T H E V I L L A I N S T H E AT RE ’ S P ROD U C T I O N O F D A N B RAY’ S D EEP WAT E R
D I RE CTED BY BURGA NDY C ODE
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@NEPTUNETHEATRE Neptune Theatre is located on sacred land that has been the site of human activity since time immemorial. We are in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq, and we acknowledge them as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land. As artists, we are grateful to work and build community here. As stewards of culture, we commit to continuing to improve our relations with Indigenous people and upholding values of collaboration and inclusivity in all that we do. Any videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited. The use of cameras, cellular phones, paging devices and all other recording devices is strictly prohibited in the theatre. Please ensure all cellular phones and watch alarms are turned off. Neptune Theatre is a scent-free environment. Neptune Theatre is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and engages, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional Artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Neptune Theatre engages professional technicians represented by IATSE Local 680.
Neptune Theatre acknowledges the support of our government partners:
W EL C OM E TO T HE V I L L A I N S T HE AT R E ’ S P R O D U C T I O N O F
D I R E CT E D B Y
B UR GANDY C ODE PLAYWRIGHT’S MESSAGE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE THE COMPANY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE BIOGRAPHIES
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DAN BR AY IS A MEMBER OF TH E PLAYWR IGHTS GUILD OF CANADA T HE PLAY WRIGHT W I S HE S T O ACKN OW L E DGE T HE S UPPORT OF
FOR SUPPORTIN G THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS S CR IPT. THANKS TO JONATHAN THURROT AND HIS SCISSORS, CARE OF SPIRIT URBAN SPA
PLAYWRIGHT’S MESSAGE Ten years ago, I was sitting in the Neptune Theatre box office where I worked as a ticketing agent. In between taking phone calls (maybe even your phone call), I felt the spark of an idea. A title. I opened a Google Doc and typed a single word. Deepwater. Little did I know, I would spend the next eight years attempting to figure out what that word meant. Since that fateful shift, Deepwater underwent countless drafts. Hundreds of pages were written, during which characters came and went. There have been operas, vegans, pregnancy tests, sledgehammers, bodies in the closet, secret diaries, agoraphobics, scotch, monologuing children, literal red herrings, and far more octopuses than you can imagine. Yet the core of the story - along with the title - has always stayed constant: a woman from Kempt Shore, Nova Scotia, realizes her daughter has gone missing, and an earnest RCMP officer steps up to solve the mystery. It is impossible to articulate how it feels for Deepwater to be out in the world after swimming around in my head for so long. I owe so much to the innumerable friends, colleagues, and artists who have helped me bring this story to the light. It feels so bizarrely, wonderfully full-circle to have it programmed by Neptune a decade after I typed that single, haunting compound word into a Google Doc not far from where you’re sitting right now. Thank you for coming. I hope that you enjoy the mystery. Dan Bray PLAYWRIGHT DEEPWATER
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE In Grade Three I had a new pair of shoes for the first day of school, that were to be worn at school, so I left them in my cubby. The next day one was missing, and it never turned up again, it was gone forever. I loved those shoes. To this day, I wonder where it went and the not knowing has left a door open inside me that will probably never close. What do you do when the precious missing thing is a child? How do we live with the unliveable, the unsolvable? We enter the mind of Detective Questa Bennett as Deepwater explores a mystery with no answer, and how people can get trapped in the search. Burgandy Code DIRECTOR DEEPWATER
