Sixth Annual New Works Festival to be held March 21 – 30 (note new end date!)

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Live Bait Theatre New Works Festival 2024

Please note – all Festival events are pay-what-you-can at the door. You can reserve a space for some events – if that’s the case there will be a link to reserve them in the event details in section marked SCHEDULE below. If there is no link, there are no reservations and you should just show up at the door.

Unless noted in the DAY BY DAY SCHEDULE section below, all events will also be streaming on Live Bait’s Facebook page which is https://www.facebook.com/LiveBaitTheatre

Featuring

(See DAY BY DAY SCHEDULE and more details below)

Theatre

Music

Presented in association with Sappyfest and CHMA Radio – Caged Animals and Tess Poirier

Workshops

Literature

Reading by Charlie Rhindress from his upcoming book “Nova Scotia’s Women of Song” – reserve tickets for the in-person event here

DAY BY DAY SCHEDULE

(See ARTIST BIOS below)

Thursday, March 21

5 pm – 6 pm – Staged reading of two new one-acts – “Family Reunion” by Morgan Grant and “The Bartender’s Friend” by Michael Warren – at 3 Fairfield Rd.

Morgan Grant

Michael Warren

reserve tickets for in-person event here

“Family Reunion” – Four siblings reunite in their childhood home for a burial. Tensions rise as the distance between them becomes apparent, leaving all of them to wonder just how long they can stand each other.

“The Bartender’s Friend” – A young bartender stuck at work amidst a treacherous hurricane finds himself an unusual customer; a strange man claiming to be a storm chaser. As the two men share a drink, the unexpected encounter turns to the truth of our own mortality. 

Friday, March 22

7:30 pm – 8:30 pm – World Premiere of the play “Ashe” by Sue Rose – at 3 Fairfield Rd.

Sue Rose

reserve tickets for in-person event here

In Ashe, an absurd, fun, thoughtful new play by Sue Rose, a woman finds a ticket that could take her anywhere.

Saturday, March 23

10 am – 12 noon – POSTPONED – contact us for details – “Imagination Station: Making Big Choices in Improv” – workshop for ages  9 – 14 with Hannah Lucas – at 3 Fairfield Rd. THIS EVENT WILL NOT BE STREAMING

Hannah Lucas

Telling a story is at the heart of improvised theatre: Big stories, little stories, and every story in between. When all you have onstage is you, your costars, and your imagination, what kinds of stories will you tell? Join Hannah in this two-hour workshop dedicated to brainstorming, storytelling, world-building, and discovering the magic that happens when you use your creativity to it’s full potential. This workshop is recommended for young theatre-makers ages 9-14.

3 pm – 5 pm – POSTPONED – contact us for details – “Panto Femme: Finding Your Feminine Power on Stage” with CJ Norris. THIS EVENT WILL NOT BE STREAMING

CJ Norris

Pantomime is the art form that allows us to convey any narrative through our bodies and facial expressions (no words). Through pantomime we can create fully fleshed out characters, and tell a full story from beginning to end with just our bodies and some instrumental music. This collaborative workshop will focus on stylistic movement that is full of feminine energy. In a safe and supportive environment, CJ will walk you through the elements of physical storytelling, and help you find your inner femme fatale. You’ll practice the physical flourishes and articulations that are used in performance styles like burlesque and drag. Under the guidance of your facilitator, you will collaborate with your fellow participants to create a short group performance piece. CJ’s hope is that at the end of the workshop, you will strut out the door feeling confident and empowered

7:30 pm – 8:30 pm – RESCHEDULED TO SUNDAY MARCH 24 AT 7:30 PM – World Premiere of the play “Ashe” by Sue Rose – at 3 Fairfield Rd. THIS PERFORMANCE WILL NOT BE STREAMING

reserve tickets for in-person event here

In Ashe, an absurd, fun, thoughtful new play by Sue Rose, a woman finds a ticket that could take her anywhere.

Sunday, March 24

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – AND 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm – World Premiere of the play “Ashe” by Sue Rose – at 3 Fairfield Rd.

reserve tickets for in-person event here

In Ashe, an absurd, fun, thoughtful new play by Sue Rose, a woman finds a ticket that could take her anywhere.

4 pm – NEW EVENT – pop-up reading of a brand new play by Ben Maksym “Playing With Food”. Playing with Food is a comedic one-act about two gentlemen having dinner, and their slide from friends, to enemies, and finally to loving each other once more. It is a bit absurd, very silly, and hopefully a lot of fun for actors and audiences alike.

At 3 Fairfield Rd.

