Stageworthy

Now in its 10th year, Stageworthy is Canada’s theatre podcast, bringing you in-depth interviews with theatre artists, panel discussions, and more. Each week, host Phil Rickaby sits down with the people who make theatre happen: from household names to artists you should know. Whether you're an audience member, a theatre maker, or just plain curious about Canadian theatre, Stageworthy offers a front-row seat to the conversations shaping the industry. New episodes every Tuesday.

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477 episodes
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Today · 1 hr 2 min
Ming Hudson is Directing Antigone at Bard on the Beach
About This Episode: Director Ming Hudson joins Phil Rickaby to talk about bringing Antigone to Bard on the Beach in Vancouver - a production seven years in the making, created collaboratively with playwright Kate Besworth. It's a minimalist, intimate reimagining of a 2,500-year-old story about a woman who does the right thing even when told not to, and Ming shares how it came together from a literal bonfire in rural Nova Scotia to the thrust stage at Bard. This episode explores: How a seven-year collaboration with playwright Kate Besworth shaped this bold, minimal production of Antigone The "arrow" model of non-hierarchical directing and why Ming loves saying "I don't know" Making her Bard on the Beach directing debut after years as a performer with the company The Edmonton Fringe, the Edinburgh Fringe, and why fringe festivals are essential to Canadian theatre ecology What D&D has taught Ming about vulnerability, play, and building stronger creative relationships And much more! Guest: 🎭 Ming Hudson Ming (she/her) is a Vancouver based artist who pays rent on the lands stolen from the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. For over 20 years, she has worked as a freelance performer, collaborative director, devised theatre creator, independent producer, and teaching artist on the West Coast, across Canada, and abroad. Her specializations are in physical theatre and the creation of new work as a collective ensemble. A graduate of the Creating Theatre and Performance program at LISPA (now arthaus.berlin), Ming also holds a MA in Ensemble Theatre (Rose Bruford), and a BFA in Acting (UVic). Ming has worked for: Bard on the Beach, Zee Zee Theatre, 25th Street Theatre, The Arts Club, Studio 58, SFU, UBC, Dell'Arte International, UVic, vAct, Two Planks and a Passion, TheatreOne, Chemainus Theatre Festival, CCPA, Gwaandak Theatre, Green Thumb Theatre, Theatre Replacement, Atomic Vaudeville, Firehall Arts Centre, Boca del Lupo, Concrete Theatre, and Kaleidoscope Theatre. She has also created eleven new shows, which have been performed in five different countries. Connect with Ming 🌐 website: www.minghudson.com 📸 Instagram: @hudsonfx Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
July 28 · 56 min
Tim Carroll is making the Shaw Festival into a two-way conversation with its audience
About This Episode: Tim Carroll has been the artistic director of the Shaw Festival for a decade, and in that time he's reshaped the festival's mandate, expanded its reach into the community, and built a company culture grounded in playfulness, humility, and genuine artistic ambition. This episode explores: How Tim balances directing two major productions, Heartbreak House and Amadeus, in a single season, and why Tom Rooney is at the centre of both The economics of theatre: why even one of Canada's largest festivals relies on donations for half its income, and how a small-audience show can be as valuable as a sellout musical Why Tim abolished the Shaw Festival's mandate and replaced it with a mission; and what that difference actually means in practice How working at Shakespeare's Globe with Mark Rylance shaped every aspect of Tim's directing philosophy, from shared light to trusting the unexpected And much more! Guest: 🎭 Tim Carroll im Carroll currently serves as Artistic Director of The Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, a position he's held since 2017. Carroll may be best known for his years as Associate Director at London’s Globe Theatre, in particular for his productions of Richard III and Twelfth Night, starring Mark Rylance, for whose Broadway run in the 2013-14 season he was Tony-nominated and Mark Rylance won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor. Carroll worked with the English Shakespeare Company before serving as the artistic director of the Northcott Theatre in Exeter. Carroll also served as the artistic director for the Kent Opera, and he is a founding member of the experimental theatre group the Factory in London. Carroll’s directing work has spanned not only the Globe but the globe, from theatres in Hungary, Norway, Portugal, Romania, and Canada! Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
July 21 · 56 min
Ryan McCollom is Making Canadian Theatre Impossible to Ignore
About This Episode: Ryan McCollom is a Toronto-based theatre content creator behind the popular TikTok and Instagram account Plates and Playbills, and he's on a mission to get more people through the doors of indie and smaller professional theatres across the city. What started as personal documentation of his own growing love of theatre has evolved into a platform dedicated to closing the gap between the big Mirvish productions most people know and the rich, underserved world of indie and community theatre that most audiences don't even know exists. This episode explores: How Ryan went from cooking videos during COVID to becoming one of Toronto's most visible theatre content creators The difference between being a theatre critic and a theatre commentator and why Ryan is careful about that line Why the Stratford Festival was the wake-up call that made Ryan realize theatre needed younger audiences now What indie theatres could be doing on social media to reach new audiences without spending a dime Canadian cultural cringe in the performing arts: why audiences wait for American or British validation before embracing homegrown work And much more! Guest: 🎭 Ryan McCollom Ryan is a Toronto-based content creator dedicated to making theatre more accessible and approachable for new audiences while also encouraging seasoned theatre-goers to explore smaller professional companies and indie productions. While his coverage primarily focuses on the Toronto theatre scene, Ryan also documents his travels and the productions he experiences around the world, sharing an honest perspective as an everyday theatre fan. Connect with Ryan: 📸 Instagram: @platesandplaybills_ 🎥 TikTok: @platesandplaybills_ Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
