OutFest 2023

Producing and presenting live theatrical and interdisciplinary works that push and explore our understanding of identity with a specific focus on work that centralizes queer characters and stories.

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OutFest, the largest Queer Theatre festival in Atlantic Canada returns this spring, featuring Local, Regional, and National artists.

The Bus Stop Theatre

Over 6-days, patrons will have the opportunity to see some of the best professional Queer theatre in Canada. From completed works that have been on tour, to new and emerging creations.OutFest 2023 will be our largest to date, featuring Main and Emerging Stage performances, a Staged Reading, a YA (Young Audience) show, a Two-Spirit Stage, and improv comedy. There will be Development Workshops throughout the week, TalkBacks, and more. Patrons can enjoy the entire festival by purchasing a Festival Pass which will allow them to see and save more. SUPPORTOutFest would not be possible without the support from Canadian Heritage and the Canadian Artistic Presentation Fund (CAPF), as well as PARC (Playwright Atlantic Resource Centre). Page1 Theatre was able to offer Development Workshops to Water Baby, Contemporary Dance Solo, and The Skeleton Dance. The workshops were facilitated by Annie Valentina. INDIVIDUAL TICKETSIndividual Tickets for each show are available for separate links via our webiste / eventbrite. Below you will find more information about OutFest and each of the shows being presented this year.

FESTIVAL PASSES are a great way to see and save more. Folks who purchase a pass will collect a physical ticket (punch card) from the Box Office when they attend their first show. This ticket will then be "punched" with each show that you see. This will give Pass holders the opportunity to see any show, whenever they choose. Festival Passes include:1x Ticket l Elephant Girls (Main Stage)1x Ticket l Contemporary Dance Solo (Emerging Stage)1x Ticket l Untitled Flamingo Play (Emerging Stage)1x Ticket l Water Baby (Emerging Stage)1x Ticket l 76CM's (Staged Reading)1x Ticket l Two-Spirit Stage 1x Ticket l Queer-prov *NOTE: Tickets for The Skeleton Dance (YA Show) are not included in the Festival Pass, as this event will be FREE and will require separate registration

THEATRE PASSES are also a great way to see and save more at OutFest. Folks who purchase a pass will collect a physical ticket (punch card) from the Box Office when they attend their first show. This ticket will then be "punched" with each show that you see. This will give Pass holders the opportunity to see any show, whenever they choose. Theatre Passes include:1x Ticket l Elephant Girls (Main Stage)1x Ticket l Water Baby (Emerging Stage)1x Ticket l Untitled Flamingo Play (Emerging Stage)1x Ticket l Contemporary Dance Solo (Emerging Stage)

<h2></h2><h2></h2><h2>FESTIVAL LINEUP </h2><h2></h2>

The true story of the all-female gang that once terrorized London, England. Clever, organized, devious and daring, The Elephant Girls stole from the rich and gave to themselves. A fascinating piece of lost women's history, the play focuses on the 1920s when the gang was at the height of its power—and when the events took place which would mean its downfall.<blockquote>★★★★ </blockquote><blockquote>“…brilliantly written and exceptionally performed”</blockquote><blockquote>—Fringe Guru (Edinburgh)</blockquote>

★★★★★ “Stampede—do not walk—to The Elephant Girls…a ferocious, charismatically intense performance.”—CBC Manitoba“Right here, right now, for one night only, I’ll tell you something special I ain’t never told no one before; I’ll tell you the truth.” (Maggie Hale, The Elephant Girls)The truth. Told in a pub over a three-night bender by Maggie Hale, the gang's suit-wearing, bloody-knuckled, girl-chasing, “enforcer”. She’ll tell you all—who they were, what they did, how they got away with it, and how it all came crashing down. But do you trust the words of someone who’s made deception their stock and trade? Should you ask what you really want to know? Just how much are you sure you want to hear?

