Tell us a bit about your play, The Two Hour Bride, and the inspiration for it?

The Two Hour Bride is set during the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin and based on the true story of Grace Gifford, a devoted bride, and widow, on the very same day.

Years back, I went on a Writer’s Retreat to Ireland with a group of published and amateur writers (me). We toured Ireland visiting all of the famous Irish writers’ home towns and villages to learn their stories and become inspired to write. During our time in Dublin, I visited Kilmainham Gaol, an old prison turned tourist attraction and heard the true story of Grace Gifford & Joseph Plunkett, a young couple who married in the prison chapel just hours before the groom’s execution. What!? I thought deeply of her, the bride. What woman, in her right mind, would agree to marry a man with no future in this hell of a place? I just had to imagine her story and decided right then and there that I would write her story of how it all went down and I would call it The Two-Hour Bride.

Is this your first play? If so, what led you to playwriting?

Yes, this is my very first play. I love memoirs, so I knew I would write Grace’s story as if I was sitting in the theatre audience watching it come to life on a stage and not just on a page. I used the isolation time of the COVID pandemic to complete it, but soon wondered what to do with it? It can’t just collect dust. So, I entered it in a couple of New Brunswick playwriting contests and was thrilled that it has been so well received. As well as being selected by NotaBle Acts, my play was selected as one of three one act winners for Script Happens and it was performed this past May by the Saint John Theatre Company.

What’s the experience of the NotaBle Acts process, going through dramaturgy with our resident dramaturg Beth Graham, and rehearsals, been like for you? Have you encountered anything especially eye-opening or surprising along the way?

Staring at my phone at the baggage carousel in the Calgary airport I read the email from the NotaBle Act committee that my play was selected for a public reading and I would be paired with a dramaturg. My throat let out a short loud high-pitched scream that echoed throughout the terminal. Aware of my immediate unpopularity I ducked to a place to look up the word dramaturg. Wow, lucky me! I was going to be a student of theatre. I love to learn, so I was excited to work with a professional playwright. I was not disappointed. I learned so much from Beth Graham – a lovely talented woman – who helped me with my story lines and development of character through dialogue. She taught me about creating present and past staging. We met twice and each time I was so inspired that I would write immediately after our sessions. I love how my play became warmer, richer and better rounded. Thank you so much to the Notable Acts Festival for the invaluable writing education.

What are you most looking forward to about seeing your play read this weekend?

My family and friends from Saint John are all excited to drive up for the festival in Fredericton. Most have never seen a public reading before, so we’re all excited to share this experience. I can’t wait to sit in the audience and listen to the tones, the cast of characters’ voices, and Merrit Johnson’s creative direction bring my words and Grace’s story to life. Thank you very much to everyone involved in NotaBle Acts; I am honored and grateful for this opportunity and experience.

Stacey Richards’s The Two Hour Bride will be performed on Saturday, July 26, at 2:00 PM at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre alongside the two winners of our middle and high school playwriting competitions!