July 14 · 1 hr 1 min
Peter Fernandes is Making His Directing Debut at the Shaw Festival with Sleuth
About This Episode: Peter Fernandes is many things at once: an award-winning actor, a magic and illusions designer, and now a first-time director at one of Canada's most celebrated theatre festivals. In this conversation, Peter joins Phil to talk about what it's like to make your directing debut with Sleuth at the Shaw Festival, a mystery that demands the same sleight-of-hand thinking Peter has honed as a magic practitioner. The terror of stepping into a new role, the joy of being trusted with it, and the surprise of discovering how much his illusion work shaped his directorial instincts. This episode explores: Directing Sleuth at the Shaw Festival as a debut; and why pure excitement quickly turned to terror How magic and illusions design shaped Peter's approach to staging a mystery Hosting the Dora Awards while being nominated for one (and which one was scarier) The case for taking comedy - and musical theatre - as seriously as any other art form And much more! Guest: 🎭 Peter Fernandes Peter Fernandes is an award-winning theatre creator based out of Toronto. As a performer, select credits include One For the Pot, One Man Two Guvnors, The Importance of Being Earnest, Damn Yankees, Charley’s Aunt, Christmas Carol, The Russian Play, Brigadoon (Shaw); Fat Ham (Canadian Stage) Bidding War, The Master Plan, Fifteen Dogs (Crow’s); Almost a Full Moon, Peter and the Starcatcher (Citadel); Rose, Father Comes Home From the Wars, Alligator Pie, Incident at Vichy, The Just, Marat/Sade, The Dybbuk, Spoon River, Tartuffe, The Crucible, Idiot’s Delight (Soulpepper); Vietgone (RMTC); Romeo & Juliet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love & Information, Twelfth Night, King Lear (Canadian Stage); Jerusalem (Outside the March/Company); You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown! (MTYP); Onegin (NAC/Musical Stage); Passing Strange (Musical Stage/Obsidian). Creative credits include: Director, Sleuth (SHAW) Associate Director - Wights, Octet, A Strange Loop (Crow’s), Assistant Director - Sherlock Holmes and the mystery of the Human Heart, Witness for the Prosecution (Shaw) Magic Consultant - Bremen Town (Tarragon) Trident Moon (Crow’s), Snow in Midsummer (Shaw), Illusions Assistant - Fat Ham (Broadway), The Witches - workshop (UK) Connect with Peter: 🌐 Website: peterfernandes.ca 📸 Instagram: @pjrfernandes Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
July 7 · 56 min
Natalie Kaye is Channelling Harpo Marx, Mae West, and Shakespeare All at Once
About This Episode: Playwright and writer Natalie Kaye joins Phil Rickaby to talk about her wildly ambitious new musical, 1920s Walking Around in a Dream, playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The show is a screwball comedy set in an imagined 1920s Jazz Age Chicago, and it's a retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, translated not into modern English, but into the heightened, slang-drenched language of the Jazz Age. It's a project Natalie has been quietly nurturing for at least a decade, and hearing her describe its journey from a single translated sonnet to a fully staged musical is genuinely thrilling. This episode explores: How a single translated Shakespeare sonnet launched a decade-long project Why A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Jazz Age are a perfect match Silent film, vaudeville, and the Marx Brothers as creative inspirations The challenge of writing dense, heightened language that audiences can actually follow What it means to finally relinquish control and trust your cast and director And much more! Guest: ✍️ Natalie Kaye Natalie Kaye (she/her) Playwright. Natalie is an award-winning playwright and a published poet. She is also a dancer, choreographer and aerial silks performer. A graduate of York University and the University of Toronto, Natalie has a Masters' in Drama. She has worked in theatre as a producer, director, playwright, actor and dramaturg. Her one-act play, Mood Swings, won first place in the Pat the Dog's 24-hour play contest. The play was workshopped by Pat the Dog in February, 2014 and received a full production at Toronto Fringe in 2016 where it was called "beautiful" "well-executed" and "poetic" by Mooney on Theatre. Her short plays, Universe Inc. and A Toast were produced by Newborn Theatre at the Odds and Ends Festival. She is a member of the Vault Creation Lab's writer's group. She co-wrote #1 Clown Comedy With Victor & Priscilla at Toronto Fringe in 2025. Connect with Natalie Kaye: 🌐 Website: unspokentheatrecompany.weebly.com 📸 Instagram: @unspokentheatrecompany Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
June 30 · 1 hr 17 min
Your Guide to the 2026 Toronto Fringe, with Four of Toronto's Essential Theatre Voices
About This Episode: As the Toronto Fringe Festival prepares to launch, Phil Rickaby gathers four of Toronto's most dedicated theatre content creators (Janine Marley from A View from the Box, Ryan Borochovitz from The Cup Podcast, Alexandra Lean from Being Dramatic, and Ryan McCollom from Plates & Playbills) for a lively live stream preview of the 2026 festival. Together they dig into what makes Fringe such a unique and exciting event, share their personal histories with the festival, and break down what their coverage will look like across podcasts, written reviews, and social media throughout the run. This episode explores: Each panelists Toronto Fringe Top 5, must see shows, plus a wildcard selection largely based on title alone. A breakdown of how each content creator covers Fringe, from roundup podcast episodes and daily written reviews to short-form TikTok recaps Practical tips for navigating venues, surviving the heat, eating on a budget, and planning your Fringe days geographically And much more Connect with Janine Marley, Ryan Borochovitz, Alexandra Lean, and Ryan McCollom: 🎙️ Ryan Borochovitz: The Cup Podcast 📺 Youtube: @cupofhemlocktheatre2934https://www.youtube.com/@cupofhemlocktheatre2934 📝 Alexandra Lean: Bad Reviewer and Being Dramatic ✒️ Bad Reviewer: badreviewer.substack.com 🎙️ Being Dramatic: https://open.spotify.com/show/04EUsQsiw1wrUMNLjdqDmy 📸 Ryan McCollom: Plates and Playbills on Instagram 🤳 Instagram: @platesandplaybills_ 📹 TikTok: @platesandplaybills_ 🌐 Janine Marley: A View from the Box ✏️ Website: aviewfromthebox.net 📹 Tiktok: @aviewfromthebox 📸 Instagram: @avuefromthebox Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
