Please join NotaBle Acts Theatre Company for a free one-day masterclass led by Toronto-based theatre artist Erica Kopyto, a dramaturg with over fifteen years of experience creating new works.  This high-engagement session will focus on new play development, from the generation of ‘good’ ideas to best practices in rewriting and how to most effectively utilize the workshop process. We will discuss trends in contemporary theatre and how to work with the artists who will ultimately be telling your story.  The masterclass will run from 10 AM to 4 PM (with lunch break) at Carleton Hall on the UNB campus, and is open to playwrights at all levels of experience who wish to deepen their craft.

Erica Kopyto was the Literary Manager at Toronto’s Nightwood Theatre from 2001-2015.   In her roles as dramaturg, curator, director, producer, activist and educator, she has dedicated her work to the intersection of social justice initiatives and the arts. She holds a Masters of Art from the University of Toronto’s Centre for the Study of Drama and is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.  She is a long time board member of Mayworks’ Festival of Working People and the Arts and is a curator with Toronto’s Trampoline Hall.  Some favourite plays she has collaborated on include Jordi Mand’s Between The Sheets (2013); Nightwood’s Groundswell Festival (ongoing), Judith Thompson’s Who Killed Snow White (2014) and most recently the workshop of Anusree Roy’s new piece in development, Trident Moon.

Registration for the masterclass is free, but space is limited. Please email ericakopyto@gmail.com to register and for more information. The NotaBle Acts Theatre Festival, featuring performances and readings of fourteen new plays by New Brunswick dramatists, will take place from July 19-30 at venues across Fredericton. Visit www.nbacts.com for schedule and ticket information.

(Fredericton) NotaBle Acts Theatre Company is gearing up for the 15^th edition of its summer theatre festival, showcasing emerging and established New Brunswick theatre artists. This year’s festival includes ten plays and three readings of new New Brunswick scripts received through the festival’s annual playwriting competition.

This year’s competition drew a record number of entries, spanning one-act plays, ten-minute plays and site-specific work.

“I seem to keep saying this every year, but the quality of the plays keeps getting better and better,” said NotaBle Acts’ Artistic Director, Len Falkenstein. “The jury had a very tough time with some of their decisions. We were also delighted that we had a diverse group of plays from across the province, and that we ended up choosing a number of scripts by new writers who hadn’t entered the contest before.”

This year’s festival includes the mainstage production, A Record of Us, created by Lisa Anne Ross and Lesandra Dodson and performed by members of Solo Chicken Productions’ the coop, who have been developing and rehearsing the work over the past year. This year’s lineup also includes one-act plays by Jake Martin and Alex Donovan that will be staged at Memorial Hall on the UNB campus, along with a series of free lunchtime performances and site-specific work that will take place outdoors in downtown Fredericton.

The 2016 NotaBle Acts Theatre Festival will also include readings of new plays in development, with two events planned for this year’s festival, including work by this year’s artist in residence, Erica Kopyto.

“Erica is a really terrific dramaturg and playmaker,” said Falkenstein. “She’s worked largely with Nightwood Theatre in Toronto, among other companies. I met her when she was the dramaturg for Playwrights’ Week at the Ottawa Little Theatre last year when I was there with my play Lac/Athabasca. From her interactions with me and the other writers I could tell she’d be a perfect fit for NB Acts—smart, very talented, very personable, and bursting with energy.”

In recent year’s organizers have begun reaching out to students from grades 1-12 as a way to further their own programming and encourage students to try their hand at writing a play of their own.

“There have been some challenges,” said Falkenstein, “but we’ve also had some great successes, such as staging a couple of plays by Fredericton high school student Kira Smith, one of which has been picked up by Theatre New Brunswick as their touring Young Company play for the coming season.”

NotaBle Acts Theatre Festival will take place July 19-30, 2016 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. For full information on this year’s plays, schedule of events and ticket information, please visit www.nbacts.com