Wrapping issues of power, class, gender, and violence around the story of Maggie Hale, the show uses history to grapple with issues our society still struggles with today. 75 minsWednesday, April 26th @ 6 : 00 pm Friday, April 28th @ 7 : 15 pmSaturday, April 29th @ 12:45 pm* &amp; 9 : 30 pm *TalkBack &amp; ASL @ 12:45 pmSunday, April 30th @ 2 : 15 pmParry Riposte ProductionsPLAYWRIGHT l PERFORMER: Margo MacDonaldDIRECTOR: Marry EllisCOSTUME DESIGN: Vanessa Imeson LIGHTING DESIGN: Laura Wheeler POSTER DESIGN &amp; PROMOTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Andrew AlexanderASSOCIATE PRODUCER &amp; PRINT DESIGN: VW Titus* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *

Contemporary Dance Solo is a solo dance show with a hint of bouffon, wherein the performer (Robert Azevedo) recreates 18 dance solos from various youth dance competitions. Sometimes the young dancers are projected alongside the performer, allowing for easy comparison of the dancing bodies.The young dancers in the videos are virtuosic and talented – clearly they are good dancers. Theirs are the kinds of bodies you think of when you imagine a dancer: young, flexible, feminine, wiry. Meanwhile, Azevedo's body is very unlike theirs. As they move through these solos – which itself is a feat of endurance, artistry, and skill – they are asking themselves and the audience:Who do you think of as a dancer?What makes a good dancer?Am I a good dancer too?Contemporary Dance Solo was first presented by Upintheair Theatre's rEvolver festival in 2019 with support from The Happening Dance Company. Robert Azevedo (they/them) is an Atlantic dance artist currently residing in ktaqmkuk / Corner Brook, NL. Their practice begins with the liveness of the connection of audience and performer. As a dancer and creator, they enjoy defying the expectations of what dance is and can be. Exhausting, fun, “weird”, and always curious – every project is different but these values remain constant."60 minsThursday, April 27th @ 6:00 pmFriday, April 28th @ 9 : 00 pmSaturday, April 29th @ 7 :45 pm Sunday, April 30th @ 12:45 pmCREATED &amp; PERFORMED BY: Robert Azevedo * Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *

Featuring one performer, a collection of toys, and one sarcastic sock puppet, UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY follows two children, Addison and Helen, and their search for queer role models in a big scary normative world. The universe of this play is zany and irreverent: eight-year-olds quip like Oscar Wilde; kids use grindr on the playground; stuffed animals dispense questionable advice. Beneath all the hijinks, however, UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY has a purpose: to invite audiences into a hilarious story of growing up queer, in which coming out is just the beginning. A first draft of UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY was developed in Playwrights' Workshop Montreal's Young Creators' Unit, with the mentorship and dramaturgy of Jesse Stong. This first draft was featured in PWM's 2019 Queer Reading Series, in partnership with the Centaur Theatre. The Canada Council for the Arts and the National Theatre School of Canada's TEC program provided funding for future drafts, one of which was filmed in September 2020 for archival purposes. In March 2022, Talk is Free Theatre presented a new, fully realized version of UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY at the Five Points Theatre in Barrie. 60 minsWednesday, April 26th @ 7:45 pm Thursday, April 27th @ 8 : 45 pmSaturday, April 29th @ 6:00 pm Sunday, April 30th @ 4 : 00 pmCreator/Performer: Nathaniel Hanula-James (he/him)Dramaturg: Jacob Margaret Archer (they/them)Sound and Lighting Designer: Ryan Wilcox (they/them)Costume and Props Designer: Hannah Fisher (she/her)* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *

Water, Baby! is the story of two friends navigating their relationships in the water. In writing this story, I wanted to a dreamscape-y narrative of swimming; playing with the bittersweet poetics of anxiety and not-knowing, as well as the simplicity and complication of friendship. I was also very interested in the brownness of this piece’s protagonist—I wanted it to be important and significant, without it being the central concern of the story. I suppose I didn’t want it to actively affect anything, but I wanted it to affect everything. Ultimately, I wanted this to be a story of love between two people, and it felt important to me that the protagonist was brown, as well as just trying to do love (whatever that is)—without there being an active interest in the politics of her brownness. I feel as a young brown person in Canada, I long for such content; to see my people in spaces that are not angry and political and reformatory—although that is so important and exciting too!—but instead just engaging in the mess of human existence. I think if I am trying to do anything with this piece, it just is that. 45 minsWednesday, April 26th @ 9:15 pm Thursday, April 27th @ 7 : 30 pmFriday, April 28th @ 6:00 pmSaturday, April 29th @ 2:45 pm Creator: Trisha Malik* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *

