About Us
Not studio. Production company.
Jocelyn Parlee & Patricia "Tish" Lawrence
Co-Founders · Little Big Time Productions
A Phone Call.
A Community.
A Sold-Out House.
"They didn't just come to see a show.
They came back. And they brought everyone they knew."
It started with a phone call. In 2017, Jocelyn Parlee — a working actor, writer, and filmmaker with two decades of film and television credits to her name — was approached by her community in Purcell's Cove, Halifax, with a simple ask: write something, produce it, put it on stage.
She said yes. And she called Tish.
Because some creative partnerships don't begin in a boardroom or a pitch meeting. They begin in a field. Jocelyn and Patricia "Tish" Lawrence have been making stories together since they were children — two girls born just six days apart, spending summers on Tish's family farm in the small Nova Scotia village of Hopewell. They would round up cousins, neighbours, anyone who wandered too close and couldn't escape fast enough — and put on a show. Characters were invented on the spot. Dialogue was improvised. The audience — whoever happened to be standing in the yard — laughed until their sides ached. Nobody got paid. Nobody cared. The joy of it was the whole point.
That spirit — irreverent, warm, unstoppable — is the heartbeat of everything Little Big Time Productions has ever made.
What followed in 2017 was anything but simple — and exactly what it was always meant to be. The first production sold out. Not through advertising. Not through a marketing campaign. Through word of mouth — neighbour to neighbour, door to door — the way the best stories always travel. The audience didn't just show up. They came alive. They laughed, they leaned in, they demanded more.
So Jocelyn and Tish gave them more. Screeched Lightning and Mrs. Purcell's Girls followed — both original productions, both written and co-directed in-house, both selling out multiple dates almost before the ink was dry on the posters. The company had a name now: Little Big Time Productions. Small in size. Enormous in ambition.
2017
Founded
3+
Sold-Out Productions
100%
Original Material
The World Stopped.
The Vision Didn't.
Then the pandemic hit. Stages went dark. Venues closed. The touring plans, the new productions, the momentum that had been building for three years — all of it halted overnight. For most, it would have been the end of the story.
For Jocelyn and Tish, it was the beginning of a different one.
Forced off the stage, they turned to the screen — and found that everything they had built through theatre translated directly to film. The instinct for story. The discipline of production. The ability to move an audience. The pandemic didn't kill Little Big Time Productions. It transformed it.
What emerged from that silence was a production company with a sharper identity, a bolder mandate, and a development slate built entirely on original material — written, developed, and produced in-house, from first draft to final cut. A lifetime of creative passion — from those first performances in a Nova Scotia field to sold-out community theatre to the experience gained on the highest level of professional productions — had honed instincts that no classroom can teach. That is the foundation Little Big Time Productions is built on.
"The stage taught us how to tell a story.
The silence taught us what we were really capable of."
Jocelyn Parlee
Director of Operations & Project Director
Actor · Writer · Filmmaker
Jocelyn Parlee has spent over two decades working at every level of the Canadian film and television industry — in front of the camera, behind it, and in the production offices that hold it all together. She is an actor, a writer, a filmmaker, and an experienced professional who understands the industry not from the outside looking in, but from the inside out.
Her on-screen appearances span some of the most significant productions to shoot in Atlantic Canada and beyond — from the international hit series FROM and Sullivan's Crossing to The Sinner, Trailer Park Boys, and the acclaimed miniseries Shattered City. She has appeared in feature films, television dramas, and national commercial campaigns — including the iconic Keith's Beer "The Fridge" spot — and has lent her voice to national campaigns for CNIB and WorkSafe NB
Behind the camera, Jocelyn has worked in productions assisting with coordination and departmental management on major series' including Sullivan's Crossing S3 & S4, FROM S4, and the 2026 feature film The Executor — building full department tracking systems, managing production financials, and coordinating between departments at the highest level of professional production.
She has also worked as a contracted advisor and creator for corporate rebranding campaigns — designing, filming, directing, and producing brand launch content from concept through delivery. She knows what it takes to build something from nothing and make it work.
Little Big Time Productions is the convergence of all of it — every set she has worked on, every story she has told, every audience she has moved. It is the company she was always building toward.