June 25 · 1 hr 10 min
Marla Torgerson is Bringing her Show about Breaking Up with White Jesus to Toronto Fringe
About This Episode: In this episode, Phil sits down with Marla Torgerson, a Calgary-based singer-songwriter and classically trained vocalist who has written and performs her debut theatrical work, Sinner, a one-woman musical tragic comedy about growing up in the evangelical Bible Belt of central Alberta and the long, often painful process of leaving fundamentalist religion behind. What starts as a conversation about a show becomes a wide-ranging, deeply personal discussion between two people who have both done the hard work of deconstructing their faith and are still finding new layers to unpack. This episode explores: How Marla went from singer-songwriter and opera graduate to writing her debut solo theatrical work over eight years The specific moment that cracked open her deconstruction, and why she frames Sinner as breaking up with white Jesus rather than religion broadly Why evangelical culture treats men and women differently, and how the Proverbs 31 woman ideal is actually a subversive power structure The prosperity gospel, megachurches, and why Marla argues that being rich is evidence of a lack of faith And much more! Guest: 🎤 Marla Torgerson Marla Torgerson is a Calgary-based singer-songwriter, performer, writer, and comedienne. Originally trained in classical voice, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and has performed throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, and South Korea. Her work combines soaring vocals, sharp humour, and deeply personal storytelling. Drawing from her experiences within North American evangelical culture, Marla creates work that examines faith, identity, belonging, and transformation with honesty, nuance, and compassion. Outside of theatre, she works professionally as a vocalist and songwriter, having been a background vocalist for legends like Sarah Mclachlan, and lived and recorded in Nashville, Tennessee alongside Grammy winning musicians, Marla has built a career that spans music, comedy, and live performance. SINNER. is her debut solo theatrical work. Get tickets to SINNER: https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/sinner-musical-tragicomedy-about-breaking-white-jesus Connect with Marla: 📸 Instagram: @sinner_the_musical 🎥 TikTok: @Sinnerthemusical Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
June 23 · 1 hr
Chris Cracknell is Making Theatre About Online Community, Identity, and Finding Your People
About this episode: Chris Cracknell is a Hamilton-based composer, musician, performer, and web series creator who has channelled a pandemic-era creative crisis into something genuinely extraordinary: a non-canonical musical adventure called Pookumhura Mistress of B-Roll, playing at Theatre Passe-Muraille as part of the Toronto Fringe's Musical Theatre Hub. The show draws on Chris's nearly two decades as a World of Warcraft player, but don't let that fool you into thinking you need to know anything about the game. At its heart, this is a show about how people use online spaces to find community, explore identity, and connect with each other across the divides that increasingly define our world. Chris and Phil dig into the origins of the Pookumhura web series, which Chris created as a way to climb out of pandemic-era depression one tiny creative act at a time. What started as the bare minimum (taking a gummy and ad-libbing awkward conversations with in-game NPCs) eventually snowballed into a full eleven-episode season and then a stage musical. It's a story about the power of low-stakes creative momentum, and the surprising places it can take you. Guest: 🎮 Chris Cracknell Chris Cracknell, a former webcomic artist and fixture of the Hamilton music and theatre communities has employed his talents in a wide variety of productions. He has performed in such diverse roles as Doctor Frank N. Furter in the Waterdown Village Theatre's 2012 production of "The Rocky Horror Show" and Mr. Kurlansky in the 2017 film "Chewed" by Mike Trebilcock and far too many Hamilton Fringe Festival productions to list. Tickets to Pookamhura: https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/non-canonical-musical-adventure-pookamhura-mistress-b-roll Connect with Chris: 🌐 Website: www.pookplay.ca 📸 Instagram: @pookamhura Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
June 18 · 1 hr 3 min
Victoria Sullivan is Forcing Ontario's Premier to Live on Minimum Wage at Toronto Fringe
Read transcript About This Episode: What would happen if a newly elected Premier of Ontario was forced to live on minimum wage? That's the provocative (and deeply funny) question at the heart of Minimum, the political satire written and performed by Victoria Sullivan. After winning Best in Venue at the 2025 Hamilton Fringe Festival, Victoria is bringing the show to Toronto Fringe, and the timing couldn't feel more apt. Victoria is an actor, playwright, and producer based in Hamilton, working under the banner of Be Victorious (and sometimes the Intergalactic Federation of Space Beers - it's a long story). She holds a master's degree from TMU, where her Dante-inspired thesis project Daniel T's Inferno Latte became a critically lauded Fringe hit. With four consecutive Fringe runs under her belt, she knows what it takes to make a show land; and she's ready to find out how Toronto audiences respond to political absurdism in the current climate. This episode explores: How the experience of moving to Toronto and working for minimum wage sparked the idea for Minimum Why Victoria chose a fictional premier over the actual Premier and what creative freedom that decision unlocked Returning to a show with the same cast but a new director, and what that reinvestigation revealed The changing landscape of Fringe marketing - from flyering lineups to social media ads - and what actually works And much more! Guest: 🎭 Victoria Sullivan Victoria Sullivan is an award-winning scriptwriter, producer and actress who currently resides in Hamilton, Ontario. Victoria completed an MFA in Scriptwriting and Story Design at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2023. Her thesis project is a female-led, television adaptation of Dante’s Inferno, with a modern-day interpretation of the entry requirements into Hell. Victoria produced and starred in a stage adaptation of Danielle Tea’s Infernal Latte on Tarragon Mainstage for the Toronto 2023 Fringe Festival to rave reviews and critical acclaim. She has co-written and produced It’s Always Hazy in Hamilton for the 2024 Hamilton Fringe Festival and wrote, produced and starred in Minimum for the 2025 Hamilton Fringe Festival, both of which won ‘Best in Venue’ at the Player’s Guild of Hamilton. Victoria is passionate about astronomy, the environment, animal rights and has an avid green thumb. She is currently entrenched in a war with fungus gnats over her indoor plants. Her favourite planet is Saturn. Get tickets to Minimum at Toronto Fringe: https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/minimum Connect with Victoria 🌐 Website: www.spacebeers.ca 📸 Instagram: @vicsullivahttps://www.instagram.com/vicsulliva Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
