In Development

There’s Nothing You Can Do by Cole Hayley

There’s Nothing You Can Do” explores a group of recently reconnected friends who fall into a collective quarter-life crisis as they come to the realization that their lives aren’t what they imagined they’d be as they turn, or near, 30. The play recontextualizes the very real “dancing plague of 1518” as a way to explore this existential anxiety, and posits that when life doesn’t make sense anymore, all that’s left is to dance. 

Cole Hayley is a playwright and poet originally from Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador, but now is based between St. John’s and the “Mainland,” as he continues to pursue a life in the arts. Cole is a graduate of the National Theatre School and an alumni of Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he received a BA in English and Communications. He is the recent recipient of 2023 Playwright’s Guild of Canada RBC Emerging Playwright Award and a member of the inaugural Poverty Cove playwrights unit; currently, Cole is working on publishing his first collection of poetry. 

She Is Here by Marquita Walsh

Marquita Walsh is a multidisciplinary artist from Fleur de Lys, Newfoundland. Her outport upbringing has always been her biggest inspiration for storytelling. In 2013, Marquita graduated from Memorial University’s Grenfell Theatre Program with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting). For the past ten years she has worked extensively across the island and country as an actor and singer. Walsh is also a songwriter. Her debut album Into The Night was nominated for Music NL’s Pop album of the year in 2018. Marquita is described as a captivating performer who approaches her work energetically and with authenticity, and her unwavering dedication to her craft has made her a prominent voice in the Newfoundland theatre community.

Select theatre credits include: Tempting Providence, Neddy Norris Night – Gros Morne Theatre Festival; Revue 2018 – Rising Tide Theatre; Brazil Square, Rig – RCAT; and Anne of Green Gables (The Musical), Tell Tale Harbour (The Musical )– Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Select film credits include: Rosie Cortez-Hudson and Rex/CityTV, Detective Lucy Harker- Surrealestate/SyFi, Reynolds- Little Dog/CBC

She Is Here is full length play based on a true story.

The play is set in Lilly Harbour, a fictional fishing town on the Northwest coast of Newfoundland. Twenty-five years after a devastating tragedy, the locals prepare for Come Home Year celebrations. Amidst the meetings, cold plate drives, and arguments, the meeting room becomes a place for them to discuss—and ultimately face—the trauma that they have carried silently with them for years. Although the festivities are celebratory for some, Jess cannot escape the ghosts of her past. When an unexpected and unwelcome guest shows up at the celebration, Jess is forced to face her fears head on and her capacity to forgive is truly tested.

Her return to her hometown is a complex investigation of generational trauma, ptsd, and the true meaning of home.

Dating by Joan Sullivan

“Dating” is from Claire Wilkshire’s short story collection The Love Olympics, which was shortlisted for the BMO Winterset Award, and which Lisa Moore has described as “propulsive, sexy, and all too human.”