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THE COMPANY
LILIONA QUARMYNE AMY REITSMA* CHRIS GEORGE*
CAST
QUESTA MAY CASPER
CREATIVE TEAM DAN BRAY BURGANDY CODE* COLLEEN ARCTURUS MACISAAC NOELLA MURPHY KATRIN WHITEHEAD EDEN RESHEF JESS LEWIS JACKSON FAIRFAX-PERRY MACKENZIE CORNFIELD LAURA SPENCER VIRG IREDALE* EVAN BROWN JACKIE TORRENS KOUMBIE*
PLAYWRIGHT DIRECTOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR COSTUME DESIGNER SCENIC DESIGNER ASSISTANT SCENIC DESIGNER LIGHTING DESIGNER SOUND DESIGNER VIDEO/PROJECTION DESIGNER PRODUCTION ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER TECHNICAL DIRECTOR DRAMATURGE INTIMACY DIRECTOR
THANK YOU
OLIVIA RANKIN, VICKY WILLIAMS, SARA GRAHAM, BEECHER AND JUNIPER FRANKLAND, WREN ARCTURUS, GILBERT T SPOON, DR. JUSTIN GREGG, RYAN ROGERSON, BRAD FILIPPONE, AND EMMA LAMONT THANKS TO THE MANY FRIENDS AND COMPANIES WHO HAVE READ AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE TEXT OF DEEPWATER OVER THE YEARS, INCLUDING: HILARY ADAMS, COLLEEN ARCTURUS MACISAAC, DORIAN ARCTURUS LANG, ANTHONY BLACK, LAURA BURKE, BURGANDY CODE, MARY-COLIN CHISHOLM, MICAH CROMWELL, CHRISTINE DANIELS, KATHLEEN DORIAN, JADE DOURIS-O’HARA, DENTON FROESE, CHRIS GEORGE, HENRI GIELIS, SANTIAGO GUZMÀN, PAMELA HALSTEAD, MICHAEL LAKE, SÉBASTIEN LABELLE, MARGARET LEGERE, LARA LEWIS, STEPHANIE MACDONALD, NATASHA MACLELLAN, KAT MCCORMACK, MIKE MCPHEE, JOANNE MILLER, NOELLA MURPHY, LILIONA QUARMYNE, AMY REITSMA, JACOB SAMPSON, MAHIA TENCH, HUGH THOMPSON, JACKIE TORRENS, KATRIN WHITEHEAD. THE BUS STOP THEATRE COOPERATIVE, PLAYWRIGHTS’ ATLANTIC RESOURCE CENTRE, FORERUNNER PLAYWRIGHTS’ THEATRE, SHIP’S COMPANY THEATRE, AND EASTERN FRONT THEATRE. * THE PARTICIPATION OF THESE ARTISTS IS ARRANGED BY PERMISSION OF CANADIAN ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE DANCE OPERA THEATRE POLICY (DOT). DEEPWATER 7
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE At Neptune, we believe a thriving theatre community is built on collaboration. Our partnerships with local theatre companies allow us to champion the extraordinary talent in our own backyard, share resources, and bring diverse voices and bold new stories to our stages. Presenting The Villains Theatre’s production of Dan Bray’s award-winning Deepwater is a wonderful example of what can happen when we work together. Independent theatre companies are essential to Nova Scotia’s cultural landscape, taking creative risks, nurturing artists, and telling stories that challenge, surprise, and move us.
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By partnering with these companies, we help ensure their work reaches new audiences while strengthening the entire artistic community. Thank you for joining us for this production and for supporting the artists who make our theatre community so vibrant. Your presence makes these collaborations possible, and we’re delighted to share this remarkable work with you. Kimberlee Stadelmann Executive Director
THE CAST
LILION A QUARMY NE (SHE/HER)
ROLE: Questa NEPTUNE PERFORMANCE: Debut NEPTUNE CHOREOGRAPHY: Come from Away; The Wizard of Oz; Little Shop of Horrors; Murder for Two (co-pro Festival Antigonish); YPCO’s The Prom SELECTED OTHER STAGE ACTING: Beauty & the Beast, Julius Caesar (Shakespeare-by-the-Sea); The New Canadian Curling Club (Festival Antigonish); The Movements (Zuppa) SELECTED SCREEN: Baby (Baby Bagnell Productions) SELECTED OTHER DANCE: Resonances of a Warrior Boy (various); Whodunit?! (Rooted Dance Projects); Where Dance and Music Meet (Mocean Dance) OTHER: Artistic Director of Live Art Dance. Shout out to those who create magic in the hardest of circumstances! It’s a joy to be on this ride with you.