June 16 · 53 min
Kathleen Welch is Bringing Dark Celtic Mythology to the Toronto Stage with Siofra
Read transcript About This Episode: Kathleen Welch is a playwright, composer, director, and actor, and one of the founding members of The Spindle Collective; the Toronto-based company making some of the most compelling horror theatre in Canada right now. She joined Phil to talk about Siofra, Spindle Collective's latest show, which opens at the Red Sandcastle Theatre on June 17th. Rooted in the Irish mythology of changeling babies, Siofra is the second in a trilogy of folklore-inspired horror plays that Kathleen has written with Spindle Collective co-founder Natalia Bushnik. The conversation moves through the rich terrain of folklore and what makes it such fertile ground for original storytelling — from Romanian demons to Germanic winter witches, and now to the west of Ireland in the 1860s. Kathleen talks about the collaborative writing process she and Natalia developed during COVID, why writing with a trusted partner makes all the difference, and how Siofra surprised even its own creators when the humor started emerging in rehearsal. Kathleen also talks about the Dead of Winter Festival, the horror theatre festival she and Natalia launched in partnership with Eldritch Theatre, why genre theatre is a powerful way to bring new audiences into the room, and what she believes makes horror such a naturally feminist form of storytelling. This episode explores: The mythology of Irish changeling babies and how it shapes the story of Siofra How The Spindle Collective was born during COVID from a shared love of folklore and horror The Dead of Winter Festival: what they learned in year one, including surviving a polar vortex Why horror is uniquely suited to feminist storytelling and bringing new audiences to theatre And much more! Guest: 🎭 Kathleen Welch Kathleen Welch is a playwright, composer, director, and actor. She is a founding member of spindle collective, which focuses on the creation of horror theatre and dark folklore epics. With Natalia Bushnik, she co-wrote and composed the music for their Dark Mother Trilogy, made up of the plays SAMCA, síofra, and spilleHOLLE. SAMCA received numerous grants and accolades and, for its Toronto production, Kathleen was nominated for a Toronto Theatre Award for her role as Prava. Kathleen and Natalia recently completed their full-length version of spilleHOLLE after the ten minute version won “Gold” at the Grand River 10-minute Play Contest. Apart from their trilogy, spindle collective also created Dead of Winter: The Toronto Horror-Theatre Festival in association with Eldritch Theatre. The festival had a sold out run this past winter and will continue as an annual event! Kathleen's play, Bluebeard's Wives is currently being developed by spindle collective with guidance and support from The Vault Creation Lab. Apart from her work with spindle, some select credits include performing as the Creepy Musician in Eldritch Theatre’s production of The Strange and Eerie Memoirs of Billy Wuthergloom, directing Riot King’s Dora Award winning production of Suddenly Last Summer, and composing the music for Just Across the Causeway (a radio play supported by the CBC Digital Strategy Fund). Kathleen holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Windsor and is passionate about multidisciplinary theatre and plays that feature dangerous, amoral womxn. Learn about Siofra and buy tickets: https://natbushnik0.wixsite.com/spindlecollective/about-3 Connect with Kathleen and the Spindle Collective 📸 Instagram: @spindlecollective Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
June 11 · 50 min
Taylor Trowbridge is bringing DADS to Toronto Fringe
About This Episode: What do we really know about our dads — and what have we never been able to say out loud? Taylor Trowbridge joins Phil to talk about her new solo show Dads, playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Part stand-up, part storytelling, part audience game, the show invites people to sit with the full range of their experiences with their fathers: the funny, the complicated, and the quietly unresolved. Taylor and Phil dig into the generational forces that shaped so many dads — wartime trauma, boomer expectations, the rigid masculinity that made emotional connection difficult — and how those patterns echo forward into all of us. Taylor also shares how her brother Dylan is directing the show, why the family collaboration just makes sense, and what it was like to turn questions about her own dad into a piece of theatre. This episode explores: What Dads is — and why Taylor wanted to build a show around audience interaction, games, and stand-up The generational and emotional weight fathers carry, and how masculinity shapes the father-child relationship Working with her brother Dylan Trowbridge as director, and why no chemistry test was needed Tool for Rebellion: Taylor's verbatim theatre piece on incel culture, the Toronto van attack, and the limits of empathy And much more! Guest: 🎭 Taylor Trowbridge Taylor Trowbridge (she/her) is an actor, educator, and award-wining playwright. As an actor, she has performed for theatre companies such as Canadian Stage, The Shaw Festival, Nightwood Theatre, Bard on the Beach and SummerWorks Festival, and for TV shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Upload, SKYMED, Orphan Black, Murdoch Mysteries and Copper. Taylor’s documentary play Tool for Rebellion was part of Studio 180's IN DEVELOPMENT program in 2022 and 2023 and received the Equity Showcase Cayle Chernin Award for Theatre. Her new play DADS – a playful, interactive solo show – will be at Toronto Fringe from June 30th to July 12th. Get Tickets to DADS: http://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/dads Connect with Taylor: 📸 Instagram: @taylorbluetrowbridge Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
