Theatre New Brunswick launch 50th anniversary season with world premiere by New Brunswick playwright
Any Given Moment by Kim Parkhill will tour the province September 4-9 before a six performance run in Fredericton at the Open Space Theatre.
Directed by Natasha MacLellan
(Fredericton, NB) Theatre New Brunswick kicks off its 50th anniversary season in September with a world premiere production by New Brunswick-born playwright Kim Parkhill. In the spirit of artistic collaboration, her new play Any Given Moment will be produced as a co-production with Ship’s Company Theatre in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.
Featuring a three actor cast which includes Fredericton’s own award-winning actor Wally MacKinnon, Any Given Moment examines the culture of fear that exists in the world today through three unique perspectives.
“I created three characters who are, by all appearances, starkly different from each other in age, education, economic status, and life experience, with the intention of getting them somewhere together, somehow, and seeing what happened,” said Parkhill.
In the play, a troubled teen, a helicopter mom and a homeless man become trapped together after police lockdown the neighbourhood. Assumptions are challenged and new relationships made as three complete strangers debate the situation and the potential dangers of the outside world. Through their interactions,audiences will be treated to a touching, hilarious and unexpected look into the culture of fear, challenging our expectations of what we think we know.
Parkhill was encouraged to write the play after a conversation with former TNB Artistic Director Thomas Morgan Jones. In an unexpected twist of fate, the production is being directed by TNB’s incoming Artistic Director Natasha MacLellan, who has been with Ship’ Company Theatre for the past six seasons.
“What I love most about this play is how beautifully human the three characters are,” said MacLellan. “They are at times brusque, at times funny, at times vulnerable and at times compassionate. The play moves fast, it’s tense but also has moments of quiet and humor. It’s surprising, touching, funny and suspenseful. I think the characters are the strength of it, how very real these people seem.”
Parkhill’s choice of setting for this play, a church in an unnamed small Canadian city, came from a conversation she had with Jones about the many concerts that happen at Fredericton’s Wilmot United Church as part of the annual Shivering Songs festival.
“In one of my chats with Thom, he mentioned these church concerts in Fredericton and that became the inspiration for the setting and part of the chain of inciting events. The church in the play is modeled on Wilmot United Church.”
Any Given Moment also features actors Claudia Gutierrez-Perez, a recent graduate of the Fountain School of Performing Arts program at Dalhousie University; and Alexis Milligan, an actor, movement coach and director who has spent eight seasons with Two Planks and a Passion Theatre and has worked on several TV and film projects.
Produced as a co-production with Ship’s Company Theatre, Any Given Moment is supported by the work of several award-winning designers including sound designer Aaron Collier who worked on Theatre New Brunswick’s incredibly successful 2017 holiday production of A Christmas Carol.
Any Given Moment opens August 8 in Parrsboro and will run until September 2 before touring to several New Brunswick communities. The complete run includes a total of 41 performances with the final six shows happening in Fredericton at the Open Space Theatre, September 12-16.
Tickets are now on sale at the Fredericton Playhouse box office or online at tnb.nb.ca
For further media inquiries or to request an interview with Kim Parkhill or Natasha MacLellan, please contact TNB Director of Development and Communications Matt Carter at communications@tnb.nb.ca or 506.460.1381 Ex113.
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Theatre New Brunswick is proudly supported by The Canada Council for the Arts, Province of New Brunswick, Picaroons, Crowne Plaza Fredericton, and McCain Foods.
About Any Given Moment:
A world premiere co-production with Ship’s Company Theatre.
A troubled teen, a helicopter mom and a homeless man become trapped together after police lockdown the neighbourhood. Assumptions are challenged and new relationships made as three complete strangers debate the situation and the potential dangers of the outside world. In this world premiere by New Brunswick playwright Kim Parkhill, Any Given Moment presents a touching, hilarious and unexpected look into the culture of fear and challenges our expectations of what we think we know.
Production Details:
Written by Kim Parkhill Director: Natasha MacLellan Featuring: Claudia Gutierrez-Perez, Wally MacKinnon and Alexis Milligan Light Designer: Ingrid Risk Sound Designer: Aaron Collier Costume Designer: Cathleen McCormack Set Designer: Katharine Jenkins-Ryan Stage Manager: Kirsti Bruce
Performance Dates:
September 4 | Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts | Sackville, NB | 7:30 p.m. September 5 | Bathurst High School | Bathurst, NB | 7:30 p.m. September 6 | théâtre l’Escaouette | Moncton, NB | 7:30 p.m. September 7 | BMO Theatre | Saint John, NB | 7:30 p.m. September 8 | W.C. O’Neill Arena Theatre | St. Andrews, NB | 7:30 p.m. September 9 | Weldon Matthews Theatre | Florenceville-Bristol, NB | 7:30 p.m. Fredericton September 12 | Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 p.m. PAY WHAT YOU WISH PREVIEW September 13 | Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 p.m. September 14 | Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 p.m. September 15 | Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 2:00 p.m. September 15 | Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 p.m. September 16 | Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 2:00 p.m.
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About Theatre New Brunswick – Celebrating 50 seasons
Theatre New Brunswick is one of Canada’s oldest and longest running regional theatre companies. Our mission is to create extraordinary theatre that inspires and entertains our audience while celebrating New Brunswick’s best theatre content and artists; and to provide outstanding theatre training and performance that educates and awakens the imaginations of our youth and emerging artists.
(MONCTON – Wednesday, September 12, 2018) – Independent artists manager and agent, Christine Dubé officially launches her first and brand new agency based in Moncton: Cool Cats Agency.
