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    • CURRENT SEASON >
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      • Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike 2023
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        • Albertine in Five Times
        • Nested
        • In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)
        • New Ideas Festival 2022 >
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            • Joule's Odyssey
            • Cancel Culture
            • The Do-Gooders
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          • New Ideas Festival 2021 WEEK 2
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        • The Heidi Chronicles
        • FireWorks Festival >
          • Belle Darling Klondike Queen
          • Grief Circus
          • If the Shoe Fits
        • The Trip to Bountiful
        • New Ideas Festival 2020
        • New Ideas Festival 2020 WEEK 1
      • 2018/19 Season >
        • The Importance of Being Earnest
        • Fireworks Festival 2018 >
          • The Pigeon
          • Moving On
          • Animal
        • Top Girls
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          • New Ideas Festival 2019 Week 1
          • New Ideas Festival 2019 Week 2
          • New Ideas Festival 2019 Week 3
        • Impressionism
        • News - 100 Year Open House 2018
      • 100th Anniversary 2017/18 Season >
        • Thirteen Hands
        • FireWorks Festival 2017 >
          • This Will Be Our Last Transmission
          • Surrender, Dorothy
          • GASH
        • Omission
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          • New Ideas Festival 2018 Week 3
          • 2018 Reading Series
        • Queen Marie
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        • THIS
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          • Motherland
        • The Gut Girls
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          • The Creases In My Sari
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        • August: Osage County
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        • Escape From Happiness
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          • Burying Toni
          • You Have To Earn It
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        • Blood Relations
        • New Ideas Festival 2015 >
          • New Ideas Festival 2015 Week 2
          • I am Marguerite
          • New Ideas Festival 2015 Week 3
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​​32nd  Annual

New Ideas Festival 2020

Premiering new short plays!
​
​Produced by Stacy Halloran, Carrie Villeneuve & Stefani Pockaj

The New Ideas Festival is Alumnae’s annual juried festival and features an exciting line-up of new short plays!

Witness theatrical history with premieres of dramatic & comedic writings from both emerging and experienced theatre artists. At 32, we’re still new!
​Accessibility
The Festival is held in Alumnae Theatre’s 3rd floor walk-up studio which is not currently wheelchair accessible.
2019-2020  Alumnae Season
The Heidi Chronicles
FireWorks Festival 2019
​Belle Darling Klondike Queen
Grief Circus
If the Shoe Fits

The Trip to Bountiful
New Ideas Festival 2020
In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)
NIF 2020 

March 11–15, 2020  
​
in the Studio

​A program of 4 short plays:​
​·  Just in Love
·  Remember Him Chasing Squirrels 
​· ​ Speed Dating Night at the Bull and Bell
​·  The Curious Case of Jockstrap Malone
READ MORE

New Ideas Festival Team

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Stacy Halloran, Producer
Since Stacy declined to submit a bio, one of her favourite Playwrights has taken the liberty of writing one for her:
Stacy Halloran has been called “one of the leading lights of the Godfrey theatre scene”. Her semi-autobiographical one-woman show Sheep Breeders and Schadenfreude won the Patron's Pick Award in the Highway 38 Fringe Festival. The North Frontenac News described Sheep Breeders as a “wild and woolly romp through the colourful world of ruminant production”. Stacy is pleased to be working indoors (and with two legged performers!) this time around!
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Carrie Villeneuve, Producer
Carrie Villeneuve is excited and grateful to be working on NIF 2020 with Stacy and Stefani. It's been a fantastic journey, bringing these new works to life and working with all these talented artists. Enjoy!
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Stefani Pockaj, Producer
Since her debut role as Tina Turner the Turkey( In a rendition of Chicken Little) at the age of 11, Stefani has been passionate about theatre and musicals(roles both on and off stage). She is a member of the Alumnae Theatre and is extremely appreciative of all of the opportunities she has been given at Alumnae! 
.
Background · 
New Ideas Festival (NIF)

NIF was founded in the late 1980s by Molly Thom and Kerri MacDonald as “a laboratory to develop new talent and new theatrical ideas.” Since then, NIF has played and continues to play a role in playwright and script development, and has also provided opportunities for many Toronto directors, actors, stage managers, and technicians at an early stage in their careers.

Many practicing theatre artists over thirty years have participated in the festival, including Florence Gibson, Dave Carley, Emil Sher, Michael Redhill, Mark Brownell, Sue Minor, Brian Quirt, Wayson Choi, Clem Martini, Shirley Barrie, Jordan Hall, Erin Shields, Norman Yeung, Andrea Scott, and Rose Napoli, to name just a few.

The scripts: often they only ever have one production, especially the very short ones. But some have gone on to other theatres and festivals, further development, and a longer life.

For example, Theory, by Norman Yeung, which began as a workshopped reading in NIF 2010, was later produced at SummerWorks 2010 and Alumnae’s FireWorks 2013, received several readings at various theatres, and won the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Competition in 2015.