June 9 · 1 hr
Stephen Drover is Directing the Macbeth He's Been Thinking About for Twenty Years
Read transcript About this episode: Stephen Drover has directed Macbeth before; twenty years ago, the day after it closed, he wanted to do it again. Now, as both adapter and director for Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, he's finally getting that chance. In this rich conversation, Stephen talks about approaching Shakespeare not as a sacred text to be served but as a living collaboration, asking not what the words inherently mean but what meaning is being created in this specific theatre, for this specific audience, right now. The conversation covers the challenge of stripping away cultural baggage around the witches, to building a post-environmental dystopia as the world of the play, to why Stephen leans into the brutal, blood-soaked reality of the play rather than sanitizing it for comfortable consumption. He also reflects on how becoming a parent has changed the way he receives Macbeth's deeply embedded anxieties about children and grief. This episode explores: Approaching Shakespeare as a collaborator rather than a proprietor — and what that means in practice for this production The concentric rings of Stephen's career: actor to director to artistic director to dramaturg How a late diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and ADHD illuminates why theatre suits his brain so well New play development at the Arts Club and the 'one size fits one' philosophy And much more! Guest: 🎭 Stephen Drover Stephen is a dramaturg and director originally from Newfoundland and presently based on the lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver, British Columbia). He holds a BFA in Theatre from Memorial University of Newfoundland, an MFA in Directing from the University of British Columbia, and an MA in Theatre Theory and Dramaturgy from the University of Ottawa. Since 2018, he has served as Head of New Works and Professional Engagement at Arts Club Theatre Company, where he leads the commissioning and development of new plays. His dramaturgical work there includes projects such as Forgiveness (Hiro Kanagawa), Redbone Coonhound (Amy Lee Lavoie & Omari Newton), and The Cull (Michele Riml & Michael St. John Smith). For Bard on the Beach, he has worked as a production dramaturg for Harlem Duet, he adapted the script for their celebrated production of Julius Caesar, and he directed Hamlet in 2024. He is a four-time recipient of a Jessie Richardson Award for directing, has worked as a director or dramaturg on over 60 professional theatre productions across Canada, and has published research on Shakespeare adaptation process analysis in Shakespeare Bulletin. Stephen has taught and directed at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Douglas College, Neptune Theatre School, and the University of British Columbia. He sits on the board of LMDA Canada. 🪶 Check out MacBeth at Bard on the Beach: https://bardonthebeach.org/whats-on/macbeth/ 📸 Bard on the Beach on Instagram: @bardonthebeach Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
June 2 · 53 min
Rymn Wadhwa is an Engineer Turned Playwright at Toronto Fringe
About This Episode: What happens when an engineer decides to write a play? If you're Rymn Wadhwa, you end up with one of the most inventive premises at this year's Toronto Fringe Festival. Assembly Sϋggested follows two women building an IKEA chair (and maybe, just maybe, a relationship ) guided by an instruction manual that gets increasingly, wonderfully absurd. It's a debut play with a deceptively simple setup that promises real emotional depth. This is Rymn's first play, first Fringe, and first podcast interview, and it's a conversation full of warmth, honesty, and real excitement about what theatre can do. If you're heading to the Toronto Fringe this year, Assembly Sϋggested is one to put on your list. This episode explores: The ingenious premise of Assembly Sϋggested and how a friendship became the blueprint for a play about building and breaking things How Rymn's engineering mindset and chess background shape the way she structures drama — including charting emotional highs and lows in spreadsheets How such a personal play evolved into something with no villains, only two people with different needs Creating Original music for the play, and suiting it to the performer And much more! Guest: ♟️ Rymn Wadhwa Rymn is a Toronto-based playwright, artist, and engineer interested in structure, performance, and the narratives we build around everyday events. Her debut play, Assembly Sϋggested, premieres at the 2026 Toronto Fringe Festival. Connect with Rymn 🌐 Website: assemblysuggested.com 📸 Instagram: @assemblysuggested Get tickets (starting June 3): https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/assembly-suggested Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
May 26 · 58 min
Chantel Winters on Planting Clues in Her Scripts, the Reality of Producing, & Other Concerns
About This Episode: Chantel Winters is a Toronto-based actor, playwright, and producer who has built a career by refusing to wait for permission. In this conversation with host Phil Rickaby, Chantel talks about how the realities of the audition grind pushed her toward making her own work. The conversation also digs into & Other Concerns, the film adaptation of the 2019 Fringe hit An Atlas in a Necktie and Other Concerns, how it evolved from a pandemic Zoom project into a short film now available for free on CBC Gem, and what Chantel learned about producing for screen along the way. She also speaks candidly about the shift from non-union to union work, the exhaustion of self-tape culture, the state of diversity in Canadian film and theatre, and why, despite everything, theatre will always be her first love. This episode explores: How the audition grind pushed Chantel toward playwriting and producing her own work What producing outside of Fringe taught her about ticket sales, venue costs, and the gap between expectations and reality The evolution of And Other Concerns from Toronto Fringe to a short film now streaming free on CBC Gem How Eartha Kitt inspired her play, Dear Ms. Kitt. And much more! Guest: 🎭 Chantel Winters Chantel Winters is an actor, playwright and producer born and raised in Toronto. Select theatre credits include: 'Honey Never Spoils' Toronto Fringe 2025; 'Good People' Bloor West Village Players; 'An Atlas, a Necktie & Other Concerns' Toronto Fringe 2019; 'Professionally Ethnic' Summerworks 2017. Now Magazine named Professionally Ethnic one of the outstanding ensembles of the season. She recently re-mounted her one-act play, 'Dear Ms. Kitt' under Hard-Bitten Productions. Chantel’s first film producer credit for the short, ‘& Other Concerns’ based on the Fringe hit, is now available on CBC Gem. Connect with Chantel 📸 Instagram: @chantel.winters Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve Read transcript
