The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
The Merchant of Venice Act IV, sc i
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
The Merchant of Venice Act IV, sc i
In 2010, the Akerman Family generously allowed the New World Theatre Company to set up its beautiful theatre in the backyard of their B&B and tearoom, Cupids Haven. The theatre, built by Geoff Adams, Aiden Flynn and Brad Hodder was inspired by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London and the first ship built in Newfoundland and Labrador, The Indeavour. This theatre venue was built to tour and what was meant as a one summer stopover grew into a much longer stay with audiences, cast, and crew all settling in to enjoy the food and welcoming atmosphere of the Haven. The match was so successful that audiences grew in leaps and bounds, a summer camp sprang up, and cast and crew loved the opportunity to work in such a special space.
In the spring of 2021, the Haven was sold and the new owners began to plan for a new and exciting future of their own. Perchance began their search for a new home.
Finding the right home for such a unique theatre with its ever-expanding audiences (over 2000 people in 2022), its schedule of performances (56 and growing), a summer camp for youth, and a large cast and crew (25) was a tall order. Throw in our astonishing array of props, costumes and set pieces, and it creates a real challenge.
Where do we park? Where do we find places to eat? Where do we put all of our things?
Cupids has been our home, and we have been blessed to have incredible supporters living all around us who made us feel welcome, came to our shows, helped us with our theatre, gave us beds when we needed them and fed us many a meal. We have partnerships in Cupids Legacy Centre, The Plantation, the Loyal Orange Lodge, The Anglican Church of the Resurrection, Skipper Ben’s, and more. We have participated in the Soiree and the Lobster dinners.
We love Cupids and traipsed all over the town with our supporters, chasing leads, but try as we might, we could not find a space that would allow our operation to fit, let alone grow into the future.
Just as we were losing hope, the opportunity to connect with the Sisters of Mercy and their beautiful home, the Immaculate Conception Convent, in Conception Harbour, dropped on us. The Sisters have been a part of the lives of the community for generations. The first three young women, Sisters Mary Michael Gertrude Moore, Mary Theresa Slattery, and Mary De Sales Meehan moved from the convent in St. John’s to establish the first community of Sisters of Mercy, Conception Harbour, in 1869. Since then, the Sisters of Mercy have been inspiring a love of education, music, drama, and social consciousness through their mission of teaching in schools, visiting people in their homes and being fully engaged in parish and community activities.
We had the great honour to meet Sisters Geraldine, Ellen Marie, and Ruth, the last of the Mercy Sisters living in the convent, before they moved into St. John’s. Now, their home will become ours, and we hope to honour their spirit in the community through our work.
Along with the convent, we have also acquired a companion property that once housed St Anne’s school. This adjoining lot will become the new home of our theatre, gardens, box office and our back stage area which includes a large accessible parking area!
Surrounded by trees, this new home allows us to maintain our unique outdoor experience with a true sense of arrival, all while creating a permanent home for our cast and crew. No more will we have to store our props and costumes all over St. John’s and Cupids, bring 30 plus costumes back and forth to the city to be laundered every single day or travel by car to find a kitchen. We will not have to scramble for shared parking. We will have a home base, an office, storage, and room for our cast and crew to eat and rest between shows.
The purchase of these properties was vital to the growth and sustainability of Perchance Theatre. Having a home to call our own not only means a new performance space, but means having the time and space to dream of the future and how we can create for our community.
For Perchance, community means Cupids, Conception Harbour and ALL the communities of our province. We have performed in Cupids, Harbour Grace, St. John’s and Trepassey. We have filmed our Power of One series of monologues and stories from all over the world, in multiple locations and languages. We've traveled from the Head of Bay D’Espoir to Port au Port to L’anse Aux Meadows to Nain and Labrador City. We've explored the depths of the mines of Bell Island to the rooftops of St. John’s with all points in between.
We will continue our mission to celebrate the beautiful outdoors, the culture, the artists and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, from our long-held connection to Cupids to our new home-to-be in Conception Harbour.
Please join us in sending a huge, warm wave of thanks to the congregation of the Sisters of Mercy who have truly made what seemed impossible, possible. For believing in our vision for the past number of years, and for trusting us with their beloved home.
To learn more about the Sisters of Mercy please click this link .
In the spring of 2021, the Haven was sold and the new owners began to plan for a new and exciting future of their own. Perchance began their search for a new home.
Finding the right home for such a unique theatre with its ever-expanding audiences (over 2000 people in 2022), its schedule of performances (56 and growing), a summer camp for youth, and a large cast and crew (25) was a tall order. Throw in our astonishing array of props, costumes and set pieces, and it creates a real challenge.
Where do we park? Where do we find places to eat? Where do we put all of our things?
