For Immediate Release

July 15, 2004
 
SECOND ANNUAL "THEATRE ON THE EDGE" PRIMED FOR TAKE OFF

The Saint John Theatre Company: Second Stage continues its string of popular one-act performances with a production scheduled to premiere in mid-August. Once again this year, the collective will finish its successful 2003-2004 season with Theatre On the Edge, an evening of one-act plays that will keep the audience both intrigued and entertained.

The plays will be "The Sin-Eater" by Don Nigro, "Ashes", a locally written original script by Anthony Stuart, and "War Mongers", another locally written original script by Luke MacNeill. As with previous Second Stage productions, material by new writers will be showcased and new directors will be provided the opportunity to hone their craft.

"It will be interesting to see how this play develops as we work through the rehearsal process," says Dee Stubbs, who will be helming "War Mongers" after having previously performed onstage a number of times with the company. She describes the script as an avant garde play that "raises many interesting questions about the meaning of conflict, of time, and of personal property". The play will feature both rapid fire interchanges of dialogue and longer, poetic passages as well.

Theatre On the Edge upholds Second Stage's mandate to foster the development of local writers, actors and directors. A dozen scripts, pooled from both locally written and previously produced sources, were submitted for consideration for this year's production. The Second Stage planning committee eventually narrowed the list down to three titles.

"It's a similar mix to last year's highly successful event," says John Mazerolle, who will be directing "Ashes". "One dark play, one quirky one, and one that's utterly absurd. Should be fun."

"Ashes" takes place in the year 2053, and features Jimmy, a stranger who has come to the Saskatchewan log cabin of the newly widowed Eleanor to get what he's been looking for -- her late husband's ashes. In the third show, a younger sister dies and the elder sister summons a sin-eater" to eat the sins off her sibling's chest. "The Sin-Eater" will be directed by Andrea Arbour, most recently seen at the Imperial in the role of Stella in „A Streetcar Named Desire‰.

Theatre On the Edge was conceived last year in order to stage material that might normally be classified as non-mainstream or offbeat. It's also an effective way to continue to expose Saint Johners to some homegrown talent.

The plays will be staged Thursday, August 12th, Friday, August 13th, and Saturday, August 14th at 8:00 p.m in the Mary Oland Theatre at the New Brunswick Museum, Market Square. Tickets are $10.00 and are available in advance beginning August 1st at the New Brunswick Museum lobby or at the door. For more information, email us at stage@sjtconline.com or (506) 634-1990 for more information.

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