With Apologies to Nancy Benoit
Written & Performed by Venus Argento Barrington
Runtime: 15 Minutes
Synopsis:
A transgender woman looks back on the death of disgraced professional wrestler Chris Benoit and the way it inadvertently shaped her. It's an allegory for toxic masculinity and the effect gender roles can have on a person.
About the playwright:
Venus Argento Barrington (she/her) is a writer from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2022, she wrote and performed her one-woman monologue With Apologies to Nancy Benoit for the St. John's short festival before making her directorial debut with her play Land of Sparrows the following year. She believes that writing is a form of therapy, hence the themes of female and queer identity often prevalent in her work. She is openly transgender and advocates for queer and female representation in the art community.
Written & Performed by Venus Argento Barrington
Runtime: 15 Minutes
Synopsis:
A transgender woman looks back on the death of disgraced professional wrestler Chris Benoit and the way it inadvertently shaped her. It's an allegory for toxic masculinity and the effect gender roles can have on a person.
About the playwright:
Venus Argento Barrington (she/her) is a writer from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2022, she wrote and performed her one-woman monologue With Apologies to Nancy Benoit for the St. John's short festival before making her directorial debut with her play Land of Sparrows the following year. She believes that writing is a form of therapy, hence the themes of female and queer identity often prevalent in her work. She is openly transgender and advocates for queer and female representation in the art community.
Goldstar Girlfriend
Written & Performed by Susan Kelsey
Directed by Andrew Tremblett
Stage Managed by Perin Squires
Produced by VV Productions
Runtime: 75 Minutes (with 10 Minute intermission)
Synopsis:
This play asks, "What do you do when you are an unexpectedly pregnant 30-year-old woman with a girlfriend?" It shows Harlow's process of deciding what to do about the situation she is in and focuses on how she is going to break the news to her partner Riley who prior to being in a relationship with Harlow only ever dated lesbians.
About the playwright:
Susan Kelsey (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary performing artist based in St. John’s, NL. She is thrilled to bring her play Goldstar Girlfriend to the PerSIStence Theatre Company Year of the Arts Women’s Play Festival. She has had a long journey with this play, first reading an excerpt of the play at the 16th Annual Women’s Work Festival Performance Walk, and then she read it as a serial in six installments at NewFunny at The Ship, in 2022. In 2023, she produced the first performance of the play in its entirety at The Ship under her company VV Productions. Then in 2024, it was chosen to be part of the 18th Annual Women’s Work Festival where it received dramaturgy from Dr. Natalie Meinser and a new draft of the play was read at the LSPU Hall.
Other shows she has written include Catcalled (2018), Choose Your Own Adventure: Comedy Edition (2023), and Choose Your Own Adventure: Comedy Edition, The Sequel (2024) which were all part of the St. John’s Shorts Festival at the LSPU Hall. She is a comedian, regularly performing at NewFunny, and hosts Ladies Night at Peter Easton and Comedy Night at SJFM. You can also find her on stage reading poetry at Spoken Word St. John’s, dancing (Found in Translation - Festival of New Dance 2023, Oceanic - Seraka 2023), and acting (Bad Date 2022, The Vagina Monologues 2010-20, The Abortion Monologues 2019, Besties 2017).
In addition, she works in film and television as an actor, stunt performer, production assistant, and costumer. She is most known for her recurring role of Gertie the VOCM secretary on CBC’s Son of a Critch, with other credits including Saint Pierre, Skeet, and Maroni. Outside of her artistic pursuits is a certified yoga instructor, and has been teaching yoga locally since 2020, as well as a freelancer specializing in communications, public relations, and event coordination.
She holds a Master’s in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, a Diploma in Performance and Communications Media, and a Certificate in Film Studies from Memorial University and a Graduate Certificate (Hons) in Corporate Communications from Seneca.
Written & Performed by Susan Kelsey
Directed by Andrew Tremblett
Stage Managed by Perin Squires
Produced by VV Productions
Runtime: 75 Minutes (with 10 Minute intermission)
Synopsis:
This play asks, "What do you do when you are an unexpectedly pregnant 30-year-old woman with a girlfriend?" It shows Harlow's process of deciding what to do about the situation she is in and focuses on how she is going to break the news to her partner Riley who prior to being in a relationship with Harlow only ever dated lesbians.
About the playwright:
Susan Kelsey (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary performing artist based in St. John’s, NL. She is thrilled to bring her play Goldstar Girlfriend to the PerSIStence Theatre Company Year of the Arts Women’s Play Festival. She has had a long journey with this play, first reading an excerpt of the play at the 16th Annual Women’s Work Festival Performance Walk, and then she read it as a serial in six installments at NewFunny at The Ship, in 2022. In 2023, she produced the first performance of the play in its entirety at The Ship under her company VV Productions. Then in 2024, it was chosen to be part of the 18th Annual Women’s Work Festival where it received dramaturgy from Dr. Natalie Meinser and a new draft of the play was read at the LSPU Hall.
Other shows she has written include Catcalled (2018), Choose Your Own Adventure: Comedy Edition (2023), and Choose Your Own Adventure: Comedy Edition, The Sequel (2024) which were all part of the St. John’s Shorts Festival at the LSPU Hall. She is a comedian, regularly performing at NewFunny, and hosts Ladies Night at Peter Easton and Comedy Night at SJFM. You can also find her on stage reading poetry at Spoken Word St. John’s, dancing (Found in Translation - Festival of New Dance 2023, Oceanic - Seraka 2023), and acting (Bad Date 2022, The Vagina Monologues 2010-20, The Abortion Monologues 2019, Besties 2017).
In addition, she works in film and television as an actor, stunt performer, production assistant, and costumer. She is most known for her recurring role of Gertie the VOCM secretary on CBC’s Son of a Critch, with other credits including Saint Pierre, Skeet, and Maroni. Outside of her artistic pursuits is a certified yoga instructor, and has been teaching yoga locally since 2020, as well as a freelancer specializing in communications, public relations, and event coordination.
She holds a Master’s in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, a Diploma in Performance and Communications Media, and a Certificate in Film Studies from Memorial University and a Graduate Certificate (Hons) in Corporate Communications from Seneca.
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