World Theatre Day Message

This year's World Theatre Day Message 2010 by Judi Dench: World Theatre Day is an opportunity to celebrate Theatre in all its myriad forms. Theatre is a source of entertainment and inspiration and has the ability to unify the many diverse cultures and peoples that exist throughout the world. But theatre is more than that and also provides opportunities to educate and inform. Theatre is performed throughout the world and not always in a traditional theatre setting. Performances can occur in a small village in Africa, next to a mountain in Armenia, on a tiny island in the Pacific. All it needs is a space and an audience. Theatre has the ability to make us smile, to make us cry, but should also make us think and reflect. Theatre comes about through team work. Actors are the people who are seen, but there is an amazing set of people who are not seen. They are equally as important as the actors and their differing and specialist skills make it possible for a production to take place. They too must share in any triumphs and successes that may hopefully occur. March 27 is always the official World Theatre Day. In many ways every day should be considered a theatre day, as we have a responsibility to continue the tradition to entertain, to educate and to enlighten our audiences, without whom we couldn’t exist.

R4W in 2010

After a fabulous whirlwind year in 2009 Roles 4 Women have a busy 2010 planned, from a full production of Jenny's Naish's Ersa, (in collaboration with the Open Actor's Studio), to the development of three new performance art projects to a new Open House for Women Playwrights coming up in the Summer of 2010. We are stoked. R4W will be making an appearance at the upcoming Chromatose Anymation Festival - April 30th to May 2nd in St John's.

Thanks to all of those who participated in our programs over the last year - Shout Out to our super talented Script Development Program participants - Megan Coles, Bryan Hennessey, Melanie Caines, Luke Major, Anne Troake, Bridget Wareham, Marthe Bernard, Phil Churchill, Jody Richardson and Roger Maunder.
Pictured above - Curtain Call, (left to right) Melanie Caines, Bridget Wareham, Jenny Naish, Luke Major, Liz Solo, Bryan Hennessey at Scenes From..The Ship

photo by Jai Me.

Roles 4 Women Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the support of the:

The Battery

Roles 4 Women were thrilled to work with the playwright Megan Coles during our 2009 Development Project. During that process we worked on two new plays by Megan - The Battery and Bound. Both plays went through a workshop process and then scenes from The Battery were presented as part of our 2009 Scenes From.. show at the Ship. Bridget Wareham, Luke Major, Bryan Hennessey and Liz Solo starred.

R4W Theatre Company is proud to have been a part of the development of these sharp, hard hitting new scripts by Megan Coles and we look forward to working together with this talented young playwright again soon.

Scenes From... The Ship featured scenes from three of the plays developed through our annual Script Developmental Program. Each scene was staged in a different part of the venue and consciously framed within the context of the Ship Pub.

Bridget Wareham as Karen - Goddess of the Bar
Bryan Hennessey as Bruce and Luke Major as Josh.
It gets late. AC/DC comes on the stereo. Bruce and Marilyn get a little out of hand.
Marilyn gets an unwanted call.Karen has something to say.

photos by Jai Me.

Roles 4 Women Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the support of the:

Ersa

Roles 4 Women are currently collaborating with the Open Actor's Studio on the development and production of Jenny Naish's feature length play Ersa.

As part of R4W's annual Script Development Program Jenny worked one-on-one with choreographer Anne Troake and presented some of the results at our Scenes From... performance. She was joined by Bryan Hennessey.

Jenny Naish as Ersa.
Jenny Naish as Ersa and Bryan Hennessey as Customer.
Bryan Hennessey as Customer.

photos by Jai Me.

Roles 4 Women Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the support of the:

Valentine

Valentine is one of a series of short plays by Liz Solo currently in development at Roles 4 Women Theatre Company.

Valentine is a piece about three women bound together by a common history and by one very big, very dark secret. Bridget Wareham (Billie), Melanie Caines (Evren) and Liz Solo (Pheobe Jane) performed a scene from Valentine as part of the Scenes from.. performance at the Ship in December 2009.

A character from Jenny Naish's Ersa serves the characters from Valentine their third bottle of red wine.
Billie, Evren and Phoebe Jane commiserate over wine and reminisce about their evil deeds.photos by Jai Me.

Roles 4 Women Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the support of the:

Scenes from Roles 4 Women

Saturday December 19th
The Ship
9 PM/$5 at the door
Scenes from Roles 4 Women with Melanie Caines, Bridget Wareham, Luke Major, Bryan Hennessey, Jenny Naish, Liz Solo and the voice of Roger Maunder. Featuring new work from Megan Coles, Jennifer Naish and Liz Solo.

About Scenes from Roles 4 Women
December 14 through to December 21st is National Roles for Women Week! Roles 4 Women Theatre Company has been working through the Fall on the development of new plays by three women playwrights - Jenny Naish, Liz Solo and Megan Coles. As part of this project and in celebration of Roles for Women Week the company will stage scenes from three brand new works on Saturday December 19th at the Ship at 9 PM. Featuring scenes from:

Megan Coles' "The Battery"
starring Bridget Wareham, Luke Major, Bryan Hennessey, Liz Solo and the voice of Roger Maunder
Liz Solo's "Valentine"
starring Melanie Caines, Bridget Wareham and Liz Solo
Jenny Naish's "Ersa"
starring Jenny Naish and Bryan Hennessey with the Waitress Dancers, movement direction by by Anne Troake.

This project made possible with the support of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council

Megan Coles' "The Battery"

Roles 4 Women is preparing for this year's Script Development Project and are very excited to announce that playwright Megan Coles joins Liz Solo and Jen Skywalker in the development of three new works.

Megan will be developing her new two act play The Battery. Liz will be working on adapting new fiction for stage in Housewife and Damage. Jen Skywalker's much anticipated Ersa will go through choreography and re-writes.

Stay tuned here for news of presentations from this workshop process. Thanks to all who submitted and inquired about this project. We will be offering it again next year.