May 19 · 1 hr
Blythe Haynes on Creative Risk, Accessibility, Emotional Safety, & Other Concerns
Read transcript About This Episode Blythe Haynes returns to Stageworthy for a wide-ranging conversation with host Phil Rickaby about indie theatre, artistic process, community, and the evolution of a Fringe hit into a feature film. Blythe reflects on how Toronto’s theatre scene has changed since the pandemic, why she believes artists need spaces to experiment and fail, and what Canadian theatre can learn from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe model. The conversation also explores the challenges of sustaining indie work in Toronto, the importance of artistic community, and how Blythe’s own understanding of her career shifted during the lockdown years. They also discuss the journey of An Atlas, A Necktie, and Other Concerns — the acclaimed 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival production that eventually became the filmed adaptation And Other Concerns, now streaming on CBC Gem. Blythe shares what it was like adapting the theatrical piece into film, acting while serving as a producer, and working within the unusual constraint of keeping the story confined to a single room. The episode also touches on rehearsal room culture, emotional safety in performance, outdoor theatre disasters, the realities of producing independent work, Gangway Theatre’s long-developing project Digital Divergence, and Blythe’s growing interest in playwriting and collaborative creation. This episode explores The state of Toronto indie theatre post-pandemic Why Fringe in Canada functions differently than Edinburgh Building artistic community outside traditional theatre spaces Turning An Atlas, A Necktie, and Other Concerns into a film Emotional safety and accessibility in rehearsal rooms Performing The Drowning Girls outdoors in near-hypothermic conditions The importance of process over product in artistic work and much more Guest: 🎭 Blythe Haynes BLYTHE HAYNES (she/her). Actor, Theatre Maker & Co-Artistic Director Gangway! Theatre Co. Blythe holds her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Alberta, but calls Toronto home, where she is an active member of the community. For Gangway she is currently working on their play Digital Divergence, a design first creation process centring on who we are in different mediums. For her solo projects, Blythe is developing her play Uplifting Stories for Seniors, which won Second Place Winner of the Toronto Fringe 2025 24 hour Playwriting Contest. An active member of Showing Up For Racial Justice, her art practice has come to involve work with grassroots community advocacy, melding together direct action and art; she was a co-producer/performer of the political play reading community event 8 Men Speak (The Theatre Centre, 2024); Favourite performances: The Drowning Girls (Guild Festival Theatre), An Acorn: a text for performance (impel Theatre/Oldham Coliseum) and the play-turned-short film & Other Concerns (dir. Sabina Olivia Lambert), which debuted at the Big Apple Film Festival (NYC) and the Female Eye Film Festival (Toronto) in 2024, and Available Now on CBC Gem. Honourable mentions: She has had the opportunity to work on two Thomas McKechnie projects - 12 Letters from Your Lover, Lost at Sea (zietpunktheatre), and was an anti-capitalist worm in Life and death and life and death and life (dir. Steven Hao). Blythe is an AMY Project Board Member, and also works with the project Anchoring Accessibility (with lead artist Leslie Ting, Dr. Jessica Watkin and Macy Siu) - which “works to find ways through practice-based research to support artists in the sector to develop relational and pragmatic approaches to accessibility and confidence by creating creative tools (the protocol) and educational materials.” Watch & Other Concerns on CBC Gem: https://gem.cbc.ca/canadian-reflections Connect with Blythe 📸 Instagram: @blythe_haynes Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
May 12 · 1 hr 15 min
Susanna Fournier is Spending a Season in Hell with take rimbaud
About This Episode: Playwright, director, and theatre maker Susanna Fournier joins Phil Rickaby fresh from rehearsal to talk about take rimbaud, her ambitious new production at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in association with the Howland Company. Inspired by Arthur Rimbaud's iconic prose poem A Season in Hell, the play is a decade-plus labour of love that explores what it means to be a young artist crashing into the hard realities of the industry — and what happens when you refuse to take the path of least resistance. Susanna and Phil dig into the state of Canadian theatre with refreshing candour: the fear of artistic risk, the pressure to program safe and familiar work, and what it costs artists, emotionally, financially, and creatively, to keep showing up. From graduating the National Theatre School and navigating the post-theatre-school identity crisis, to collaborating with director ted witzel and the Howland Company across twelve years of drafts, workshops, and rewrites, Susanna reflects on what it means to grow up inside a play; and what it takes to finally let it become what it needs to be. This episode explores: What take rimbaud is, and why Rimbaud's A Season in Hell still feels urgently relatable to artists today The culture of artistic risk-aversion in Canadian theatre and why safe programming may be slowly destroying the art form Why theatre may actually become more essential, not less, in a world where AI is replacing on-screen performers The millennial anxiety baked into the play, and what twelve years of drafts taught Susanna about herself as an artist And much more! Guest: ✍️ Susanna Fournier Susanna Fournier is an award-winning Canadian playwright, theatre maker/director, and educator. Her play texts include: The Empire Trilogy (The Philosopher’s Wife, The Scavenger’s Daughter, Four Sisters), take rimbaud, PYPER, Next Time I Die, HEART/BODY, Always Still the Dawn, and antigone lives*. Her work centres on form-as-meaning and holistic dramaturgies. As an educator, she is the Artistic Director at Armstrong Acting Studios where she shapes performance pedagogy for beginner to master-level actors. She’s taught and lectured at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Creative School, Etobicoke School of the Arts, Randolph College, and Cawthra Park Secondary School. Connect with Susanna Fournier: 🌐 Website: www.susannafournier.com 📸 Instagram: @_susanna_f Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
