You’ve acted in the festival many times before, but this is the first time you’ve written a play for it. What made you decide to take up the pen? Have you written other plays or creative works?

Honestly? Probably a mix of divine timing and delusion. I’ve always been good at coming up with big ideas, but I’m not so great at the whole “actually finishing them” part. Aside from some songwriting (and a brief stint as a fanfiction writer in high school, which I refuse to discuss on the record), this is the first full story I’ve written from beginning to end that wasn’t for a grade.

Anyway, I’d been threatening to write something for a while, and this year I finally did (mostly as a bit). But if there’s one thing I will commit to, it’s a bit. And, well… here we are..

Tell us a bit about your play, Folie a Deux?

The idea for Folie à Deux originally came from an art installation (of the same name) that my friend and I created together. While we were building it, we would come up with silly sketch ideas, which I’d jot down in my phone. A few weeks before the festival deadline, I was scrolling through my notes and stumbled across the one that would later become this play.

At its core, Folie à Deux is a love letter to a very special (and probably a little codependent) friendship. It’s riddled with inside jokes that luckily seem to land even without context. The premise is simple: take a deep, maybe slightly unhinged friendship and ask, “What would happen if we put them in a situation?” In this case, the situation is prison. I mean, if you were separated from your best friend, wouldn’t you dig a tunnel to be reunited?

What’s it been like being on the other side, watching rehearsals and now the performances? Has anything really surprised you? How do you like director Emily Bosse’s take on the show?

I was surprised by how easy this whole process felt, but I suspect that has everything to do with the people I got to work with along the way.

Beth, our brilliant festival dramaturg, was such a dream to work with. Any time I felt stuck or uninspired, riffing with her pulled me right back in. I don’t know if she knows this, but her insight definitely  kept me from throwing my laptop into the river and swearing off writing forever.

Having Emily direct the show just felt right. She knows me, she understands my sense of humour, and she even came to the original art installation that inspired the play. Her take on the show is thoughtful and filled with care. I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience as a playwright.

And the cast, Jordan, Rachel, and Karlie, are so incredibly talented and so funny. Watching them bring these characters to life has been surreal in the best way. It’s been such a joy to witness the show take shape through their work.

As a NotaBle Acts veteran, can you make a pitch for your show or the festival as a whole to someone who’s never experienced it before?

Huge bias aside, Folie à Deux, has been brought to life by an incredible team who have poured so much thought, care, and talent into shaping it. It’s funny, weird, full of heart, and probably at least a little bit relatable.

But beyond my show, NotaBle Acts is something truly special. When I first moved to Fredericton, I had zero theatre experience and a deep longing to be a part of the community. I know firsthand how intimidating it can be to step into that world. NotaBle Acts is the perfect place to dip your toes in. It brings together people with wildly different levels of experience who are all there for the same reason: they love theatre. I’ve met so many of my (hopefully) lifelong friends doing NotaBle.

It’s fast-paced, a little chaotic, and always over in a blur, but it’s hands-down my favourite part of summer. I’ve been lucky enough to be part of the festival as a crew member, actor, audience member, and now a playwright. Where else do you have the opportunity to try on so many hats? (other than a hat store, I guess…)

You’re pulling double-duty in the festival, directing one play and acting in another. Tell us a bit about the two plays that you’re involved in?

I am incredibly lucky that in my first year with NotaBle, I’ve been able to direct a site-specific play by a fellow director, the hilarious Alex McAllister, titled The Happiest Day Of Their Lives, as well as star in one of our promising staged readings by a young local author, The Day the Universe Felt a Little Smaller. The Happiest Day follows the couple Mike and Claire, but not quite. It follows a wedding photo of Mike and Claire that comes to life to regale the audience with their love story up to that captured, perfect moment. This show is the perfect mix of laughs and heart, and has been such an incredible experience to be a part of! On acting duty, I am happy to be reading for Riley, a boy on his first date during the Solar Eclipse; no pressure, right? The Day is a fantastic slice-of-life piece that follows a colourful cast of characters on a day unlike any other. I have loved being able to work with a whole new crew of creatives on this show!

Tell us a bit about the differences between how you approach a play as a director and an actor? Is there one you’re more comfortable with?

This year’s festival has been a step back behind the curtain rather than in front of it, which one can imagine is a very different experience. The throughline that I have found has been incredibly important to me throughout the process is making sure both feel collaborative. It is something that I can see my actors have really appreciated in our rehearsal times. While I always want to make sure my actors feel guided, I also cast my actors because of how much I trust their gut instincts. It has been so rewarding to work together and see them truly thrive and get excited about their acting choices and the comedic beats we have built together. I operate as a director in the way I would want a director to work with me as an actor. In that vein, doing both at the same time has been a wonderful mix of watching both sides work and stealing the methods that suit me and my cast best! I have never done a staged reading, so adapting and learning how to act with a script in your hand and making it feel natural has been a fun new frontier on my acting journey.

This is your first NotaBle Acts experience. What’s it been like so far? Anything you haven’t expected, and anything especially exciting about the process for you?

I can tell you one thing: no one can quite articulate the pure joy of that first run through when everything falls into place! As many a director will tell you, there is a natural amount of worry over whether everything is going to pull together, all the bits and ideas you scribbled in a script half asleep at two am. However, that moment when in rehearsal your actors nail their blocking, they are riding off one another’s energy, and the beats are perfect, is a truly euphoric feeling. NotaBle has awakened the old ASM in me that loved the puzzle of creating schedules, doing scene breakdowns, and the fun tradition of character playlist creation, which my actors have seemed to really take to!

What’s your pitch for any theatre-lovers who haven’t been to NB Acts before to come out to the festival?

Leave all expectations at the door! There is nothing quite like NB Acts! If you’re a theater-lover like me, you are always looking for fresh new theater that plays with format, function, and text, and there is no better festival for that! From a bite-sized bit to a one-act wonder, there is truly something for everyone in NotaBle Acts!