Stageworthy

Andre is a Toronto-based Actor, Director, Producer and Writer.  He has spent most of his career working in the Theatre across the country. This is his 7th season at Stratford where he is playing Bottom in A Midsummer's Night Dream, opening the new Tom Patterson Theatre Parking Lot under a tent. He also played the title character in the 2018 Stratford hit Coriolanus directed by the World Renowned Robert Lepage, and was in the top 10 shows of 2018 in the Washington Post and The Globe & Mail and more.  In addition, he spent four seasons at The Shaw Festival where he played Tom in The Glass Menagerie and received a My Entertainment World Best Actor Award for his work in An Octoroon and a Dora Award & Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Actor for his work in Master Harold and the Boys.  He has also worked at Soulpepper Theatre where he toured with Kim's Convenience across the country, and also played Othello at The St. Louis Black Rep, and many other companies across the country. He is a Resident Artist

Sandi Becker is a professional stage manager who has been working all over Canada for nearly 20 years. She has worked on shows varying from school tours for kindergarteners to operas to horror/magic/puppet extravaganzas to Shakespeare. Sandi has recently started a collaboration on a podcast called "Chewing Scenery", a humorously angry look at theatre as portrayed in the movies. Listen to Chewing Scenery: https://anchor.fm/chewing-scenery Transcript at https://stageworthypodcast.com/292-sandi-becker/ Support Stageworthy: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Vikki is an actor from Toronto, ON who accidentally stumbled upon her purpose. In 2012, she started a business, offering affordable studio and performance space to her fellow artists. It wasn't until a few years later that she realized that what she was doing was running a business and she was actually an entrepreneur and had been one all along. This led her to realize that all artists are actually entrepreneurs and yet all of the business resources and language that are made available to entrepreneurs are missing in arts education and culture. Vikki is now a multi-passionate artist-entrepreneur, business owner, author and coach, helping other artists turn their passion into a purpose and their creative skills into a paycheque, without losing the art. www.spacespacerevolution.com Instagram: @businessownerbymistake Artist-Bosses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/artistboss Transcript available at https://stageworthypodcast.com/291-vikki-velenosi/ Phil's Patreon: https://patreon.com/philrickaby

Brad Fraser is one of Canada's best known playwrights. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1959, Brad won his first playwriting competition at the age of seventeen, and has been writing ever since. Brad's international hit play Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love premiered at the Alberta Theatre Projects' PlayRites Festival in 1989. It has since been produced worldwide, in many languages, with highly successful runs in Toronto, New York, Chicago, Milan, Sydney and London. Poor Super Man, developed by Canadian Stage, was first produced by the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati in 1994 and has enjoyed successful runs in many cities, including Toronto, London, Sydney, Edinburgh and Denver. It was nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award for Drama and adapted into a feature film, Leaving Metropolis, written and directed by Brad. Poor Super Man, like Unidentified Human Remains, was listed by Time magazine as one of the top ten plays of its year. Many other plays have followed in successful produc

Cooking for Grief After a sudden death in his family, Rob is forced to come to terms with his own identity and the actions that inform his role as a son, partner and friend. He returns to group therapy— after a sudden hiatus— on the heels of a fractured realization of self. As the members of Group work together in their healing process, they find common ground in their experiences with loss, pain and addictions. Cooking for Grief explores familial relationships, toxic masculinity, and what it means to accept healing into one’s life Breanna Maloney (she/her) is an actor, writer and indie theatre producer based in and around Toronto. Coming from a background in movement and devised theatre, her current practice focuses on the research and exploration of shame, grief and the healing process through use of dialogue and movement. Recently, Breanna has contributed writing to Tall Tale Theatre's Night Terrors podcast, the Windsor-Essex Nature Poetry and Environmentalism zine and The Tank NYC's_ Rule of 7x7_. Brea