AMY REITSMA
ROLE: May NEPTUNE: The Wizard of Oz, Oliver!, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast OTHER THEATRE: Still Dancing, Ivor Johnson’s Neighbours (Ship’s Company); Hamlet (SBTS); Ruthless! (Chester Playhouse); Nutcracker (Symphony NS); Anne & Gilbert (Harbourfront); Twelfth Night (LunaSea); Julius Caesar (DaPoPo). London, UK: The Sting (Wilton’s Music Hall), Midsummer Night’s Dream (Pleasance); Miracle on 34th St (Bridgehouse); Road Show (Union); Whistleblower (Waterloo East); Squirrel Plays (Theatre 503/ Ed.Fringe) FILM/TV: Diggstown (CBC); Haven (Syfy); The Purple Plain (4D Pictures/ BFI) DIRECTING: AD Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Neptune), AD Frenchy’s (EFT/ Ship’s Co.) OTHER: Artistic Co-Director of HTYP. This one’s for her sisters, who love octopuses.
CHRIS GEORGE (HE/HIM)
ROLE: Casper NEPTUNE: Debut OTHER THEATRE (SELECTED): Beauty and the Beast, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Twelfth Night, Macbeth (Shakespeare by the Sea) A Christmas Carol (Upper Canada Playhouse) Little Shop of Horrors (Rainbow Stage) Beethoven Lives Upstairs (Grand Theatre) FILM/TV(SELECTED): 50 episodes of The Moblees (CBC) What we do in the shadows (FX) Good witch (W) AWARDS: JUNO (Nominee), Dora (Nominee), Indie Series Award (nominee), Merritt (various nominations, plus Winner of Outstanding Independent Production for Deepwater), 4th favourite child (Winner, from my parents) OTHER: Check Chris out on YouTube teaching board games youtube.com/@roomandboardreviews.
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CREATIVE TEAM
D AN BRAY
ROLE: Playwright NEPTUNE: Debut OTHER THEATRE: (Select) Blood & Snow, Hansel und Gretel (Villains Theatre); Beauty & the Beast (Shakespeare by the Sea); Playhouse of Horror, Revenge of Tiny Tim (TRU Actors Workshop); Knight of the Bat (Western Edge Theatre); Zomblet (Marshlight Theatre, Theatre Antigonish); Ekphrasis (Mulgrave Road Theatre); Dinostories (Theatre New Brunswick, Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre). AWARDS: (Select) Playwrights Guild of Canada Tom Hendry Drama Award (Deepwater); Merritt Award (Deepwater, Hansel und Gretel); Jenny Munday Atlantic Canadian Play Award (1st Runner Up, Deepwater); Toronto Fringe 24 Hour Playwriting Competition Winner (Blood & Snow). TRAINING: University of Toronto’s Centre for Study of Drama. OTHER: Thank you to Neptune, and to all of his Villainous collaborators, friends, and audiences. @brayowulf
BURGAN D Y CODE (SHE/HER)
ROLE: Director NEPTUNE: An Inspector Calls, Calendar Girls OTHER THEATRE: Julius Caesar, Beauty and the Beast (Shakespeare By the Sea); Quixote, The Stranger by Fire, MacBeth, Frankenstein by Fire, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Animal Farm, Nothing Less, Liberation Days, Turn of the Screw, The Crucible, Rockbound, Our Town, The Illiad, The Odyssey, Pelagie (Two Planks); Pride and Prejudice, Kingfishers Days, To Master the Art, Hana’s Suitcase, Peter Pan (The Grand Theatre), Hedda Gabler, Bea’s Niece (GCTC) Amadeus, Streetcar Named Desire, Twelfth Night, Dancing in Poppies, Road (The Globe Theatre) Transit of Venus, Footprints on the Moon (Persephone Theatre). Six Merritt Awards.
