No strangers to the digital world after pivoting online for its annual Stages Theatre Festival in June due to COVID restrictions, Eastern Front Theatre (EFT) is back online for its newest initiative, the Early Stages Festival.
Originally intending to debut the spinoff festival of new works-in-progress at their home base at Dartmouth’s Alderney Landing Theatre, the pandemic again has other plans.
“January can be a real dead time in the theatre world, so we wanted to invite folks into the beautiful rotunda at Alderney Landing for some cozy play readings and roundtable discussions about the creative process at the early stages of development,” says EFT’s Artistic Director Kat McCormack.
Instead, due to current gathering restrictions, the aptly-named Early Stages Theatre Festival is going entirely online, featuring readings of new work and behind-the-scenes previews of new projects and designs.
Among the shows are Rooks Field-Green’s queer absurd “traumedy” Oy Vey, My Baby’s a They, which delves into the inner workings of a dysfunctional family while they attempt to prepare their home for a massive party.
From Bare Theatre Co. comes Briony Merritt’s The Station, featuring four stories inspired by the history of the Trans-Atlantic cable station in Hazel Hill, Nova Scotia.
With Halifax Theatre for Young People, Josh MacDonald’s #IAmTheCheese is a reimagining of Robert Cormier’s 1977 novel I Am The Cheese, in which a teenage boy struggles to rediscover his fractured memories.
Finally, Newfoundland & Labrador theatre artist Santiago Guzmán presents a moderated chat about his new work as the artists come out of a workshop to incorporate design aspects into a new script.​
The entire line-up will stream live on Eastern Front Theatre’s YouTube channel, where
audiences will be able to engage with each other and ask questions of the artists. The live streams will remain available online to watch until the company’s Stages Theatre Festival in June.
Visit easternfronttheatre.com for more information.