Productions
2004 — Present · Atlantic Canada & Beyond
Small Name. Big Ambition.
Little Big Time Productions was co-founded on a simple conviction: that Atlantic Canada has stories worth telling — and the talent to tell them at the highest level. Stories with warmth, wit, and the kind of characters you want to spend time with.
We are an original content production company. Every project we develop is written and developed in-house — no adaptations, no licensed IP. We build our stories from the ground up, with full creative ownership from concept through development. Romantic comedies, character-driven dramas, and stories that make you laugh, cry, and come back for more.
When a project is ready for production, we bridge it to the screen through our Professional Industry Partner Program — connecting it with the right professional crew based on budget, format, and vision. In-house filming is something we are actively growing toward as the production company expands.
Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, we are open to co-productions, broadcast partnerships, and creative collaborations that share our commitment to quality storytelling.
Our Values
Story First
Every decision we make — creative, financial, logistical — starts with the story. We protect the work.
Craft Without Compromise
We believe in doing things properly. That means the right people, the right process, and the patience to get it right.
Atlantic Roots
We are proudly based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Atlantic Canada has a voice that deserves to be heard on the world stage.
Collaborative Spirit
Great productions are built on trust. We work as partners — with writers, directors, broadcasters, and financiers.
"We don't adapt. We originate."
Production Philosophy
We write everything ourselves. That's not a constraint — it's a choice. Owning the material from the first draft means we protect the story at every stage of development and production.
We develop slowly and deliberately. We don't greenlight a project until the writing is ready. That discipline is what separates work that lasts from work that fills a slot.
When a project is ready for production, we connect it to the right people through our Professional Industry Partner Program — matching each project with a professional crew suited to its budget, format, and vision. We are growing toward in-house filming as the production company expands, and we can connect any project with the right locations specialist for consultation today.
We are rooted in Atlantic Canada but building for a global audience. The specificity of place is not a limitation — it's what makes the work universal.
Founders
Little Big Time Productions was built by two people who were there from the very first night — and have been building it together ever since.
Jocelyn Parlee
Director of Operations & Project Director
Actor, writer, and filmmaker with 20+ years across Canadian film and television. The creative and operational force behind Little Big Time Productions — and the person who answered the call in 2017.
Patricia "Tish" Lawrence
Co-Writer & Project Director
There from the very first production in Purcell's Cove, Tish has been in the trenches of Little Big Time Productions since its theatrical debut. An outside-the-box creative thinker and comedy visionary, she has an extraordinary gift for character and dialogue — the kind of instinct that can't be taught. Her intuitive, compassionate direction gives cast members the freedom and confidence to bring vibrant characters to life with full comedic abandon. A trusted co-director and creative partner who has helped shape the production company's voice from the stage to the screen.
In-House Creative Services
Every project begins with us — in the room, from the first idea. We write original screenplays, series bibles, and pitch packages entirely in-house. No adaptations. No licensed IP. Full creative ownership from concept through final draft.
Original Screenplay & Script Development
We develop original screenplays from the ground up — shaping voice, structure, and story into a production-ready script.
Story Development from Concept to Draft
From a single idea to a polished draft, we guide the creative process at every step — shaping narrative, refining structure, and protecting the story.
Series Bible & Pitch Package Creation
We build the full pitch package: series bible, tone document, character breakdowns, and visual language — everything a broadcaster needs to say yes.
Creative Producing from Day One
Our producers are in the room from the first conversation. We don't come in at the end — we build alongside you, ensuring the creative vision survives every stage.
Professional Industry Partner Program
P.I.P.P.
Once a project completes in-house development, it enters the P.I.P.P. pipeline — a contractual production pathway that matches it with the right professional crew, connects it with a locations specialist, and coordinates the production framework from development exit to final cut.
Readiness Review
Script, package & financing assessed before entry into the production pipeline.
Crew Matching
Right crew for the budget, format, genre, and vision — every match is deliberate.
Location Consultation
Atlantic Canada & beyond — specialist access for every project.
Production
Creative continuity from page to screen, with Little Big Time maintaining oversight throughout.
"In-House Creative Services builds the project. The P.I.P.P. brings it to life."
Learn About P.I.P.P.