What began as a labour of love theatre project for students of The MusicBox in CBS evolved into a film created by some very enthusiastic folklore-loving volunteers  

====

Brett Vey runs a small business in the town of Conception Bay South. “I have a music degree, and I opened The MusicBox Studio as a way to share my passion,” he begins.

There’s other passions he shares, and that includes theatre. Every second year, Vey and his music school students would put off an original production at the Barbara Barrett Theatre in St. John’s.  

“We do everything from scratch, and started putting the productions under the umbrella of Broken Rock, which is where these stories take place. It’s a small Newfoundland fishing community set in 1901 that we’ve created. These original productions became a series, and this is one of those stories.”

Sacrifice & heartache 

Vey draws heavily from Newfoundland folklore for his creations, and Fiddle is no different. The mystical qualities that dwell in outport Newfoundland is prominent in his work. The film, which screens at the theatre located in the Manuels River Hibernia Interpretation Centre on September 21 at 6p.m., features a  love triangle between out-port livyers and some fairies. When these two worlds combine and compete, there’s sacrifice and eventually heartache.

‘‘It’s like this Newfoundland culture-based love story and it’s all ultimately based on traditional elements of Newfoundland folklore. It’s like another we did on the local lore of a black-headed seagull, which is usually a sign of luck or they can help lead you somewhere.” 

Vey explains that if you’re in danger and you see a black-headed seagull, if you follow, it’ll probably lead you to safety.

All hands on deck 

Though written and composed by Vey, he’s certainly not solo on this project. Over 20 young sets of hands helped perfect this particular film, something he’s proud of.

Another thing he’s proud of is the fact that he inherited his passion for local lore from his father, Fred Vey. 

“My passion for this type of storytelling came from my father. I’ve been heavily influenced by his love of Newfoundland culture and of course I think that was passed down to me.”

While we can’t give the story and all its mystical elements away, Vey says it’s something many would enjoy seeing on many levels. 

“It’s something we did totally in the town of CBS, so there’s some home-grown pride there, and the actors are local. And it’s a love story, which is nice, but the fairies add an interesting element as well. What happens when fairies come into contact with humans? What happens when they fall in love? It’s not happily ever after, that’s for sure,’’ he teases.

For ticket information visit manuelsriver.ca. For more on Broken Rock visit themusicboxstudio.com.