Shane Adamczak graduated from WAAPA in 2003 and has since gone on to become a stalwart of the West Australian Theatre and Improv scene; a Fringe Festival veteran of over 50 festivals worldwide and “One of Perth’s most successful independent theatre creators” (The Sunday Times) as a founding member and current Artistic Director of Independent Theatre Company Weeping Spoon Productions. He best known for his roles in FRANKIES, Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, Vicious Circles, Trampoline and This Is Not A Love Song. His most recent work is a play about a man who lives in another man’s beard called The Ballad Of Frank Allen, which won the coveted JUST FOR LAUGHS award (Best Comedy) at The Montreal Fringe. He was also the face of STAN’s national “Hungry Eyes” campaign. He is the host of the Good Morning Mrs. Strawberry podcast and recently launched his own independent toy company CUBE BOY COLLECTABLES. Twitter: @shaneadamczak Instagram: @shaneadamczak Transcript at https://stageworthypodcast.com/288-shane-a

joey o'dael is a Dora award-nominated trans nonbinary artist, performer, director, and comedian. A UWinnipeg/Randolph College alum, joey has cultivated a career focused on social equity, accessibility, and challenging oppressive paradigms. Raised in a remote Northern Manitoban community, they are deeply invested in bringing art and training opportunities to underserved communities across Turtle Island. In 2017, joey served as co-writer, dramaturg, producer, and performer for the award-winning, breakout hit ‘NASTY’ at the Toronto Fringe. They are a co-founder of both Maelstrom Art Collective; a collective dedicated to creating diverse protest pieces, and horror theatre company Aberrant Theatre. instagram: @ratkingcole.jpg tiktok: @ratkingcole twitter: @deathsparkle Transcript at https://stageworthypodcast.com/287-joey-odael/ Support Stageworthy: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Caroline Toal is an award winning actor and a graduate of George Brown Theatre School. Theatrically, Caroline has performed in Seattle, Montreal, Toronto, all across southern Ontario, and has originated roles for multiple new Canadian productions. Caroline has been nominated for six awards, winning Dora Mavor Moore awards for ‘Outstanding Ensemble’ in both Casimir and Caroline produced by The Howland Company in 2020 and for the world premiere of Selfie by Christine Quintana at Young People’s Theatre in 2018. Caroline co-wrote Single Thread Theatre Company’s immersive production of Ambrose in 2015 and she is currently writing her first play, Survivors, supported by Studio 180 and Workman Arts. She is passionate about mental health awareness and the environment. www.carolinetoal.com Instagram: @toalbooth Twitter: @caretoal Transcript at https://stageworthypodcast.com/286-caroline-toal/ Support Stageworthy: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Siobhan Richardson is an internationally-recognized Fight Director, an Intimacy Director (a pioneer voice in this specialty across Canada), and an award-winning actor/fighter/singer/dancer. Her teaching career has spanned Canada, USA and Europe, including international events such as the Paddy Crean International Art of the Sword Workshop, Fight Directors Canada's National Workshops, and the Nordic Stage Fight Society's Summer Workshops, and four separate teaching tours including Sweden, Norway, Estonia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Finland, Germany and France. She’s been both a student and a teacher online for over a decade. Siobhan’s work has been seen on some of Canada’s most well-recognized stages (The Canadian Opera Company, National Arts Centre, The Shaw Festival, The Stratford Festival, Factory Theatre and Soulpepper, to name a few), as well as around the world through online performance and education. In all her work, Siobhan is dedicated to the growth and development of the art form, the artists and o

Daniel Fong is an actor, singer and mostly coordinated mover bringing light and laughter from his hometown of Calgary, Alberta in Treaty 7 territory. With his mixed-race background, Daniel’s work centers around the breathing of life into new works, and reimagining treasured stories in contemporary ways. Daniel received his training at Grant MacEwan University (Class of 2012) and was the recipient of the Stephen Hair Emerging Artist Award for 2019. Using his music, heart and energy he hopes to help lead his local theatre community into the next chapter of its journey. Selected Acting Credits include: The Paper Bag Princess (StoryBook Theatre); Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Twelfth Night, DiVerseCity (The Shakespeare Company); Gutenberg the Musical! (Lunchbox); A Christmas Carol (Theatre Calgary); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Skin of Our Teeth (Rosebud); US (The Globe Theatre);The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, Fortune Falls, The Circle (ATP); [Title of Show] (Birnton Theatrica

