About the Play:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

Maiden Voyages is an anthology containing three full-length plays that premiered at the Ship's Company Theatre in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. For over 20 years, Ship's Company Theatre has played an integral role in the cultural life of Nova Scotia's picturesque Fundy Shore. The mission of the company is to be a centre for the production and development of Canadian and Atlantic theatre. Ship's Company has built a reputation for innovative theatrical staging of some of the finest original theatre on the East Coast. All this in a unique and remarkable performance venue – under a bright blue tent aboard the M.V. Kipawo, last of the Minas Basin ferries. This volume includes Miles from Home: The story of Johnny Miles, Nova Scotia's Marathon King; a child-miner and grocery cart delivery boy who won the Boston Marathon twice and rose to the pantheon of all-time sports heroes.

Chairmaker by Scott Burke, with lyrics by W. Edgar Fisher and music by Alastair Macdonald, based on the poetry, songs and stories of a Bass River chairmaker, Edgar Fisher, who worked for the community's chairmaking factory for more than 60 years. The action takes place in the final assembly room of the Dominion Chair Company in Bass River, Nova Scotia in the 1940s. It's a story of young lovers who struggle with decisions about their future that threaten to keep them apart. Chairmaker is a heart warming and hilarious hit musical comedy about life, young love, growing up and growing old, going down the road, making do, making fun, and of course, making chairs. (Premiered in 2002; Cast: 1 woman, 4 men)

What people say:

"Here's something to 'chair' about." — Truro Daily News

"A magical night of theatre that leaves audiences rolling in the aisles." — The Record

Miles From Home is the incredible true-to-life story of Johnny Miles who spent three years of his childhood toiling underground as a coal miner, to help support his family while his father fought in the First World War. He not only survived some of the worst privations and brutality in the history of Canadian industry, but at age 20 captivated the world racing to victory in the Boston Marathon in 1926 in World Record Time, beating the reigning Olympic Champion. All this in 98-cent sneakers without ever having even seen a marathon before. He won again in 1929, going on to compete for Canada in two Olympics. With his trademark humour and heart, Michael Melski tells an epic story on a small stage, about the power of determination, the endurance of family, and the miracle of human possibility in an inhuman time. (Premiered in 2001; Cast: 2 women, 4 men)

What people say:

"Miles triumphs on the stage." — The Halifax Chronicle Herald

Sole Survivors by Donna E. Smyth. Pulitzer Prize winning, American poet Elizabeth Bishop was born in Massachusetts, but was raised by her grandparents in Great Village, Nova Scotia. Her life story has all the ingredients of an artist's biography: struggle with adversity, financial challenges, public versus private life, a passion for beauty and truth and how to distill her experience of them into art. (Premiered in 2000; Cast: 3 women, 2 men)

What people say:

"Well-crafted, inspirational and gutsy." — The Citizen

"Sole Survivor satisfies." — Halifax Daily News

About the Playwright:

Scott Burke is an award-winning artistic producer, festival curator, administrator, playwright and director with a distinguished career in theatre and not-for-profit management. He has served as Artistic Producer for Eastern Front Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick, and Ship's Company Theatre, and as Executive Director of the East Coast Music Association.

Michael Melski is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker from Cape Breton whose work has been staged and screened across Canada and the U.S. He has served as past playwright-in-residence at the renowned Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. His published plays include The Fly Fisher's Companion.

Donna E. Smyth is a Canadian fiction writer and playwright. She was born and grew up in Kimberly, BC, but has lived and worked on the west coast, in Britain, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and for over 15 years, in Nova Scotia. She is the founding editor of Atlantis: A Women's Studies Journal and teaches English and Creative Writing at Acadia University.