2025 Newmarket International Festival of One Act Plays Season
Welcome to the 2025 Newmarket International Festival of One Act Plays. The NIFOAP runs from Thursday September 4 – 7 at Newmarket Old Town Hall, 460 Botsford St and will feature both evening and matinee shows and be fully aphasia accessible.We thank the reading committee for their diligent work in choosing an exciting season line-up of plays for you! Here are the winning plays and their performance nights. The 2025 festival will be adjudicated by Jason Silzer.
Thursday Sept 4 @ 8 PM – Doors Open @ 6:45 PM for Red Carpet Gala
The Well by Mike Byham
Dark Horse by Lynn C Bilton
Son of a Temperance by Lori McIntyre
Friday Sept 5 @ 8 PM – Doors open a half hour before showtimes
This is My Stop by Kate Racheter
Road Trip by Renée Baillargeon
Saturday Sept 6 @ 8 PM
Warren by Gideon Heath
Nail Polish by Christopher Cameron
Saturday Matinee – 2 PM
The Well by Mike Byham
Son of a Temperance by Lori McIntyre
Road Trip by Renée Baillargeon
Sunday Matinee – 2PM
Dark Horse by Lynn C Bilton
Nail Polish by Christopher Cameron
Warren by Gideon Heath
This is My Stop by Kate Racheter
The NIFOAP will once again feature an exciting opening night pre-show Red Carpet Party, including live ambient entertainment followed by 3 wonderful plays. This opening night gala event has become very popular so be sure and get your tickets (newtix.ca) early
The NIFOAP is also offering a full day master class Actors / Directors workshop on Saturday August 16 to be held at Newmarket Library and led by the amazingly talented Lee Wilson. This is a must for serious actors and/or directors and spaces are limited. Cost is $99 @newtix.ca
We are also offering limited space free workshops for young and aspiring writers, directors and actors. Watch our FB page for registration details.
Play Tickets can be pre-ordered online or are available during boxoffice hours at New Roads Theatre or a half hour before the shows @ Old Town Hall.
All Tickets @ Newtix.ca
Tickets prices – Opening Night Red Carpet Party includes pre-show entertainment,finger foods, Cash bar – $35. No bulk ticket packages available opening night.
Every other show – Advanced tickets $25 person – $20 seniors/students – 10 tickets package $175 – All Days Festival passes $75. Watch for Dinner & A Show packages coming soon!.
Meet Our Playwrights
Discover the talented writers behind this year’s festival productions and their inspiring backgrounds.
Kate Racheter
Playwright
Kate Racheter is an actress and award-winning playwright from Petrolia Ontario who is currently based in Hamilton Ontario.
Kate has been acting since she was a child. She discovered a love of writing plays in the last ten years, inspired initially by hardships in her life and the beautiful community of friends, family and actors she has been fortunate enough to surround herself with.
While theatre and the arts are her passion, she works professionally in healthcare as a registered dietitian, attempting to make a difference in people lives by showing them that food is both health and joy.
Lori McIntyre
Playwright
Lori McIntyre is a writer who creates literature for children, articles and short stories for adults, and scripts for the stage. She is an educator who taught in elementary schools and as an instructor at Georgian College.
Theatre by the Bay in Barrie, Ontario has showcased Lori’s work. The online performance of The Key to Conspiracy occurred in 2020 during the pandemic. Son of a Temperance premiered in the Simcoe County Theatre Festival (July 2024).
Lori’s writing highlights her love for the natural world, the strength and fragility of humankind, those who lived before us, and, most recently, comedic drama.
Additional information is available at lorimcintyre.org
Renée Baillargeon
Playwright
Renée Baillargeon is an active member of Canadian Actors Equity and was the former Director of Playwrights Niagara from 2012 to 2021. She has written over 20 plays of various lengths.
Her monologue “Kim’s Story” has just been released within the anthology of “Frozen Women” at amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com December 2024.
She was a regular contributor to the international online magazine www.theatreartlife.com. Her play “The Book Club Thief” was part of the “Stage IT” festival in Bonita Springs Florida and her one act play “Choices” was on The Playwrights Guild of Canada “Surefire List” of 2022.
She has been an adjunct theatre professor and director at Brock University, McMaster University, Memorial University Newfoundland Canada and Niagara University NY.
She holds a Masters degree in theatre from the University de Paris III and is a graduate of L’Ecole Jacques LeCoq.
Lynn C. Bilton
Playwright
Lynn has always lived in Ontario, Canada, moving numerous times throughout the province. Each change of address has created an opportunity to meet a wonderful cast of new friends.
Her occupations have included every aspect of the florist industry, farming, social worker, and librarian. In the past few years, Lynn added writer to that list.
Lynn has written several features for the award-winning Watershed magazine. She has had short stories published in four anthologies, plus numerous articles in Our Canada magazine. Her story “Grand Skating” was voted winner in the fiction category of the “Winning Words” literary competition. The contest was offered by Spirit of the Hills Arts Association, located in Northumberland County where she resides.
Additional information is available at
Mike Byham
Playwright
Mike Byham has had several productions on the community theatre and scholastic level. Mike’s plays have also won multiple awards.
Mike works as an engineer for a major airline headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Mike is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the American Association of Community Theatre.
His plays with production histories may be viewed at https://newplayexchange.org/users/35080/mike-byham.
Christopher Cameron
Playwright
Christopher Cameron enjoyed a successful career as a professional opera singer, retiring in 2009 after 33 years with the Canadian Opera Company. A dozen years ago he began a new career as a freelance writer and editor.
In 2022, his one-act play Nail Polish was premiered at the Northumberland Festival of the Arts. He has written for and performed at Westben Centre for Connection and Creativity through Music, including the popular Chocolate Voices, which he co-wrote and presented with Warkworth chocolatier Angela Roest. For three years he was co-host and sound editor for Word on the Hills on Northumberland 89.7 FM.
In 2023 his personal essay “Found Wanting” was longlisted for the Creative Nonfiction Collective Prize. In what’s left of his spare time, he enjoys playing bass and singing with the trio What Fun!
Gideon Heath
Playwright
Our Special Events and Activities
Discover a variety of special events and activities that complement the Newmarket International Festival of One Act Plays. From opening night celebrations to community fundraisers, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Join us for an unforgettable theatrical experience and support local arts initiatives.
