Chapel Arm
Synopsis
The play is set in a village of three-hundred
people in Newfoundland
and encapsulates the most conflicting, complex year in the life of
30-year-old
Jamie Griffiths, a sprinkler installer by trade and fish plant worker
by
necessity. Jamie’s longtime girlfriend Bev is pregnant with his first
child and
pressuring the lifelong “bayman” to move “out town” to St.
John’s. Jamie discovers that his childhood best
friend
and the love of his life, Dodi Pretty, has moved back to Chapel Arm
after a
twelve-year hiatus.
To complicate matters, Dodi wants to reclaim the
house she
inherited from her recently deceased mother, and Jamie has the dubious
honor of
telling her that the house’s appointed caretaker, Dodi’s uncle Arthur,
burnt
the house to the ground in an alcoholic meltdown.
The play explores Newfoundland
themes of homesickness, resistance to urban migration, the great divide
between
“the Rock” and the mainland, rural incest, and buried family secrets.
Dodi
comes back to town for Jamie, but seeks comfort in the pedophile arms
of her
uncle after Jamie scorns her for abandoning their dusty hometown. Can
Dodi tear
apart Jamie's would-be family and keep her alcoholic uncle's mouth shut?
Reviews
"Step Taylor
is
an authentic new voice in Canadian drama, and Chapel Arm
is an astonishing accomplishment."
-Scirocco Drama
"A darkly complex and challenging homecoming drama."
-ARTSnews
Premiere production
Chapel Arm was first performed in Fredericton,
New Brunswick’s
Black Box Theatre as the main stage show for Notable Acts Summer
Theatre
Festival, July 22-26, 2008.
JAMIE . . . . . . .
……….... Greg Gale
DOREEN . . . . . . .
. .Marissa Allison
BEV . . . . . . .
………....
Leah Holder
ART...........................Robbie
O'Neill
Directed by Rose
Plotek
Stage managed by
Jennifer April Butler
Sound design and
original music by Michael Doherty
Lighting design by
Chris Saad
Set design by
Nicholas Cole