Samson and Abe are a long-term mixed-race couple. Their love is undeniable, but so is the tension between them. Amidst constantly howling winds and rolling blackouts, this relationship is put to the test as the couple finds themselves trapped in their basement apartment during St. John's record-breaking snowstorm of January 2020. What will end first, the storm or them?50 - 60 minsSunday, April 30th @ 11:00 amWritten by: Xaiver Michael* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *

The Skeleton Dance is a creative movement play for all ages about death. The show is a highly physical, energetic, and light-hearted play with elements of clown and puppetry. It is created and performed by Emma James (they/she) and Ella MacDonald (she/her). With an approximate run time of 40 minutes, the performance invites structured audience participation and is always followed by a meet-and-greet or talk back as well as cool-down activity. The Skeleton Dance has been in development since 2019 and originated as a university vocal masque assignment for co-lead artists Emma James and Ella MacDonald. It was developed in a private dance apprenticeship with their mentor, Véronique MacKenzie, before being presented in an entirely sold-out run at Halifax Fringe 2021, where it was met with positive acclaim and great interest.Since then, the work has been further developed and is currently touring free, all-ages shows with support from the Canadian Council for the Arts. During this stage of production, it has been work shopped with outside directors as well as grief professionals to best support our communities. Through the hardship of the Covid-19 Pandemic, Emma &amp; Ella believe that everyone has grieved something, be it a loved one, important events, or normalcy. The goal of The Skeleton Dance is to provoke thought about the ways in which we respond to hardship and comfort one another.TICKETSThis event is FREE and is NOT included in the Festival or Theatre Pass. Folks will need to wait for Individual tickets to go on sale to register separately. 60 minsSaturday April 29th @ 11:00 am Created &amp; Performed by: Ella MacDonald &amp; Emma James Artist Photo by: James Maclean.* Due to scheduling, performances will only hold for 5 minutes before starting *

Some of the best Drag Artists in Halifax will once again be joining hosts Morgan Smith and Adam Myatt for an evening of improv comedy. The show will include several games, music, and audience participation.It will be fierce but...will there be shade? This is definitely a show you don't want to miss.More information coming coon.

TWO-SPIRIT STAGEPatricia Vance-Meehan - PoetryPatricia will be performing at the beginning of each night (5:45 pm - 6:00 pm) and from 10:45 am - 11:00 am) on the weekend. When purchasing tickets for individual shows, patrons will have the opportunity to add/purchase a $5 ticket. These funds will go to Two-Spirit Artists, as well as help us develop and expand our Two-Spirit Stage. "As a 24 year old who identifies as African Canadian, Russian, Metis Inuit, as well as a member of the LGBTQ2S community as a Two-Spirited Bisexual; I have discovered that writing is my form of expression and form of art that I choose to use in order to send very in-depth and positive mindedness as a part of my poetry.In all of my pieces, I aim to become an important and positive minded advocate for the movements which are labelled;&gt; Black Lives Matter Movement&gt; Mental Health Awareness Foundation&gt; Children Lives Matter&gt; LGBTQ2S Human Rights&gt; Stand with Ukraine- but also Russians.Not all of us are bad. Putin was the one who created the stigma that the Russians are terrorists, my goal is to attempt to break those cultural stigmas with my words."

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Page1 Theatre is humbled to be here in Kjipuktuk, the unceded and unsurrendered home of the Mi'kmaq, the first storytellers on this land. Our commitment is and will always take action beyond Land Acknowledgments and words. You can find more information on our website about our anti-racism and anti-oppression work.

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OutFest 2023

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OutFest 2023

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