Becca

By Mélanie Léger

This world premiere bilingual** production shares the story of Riverview, New Brunswick teen Rebecca Schofield. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Rebecca (Becca to her friends) started an online movement to encourage people to perform acts of kindness and post good deeds to social media using the hashtag #BeccaToldMeTo. Her actions quickly spread around the world and continue to resonate today.

With an extensive provincial tour set to begin on the sixth anniversary of her passing at the age of 18, Becca will be a celebration of life and a reminder of how a little kindness can have a lasting effect.

Becca is produced in association with Caraquet’s Théâtre Populaire d'Acadie.

The performance features dialogue in both French and English. When the performers speak in English, French surtitles will be projected on the set, and when the performers speak in French, English surtitles will be projected on the set.

Program

Click here to download the program.

Melaine Léger

Playwright

A native of Shédiac, Mélanie Léger writes for theatre, television and film, in addition to working as a director and actress. She has written a dozen plays for the stage, including several for young audiences. A screenwriter for numerous documentary series and television variety shows, her first feature-length fiction screenplay, Notre-Dame-de-Moncton, opened the FICFA 2022. More recently, the documentary Des étoiles plein les yeux was released on the AMI-Télé web platform.

Geneviève Pineault

Director

Graduating from the Department of Theatre at the University of Ottawa in 1999, Geneviève has been involved in the theatrical field for 28 years. She served as the artistic and general director of Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario (TNO) in Sudbury from 2004 to 2017. The company received the Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2014, accompanied by a fifty-thousand-dollar grant. In 2015-2016, she adapted and directed the novel "Un vent se lève qui éparpille" by Jean Marc Dalpé, a co-production of TNO, Théâtre de la Vieille 17, and Théâtre français du Centre national des Arts. She led the Association des théâtres francophones du Canada from 2017 to 2020 as the general director and concurrently managed the Foundation for the Advancement of Francophone Theatre in Canada, the philanthropic branch of the organization. She received the 2019 Rideau Awards for Director of the Year for "Les 39 marches" by Patrick Barlow, translated and adapted by Josée Labossière (Théâtre de l’Île). Since July 2020, Geneviève has been at the helm of Théâtre de la Vieille 17 as the artistic director and co-general director.

Mélanie LeBlanc

Mélanie is a versatile performer who has played many well-loved characters over the years, such as Mary Poppins, Pierrette Guérin, The Wicked Witch of the West, the notorious pirate Ann Bonny, Lady Macbeth, Patsy Cline and Anne of Green Gables. For seven years, she crooned in Vietnam, Japan, the Maldives and India, and has toured her one-woman show Hommage aux femmes de la guerre across Canada and in France. Mélanie is a recipient of the Robert Merritt award. A proud New Brunswicker, she has done many productions with Theatre NB and Théâtre populaire d’Acadie, and is grateful to be part of the telling of this luminous story.

Matthew Lumley

Matthew Lumley is a Kjipuktuk/Halifax-based performer very grateful to be a part of bringing Becca’s legacy to the stage, and very lucky to work with the incredible Acadian theatre community. Recent theatre work includes Wood Buffalo (Theatre New Brunswick) Schoolhouse, Macbeth, Elapultiek, Frankenstein, In This Light, Animal Farm, North Mountain Vanya (Two Planks), The Realistic Jones, Heaven Above/Heaven Below (KAZAN Theatre), Hamlet (Below the Salt/Neptune Theatre), The Little Years (Matchstick Theatre), This Is Nowhere (Zuppa Theatre). TV/film work includes Look At Me (Afro Viking Pictures), Sugar Highs (Emotion Pictures), Hopeless Romantic (Northeast Films), Polaroid (Dimension Films), Weirdos (Shadow Shows), Mr. D (CBC). Dance work includes Archive of Loneliness (Sara Coffin), Note the Weather (Mairéad Filgate), petites danses (Mocean Dance), Partnering Apart (Kinetic Studio). Matthew wrote and performed in First Weekend and Surf Gods (airing on CBC) and co-wrote The Perfection of Man (Misery Loves/Eastern Front Theatre). Matthew studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse (NYC) and York University (Toronto). Thank you to everyone at TPA, TNB, and the Schofields.

Bianca Richard

Bianca Richard is an actress and puppeteer who also writes for theater and film. Originally from Notre-Dame de Kent in New Brunswick, she earned her Bachelor's degree in Dramatic Arts from the University of Moncton in 2013. Co-founder of Théâtre La Cigogne in 2012, she contributed to the creations of this company until 2018 (Le loup: l’histoire d’un incompris, VIOLENCES, Voyage Identitaire, and Le froid est un détail de l'hiver). Since then, she has been involved in television acting (À la Valdrague, Newbies), theatrical creation (Radi, Les limites du bruit possible, ’T’’, Pépins), and the production of short films (Out of tune, llama à la maison, Al-Ghoula à la plage). Starting in 2019, she has been working on the development of the play "Parler Mal" in collaboration with Gabriel Robichaud. Between 2021 and 2023, she co-hosted two seasons of the national youth TV series ONIVA! (Radio-Canada).