Cupids has been our home, and we have been blessed to have incredible supporters living all around us who made us feel welcome, came to our shows, helped us with our theatre, gave us beds when we needed them and fed us many a meal. We have partnerships in Cupids Legacy Centre, The Plantation, the Loyal Orange Lodge, The Anglican Church of the Resurrection, Skipper Ben’s, and more. We have participated in the Soiree and the Lobster dinners.
We love Cupids and traipsed all over the town with our supporters, chasing leads, but try as we might, we could not find a space that would allow our operation to fit, let alone grow into the future.
Just as we were losing hope, the opportunity to connect with the Sisters of Mercy and their beautiful home, the Immaculate Conception Convent, in Conception Harbour, dropped on us. The Sisters have been a part of the lives of the community for generations. The first three young women, Sisters Mary Michael Gertrude Moore, Mary Theresa Slattery, and Mary De Sales Meehan moved from the convent in St. John’s to establish the first community of Sisters of Mercy, Conception Harbour, in 1869. Since then, the Sisters of Mercy have been inspiring a love of education, music, drama, and social consciousness through their mission of teaching in schools, visiting people in their homes and being fully engaged in parish and community activities.
We had the great honour to meet Sisters Geraldine, Ellen Marie, and Ruth, the last of the Mercy Sisters living in the convent, before they moved into St. John’s. Now, their home will become ours, and we hope to honour their spirit in the community through our work.
Along with the convent, we have also acquired a companion property that once housed St Anne’s school. This adjoining lot will become the new home of our theatre, gardens, box office and our back stage area which includes a large accessible parking area!
Surrounded by trees, this new home allows us to maintain our unique outdoor experience with a true sense of arrival, all while creating a permanent home for our cast and crew. No more will we have to store our props and costumes all over St. John’s and Cupids, bring 30 plus costumes back and forth to the city to be laundered every single day or travel by car to find a kitchen. We will not have to scramble for shared parking. We will have a home base, an office, storage, and room for our cast and crew to eat and rest between shows.
The purchase of these properties was vital to the growth and sustainability of Perchance Theatre. Having a home to call our own not only means a new performance space, but means having the time and space to dream of the future and how we can create for our community.
For Perchance, community means Cupids, Conception Harbour and ALL the communities of our province. We have performed in Cupids, Harbour Grace, St. John’s and Trepassey. We have filmed our Power of One series of monologues and stories from all over the world, in multiple locations and languages. We've traveled from the Head of Bay D’Espoir to Port au Port to L’anse Aux Meadows to Nain and Labrador City. We've explored the depths of the mines of Bell Island to the rooftops of St. John’s with all points in between.
We will continue our mission to celebrate the beautiful outdoors, the culture, the artists and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, from our long-held connection to Cupids to our new home-to-be in Conception Harbour.
Please join us in sending a huge, warm wave of thanks to the congregation of the Sisters of Mercy who have truly made what seemed impossible, possible. For believing in our vision for the past number of years, and for trusting us with their beloved home.
To learn more about the Sisters of Mercy please click this link .
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2023
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WE CAN'T HELP BUT BRAG...
Thank you so much to Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador and the BDC - Business Development Bank of Canada for honouring us with the BDC Tourism Innovator of the Year Award. So inspiring and humbling when in a room FULL of Tourism Innovators last night. Thanks to Legendary Coasts of Eastern Newfoundland for the nomination and of course Target NL for all of the expert help and advice (And a really cool logo!) |
The "two hours of traffic on our stage" is the result of an enormous amount of work by an army of essential artists. Before the show hits opening day:
- 3,600 actor hours of rehearsal
- 1,050 stage management hours of rehearsal
- 6 months of design time by costume, music, and set designers
- 8 months of planning and designing marketing
- 12 months contemplation, planning, script analysis, and rehearsal time by directors
- Year-round care of our unique venue through all weather
- 18 months of administration time
- 1,080 volunteer hours a year by our board of directors
As you can see, this is not a small seasonal event. Perchance is a cultural INDUSTRY attracting international interest, generating economic benefit, employment, and creating partnerships for a strong tourism destination.
But we rely on your help to make this all possible.
But we rely on your help to make this all possible.
Many of Perchance Theatre’s supporters are turning to monthly donations through Canada Helps. A modest and “painless” monthly donation of $25 can become $300 by year end.
The combined support of many monthly donors allows you to make a bigger charitable impact, and allows us to better forecast our finances to plan for the future. Most of all, it gives us the stability to dream bigger every year.
To become a monthly supporter, select “Donate Monthly” through the link above. If you have any questions, talk to our onsite staff or contact perchanceprotector@gmail.com
The combined support of many monthly donors allows you to make a bigger charitable impact, and allows us to better forecast our finances to plan for the future. Most of all, it gives us the stability to dream bigger every year.
To become a monthly supporter, select “Donate Monthly” through the link above. If you have any questions, talk to our onsite staff or contact perchanceprotector@gmail.com
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