Scripts and sips

County Stage Company gives a preview of its 2025 season

County Stage Company is launching a full repertory season for 2025, bookended by The Haymaker Comedy Festival and preceded by a zany clown show. This is artistic director Heather Braaten’s first uninterrupted season at the helm of County Stage Company. She was hired two years ago following the departure of Graham Abbey, but last year had to split her time at the Stephenville Theatre Festival in Newfoundland, where she had worked for the previous eight years. While she is looking forward to working in the same place as she is living—as a Picton resident she had been doing the long-distance commute to Newfoundland last year— she is most eager to execute her vision of having an ensemble cast in a repertory season. There will be multiple performances of three plays from July 18 to August 17, with a cast of six actors.

Last Friday, Ms. Braaten and the six cast members gave a preview of the coming season with readings from all three plays at The Grange of Prince Edward Winery. The first reading was from Flowers, a play by Deborah Porter Taylor inspired by the story of the Dionne quintuplets. Actors Breanna Maloney, Lindsey Middleton, Susan Del Mei, Kait Post and Madison Hayes-Crook play the quintuplets at various stages of their life, as well as other characters that enter their lives. After years of living separate lives, they are reunited at their mother’s deathbed and have to grapple with the question of identity. The second reading was from the two-hander Snow White, written by Greg Banks. Actors Breanna Maloney and Lindsey Middleton play a multitude characters in a madcap and inventive retelling of the fairytale. The third reading (and singing) was from Bittergirl: The Musical, a tale of three scorned women and the men who have abandoned them.

Susan Del Mei, Madison Hayes-Crook and Kait Post play the three women on a journey from bliss to breakup to eventual happiness, while Alexander Crowther plays the roles of the three men in—an out of—their lives. Sam Hirst played keyboard during the preview, but will be there with her band Jilted Lovers when the play is staged at the Regent Theatre. Despite having only eight days of rehearsals, the cast threw themselves into the readings with enthusiasm. “I’m really proud of the company. They did a great job, and I think they really put their backs into it,” said Ms. Braaten.

Madison Hayes-Crook has had a decadelong acting career, starting with a national tour of Disenchanted for 18 months and then working with various stage companies across Canada as well as working in film and television projects. She had worked with Ms. Braaten previously and decided to audition for this season, being selected for parts in Bittergirl and Flowers. She plays multiple characters in Flowers and is cast as character A in Bittergirl. “A is an uptight busybody who is working hard to keep it together after the man she thought she was going to marry leaves her. I play Mariette and Dr. Draper in Flowers. Mariette is a spunky and fiery girl, who at first is one of five and then expresses her individuality before coming back to being one of five,” she said. When asked about the rehearsal process, she said it was an absolute thrill. “You sort of have to split your brain in two. We work in a process where we’re rehearsing one show one day, the next show another day. So really thorough note-taking is critical. It’s a welcome challenge. Rehearsing in rep is always tricky and really, really fun. For me, what’s really critical is being organized and staying on top of what we’ve done so far, and always being ready to learn more. I love it.”

Ms. Braaten sees this year as a foundation upon which to build the reputation of County Stage Company. “A big goal for me is to become the people’s theatre company. I believe in a rural place there can be a real pride in having a theatre company—the audience is proud of that fact. Another goal is to create a young company. I believe that a great way to expose children to theatre is to put them into theatre,” she said. The County Stage season begins with the Haymaker Comedy Festival featuring Elvira Kurt on July 4 in the Red Barn at The Eddie. That is also the site for Monks, an interactive clown show, on July 12 and 13. The repertory season opens with Bittergirl at the Regent Theatre on July 18, followed by Flowers at Mount Tabor Playhouse on July 25, and then Snow White in The Eddie Pavilion outdoor stage on August 2. Colin Mochrie and Debra McGrath end the summer season with the Haymaker Comedy Festival on August 29. For more information, please visit countystage.ca