St. John’s Short Play Festival: The Crash by Townie Ballerinas | Disassembly Required by James Squires & Taylor Rae Groves | Bee on a Plane by Katie Vatour | I Don’t Blame You by Whadda Ya Call It? Productions | A Bayman’s Birthright by Bran Piercey/The Impurity Factor
September 2, 4, & 6
Pick Your Price: $10.50-$30.50
Festival Pass: $70.00
Note: Some plays contain mature themes. The recommended age is 18+
The Crash by Townie Ballerinas
The Crash is a peek into the lives of five neighbours in downtown St. John’s trying to survive the COVID pandemic. It all kicks off with a good old-fashioned St. Patrick’s Day scoff and scuff at Mary and John’s place. They’re all primed up on spiked punch and Paddy’s Day green stuff up. Things spiral quickly when poor Kumar, the neighbourhood drunk, literally crashes the party and ends up in emergency at St. Clare’s. Meanwhile, alerts of a global pandemic catch their attention, but for a minute, then are quickly dismissed as just another weather warning. Months later, Ms. Sheila attempts to teach her very first Zoom dance class while the family is gone cracked behind the scenes. Relationships hanging on by a thread, everyone at their wits end. Three long, hard years later, out for a stroll in Victoria Park, Kumar and Murph, have a tearful heart to heart over a swally of the strong stuff and misery at home. Packed with belly laughs and some good ol’ Newfoundland grit, The Crash promises a flashback through lockdown life—with a splash of audience participation, because why should the cast have all the fun?
Disassembly Required by James Squires & Taylor Rae Groves
Dusty is on a nostalgia hunt, returning to his childhood home after a nasty divorce. He finds his old toys in the attic, and they say it’s playtime… (A short musical puppet comedy)
Content Warnings: Coarse Language, Mild Violence, Sexually Suggestive Dialogue
Bee on a Plane by Katie Vatour
Bee on a Plane is a five minute play featuring six characters on a plane flight. The character descriptions should present as open-ended enough to allow for flexibility and creativity in casting. The characters are Sam, an outgoing but nervous person who travels with bees as emotional support animals. Sam is seated next to Vuvuzela Guy, a serious soccer fan who is devoted to watching the game on the small screen in the last row of a small plane. The other characters are a couple with an infant, and two flight attendants. Conflicts arise over the presence of the bees, one of whom gets loose; the pervasive blowing of the vuvuzela noise-maker as the soccer game progresses, and the quality of vegan meals available on the flight. Despite the short length of the piece, characters are established, conflicts arise and peace is restored through mutual tolerance and understanding, all within the confines of a single location and an immediate time frame.
I Don’t Blame You by Whadda Ya Call It? Productions
After the passing of their mother, Willow’s father is finding it hard to navigate being a single father to two children. Without his pillar to lean on, the family seems to be crumbling from within. Can a dance competition help restore this family?
Content Warnings: Discussions of death and bullying
A Bayman’s Birthright by Bran Piercey/The Impurity Factor
We all know that one guy that would love nothing more to do nothing all day: smoke darts, take the Honda Civic for a burn to the gas bar, drink Max Ice. You know, the fun stuff in life. Now that life is a difficult life to attain. But in Newfoundland, a few select baymen have it made. In fact, some of them believe it is their right to live this way. Now the old biddies working quality control down to the fish plant, Donnie and Sheryl, they don’t quite believe in that birthright nonsense. Their ethos: do as little as you can get away with while still getting paid – especially since work is the best excuse to get away from the Jesus youngsters. That all changes when Sheldon, a poor bayman down on his luck (mudder has him cut off) has been hired to replace them. Out of the kindness of their hearts the ladies decide to make their young friend’s dreams come true. They teach him the value of faking a workplace injury to live the dream of collecting money without having to lift a finger.
Content Warnings: Suggestive Content, Coarse Language, Violence, Gore/fake blood/broken limb