Pool (No Water)

Sep 03, 2022 - Sep 15, 2022 | Studio

Run-Time: 1 hour, no intermission

Age Range: Secondary School and up

Trigger Warnings: strong language, mild adult themes, strobe lighting

Pool (No Water) is a hyper-contemporary portrayal of the absurd lengths to which we go to achieve success.

Persephone Productions returns after a two hiatus with Pool (No Water), a contemporary reframing of Mark Ravenhill’s visceral and intoxicating exploration of youth, ambition, art and envy.

A group of young artists have dreams of making it big. When one of them eventually finds success, the others are left to contemplate their own ambitions, talent, and the envy gnawing at their friendship–until this group member invites them all to her luxurious home to celebrate their bond. For one night only, the group is back together. But celebrations come to an abrupt end when the host suffers a horrific accident. Through crisis, an almost unthinkable plan starts to take shape: could her suffering be their next work of art? Pool (No Water) is a visceral and shocking play about the ways in which our ambition, creative identity and humanity intertwine and conflict. The play begs the questions, what does it mean to make art? What are we willing to sacrifice in the name of success?

Directed by incoming co-artistic directors Leila Ghaemi and Rebecca Gibian, and showcasing local emerging talent.

CAST

Lucas DiTecco

Lucas DiTecco is a bilingual artist who graduated from the professional theater program of Dawson College in 2014. Some of his stage credits include The Box (dir. Nils-Svensson Carell, Mtl Fringe), Complete female stage beauty (dir. Christopher Moore, Persephone Production), Antigone (dir. Anton Golikov, Raise The Stakes Productions), Burning Bridget Cleary (dir. Darragh Mondoux, Mtl Fringe). On TV, Lucas played principal and recurring characters in 30 Vies VI (Radio-Canada), Motel Paradis, Le Chaos (TVA), Canadian Detective (CBC), Le Campus and Jérémie V (VRAK TV). Lucas has lent his voice to many commercials (Dare Bear Paws, Cascades, Réno-Dépôt, Héma-Québec) and animation series such as The Royal Family and Amos D’Aragon. Lucas has also been a spokesperson for Héma-Québec for many years. It is an organisation close to his heart.

Audrey-Shana Ferus

Audrey-Shana Ferus is a Montreal based actress recently graduated from Dawson College’s Professional Theatre Program. Always having had a strong passion for the performing arts, it took her a moment of impulsivity to decide to follow her studies in a field she felt was right for her. Audrey-Shana’s struggles with anxiety made it hard for her, through her highschool years, to visualise herself performing on a stage, but her decision allowed her to work against the struggles and discover herself as a performer. Through her Dawson career she was allowed to explore her range from the tragic events following the character of Dora in Our Class to the amusing clown, Mengo, in the After Fuenteovejuna production as well as the mechanical role of Flute (Thisbe) in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Audrey-Shana is excited to see what the industry has to offer and hopes to share beautiful stories and experiences through performances with many.

Thomas Vallières

Thomas Vallières has been training since 1999 in various acting and dance classes and recently graduated from LAMDA with a Masters in classical theatre. His stage credits include The horrifically real virtuality (m.e.s. Marie Jourdren), Pericles, Prince Of Tyre (dir. Rupert Hands), Last Ten Year (dir. Louise Shepherd), The Double Dealer (dir. Hannah Eidinow), Le jeu de l’amour et du hazard (dir. Isabelle Duperray), Don Juan (dir. Isabelle Duperray), A State Of Madness (dir. Penny Cherns) and many more. On TV, Thomas played recurring, leads and principal characters in shows like Un doute raisonnable II, Les yeux fermés, Ruptures (Radio-Canada), N.O.U.S., (Club illico), Piégés (addikTV), Nomades (Tou.TV). He has also acted in numerous movies such as Le guide de la famille parfaite (Ricardo Trogi), Montreal Girls (Patricia Chica), Midway (Roland Emmerich) and many more. Thomas has lent his voice to many commercials (FIZZ, Loto-Québec, Subway etc.) and animation series such as The Dump saison I et II.

David Noel

David Noel is an actor-singer-translator who most recently (and finally!) graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada. As a preteen, David died 89 times. That is, as Gavroche in a production of Les Misérables presented during Quebec City’s 400^th anniversary. This was his first entryway to professional theatre and he was instantly hooked. Ever since, he has performed in multiple shows such as Peter Pan (John), Sweeney Todd (Tobias), Captain Aurora II: A New Dawn (Green Zinger), City Boy (Max), as well as Private Lives (Sybil) for which he received a 2016 META nomination for Outstanding Lead Performance – Actor. TV credits include: 30 vies, Toi et moi, 19-2 and O’.

Rosemarie Sabor

Rosemarie Sabor is an actress, cellist and voiceover artist based in Montreal. A recent graduate of the National Theatre School, she performed in Les Beaux Dimanches (dir. Christian Lapointe) at La Chapelle with Quatorze18, a company created with her NTS cohort. Recent film and television credits include series District 31, Clash, Une Autre Histoire, and award-winning filmmaking trio RKSS's latest feature film, horror comedy We Are Zombies (2023). Rosemarie is delighted to make her Segal debut with Persephone Productions.