Jenna is a mixed-race Director and Dramaturg based on Treaty 7 Territory. She is the founding Artistic Director of Chromatic Theatre – a company dedicated to producing and developing work by and for artists of colour. Jenna is also the Dramaturg for the Playwrights Lab at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. A passionate arts equity advocate, she is a graduate of the NTS Artistic Leadership Residency, the Banff Centre’s Cultural Leadership program, and the artEquity National Facilitator Training cohort. She was shortlisted for the 2021 Gina’s Prize and is a recipient of a 2018 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Emerging Artists. She holds an MA in International Performance Research from the universities of Amsterdam and Tampere. Recent Directing credits include Mary’s Wedding _at the Citadel Theatre, _Actually _at Alberta Theatre Projects, and Sherlock Holmes and the Raven’s Curse at Vertigo Theatre; For Chromatic Theatre (我的名是张欣恩 (Gimme Chance Leh), Winners and Losers, Cowboy Versus Samurai); fu-GEN Theatr

Caleigh Crow is a queer Métis writer, musician, and performer from Calgary. Her work tends towards themes of metaphysics, class struggle, magic, and joy. Previous topics include: a talking crow with magical powers who transforms a grocery store clerk into the agent of her own freedom, the Antifa Supersoldier, the intersection between 12th century Franciscan nuns and Britney Spears, witch revenge, and a landlord musical. Playwriting credits include HEXEN, The Order of the Poor Ladies, Kill Time Before Time Kills You, and There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There is Death; or The Born Again Crow, most recently performed in partnership with Gwaandak Theatre in Whitehorse. Her latest play, Hucksterland: The Musical, is in development with the support of Chromatic Theatre’s inaugural BIPOC Playwrights Unit. She wrote and performed in Betch-A-Sketch at the St Ambroise Montreal FRINGE Festival, and was the assistant director for Gender? I Hardly Know Them’s HTTPEEPEE this summer, marking her entry

Chelsea Haraburda Chelsea Haraburda (she/they) is a performer, producer, director, designer, and creator for stage and screen. Chelsea is proudly queer and passionate about featuring voices of socio-economic diversity, queerness, and their works seem to continuously feature their hometown, Hamilton ON. Over the past 6 years, Chelsea has performed as both a solo and collaborative artist at a number of festivals including Hamilton Fringe, Toronto Fringe, and FKN Make Film Festival. While studying a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies, Chelsea produced their first solo show, entitled “For Eden” hosted by the Array Space and York University. Chelsea has gone on to produce and perform deeply personal and original interactive installations, such as “Full Disclosure: A Story for Eden” (2018) in association with mentorship programs such as The Junction/Theatre Aquarius and Crapshoot/Tarragon Theatre. This summer, Chelsea is returning to the Hamilton Fringe with a new play “Vagabond” in collaboration with Ryan Perciv

Conor Wylie is a performer, writer, and director creating experimental theatre. He lives and works on the unceded, ancestral, and occupied lands of the Coast Salish peoples, including the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) nations. Alongside Nancy Tam and Daniel O’Shea, he runs A Wake of Vultures, a performance collective working across sonic, visual, and theatrical disciplines, who recently released an online miniseries called K BODY AND MIND, a mash-up of 90s cyberpunk anime aesthetics and minimalist theatre. Conor's work has increasingly incorporated explorations of science-fiction and videogame aesthetics, and he frequently collaborates with a variety of independent companies, including Theatre Replacement, Hong Kong Exile, and members of the Progress Lab consortium. In 2019, he was named Siminovitch Prize Protégé by Maiko Yamamoto and James Long. In 2021, he joins the writing team of a new video game studio, sunset visitor 斜陽過客. conorwylie.ca Instagram: @awa