BEN MAKSYM BIO

Ben Maksym is a local actor, artist, and occasional writer. Born in the state of Vermont, Ben graduated from Mount Allison in 2020, with a BA in English and Drama Studies; they have been participating in Live Bait shows ever since. Ben is no stranger to the stage, though this is their first formal foray into playwriting. When they aren’t involved in local theatre, Ben can be found making video games, spending time with their friends, and cuddling their cats.

Monday, March 25

7 pm – 9 pm – Get Weird, Be Proud: The Importance of “Failure” in Improv -for ages 18 and up – with Hannah Lucas – at 3 Fairfield Rd. THIS EVENT WILL NOT BE STREAMING

To register for the workshop click here

Improvised theatre is big, loud, goofy and, at times, absurd. When self-consciousness and doubt hit you onstage, though, how to do shake them away and let your silly side come out to play? Join Hannah in this two-hour workshop dedicated to vulnerability in improv, and the art of having whole-hearted, unapologetic fun onstage. This workshop is recommended for goofballs aged 18 and up.

Tuesday, March 26

7:30 pm – Reading by Charlie Rhindress from his upcoming book “Nova Scotia’s Women of Song” – at 3 Fairfield Rd.

reserve tickets for the in-person event here

Best-selling author, Charlie Rhindress, will read from his upcoming book, Nova Scotia’s Women of Song, which will be released this Fall. The book features profiles of six trailblazing artists, including Portia White, Anne Murray, and Sarah McLachlan. 

Wednesday, March 27

7:30 pm – reading of new play “The Dawning Colours” by Devin Rockwell – at 3 Fairfield Rd.

Devin Rockwell

reserve tickets for in-person event

The Dawning Colours is a magical realist historical fiction set between the Tantramar Marshes, Acadiana (Cajun Country), and Una’maki (Cape Breton) about three young adults swept up in the tides of colonial power.

Thursday, March 28

5:30 – 6:30 – In collaboration with Playwrights’ Atlantic Resource Centre, presentation of U-Compete Youth Playwriting Contest winners – at 3 Fairfield Rd.

reserve tickets for in-person event here

THIS EVENT WILL BE STREAMING ON PLAYWRIGHTS’ ATLANTIC RESOURCE CENTRE’S FACEBOOK PAGE – https://www.facebook.com/PlaywrightsAtlanticResourceCentre

Staged reading of winning plays written by young people from the Atlantic Provinces.

7:30 pm – “Be(ad)ing Indigenous: Connecting Culture to a Medium” with Paul Brisk Jr.

Paul Brisk Jr.

reserve tickets for the in-person event here

Join us for a presentation by Paul Brisk Jr, expressing how he expresses his uniqueness and indigeneity through the medium of beadwork. A workshop afterwards will take place, teaching a few of the fundamental stitching and weaving styles used in seed beadwork. All are welcome!

Saturday, March 30

8:30 pm – 10:30 pm – RESCHEDULED FROM MARCH 23 – Presented in association with Sappyfest and CHMA Radio – Caged Animals and Tess Poirier – at the Sackville Legion, 15 Lorne St

Caged Animals – photo by Magali Charon

ARTIST BIOS

Paul Brisk Jr

Paul is a well-known and well-tolerated beadwork artist and performer currently located in Sackville, NB. Originally from Listuguj, Quebec, he completed his Bachelors in Theater and has gone on to work with every theater group in the area, from Live Bait to McSweeneys. Always looking to remain close to his Mi’gmaq culture, he honed his craft in beadwork as well, creating visual works to reflect a form of presentation that his performing could not achieve. He hopes to one day be able to meld these two mediums and create an indigenous theater piece that showcases his culture and love of beadwork.

Caged Animals

Sackville, NB’s Caged Animals is the recording project of songwriter Vin Cacchione and artist Magali Charron.  Their music has been described by BrooklynVegan as “tuneful, heartfelt, and hopeful,” and the New Yorker as “a hip-hop influenced Velvet Underground.”

The pair met in the late-night frenzy of the mid-00’s NYC anti-folk scene.  Vin, the budding songwriter, and Magali the photographer with violin-chops. In 2010 they formed Caged Animals, recording spontaneous lo-fi anthems in the front room of their Brooklyn apartment.  The tracks made reverberations on the internet and Caged Animals signed to the UK’s venerable Lucky Number Music. 

In 2011 they achieved a top ten single in Germany with their left-of-the-dial pop song “Teflon Heart,” becoming the inadvertent Hasselhoff’s of Brooklyn’s indie scene.  In 2017 “These Dark Times,” became the theme to the Webby Award winning podcast Conversations With People Who Hate Me.  In 2023 Vin soundtracked The Space Within, a sci-fi podcast which stars Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon. 