Danielle Toner

Raised in Riverview, New Brunswick, Danielle Toner is delighted to be back working in her home province. Recent theatre credits include The S.S. Ethie and Ed & Ed’s New B&B (The Gros Morne Theatre Festival), Renaissance (Breaking Circus), and The Ballad of the Bus Stop (Villains Theatre). Film credits include Bubbles and the Shitrockers and Moonshine. Danielle graduated with a BA from Dalhousie University in 2020 with Honours in Acting and has since been a student of the Michael Chekhov Technique. Danielle is grateful to join you in the movement of paying kindness forward.

Jean-Charles (Carlo) Weka

Jean-Charles, better known as Carlo, is a recent graduate of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Moncton (2022). A native of Bathurst, he is a part-time performer and writer. In the arts scene, Carlo is gaining experience by participating in the theatrical event UN.DEUX.TROIS and has also appeared in a few television series such as Les Newbies. As he officially enters the professional arena with upcoming projects, Carlo is working hard and continues to refine his craft, aspiring to one day contribute to the advancement of dramatic arts in Acadia.

Designed by

Stacy Arseneault, Claudie Landry, Denise Richard, Chris Saad, Jonathan Sonier

Stacy Arseneault

Stacy Arseneault is an artist both on and off the stage! She completed her drama studies at the University of Moncton in 2017. Since then, she began her career as assistant director and stage manager on the show [Ém + Im] migrant.e.s (2017) written and directed by Marcel Romain Thériault. She then continued to hone her skills as a stage manager for various dance recitals at schools such as DansEncorps and Dance Creation. She was stage manager for the 2019 revival of La vallée des possibles : l'œuvre de Camille Lefebvre, and stage manager for Winslow (2019) at Théâtre l'Escaouette. More recently, she worked as stage manager for artist Monique Leger's creation Tu mio corpo 12 (2023).

Claudie Landry

Claudie Landry is a native of Shediac, New Brunswick. She completed her bachelor's degree in visual arts at the Université de Moncton before going on to study set and costume design at the National Theatre School of Canada. Graduating in 2019, she wasted no time in returning to her native province, where she has since collaborated with the TPA, l'Escaouette and Satellite théâtre, as well as working in costume design for film and television.

Becca will be her third participation in a TPA production, her fourth if we include the co-production "Les Jumeaux d'Arcadie", but it will be her first collaboration with TNB.

Denise Richard

Visual artist, scenographer and costume/props designer Denise Richard has been working in theater, opera and dance since 2006. A teacher for nearly twenty years, she was Dean of the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design.

She has worked on costumes, masks and set design for a number of companies: Ballet Atlantique Canada (Jungle Book, Carmen, Seussical the Musical, Sleeping Beauty, Figaro); Bard in the Barracks' Shakespearian Theatrical company (The Comedy of Errors, Richard III, Pericles, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet); Satellite Théâtre (Les limites du bruit possible, Grum, Golem); Théâtre l'Escaouette (Winslow), Théâtre populaire d'Acadie (Pourquoi l'Ouest? ), Théâtre de la Vieille 17 (Intrusions), Théâtre l'Escaouette and Théâtre À tour de rôle (Ornitorynque). Becca is her first production for Theater New Brunswick and Théâtre populaire d'Acadie.

Chris Saad

Chris Saad is the Technical Director for the Saint Thomas Black Box Theatre in Fredericton and freelances as a lighting designer. Chris is pleased to be working on this production of Becca and is looking forward to the show. Chris is very proud of the hard work and dedication of the company. Break a leg, everyone!

Jonathan Sonier

Jonathan Sonier is a guitarist from Moncton. He began his career as a musician in Quebec City, where he graduated in 2016 from the University of Laval in jazz interpretation. While in Quebec City, he had the chance to work as a guitarist, as a sound designer/composer in a theater environment, and as an apprentice-technician at Studio Pantouf in Saint-Élie-de-Caxton. After 6 years away from his hometown, he decided to return to Acadia in 2019. Since his return to Moncton, New Brunswick, he has opened hi own studio where he works on various recording and sound design projects.

Fredericton

February 7 | Open Space Theatre, 55 Whiting Rd| Preview - Pay What You Wish | 7:30 p.m. | BUY TICKETS

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