COLLEEN ARCTURUS MACISAAC (THEY/THEM)
ROLE: Assistant Director / Production Manager NEPTUNE: Debut OTHER THEATRE (SELECT): Blood & Snow, Flower Bed, Rain on the Parade, Coarse (Villains Theatre), Icarus: Falling of Birds (Gale Force Theatre) DIRECTING: Chronology of a Genocide (Halifax Fringe), Gwenyth Kills Her Husband (Around & Out/Villains) PLAYWRITING/CREATION: Harsh Weather (with Coral Maloney), Platypus Play (with Dan Bray), A Beginner’s Guide to the Night Sky, Shortcuts, TO: THE UNKNOWN, The Object at Trash Beach, The Blazing World (Villains Theatre), dark matter, Cartography, Mercury (Halifax Fringe) OTHER: Deep love to Wren and Dorian and Linda, and deep thanks to this great team!
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N OELLA MURPHY
ROLE: Costume Designer NEPTUNE: Debut OTHER THEATRE: (Select) A Beginner’s Guide to the Night Sky, Observatory Mansions, Zomblet (Villains), A Monster’s Journey (Ship’s Company Theatre/It’s Gonna Be Great Theatre), Beyond the Sea (Mulgrave Road Theatre), Play Building (Ships Company Theatre), The Bitterest Time (Lunasea Theatre) AWARDS: April Hubbard Creative Access Award (Robert Merritt Awards) TRAINING: Kinsale Further Education College/Bellinda Wild Diploma in Classical Theatre OTHER: Love to Dan and the rest of the Deepwater team!
KATRIN WHITEHEA D
ROLE: Scenic Designer NEPTUNE: In lieu of flowers, The Blazing World, Saltwater Moon, Lullaby OTHER THEATRE: The Secret Garden (Festival Antigonish); Dayboil (Ship’s Company); Observatory Mansions (Villains Theatre); The Donahue Sisters (LunaSea); Don Giovanni, Luisa Miller (Opera Nova Scotia); Brundibár, Nine Compositions (Halifax Theatre for Young People); Little Women; The Tamer Tamed; People, Places, and Things; Love & Information; The Secret in the Wings; Orlando (Fountain School of Performing Arts) TRAINING: National Theatre School of Canada
ED EN RESHEF (SHE/HER)
ROLE: Assistant Scenic Designer NEPTUNE: Our Town (Set & Costume Designer), Mischief (Assistant Set & Costume Designer), Come From Away (Dresser) OTHER THEATRE (SELECTED DESIGNS): Beyond the Sea (Festival Antigonish), The Odyssey (DalTheatre), Blood & Snow (Villains Theatre) ACTING: Lennox in 107 (Toronto Fringe Festival), Jo March in Little Women (Dalhousie Theatre Society), Ariel in The Christmas Spectacular (Storybook Theatre). TRAINING: Dalhousie University, New York Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts’ Professional Development Program.
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CREATIVE TEAM
J ESS LEWIS (SHE/HER)
ROLE: Lighting Designer NEPTUNE: Lighting Designer: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Come From Away, The Ghost of Violet Shaw (w/EFT), Little Shop of Horrors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Addicted, The Play That Goes Wrong, Billy Elliot The Musical, Ballad of the Motherland, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Alice in Pantoland, Fully Committed, The Last 5 Years, Shakespeare In Love OTHER THEATRE (SELECTED WORKS): As Lighting Designer: Fat Juliet (Eastern Front Theatre), Elemental Rhythms, WHODUNIT? (Votive Dance), The Final Recordings of an Almost Extinct Bird, The Movements (Zuppa)
J ACKSON F AIRF A X -PE R R Y
ROLE: Sound Designer NEPTUNE: Chase the Ace, The Ghost of Violet Shaw (w/EFT) OTHER THEATRE: Dance Nation, Adventures (Keep Good (Theatre) Company), Fat Juliet, (Eastern Front Theatre) Downed Hearts, Still Dancing, (Ship’s Company Theatre), The Book of Ashes, #iamthecheese, (Halifax Theatre for Young People) Deepwater, (The Villains Theatre) Sidewalk Chalk, Beneath Springhill, (TNB Young Company) Moose & Hawk, Colonial Park, Golden (Neptune Tour Co.) OTHER: Musical director for Aquakultre and musician in several Halifax based bands.
