Taking SQUAWK on the Road

The Resource Centre for the Arts (RCA), an artist-run, community-based theatre company in St. John’s, toured Megan Gail Coles’ play SQUAWK throughout Newfoundland and Labrador thanks to a Canada Council grant.

Bringing new theatre to audiences across Newfoundland

For 40 years, the RCA’s goal has been to develop and showcase Newfoundland art and artists. Touring is an essential part of supporting live, professional theatre in the province. But because the province’s geography is so vast, with towns and communities spread out along the coast, many audiences don’t have easy access to professional theatre. The SQUAWK touring project aimed to increase public appreciation of the arts across the province by bringing theatre to more isolated communities.

Telling the stories of Newfoundland and Canada

SQUAWK tells the story of an Indigenous teenager who is aging out of foster care and being forced into a world where Indigenous girls go missing far too often. The subject matter is extremely relevant to current events in Newfoundland and across Canada. By touring the production in the province’s northern peninsula and Labrador, the RCA ensured that the audiences most familiar with the issues it addressed were able to see it.