Caged Animals have toured throughout Europe and North America, sharing the stage with DIIV, Blood Orange, Darwin Deez, and Mac Demarco, along the way.  They have performed at festivals like SXSW, CMJ, Northside, The Great Escape, London’s Calling, and Sappyfest.

On 2021’s, Underneath The Spell, the group has taken a reflective turn, crafting their most personal and organic album to date.  The recordings began in pre-pandemic Brooklyn but took a long pause when the pair and their kids relocated to Magali’s hometown of Sackville, NB.  They are currently working on a new album co-produced with Canadian indie-rock stalwart, Jon Mckiel.

Outside of his work as a songwriter, Vin is an esteemed collaborator in the contemporary fiction podcasting scene, writing the songs for the acclaimed musical It Makes A Sound and working with John Cameron Mitchell on his groundbreaking Anthem: Homunculus podcast, as well as, Julian Koster’s magical The Orbiting Human Circus.  He also produced Stubborn Heart, the critically acclaimed debut album of writer, Bob Dylan associate, and John Cale collaborator, Larry “Ratso” Sloman, a record which gave him the chance to work with Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, and Yasmine Hamdan.

Morgan Grant

Morgan Grant is an experienced theatre practitioner who has been active in Sackville since 2005. Most of his experience has been onstage, but recently he has begun experimenting with playwrighting and directing. He is very excited to share his second work-in-progress script and hopes to continue developing it after the reading. He is extremely grateful to Festival by the Marsh, Live Bait Theatre and the wider theatre community in Tantramar for their support in his creative endeavors.

Hannah Lucas

Hannah Lucas (she/they) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist based in Sackville. They have been involved with Live Bait Theatre since 2020 as an actor, technician and instructor. Outside of Live Bait, they have performed with McSweeney’s Dinner Theatre, Festival by the Marsh, the Motyer-Fancy Theatre and more. At her core, Hannah is an improv super-nerd, and has been preforming competitively and comedically since 2016 with companies such as the Canadian Improv Games and Presents: The Improv.

CJ Norris

CJ is a multi-passionate and queer performing artist/creator with a varied background in improv, theatre, music, comedy, and drag. He loves combining these artforms to create unique theatrical experiences like his highly acclaimed ‘dragsicals’ (Flyin’ Solo, Jingle Bell of the Ball). CJ is known for his physicality on stage, bringing to life characters like LeFou in Beauty and the Beast, and Scuttle in The Little Mermaid (both with the Capitol Theatre). When not on stage, CJ loves teaching theatre classes and directing budding performers. He is all about bridging the gaps between artforms, and expanding the possibilities of live entertainment.

Charlie Rhindress

Charlie Rhindress has written best-selling biographies of Rita MacNeil and Stompin’ Tom Connors. His biography of MacNeil, I’m Not What I Seem, was shortlisted for Best First Book at the Atlantic Book Awards. His third book, Nova Scotia’s Women of Song, will be published later this year. He has also written eighteen plays which have been produced across the country. Charlie has worked on more than 100 theatre productions since 1986 as an actor, writer, director and/or producer, and is a co-founder and former Artistic Director of Live Bait Theatre. He has also appeared in over a dozen film and television productions. He received a lifetime membership from Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre for his support of Atlantic Canadian theatre and was awarded an Established Artist Recognition Award from Arts Nova Scotia.

Sue Rose

Sue Rose is a multi-discipline artist who has worked in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and graphic design. Her current focus is theatre arts. She has been active in the theatre community in Sackville, New Brunswick since 2007 as an actor, costumer, set designer, director and playwright. She is a founding member of Performers’ Theatre Company and has served as a Boardmember of Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (parc). She is currently the President of the board of Sackville’s summer arts festival, Festival By The Marsh and has been playwright-in-residence with Live Bait Theatre in Sackville since 2020. Her staged plays include; Safe Harbour, A Banishment of Poets, Aloria Mae, Nou Mey Non, Retrospective and currently Ashe.

Michael Warren

Michael Warren is thrilled to present “The Bartender’s Friend” as his debut as a playwright and director. Michael is an English and Drama student at Mount Allison University, and has been actively involved in the theater scene as a performer and carpenter sine 2021. Acting credits include Shivers (Live Bait Theatre, 2023), Romeo and Juliet (Festival by the Marsh, 2022) and The Romancers. (Festival by the Marsh, 2023) Michael is currently a part of the cast of The Juliet Project. (Mount Allison Drama Studies, 2024) He hopes you enjoy the show and thanks you for supporting local theatre!

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