Yvonne Addai is an Ghanaian- Canadian Actor/ Artist Educator. She is a graduate from the University of Saskatchewan BFA acting program. She has had the opportunity to work on stages in Saskatchewan and now calls Toronto home. She was also part of the 2019.2020 Factory Theatre’s Mechanicals program under the Leadership of Nina lee Aquino and Natasha Mumba. Along with acting, Yvonne is passionate about the importance of art education and creation with children. She works with Young People's Theatre as an artist educator. Her selected theatre credits include The Tempest ( Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan) An Atlas and Other Concerns (Toronto Fringe) Monday Night (Highway 55 Production/Live 5 ), Overhear ( Nutrien Fringe Saskatoon), Pride & Prejudice (Persephone Theatre) ,The Shorts Cuts festival (Hardly Art Theatre) ,The Woodcutter and the Lion ( Sum Theatre) and Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Theatre Naught/ Live Five). Instagram: @Yvonneaddai Support Stageworthy: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Joella Crichton Joella Crichton is an actor for stage and screen. She holds a BFA in Acting from York University. Joella is passionate about her Caribbean heritage and is the nine time Queen of Carnival here in Toronto. She has been nominated for her work on stage and loves the theatre! Alongside her many years experience in theatre, film and television, Joella also works to develop equality, diversity and inclusivity in these fields. She has created and worked on initiatives such as the Bechdel Bill and Share The Screen. Twitter: @joellacrichton Instagram: @joellacrichton Sedina Fiati Sedina Fiati is a Toronto based performer, producer, director, creator and activist for stage and screen. Proudly Black and queer, Sedina is deeply invested in artistic work that explores the intersection between art and activism, either in form or structure or ideally both. Upcoming projects: Switching Queen(s) (devised street performance), Last Dance (a web series). Sedina is also a Principal with BIPOC Executive Search, w

Kendra Jones A director, creator, and dramaturg, Kendra Jones graduated with Distinction from the MA Text & Performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), London, and holds a BA(Hons) in Theatre Performance from the University of Winnipeg where she has also been guest faculty. Favourite directing credits include Simon Stephens’ Sea Wall, Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis (Theatre By the River), a site-specific interpretation of Tim Crouch’s I, Malvolio (impel theatre), Watching Glory Die (Love2 Theatre), Drunk Enough To Say I Love You, Seagulls (selardi theatre), Clever Little Lies (Assistant director to Steven Schipper, RMTC,) and Richard II (workshop Assistant Director to Christopher Brauer, Zone41). Kendra is also a creator of original work, including Dear Mama, Tonight at Eight, Autel, and her adaptation of Marlowe’s Edward II. She writes about contemporary performance from an academic perspective on her blog; this writing focuses on the performer-audience relationship and the ethics of performanc

Cassie Davidson is an emerging actor, indie producer, playwright, and theatre educator from the beautiful small town of Walkerton, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies from The University of Guelph and is a graduate from George Brown Theatre School’s acting conservatory. Cassie is also a certified basic actor combatant with FDC, and will be continuing to advance her certifications when restrictions are lifted. Recently, Cassie has begun teaching youth acting classes with Stagecoach Oakville and on Outschool. She comes from a long line of teachers in her family, and is not at all surprised that she ended up in the world of education. As a founding member of Theatre Foolscap (a new Toronto-based indie theatre company), she is very passionate about helping other emerging theatre artists showcase their work and find opportunities to further their craft. Cassie is passionate about heart racing, heightened, highly physical theatre that features powerful women in powerful positions. Currently, sh

Keith Tomasek is an award-winning arts marketing consultant whose Facebook campaign for the Grand Theatre won the International Association of Business Communicators' Virtuoso Award. Recently, Keith's campaigns have sold over $400,000 worth of tickets to virtual events. He's also the leader of the Arts Marketing Mastermind group. Keith studied theatre in Montreal and is the founder of the website Stratford Festival Reviews and The Performers Podcast. Twitter: @FestivalReviews Instagram: @keithtomasek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeithTomasek Arts Marketing Mastermind Group: https://keithtomasek.com/arts-marketing-mastermind/ Support Stageworthy: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Lauren Allen is a theatre artist originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Since graduating from Grant MacEwan University in 2013, she has worked across Canada and Europe as an actor, producer, burlesque instructor, stage manager, and director. She has settled in Toronto, for the moment. Most recently she has taken courses to become a script supervisor and will soon be seen again in Saskatchewan for Burn Rubber, Dolly at The Lyric Theatre in Swift Current. Lauren is also a social media marketer, and the creator of Social Media the L.A. Way. lauren-allen.net socialthelaway.com Twitter: @lesmis456 Instagram: lesmis456 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socialthelaway/ Support Stageworthy: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy