Spearhead Theatre have launched their second season of programming, rolling out a slew of upcoming shows, events, and workshops organized by the Fredericton-based theatre company.
After some successful fundraisers all over Fredericton (with an extra fundraiser is support of WIRES, a wildlife rehabilitation cause in Australia thrown in for good measure) the well-received Spearhead Theatre is ready to wow Fredericton once more with brand new works and fan-favourites alike.
Kicking off the programming will be the 2nd Annual SHT Show, a day-long theatre competition in which teams of four-to-eight people must write, rehearse, and perform a play in a single day, using elements provided in special “Inspiration Packages.” The performances, judged by local playwright Ryan Griffith and Theatre New Brunswick Technical Director Nikki Vigneault, will take place at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre on March 7th, and tickets will be available by donation. The competition is a 14+ event.
Other upcoming events include the company’s second karaoke fundraiser, and a Tony Viewing Party, a brand-new event with Tony-themed activities and awards for some local aspiring Tony award-winners throughout the night.
The party will take place on Sunday, June 7th.
The company’s Sunday Service Series will feature two new workshop instalments. “Creative Movement” will take place on June 14th, led by Joanna Bryson and Sarah Power of Connection Dance Works. The 27th of September will see Lisa Anne Ross of Solo Chicken Productions host a Clown workshop.
But it just wouldn’t be a theatre company without some exciting productions to mark on your calendars!
Spearhead Theatre will open their production series with The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine, a comedy by Robert Morgan, Martha Ross, and Leah Cherniak. The play follows a young married couple whose tragically-romanticized ideas about romance begin to fade as time goes on. The show will take place at the Theatre New Brunswick Open Space Theatre, running from May 13th to May 16th.
August Strindberg’s Miss Julie will follow in September 2020. This classic play of class, gender, and societal struggles will be adapted by Tilly Jackson and company founder Kelly McAllister, and also directed by Jackson. The play will also be performed at the 2020 Halifax Fringe Festival.
The final production of the season will be A Real Boy, by McKenna James Boeckner.
“As a contemporary rewrite of Pinocchio, my project explores what it means to be a ‘real boy’ in a community focused on ‘recuperative male politics,’ or obstinate and opposite reactions to changing gender roles, often expressed in homophobic anti-feminist essentialist understandings of masculinity,” explains local playwright, Mckenna James Boeckner.
“So far, luckily, myself and Spearhead Theatre have been welcomed with open arms into Fredericton’s community,” says Spearhead Theatre’s founder and artistic director, Kelly McAllister. “Without all of our fans and supporters, Spearhead Theatre would still be this big ‘what if?’ in my mind.”