MACKEN ZIE CORNF I E L D
ROLE: Video / Projection Designer NEPTUNE: Come From Away, The Wizard of Oz (Video/Projection Design); Winter Moons, KOQM (Lighting Design); The Last Show On Earth™ (Assistant Video/Projection Design) OTHER THEATRE/PRODUCTIONS: To A Flame (1s1 Theatre & Nightwood Theatre); STORM Album Concert (Christina Martin); An Anxious Agenda (The Woods); Bottom Dwellers (Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company); Downed Hearts (Ship’s Company Theatre, Eastern Front Theatre, Matchstick Theatre); Crypthand (Gale Force Theatre); and Frequencies (HEIST) TRAINING: Technical Theatre and Stage Design at Fountain School of Performing Arts OTHER: You can find samples of MacKenzie’s design work at mackenziecornfield.com
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LAURA SPEN CER
ROLE: Production Assistant NEPTUNE: The Wizard of Oz (Actor) OTHER THEATRE: (Select design credits) Spring Awakening (Elevator Theatre Company); Rat Play, The Great After, Tragedy, Mating Habits of Uncommon Mammals (Halifax Fringe); Abstract: A Sci-Clown Show (Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company); Playhouse of Horrors (Villain’s Theatre) OTHER: Huge love and thanks to family, friends, and loved ones who have supported me!
VIRG IRED ALE (SHE/HER)
ROLE: Stage Manager NEPTUNE: Chase the Ace (SM), The Play that Goes Wrong (Apprentice ASM), Beneath Springhill (Apprentice ASM) The Rocky Horror Show (Props) OTHER STAGE MANAGEMENT: Chase the Ace, Still Dancing (Ship’s Company Theatre), Deepwater (Villian’s Theatre 2024), Munschables (Charlottetown Festival) #IAMTHECHEESE (Eastern Front Theatre & Halifax Theatre for Young People), People Places & Things, La Calandra (Fountain School of Performing Arts) OTHER: Thank you Villains for such a great team and opportunity!
EVAN BROWN
ROLE: Technical Director NEPTUNE: The Play That Goes Wrong, Rocky Horror, Elf, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, and many, many more (Head Stage Carpenter, Scenic Carpenter, Lighting Technician, Studio Technician) OTHER THEATRE: Technical Director (Mulgrave Road Theatre); Technical Director (The Ships Company Theatre), Technical Director (Halifax Theatre for Young People), Technical Director (The Bus Stop Theatre) OTHER: Thank you D&C!
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SPONSORS & PARTNERS PRODUCTION SPONSOR
Nova Scotia Teachers Union
FOUNDATIONS JASON ROTH AND CHERYL STEADMAN ROTH
TIM MARGOLIAN AND DAWN FRAIL FOUNDATION
GOVERNMENT PARTNERS
THEATRE PARTNERS
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Nova Scotia Teachers Union
HARRISON MCCAIN FOUNDATION
ISABEL BADER CHARITABLE TRUST
NOV 24 DEC 27 2026
ONE MAN. COUNTLESS CHARACTERS. ENDLESS CHRISTMAS CHEER. F E AT U R I N G R H Y S B E VA N - J O H N AND SIMON HENDERSON
N E P T U N E T H E AT R E . C O M