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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Apr 12, 2022 · 1 hr
Sarah Marchand
Launched in 2016, alma matters productions began with a single goal: To amplify underrepresented stories through the power of theatre. Fast forward five years later, and we have now supported thirteen new works that focus on intersectional feminism, cultural identity, and mental health. We proudly label ourselves as a grassroots company, which has built a community of artists eager to be the future voices of Canada’s performing arts industry. Together, we have showcased award-winning plays, built networks, and provided paid training opportunities for emerging talent. To support Fly Away Home, our inaugural 2022 season, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-alma-matters-productions-first-season SELECT CREDITS: Winter of '88, co-producer (Nowadays Theatre, NNNNN); Love at 752, producer (ft. on CBC); Swim Team, producer (Nowadays Theatre, NNNN); Drink of Choice, Producer (Toronto Fringe 2019 Patron's Pick), Cooking for Grief, Producer (Vancouver Fringe Festival) The Artistic Director, Sarah Marchand, is secretly quite shy, despite friendly exteriors. As she continues to learn, Sarah is passionate about making indie theatre producing more accessible: if someone as bad with numbers like her can become a producer, you can too. www.sarahmarchand.com Twitter: @sarahamarchand Instagram: @sarahamarchand www.almamattersproductions.com Twitter: @almattersprod Instagram: @almattersprod Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Apr 5, 2022 · 53 min
Brendan Healy
Brendan Healy is the Artistic Director of Canadian Stage, one of the country’s leading not-for-profit contemporary performing arts organizations. The company produces, presents, commissions, and collaborates with multiple partners on cross-disciplinary work with a focus on performance styles that integrate theatre, dance, film, visual arts and more. Originally from Montréal, Brendan began his career as an actor before moving to directing. Brendan attended the National Theatre School’s Directing Program and trained extensively with one of the pioneers of the American avant-garde Anne Bogart and the SITI Company before relocating to Toronto. Since then, Brendan has established himself as a central figure in the city’s theatre scene. His work has been presented across the country and his productions have garnered multiple awards. Between 2009-2015, Brendan was the Artistic Director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, the world’s longest-running theatre devoted to LGBTQ2S artists and one of Canada’s most significant generators of experimental performance and theatre. During his time at Buddies, the company experienced an unprecedented period of artistic success. More recently, Brendan completed a Masters in International Arts Management, in a program jointly offered by the Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas), l’École des hautes études commerciales (Montréal, Québec), and the SDA Bocconi School of Management (Milan, Italy). He also worked as the Artistic Director for Performing Arts for the City of Brampton, one of Canada’s most diverse and fastest-growing cities. misterbrendanhealy.com Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Mar 29, 2022 · 56 min
An IMM-Permanent Resident
A comedy infused with Bollywood elements, An IMM-Permanent Resident is a hilarious take on the mundane and tiresome bureaucracy of the Canadian Immigration process, as experienced by playwrights and real-life couple, Himanshu and Neha. The play explores the irreverent journey to obtain Neha’s PR status, including the couple's trials and tribulations as they put their hopes and dreams on pause (indefinitely). Through wit and creative banter, this fast-paced roller coaster transports us between Mumbai and Toronto, as Neha and Himanshu navigate the immigration system and ask themselves – is love worth it all? www.nautankibazaar.ca Tickets: whynot.theatre/work/immpermanentresident Himanshu Sitlani is a thespian, originally hailing from Mumbai. Foraying his way into theatre as an actor, he progressed on to other creative aspects and worked as a Stage Manager and Producer over the years with QTP and Akvarious. He co-founded Le Chayim Theatre Productions in Mumbai in 2006 where he eventually made his directorial debut in 2013. Since immigrating to Toronto Canada, Himanshu’s been immersed in supporting the creative arts, working as Patron Services Manager at Factory Theatre, while penning down his ideas towards his goal of creating a bridge between creative artists in Canada and India eventually co-founding Nautanki Bazaar in 2019. In 2021, he wrote and performed in the virtual show “Stories of a Dish’ that was presented at the Mississauga Multilingual Fringe Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe, The Little Lion Theatre Festival in London UK, The Tata Literature Live Festival in Mumbai India and the Next Stage Theatre Festival in Toronto. Twitter: @himy316 Instagram: @himanshu.sitlani Neha Poduval is a trained actor, with several feathers in her creative hat, having performed in various theatre plays, corporate films and TV shows across India. A post-graduate in Acting from the reputed Film and Television Institute of India, she continued her association with the performing arts since moving to Canada. In January 2021, she launched her YouTube Cooking Channel “Mustard Tempered Dreams” where she shares her love for food with easy to make Indian and global vegetarian recipes. Neha is also a certified Yoga Teacher and has been teaching Yoga across various studios, community and senior centres in Toronto. Instagram: @mustard_tempered_dreams Miquelon Rodriguez is a sound designer, composer, radio play mixer & editor, digital content creator, actor, and an emerging arts leader based in T'karonto. He was the Apprentice Artistic Director at Factory Theatre from 2017-2019, under the mentorship of Nina Lee Aquino, and co-curated Pan-Asian works over two seasons at Soulpepper through the Tiger Bamboo Festival and the Shen Development Series. He is an Artistic Leadership Resident with the National Theatre School of Canada and has worked with a multitude of artists and companies across Turtle Island. Twitch: www.twitch.tv/troysteel Twitter: @djtronix Instagram: @troysteel Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Mar 22, 2022 · 1 hr 15 min