May 5 · 1 hr 7 min
Lisa Marie DiLiberto is making theatre that doesn’t sit quietly
About This Episode: Lisa Marie DiLiberto, Artistic Director of Theatre Direct, joins Phil Rickaby for a wide-ranging conversation about one of Canada's most enduring theatre companies for young audiences. With the company approaching its 50th anniversary in 2026, Lisa Marie shares how she's been preparing to honour that legacy — from digging through decades of archives to planning a celebration at the Canadian Theatre Museum that will feature five decades of performance. Lisa Marie traces her own journey from training in classical acting at George Brown Theatre School and clowning with Philippe Gaulier in Paris, through founding her own company Fixpoint Theatre, to taking the helm at Theatre Direct in 2019. She speaks candidly about the realities of sustaining an arts career in Canada, the value of collaboration over competition between theatre companies, and how COVID reshaped, and in some ways reinvigorated, the work she wanted to do. This episode explores: Theatre Direct's history, mission, and preparations for its 50th anniversary season in 2026 Lisa Marie's path from George Brown Theatre School and Paris clown training to founding Fixpoint Theatre and leading Theatre Direct Why Theatre for Young Audiences is vital - and how to reach kids who didn't choose to be there Site-specific and participatory theatre as a strategy for engaging young audiences and navigating gatekeepers And much more! Guest: 🎭 Lisa Marie DiLiberto Lisa Marie is the Artistic Director of Theatre Direct Canada, formerly Artistic Director and founder of FIXT POINT Arts and Media, and co-creator of The Tale of a Town, a site-specific theatre and media project that has toured to every province and territory in Canada. She is a Dora nominated Director and the co-creator of Main Street Ontario an animated series now airing its second season on TVO. Ms. DiLiberto holds a Masters of Arts in Theatre and Performance Studies from York University where she is currently pursuing her PhD. Past posts include Playwright-in-Residence at Theatre Passe Muraille, Associate Artistic Director at Jumblies Theatre, and Education & Audience Development Coordinator at Canadian Stage. Lisa Marie is an Artistic Advisor for the National Arts Centre and a graduate of George Brown Theatre School and École Philippe Gaulier in Paris, France. She is an advocate for artist caregivers through Theatre Direct’s initiative Balancing Act and the proud mom of two wild children. Connect with Lisa Marie & Theatre Direct 🌐 Website: theatredirect.ca 📸 Instagram: @theatredirect Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
April 28 · 1 hr 1 min
Dr. Janet McMordie is Mixing Medicine and Acting with Vitals
About This Episode: What happens when a sports medicine physician rediscovers her inner theatre kid during a global pandemic? In this episode, Phil sits down with Dr. Janet McMordie, a physician, actor, podcast host, and Team Canada Paralympics doctor, for a genuinely surprising conversation about what it means to pursue two very different callings at once. Janet shares how Second City's free online improv classes for healthcare workers during COVID cracked open a creative life she'd tucked away during years of medical training. From community theatre up north to landing an agent at a showcase, her path back to the stage has been anything but conventional — and she's leaning into every messy, joyful step of it. Now Janet is producing and starring in a remount of Rosamund Small's acclaimed play Vitals at Factory Theatre (May 2 - 10), directed by Alaine Hutton. She opens up about what it's like to hire yourself when the industry won't, the humbling surprise of discovering that the script is only 10–20% of the show, and why she believes theatre - real humans breathing the same air - is exactly what the world needs right now. This episode explores: How pandemic improv classes reignited Janet's lifelong love of performance What it's like to navigate the identity of being both Dr. McMordie and an actor Producing Vitals at Factory Theatre — finding funding through small businesses when grants fall short Being a Team Canada physician at the 2024 Paris Paralympics The politics of sport, the politics of theatre, and why artists can't just 'stay in their lane' And much more! Guest: 🩺 Dr. Janet McMordie Dr. Janet McMordie is a Sport & Exercise Medicine Physician with specialty training in Women’s Sexual Health. She completed medical school, family medicine residency, and sport medicine fellowship at McMaster University. She holds a diploma in Sports Medicine from the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM) and is a member of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH). Dr. McMordie is an Associate Medical Director with Odyssey Medical Inc. She also provides medical consulting and surgical/medical device hand doubling services to the film industry. She has extensive theatrical credits including the upcoming remount of VITALS at Factory Theatre, Theatre by The Bay, Mariposa Arts Theatre, The Second City and Antic Theatre. Select film/tv credits include Doc (Fox), Ginny & Georgia (Netflix), and Two Brothers (OutTV). Through her independent podcast Second Act Actors, recently nominated for a Canadian Podcast Award, she has facilitated over 200 in-depth interviews exploring identity, resilience, and transformation. Connect with Dr. Janet McMordie: 🌐 Website: www.janetmcmordie.com 📸 Instagram: @janetmcmordie 🎙️ Podcast: Second Act Actors Get tickets to Vitals at Factory Theatre (May 2 - 10): https://purchase.factorytheatre.ca/EventAvailability?EventId=52402 Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
April 21 · 1 hr 3 min
Alexis Milligan Knows what Doctors can Learn from Theatre
