Tell us a bit about your play Splinter, Wither, Bloom. How did it come to be, and where does the title come from? 

I wrote this play as part of a playwriting course on adaptation a couple years ago. I found myself considering the canon of Fredericton ghost stories and thinking about invisibility, both in a supernatural and a historical sense.  What stories do we choose to remember?  What, or who, do we allow to fade away?  This idea of permanence (or impermanence) manifested itself with a lot of stone and flower imagery, which I suppose is where I could say the title comes from if I were trying to be artistic about it.  Really, I remember just playing around with a lot of different verbs until I found a group of them that felt phonetically satisfying. 

Splinter, Wither, Bloom will be presented as one of our Play Out Loud readings. Tell us a bit about what the process for these is like, and what you hope to get out of it? 

One of the things I’ve always loved about NotaBle is how geared it is towards providing playwrights with new inspiration. I’ve had the privilege of working with Jena McLean as both the director and dramaturge for Splinter, Wither, Bloom, and their enthusiasm and support has really boosted my confidence around this play.  We’re also very spoiled with a vibrant and talented community of actors here in Fredericton, and hearing a developing play in their voices really allows its characters to come to life. It helps you conceive of your own work as more ‘live’ than the words on a page you’ve been staring at for so long. And finally, I’ve always really appreciated the opportunity for talkbacks in the reading series.  Considering the audience’s questions and listening to how actors field questions about your work can really generate some new perspectives with which to go into a new draft. 

In addition to having your play read, you’re also directing one of the other readings (of Alex McAllister’s Animate Objects). How do you approach a reading differently as a director, and does being a playwright inform your approach? 

This is not only my second time directing a reading with NotaBle, but it’s my second time directing — ever.  There is something very comforting, when you’re new and still sort of developing a ‘directorial approach,’ as it were, in entering a process that is geared towards presenting something equally new and in active development.  And with readings, you’re generally free of blocking or memorization, so you can really dig into the relationships between characters. Having been a playwright in those rehearsal rooms, I’m always struck by the insights that a director and actor can generate through conversation about a single moment (in my case, one I might’ve barely considered while writing it.)  So now as a director, it’s really been about trying to foster those conversations and find what conclusions the actors draw from the words they’ve been given. 

You’ve been involved with the festival for a number of years now, from a young age. How has NotaBle Acts been part of your work and development as a theatre artist? 

 
NotaBle has been absolutely instrumental in my development as a theatre artist, and it’s especially through the reading series that I feel I’ve grown the most as a playwright.  Having the opportunity to hear my work read through the high school category in 2020, to hear it taken seriously by directors and actors in my community, really convinced me that playwriting was something I could do at a young age.  Since then it’s become more than a hobby, it’s become something I see as central to the rest of my life. This will be my fourth festival, and the thing that has been most rewarding this time around has been seeing a younger group of artists taking on these reading categories, and getting to pass the torch. My first time directing was also in the high school category in 2022, and that playwright is now directing me in this year’s high school winner. To be part of this community so focused on uplifting emerging artists has made me who I am today, and to be a small part of that journey for other new playwrights and directors has been incredibly rewarding. 

Is there another play or plays you’re most looking forward to seeing at the festival? 

I look forward to the ten-minute plays every festival.  I’m not a particularly efficient writer, so I’m always amazed by the amount of story (and often, laughs) that playwrights are able to condense into such a short period of time.  And especially with some of the returning writers in that category, I’m very excited to see what new stories they’re bringing to the Beaverbrook this year.