Nova Scotia Merritt Award nominee and one time winner.
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Rachel Van Vliet
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Bernadine Stapleton
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