About This Episode: What does it mean to move with intention? For Alexis Milligan, movement is everything — every breath, every blink, every shift of weight tells a story. As the Resident Movement Director at the Shaw Festival, Alexis works at the intersection of physical storytelling, design, and performance, helping actors inhabit their roles from the inside out. In this episode, Phil and Alexis dig into what movement direction actually is, how it differs from choreography, and why getting rehearsal corsets and headpieces into the room early can mean the difference between injury and artistry. But Alexis's work extends well beyond the rehearsal hall. She is the creator and director of the Groundbreaking Theatre of Medicine program — an accredited continuing professional development program through the University of Toronto that brings performing arts skills directly to physicians, surgeons, and healthcare providers. The research is unambiguous: when patients feel heard and seen by their doctors, their outcomes improve. Alexis is building the bridge between those two worlds, using theatre games, movement exercises, and the transferable skills of the performing arts to fill critical gaps in medical education. Alexis also opens up about podcasting — both as the host of Finding Creativity and as the host of the Shaw Festival's own Let's Get This Shaw on the Road podcast. She and Phil share a candid conversation about the realities of building an audience for niche arts programming, the importance of pulling back the curtain for audiences, and why Canadian theatre needs to get louder about the value it brings to communities. This episode explores: What movement direction is — and how it differs from choreography The physical challenges of period costuming and why rehearsal corsets matter from day one Emotional bleed, the actor's cool-down, and the practice of 'taking off the mask' How the Theatre of Medicine is using performing arts skills to improve patient outcomes and physician well-being The power of pulling back the curtain to build new and loyal theatre audiences And much more! Guest: 🎭 Alexis Milligan Canadian actor, movement specialist and director Alexis Milligan practices and teaches a diverse range of work from theatre and film to movement direction and puppetry. Currently, she is the resident Movement Director at the Shaw Festival, host of the “Let’s Get This Shaw on The Road” podcast, and the director of the ground-breaking Theatre of Medicine program, created in partnership with the Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. Alexis is a much sought after teacher and arts educator. Her unique approach blends the arts and science by sharing knowledge through experiential learning - which simply means learning through doing. She holds a diploma in Classical Performance from George Brown Theatre School, a diploma in University Teaching from Renaissance College, and a master’s in interdisciplinary studies, combining the performing arts, communication, education, and neuroscience, from the University of New Brunswick. She has served as a consultant for the Canadian Medical Protective Association and has sat on the steering committees for the Canadian Network of Imagination and Creativity and the Atlantic Centre for Creativity, as well as host of the “Finding Creativity” podcast. Alexis is a regular guest teacher at NYU Tisch School for the Performing Arts, The Verbier Festival, The European Association of Urology (TIP Program), Dalhousie University School of Nursing, and University of New Brunswick, School of Nursing. Connect with Alexis Milligan: 🌐 Website: www.alexismilligan.com 📸 Instagram: @milligan.spike 🎙️ Podcast: Let's Get This Shaw on the Road 🎙️ Podcast: Finding Creativity Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
April 14 · 57 min
Logan Robbins Is Giving Puppets (and the Planet) a Fighting Chance
About This Episode: Logan Robbins is one of those rare theatre artists whose work sits at the intersection of science, storytelling, and a deep love for the natural world. As the artistic director of the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Logan has built a practice rooted in environmental themes, puppetry, site-specific work, and creating space for emerging artists to find their footing in the professional theatre world. It's a conversation full of warmth, curiosity, and genuine passion for what theatre can do. Phil and Logan cover a lot of ground - from the origins of the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company and what sustainable theatre actually looks like in practice, to Logan's unusual path from aspiring marine biologist to professional puppeteer. Along the way, they get into the magic of making inanimate objects breathe, the Grogu effect on public perception of puppetry, and a surprisingly relatable detour into dyscalculia. This is also a conversation about community, what it means to build one, how Halifax's independent theatre scene functions with limited space, and why Logan started not one but two puppet festivals in the same year. If you've ever felt the inexplicable joy of watching a puppet come to life, this episode will remind you exactly why that feeling matters. This episode explores: How the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company was founded and what sustainable theatre means in practice Logan's journey from zookeeper and marine biology student to professional puppeteer and theatre maker The magic of puppetry and why breath is the key to bringing any object to life The Halifax theatre scene: independent companies, the Bus Stop Theatre, and Neptune's growing role as a community hub Launching the Objective Puppet Test festival and the Atlantic Festival of Puppetry Arts And much more! Guest: 🎭 Logan Robbins Logan “Lo” Robins is a queer environmental theatre maker, puppeteer, director, producer, stage manager, science communicator, and Artistic Director of The Unnatural Disaster Theatre Co. He is based in the Moolipchugechk region of Mi’kma’ki (colonially known as Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada) and has performed around the world in theatres, on glaciers, and everywhere in between. In the summer of 2025 Logan performed as a puppeteer from Southern Spain to the Arctic Circle with “The Herds”- an international climate action project by The Walk Productions. Logan is passionate about devised theatre, mask, puppetry, and outdoor site-specific theatre that connects audiences to the natural world. As a theatre maker they believe that prioritising collective creation and community care are key to creating art that forges pathways of empathy towards others, ourselves, and the planet. Connect with Logan and The Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company 🌐 Website: www.unnaturaldisaster.ca 📸 Instagram: @unnaturaldisastertheatre 📸 Instagram: @loganrobins Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve