With the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Year of the Arts Initiative’s generous financial support and partnership with the Rotary Arts Centre, Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (PARC) is thrilled to be supporting the development of two new plays by Western NL playwrights Jamie S. Merrigan and Fin Deeley!
Admission by donation with all proceeds going towards Rotary Arts Centre Programming.
WHEN
August 2, 2024 – 7 pm NDT
WHERE
Rotary Arts Centre – Corner Brook, NL
Livestream at PARC’s Facebook Page
Finley Deeley
Fin Deeley is a theatre artist, visual artist, and playwright from Kippens, Newfoundland. In collaboration with PARC, he will be workshopping his original play, Picnic on the Moon.
Picnic to the moon
In the near future, a non-profit uses staggeringly advanced technology to help grant the wishes of sick children. The son of a young couple, whose dream it was to travel to the moon, passes away, and a year after the passing, the parents reunite and attempt to mend their frayed relationship.
Jamie s. Merrigan
Jamie S. Merrigan (he/they) is a trans-masc nonbinary actor, director, and playwright, originally from Corner Brook, Newfoundland. They recently graduated from Memorial University and now hold a very fancy BFA in Fine Arts (Theatre). Earlier this year, they staged their first fully produced short play, Hazards of Being a Resurrectionist, at the Grenfell Theatre. Jamie’s work seeks to explore gender and the trans experience in new and nuanced ways (and occasionally in ways that involve zombies).
to our roots
Aster, a nonbinary actor, and their Nanny Hilda are putting together a family tree, which leads to many revelations about their past and present.
Meet the Actors
arturo cuevas
cheney emberg
Cheney Emberg (they/she/he) is a multidisciplinary artist of some kind of gender. What kind, they are not so sure. Originally from Houston, Texas, they are now living in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and working as a playwright, director, and actor in both theatre and film. They were recently in Tamasha, O Tamasha at the LSPU Hall and currently, are playing as Viola in Twelfth Night with Shakespeare by the Sea. They’re also directing two plays for the St. John’s Short Play Festival– a new play by Cole Hayley called Plath at 29, and a sketch show with Newfunny– both will go up in September, as well as their play Iphis is a Man, an adaptation of the Greek myth of the first trans man, which will be workshopped in late September at Persistence’s Women’s Play Festival.
Lina Makaga
Born and raised in Tanzania, Lina Makaga is an actress, singer, and stage manager who wears many other hats. She is currently based in St. John’s, NL, Canada.
Her journey in the performing arts began in high school, where she cultivated her passion for acting while studying Drama. In 2021, she was featured in the TV series “Astrid and Lilly Save the World”, followed by “Hudson and Rex” in 2022. In 2023, she landed a leading role in the short film “NYX” by Jen Fleming. She will be one of the leads in a play written by Karen Monie, directed by Santiago Guzmán, and produced by White Rooster Theatre in December 2024.
In January 2023, she made her stage-managing debut in the play “Happy Anniversary,” produced by Todos Productions. Shortly after, she stage-managed “A Talk in the Terrace” with Sycamore Productions, followed by “Song Seekers: The Greenleaf & Mansfield Story,” produced by White Rooster Theatre. In 2024, she was a production mentee in the musical “An American Hymnal,” produced by Terra Bruce Productions. She is committed to an ongoing exploration, continually pushing her artistic boundaries as she aspires to grow both as a person and an artist.
bernardine stapleton
Berni Stapleton was born in North West River, Labrador and grew up on the south coast of
Newfoundland. She has spent her career making beautiful theatre in unexpected places. She is a
Siminovitch Playwright Prize finalist, and recipient of the Rhonda Payne Award for Theatre. She
is the Artistic Director of Girl Power Inc. Her plays include Offensive to Some, The Double Axe
Murders and the musical No Change in the Weather. New works in progress include the feminist
queer imagining Ophelia Saves the World from Zombies. and the upcoming podcast The Haunted
Doorbell. Berni was writer-in-residence at Memorial University in 2019 and has taught an
Introduction to Playwrighting course there. She lives in St. John’s with rescue beagles Georgie
Girl and Tiggy Duff.