Theory was programmed as part of Tarragon’s 2018–19 season.

Other recent NIF plays that have been subsequently produced elsewhere include Better Angels: A Parable by Andrea Scott (SummerWorks 2015); Radical by Charles Hayter (Toronto Fringe 2014 and FireWorks 2015); The Creases in My Sari by Sindhuri Nandhakumar (FireWorks 2016); and, This Will Be Our Last Transmission by Natalie Frijia, Surrender Dorothy by Liz Best, and GASH by Caitie Graham (FireWorks 2017); and Omission by Alice Abracen (Alumnae Theatre Company 2018).
​
However, NIF is not just about developing individual plays, but also serves as a stepping stone in the development of the playwrights and other theatre artists, who need opportunities to test their playwriting, directing, acting, or technical skills. Established playwrights have tried out first drafts at NIF, and emerging artists have gained experience that has helped them move on to the professional theatre world. 

From Carolyn Zapf 's 2018 article, "New Ideas Festival - Thoughts on Turning Thirty".
Book your tickets now.
BUY   ONLINE
​​Alumnae Theatre Company
70 Berkeley Street
​Toronto, Ontario
​416-364-4170
CONTACT  US 

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  • HOME
  • MEMBERSHIP
    • Members Only
    • Become a Member
  • TICKETS
  • OPPORTUNITIES
    • Actors
    • Playwrights
    • Directors
    • Production
  • RENTALS
  • ❤ SUPPORT US
    • Our Supporters
    • Make a Gift
    • Donate by Shopping
  • INFORMATION
    • Contact Us
    • Board of Directors
    • About Us
    • Anti-Racism Statement
    • Safe & Respectful
    • Accessibility
    • News & Media
    • Open House
    • CURRENT SEASON >
      • Female of the Species 2022
      • Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike 2023
      • String of Pearls 2023
      • FireWorks Festival 2022
      • New Ideas Festival 2023
    • PREVIOUS SEASONS >
      • 2021/22 SEASON >
        • Albertine in Five Times
        • Nested
        • In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)
        • New Ideas Festival 2022 >
          • NIF 2022 Master Classes
          • NIF 2022 Talks
          • NIF 2022 Short Plays >
            • B to Z
            • Joule's Odyssey
            • Cancel Culture
            • The Do-Gooders
          • NIF 2022 Workshops
      • 2020/21 Season >
        • New Ideas Festival >
          • New Ideas Festival 2021 WEEK 1
          • New Ideas Festival 2021 WEEK 2
      • 2019/20 Season >
        • The Heidi Chronicles
        • FireWorks Festival >
          • Belle Darling Klondike Queen
          • Grief Circus
          • If the Shoe Fits
        • The Trip to Bountiful
        • New Ideas Festival 2020
        • New Ideas Festival 2020 WEEK 1
      • 2018/19 Season >
        • The Importance of Being Earnest
        • Fireworks Festival 2018 >
          • The Pigeon
          • Moving On
          • Animal
        • Top Girls
        • New Ideas Festival 2019 >
          • New Ideas Festival 2019 Week 1
          • New Ideas Festival 2019 Week 2
          • New Ideas Festival 2019 Week 3
        • Impressionism
        • News - 100 Year Open House 2018
      • 100th Anniversary 2017/18 Season >
        • Thirteen Hands
        • FireWorks Festival 2017 >
          • This Will Be Our Last Transmission
          • Surrender, Dorothy
          • GASH
        • Omission
        • New Ideas Festival 2018 >
          • New Ideas Festival 2018 Week 1
          • New Ideas Festival 2018 Week 2
          • New Ideas Festival 2018 Week 3
          • 2018 Reading Series
        • Queen Marie
      • 2016/17 Season >
        • THIS
        • FireWorks Festival 2016 >
          • Inked Heart
          • Motherland
        • The Gut Girls
        • New Ideas Festival 2017 >
          • New Ideas Festival 2017 Week 1
          • New Ideas Festival 2017 Week 2
          • New Ideas Festival 2017 Week 3
        • The Clean House >
          • The Creases In My Sari
      • 2015/16 Season >
        • Antigone
        • FireWorks Festival 2015 >
          • Divine Wrecks
          • Cottage Radio
          • Radical
          • Playwright Intensive 2015
        • Stepping Out
        • New Ideas Festival 2016 >
          • New Ideas Festival 2016 Week 1
          • New Ideas Festival 2016 Week 2
          • New Ideas Festival 2016 Week 3
        • August: Osage County
      • 2014/15 Season >
        • Escape From Happiness
        • FireWorks Festival 2014 >
          • Burying Toni
          • You Have To Earn It
          • Playwright Intensive 2014
        • New Ideas Festival 2015 Week 1
        • Blood Relations
        • New Ideas Festival 2015 >
          • New Ideas Festival 2015 Week 2
          • I am Marguerite
          • New Ideas Festival 2015 Week 3
    • Blog