A Record of Us

DIRECTED BY LESANDRA DODSON & LISA ANNE ROSS AND CREATED BY the coop

Person dressed in all black holding a large wooden stick illuminated by stage lights.

A Record of Us is a physical exploration of what it means to be a New Brunswicker that fuses text and movement together in a series of living snap-shots.  Using the text of celebrated New Brunswick author David Adams Richards as the catalyst, the company has built a performance that evokes the raw beauty, the enduring humour and the hardscrabble realities of this province.

The creation of A Record of Us began in the spring of 2015 when Lesandra Dodson and Lisa Anne Ross first launched the coop, which was a performance collective for professional artists to research, develop and perform original works of physical theatre while supporting the artistic growth of emerging NB artists through training and performance opportunities.


Production History

2016

Solo Chicken Productions and The NotaBle Acts Theatre Company co-presented the coop’s inaugural work, A Record of Us, as the featured mainstage production at the 2016 NotaBle Acts Summer Theatre Festival. Performances took place at The Fredericton Playhouse, July 20-23 2016.  This co-production marked an exciting opportunity for both companies, whose mandates share the common goal of supporting the work of New Brunswick artists.  

 A Record of Us was directed by Dodson, Ross and performed by the coop company members Jean-Michel Cliche, Alexander Donovan, Ian Goff, Alexa Higgins, Lexi MaRae and newcomer Kira Chisholm, with lighting design by Jeff Fevens, and stage management from Brittany Long.

2018 Provincial Tour

In June of 2018, the Coop took A Record of Us on tour, with performances at the BlackBox theatre in Fredericton on June 1st, at the BMO theatre on June 5th as part of Saint John Theatre Company's Canadian Stage Series, on June 6th in Moncton's Aberdeen Cultural Centre, and on June 8th and 9th at Sackville's Brunton Auditorium as part of LiveBait Theatre's Women's Festival.The original company returned for the tour, with the addition of Stage Manager Dee Chiasson, and Lighting Designer & Technical Director Trent Logan.

Plates displayed on grass in black and white on the poster of "A Record of Us".
Collage of figures doing different dance movements with green fabric draped over them on the poster for "A Record of Us."

Cynthia Spurles

"Stunning performance. It is beautifully staged with incredibly moving performances by a brilliant cast.”


Charlotte Simmons, The East Magazine

A Record of Us is littered with clever physical theatre techniques and sly references, all culminating in a culturally-relevant, theatrical answer to New Brunswick’s domestic history…David would be proud.”

Laura-Beth Bird

“Absolutely beautiful”


5 people dressed in black standing in a line spaced out from each other with their arms by their sides at different heights.
A group of people stand around a stage facing different directions. One person is in focus staring at something behind the camera.
People standing around a stage facing different directions with the central figure illuminated by a spotlight.
Three people stand in a line holding cue sticks above their heads.
Four people posing in movement around a stage lit up by spotlights.
Plate rolling towards the camera with two people in the background watching with plates on the stage floor in front of them.
People clumped together with one person's face visible surrounded by everyone's hands.
Closeup of a face surrounded by hands.
Person sitting on a board held up by two other people to be eye level with another person.
Person with head and arms thrown back looking up.
Four people, one in a planking position and three standing, on a stage together.
Three people in movement towards the left while a fourth screams in their direction.
Four people crouching, one reaching four a glass while the others hold onto their arms.
Three people facing different directions holding cue sticks.

A Record of Us