Smoke

Technical direction and Production Management and sound and composition mentorship | Produced by Tiny Bear Jaws at CoLab. Won the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Outstanding Independent Production of a Play.

Produced by Tori Morrison and Elena Belyea (Tiny Bear Jaws) with assistance from Mac Brock and Helen Belay
Directed by Jenna Rodgers
Stage Managed by Steven Sobolewski
Set Designed by Madeline Blondal with assistance from Ariadne Mayumi Belle
Sound Designed by Daniela Fernandez
Costume and Lighting Designed by Whittyn Jason
Intimacy Directed by Sam Jeffery
Performed by Hayley Moorhouse, Gabriel Richardson, and Jade Robinson

“Once upon a time, there was a town… One day a giant fire burned the entire town to the ground.”

Aiden’s ex, Jordan, appears at her apartment, seeking clarity around sexual assault allegations Aiden recently made against Jordan to a mutual friend. Jordan swears to have no idea what Aiden is talking about, but Aiden is unconvinced. Together, they work to untangle the events of a university party years before, attempting to find the truth, hold each other accountable, and figure out what next. Smoke is an urgent, nuanced, and vulnerable provocation, that challenges audiences of all ages’ preconceived notions of justice, trauma, love, and forgiveness.

“In the very competitive indie and new play categories, the Tiny Bear Jaws two-cast production of Smoke, directed by Jenna Rodgers, took home the Sterling in the former. Elena Belyea’s challenging play, set in the smouldering ruins of a relationship, explores the aftermath of sexual assault without being definitive about cause and blame. A heterosexual couple alternated nightly with a queer one.” Liz Nichols (12thnight.ca) | Full article here.