2023-2024
Emerging Voices is an annual series of workshops and public readings of three new, original plays by local and regional playwrights. Participating playwrights benefit from dramaturgical support before, during and after the workshops, have the opportunity to engage with professional artists during the workshops and experience their plays read before a live audience, receiving valuable feedback from actors and patrons.
Emerging Voices and TheatreOne supports equity and inclusion in Theatre.
LEILA ROILS THE SEAS – by Lily Chang
“If you cry, Leila, I cannot move on.”
In Leila Roils the Seas, a Taiwanese-Canadian woman must help her comatose grandmother’s consciousness transcend to the celestial realm of Pure Land Buddhism, despite her nonbelief in the afterlife, her reluctance to lose her beloved grandmother, and her anger at her grandmother’s contradictions and history of violence.
Featuring Chinese opera, karaoke, fam dram, and chicken heads.
DIVING BELL – Brianna Bock
On an expedition to recover the sunken cargo of the wreck Galene, diver William Hill and ship’s doctor Stephen Anderson are trapped inside the diving bell when a storm strikes. Above, Captain John Scott and First mate Henry Roos find themselves struggling over the right thing to do, and vying for control over the sinking ship. All four men are forced to grapple with their relationships to each other and what it means to survive.
WOMAN AGAINST GRAVITY – Olivia Etey
Armed with her motto: “Suck life dry!” and her late husband’s words: “You have energy and only one life–so use it!” Tessa launches herself into the world of seniors’ online dating. This is the story of one woman’s fierce battle against Gravity, as she seeks to master the art of living in the moment. Can Tessa find someone to savour “the present” with her?
Based on Canada’s Vancouver Island, TheatreOne supports new play development; presents Theatre for Young Audiences performances, and live Mainstage performances. Since its inception in 1983, TheatreOne has produced or presented over 200 TYA and Mainstage performances. The Company’s Emerging Voices Series has supported the development of 50 new works since 201. https://www.theatreone.ca
A special thank you to series sponsors: The BC Arts Council and the City of Nanaimo.
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