3rd Geordie Theatre Fest to showcase new works in Theatre for Young Audiences

From February 5th to the 9th, 2020, Geordie Theatre presents the 3rd edition of its annual Geordie Theatre Fest!

This one-week special event supports Geordie’s initiative of being a leader in the development of great new works for Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA). With staged readings in partnership with the National Theatre School of Canada, and its acclaimed 2Play touring shows on a mainstage platform, the Geordie Theatre Festival gives audiences of all ages the chance to get an inside look at what’s next for TYA.

All performances will take place at the Strathearn Center (3680 rue Jeanne-Mance, Montreal, QC, H2X 2K5).

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Every year, Geordie produces two plays by exceptional playwrights and directors, one for elementary schools and one for high schools and CEGEPS. This year the cast is made up of National Theatre School of Canada graduate Chloe Giddings, actor and playwright Stephen Booth, and Chadia Kikondjo, former favourite of La Voix (TVA) and graduate of Bishop’s University. The artists have been traveling thousands of kilometers to be part of this landmark theatre road-trip performing over 200 shows to more than 40 000 students!

In a few weeks, Geordie’s annual 2Play Tour shows The Water Chronicles and Fear of Missing Out, both developed in partnership with Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal, will be brought to the mainstage at the Geordie Theatre Festival.

The Water Chronicles is written by the gifted Alexandria Haber whose plays have been produced in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, the UK and Montreal including Alice and the World We Live In (Centaur Theatre). The play is directed by Zach Fraser, a Montreal-based director who recently directed Louis Riel: A Comic Strip StagePlay (Rustwerk).

Fear of Missing Out is written by award winning playwright Michaela Di Cesare who recently won a META for Outstanding New Text for Successions (Centaur), and is directed by the talented Sophie Gee, an NTS graduate and theatre creator who recently created the show Lévriers and directed The Tropic X for Imago Theatre.

 

THE WATER CHRONICLES

Feb 8th & 9th @ 1:30 pm
Recommended Ages: 5+
By: Alexandria Haber
Directed by: Zach Fraser

Darya is worried. Even though her settlement has strict rules about wasting water, their water supply has gotten dangerously low. Not one to sit by idly when there is a problem that needs solving, Darya sets out with her divining rod (magic water finding stick) and best friend, Nix, to find a new water source. Along the way they encounter more than they expected and discover that there’s a whole lot more to water than they ever realized.

The Water Chronicles is a playful examination of our relationship with water and the impact this has on our environment. It asks questions: Who owns water? What happens when we don’t respect water? How can we make a difference in avoiding the very real possibility of a water crisis? In an imaginative and fun way, the play explores the many ways that water impacts our lives and how small changes (and small kids!) and can make a big difference.

 

FEAR OF MISSING OUT

Feb 8th & 9th @ 4 pm
Recommended Ages: 13+
By: Michaela Di Cesare
Directed by: Sophie Gee

Olive wants to research a string of assaults at bus stops in her neighbourhood for the school paper. Unfortunately, she’s grounded and spends all her free time working at her parents’ deli under their watchful supervision. Olive’s best friend T-Star (née Tanya) is growing impatient with this arrangement and starts to withdraw from the friendship. Vincent, an aspiring forensic scientist on the autism spectrum, befriends Olive and promises to help her crack the case.

Fear of Missing Out is a beautiful coming-of-age play that looks at the tough choices facing teens today; a contemporary tale that honestly navigates conversations and realities of consent, cultural identity, and independence.

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In addition to public performances of the 2Play touring shows, audiences at the fest can attend Geordie’s staged reading series featuring exciting new works by Canadian playwrights.

This year, the Geordie Theatre Fest will be presenting four staged readings. When We Grow Up written by Kalale Dalton – Lutale and directed by Geordie’s former artistic director Dean Patrick Fleming; Celestial Bodies written by Jake Archer and directed by Amanda Kellock and The Granddaughter written by Gillian Clark and directed by Dean Patrick Fleming.

Finally, on Friday the 7th of February, 2020, The Ugly Ones, a special reading to honor the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, will take place. The reading is written and developed by acclaimed playwright Chelsea Woolley and children’s author Candace Amarante and directed by our artistic director Mike Payette. It is a story inspired by true events that occurred prior to the Soccer World Cup 2014 and The Rio Olympic Games in 2016 where, in preparation for these events, some favelas (Brazilian slums) were cleared, resulting in the relocation of street children to detention camps. The reading will be followed by a discussion featuring special guests from UNICEF Canada, Save the Children, McGill University, and Equitas.

All staged readings are pay what you decide and developed in partnership with the National Theatre School of Canada.

 

WHEN WE GROW UP

February 5 @ 11:00 am
Recommended Ages: 6+
By: Kalale Dalton-Lutale
Directed by: Dean Patrick Fleming
Featuring: Danny Brochu, Mahalia Golnosh Tahririha and Anton May

In her bedroom, The Little Girl is trying to fall asleep. When The Shivers arrives, the yuckiest monster in the world, she begins an Alice in Wonderland-type journey to a dreamlike land. Through oceans and forests, she must look for The Wind the only one who can help her defeat The Shivers. When We Grow Up is a play about the fear we all have and the heroic quest to conquer it.

 

CELESTIAL BODIES

February 5 @ 7:00 pm
Recommended Ages: 12+
By: Jake Archer
Directed by: Amanda Kellock
Featuring: Lucinda Davis

Stella, a fast-thinking (and even-faster-talking) teenager, copes with her first year of high school in some unexpected ways, including casual binge eating, Anxiety-Inducing Space Facts™, accidentally becoming an ice hockey goalie, and a dog named Oort Cloud. Celestial Bodies is one girl’s cosmic journey to truly owning, literally and metaphorically, the space she occupies.

 

THE GRANDDAUGHTER

February 6 @ 7:00 pm
Recommended Ages: 12+
By: Gillian Clark
Directed by: Dean Patrick Fleming
Featuring: Samantha Bitonti and Alex Goldrich

This is a story about a girl who turns sixteen. She isn’t like how sixteen-year girls are in the movies. She isn’t cool like that. And she isn’t a loser like that. She’s just a sixteen-year-old girl. So why does your not-so-cool, not-so-losery sixteen year old girl stop her school’s production of Romeo and Juliet mid-performance because something about it feels inadequate? The Granddaughter is a story about grief, fireflies, and finding love in unpredictable places.

 

THE UGLY ONES

February 7 @ 7:00 pm
Recommended Ages: 12+
By: Candace Amarante and Chelsea Woolley
Directed: by Mike Payette
Featuring: Camila Fitzgibbon, Gabe Maharjan, and Mariana Tayler

A special event commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Inspired by true events that occurred prior to the Soccer World Cup 2014 and Rio Olympic Games 2016 where, in preparation for these events, some favelas were cleared, resulting in the relocation of street children to detention camps.

The play follows three teenagers – two sisters who live in the affected favelas, and the patriotic son of the Honorable Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism – who come to discover that their captivity compromises their rights and the courage it takes to defend them.

SPECIAL: This staged reading will be followed by a special post-show discussion featuring panelists from UNICEF Canada, Save the Children, McGill University, and Equitas.

VENUE
Strathearn Center
(3680 rue Jeanne-Mance, Montreal, QC, H2X 2K5).

ADMISSION
Tickets for staged readings: pay-what-you-decide
Tickets for mainstage shows: $22.43 (adults), $20.13 (seniors, students); $17.25 (teens 13-17); $15.53 (children)

BOX OFFICE
514 845-981
www.geordie.ca