Dakota Jamal Wellman

Dakota Jamal Wellman is a performer, educator, and creator currently based in Montreal. He graduated from Bishop’s University (B.A. Drama, 2015) and relocated to Montreal in September of that same year to participate in Black Theatre Workshop’s Artist Mentorship Program. Winner of the 2017 META for Outstanding Emerging Artist, Dakota has since gone on to become a mentor in the program, and he has performed with companies such as Geordie Theatre, Repercussion Theatre, and Playwrights Workshop Montreal. For his work on Simone Half and Half (Black Theatre Workshop), Dakota was awarded the 2020 META for Outstanding Supporting Performance. Other notable credits include: Superdogs (Segal Centre for Performing Arts), Summer of Sonnets (Repercussion Theatre), Eva In Rio (Playground Productions), Reaching For Starlight (Geordie Theatre), and Don’t Read The Comments (Sermo Scomber Theatre). Film/TV: Terror Train, The Naughty Nine, About Sex, Fester, Infinite Light, Matthias et Maxime.

CREATIVE TEAM

Leila Ghaemi

Director, Co-Artistic Director of Persephone Productions

Leila Ghaemi (she/elle) recently returned to her hometown of Montreal, after spending over a decade in The United States, where she was fortunate to work for various acclaimed theater companies. Specialties include direction, education, dramaturgy, and new play development. Leila received both her BFA in Theater Arts and MFA in Theater Education from Boston University’s School of Theatre. She currently serves as co-artistic director of Persephone Productions and teaches theatre at The Study School. Leila is thrilled to finally share Pool No Water with the Montreal theatre community and continue to advocate for representation and intersectionality in the arts.

Rebecca Gibian

Director, Co-Artistic Director of Persephone Productions

Rebecca Gibian is a bilingual actor and director. Born and raised in Montreal, she grew up in the French school system and graduated from the National Theatre School’s Acting program in 2015. After graduating, she hoped to find opportunities as a bilingual actor, but eventually followed the flow of new graduates to Ontario, where she then spent two seasons at the Shaw Festival, and then treated Toronto as a home-base as an actor and emerging director. Forever a Montrealer at heart, she eventually began finding opportunities to work in her hometown. Credits include: Shaw Festival, Centaur Theatre, Studio 180, Howland Company, Talisman Theatre. Through Persephone Productions, Rebecca is excited to be able to provide opportunities for emerging artists–a value that has always been a driving force in her work.

Iva Delic

Sound Designer

Iva Delic is an award-winning composer, writing music fuelled by intuition and strong storytelling. Her passion lies in story-focused and character-driven projects. Iva has a penchant for music history, involving live musicians in the collaborative process, as well as working with electronic pads, loops and effects to create unique auditory experiences. Recent credits include, CBC’s documentary Borrowed from Nature, the Sony Lifetime film Escape from NXIVM: A Mother's Fight to Save Her Daughter, Lockdown, a Youtube Original filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Bounce TV’s original film Faith Heist. Iva achieved a B.F.A. with a specialization in composition from Concordia University (2013) and is an active member of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada. She's excited to return to her beloved city of Montreal and work with Persephone on her first theatre commision.

Maryanna Chan

Set and Costume Designer

Maryanna Chan (she/her) is a Chinese-Canadian Illustrator and Scenographer from Treaty 6 Territory (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). She studied Illustration at the Alberta College of Art + Design, and graduated in 2018. In 2021 she graduated from the Scénographie program at the National Theatre school of Canada. Her work focuses on representation, cultural identities, equality, and liberation. She aims to highlight the stories of underrepresented and marginalized communities in her work. Maryanna wants her work to communicate the truth, and to encourage people to be more thoughtful, accepting, and open minded in all aspects of their lives.

Jeremy Segal

Video Designer

Jeremy is a theatre and new media artist from Montréal with degrees in Acting (Dawson College) and Computation Arts (Concordia University). Bringing together his interests in performance and digital arts, his practice ranges from multimedia theatre to interactive installations. He is co-Artistic Director of Youtheatre—a 50-year-old company producing innovative work for young audiences—and co-Founder/Artistic Director of experimental theatre company Title 66 Productions. Jeremy’s work in new media has been nominated for a 2018 International Lumen Prize, and presented as part of the 2020 International Symposium on Electronic Arts. His work as a theatre director has been presented within the scope of the Fantasia International Film Festival, SQET’s 2019 international theatre conference, and Printemps Numérique. In 2016 and 2017, Jeremy participated in the Watermill Center’s International Summer Program, led by renowned theatre director Robert Wilson. He later performed in Wilson’s rendition of Turandot at the Canadian Opera Company in Fall 2019.

Chris Wardell

Lighting Designer

Chris Wardell (he/him), is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus in Lighting & Video Design! Chris enjoys puppetry, both in creation and animation. Recent works include Next to Normal with Contact Theatre Productions (Lighting Design) | Here, Be Dragons with Home Theatre Productions (Lighting & Puppetry Design) and The Gondoliers with Savoy Society (Lighting Design)! Chris believes there are no small parts acting or design and hopes you enjoy this show as much as he has enjoyed working on it.