Introverted Actors Roundtable
An introverted actors roundtable discussion featuring actor and playwright, Stephen Near; actor & Singer-Songwriter Carolyn Fe; writer, composer & and performer, Kristen Zaza; playwright & performer, Genevieve Adam; writer & actor Michael Ripley, and writer & theatre maker, Jess McAuley. Stephen Near is an actor & writer working in Hamilton. His plays have been performed across Canada at various theatres and festivals including the Ottawa Fringe, the Toronto Fringe, the Hamilton Fringe, New Ideas, and Summerworks. He is a graduate of York University (BFA), the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (B. Ed) and the MFA Creative Writing program at the University of Guelph. He is a member of the Playwright’s Guild of Canada, the Theatre Aquarius Creator’s Junction and Playwright’s Unit and an alumnus of the Sage Hill Writing Experience and the Banff Centre. Stephen is co-founder and playwright-in-residence of Same Boat Theatre in Hamilton. Stephen was named one of the inaugural Writers-in-Residence at Hamilton’s Cotton Factory and is a staff writer for the Hamilton arts and culture blog Beyond James. stephennear.com Twitter: @SNear23 Instagram: @stephenisnear Carolyn Fe is a late-blooming Filipino-Canadian, tri-lingual Actress (English/French/Tagalog), Singer-Songwriter and former contemporary Dancer-Choreographer. Some Theatre credits include: Calpurnia (Nightwood/Sulong), Hilot Means Healer (Cahoots), Through the Bamboo (Uwi Collective) and Three Women of Swatow (Tarragon). At an age when her peers have long established themselves, Carolyn’s continuous pursuit of artistic evolution adds a new instrument to her art as an Emerging Playwright and Writer supported by Montreal's Teesri Duniya Theatre’s Fireworks Playwrights’ Programme, The Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and, Toronto’s Nightwood Theatre, Factory Theatre's Foundry Programme for Playwrights, Cahoots Theatre. Some TV/streaming credits include Lola (Grandma) in the Nickelodeon children’s show “Blue’s Clues & You!” and Madame Z in the award winning French webseries “Meilleur Avant” and the upcoming sketch comedy series "Abroad" on Omni Channel in Spring 2022. Carolyn-fe.com Twitter: @TheCarolynFe Instagram: @thecarolynfe Kristen Zaza is a writer, composer, and performer based in Toronto, Canada. She is currently producing the second season of her award-winning audio drama podcast, On a Dark, Cold Night. www.kristenzaza.com Twitter: @kristen_zaza Instagram: @kristen_zaza Genevieve Adam is a graduate of the George Brown Theatre School in Toronto and the East15 Acting School in the UK. Her first play Deceitful Above All Things premiered at SummerWorks in 2015 and won several accolades including Outstanding New Play, Outstanding Production, and Best Emerging Artist. It was remounted at the Factory in association with The Storefront Theatre in February 2017. Subsequent plays include Bedsport (Newmarket National Play Festival), New World (Future Theatre Festival), Anatomy of A Dancer (Next Stage 2019), The Boat Show (Lost Souls’ Collective), and If The Shoe Fits, which won second place in the Toronto Fringe 2019 New Play Writing Contest.Her most recent play Dark Heart was named one of the top theatrical productions of 2018 by the Toronto Star. Genevieve is also the poet behind the whimsical #haikusoflockdown series on Twitter. Twitter: @FavourZeeBrave Michael Ripley, 54, was born in Alberta but has spent most of his adult life in Ontario. He currently lives in Whitby with his wife and two sons. When Michael isn’t writing, performing or designing he spends inordinate amounts of time typing and immediately deleting long responses (which he never posts) to mean people on social media. He also eats far too many wine gums and watches not nearly enough basketball. www.talentedmr.ca Twitter: @TalentedMr Instagram: @talentedmr Jess McAuley is a Brock University graduate (theatre studies, honours) with a passion for devised theatre, writing, and pushing the bounds of adventure on stage. She is also one of the co-hosts of The Introvert’s Guide To… Twitter: @mcauleyjes Instagram: @itsjessmcauley Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Mar 15, 2022 · 1 hr 2 min
Bruce Dow
Born in Seattle, WA, and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Bruce Dow is an American/Canadian actor, director, composer/librettist, cabaret artist, and theatre educator, best known for his 5 featured roles on Broadway; his 12 seasons in leading roles at the Stratford Festival; and his Dora Award Winning performances at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre — the world’s largest and longest running LGBTQ2IA+ theatre — and his Helen Hayes Award nominated work with the Shakespeare Theatre Company and Studio Theatre in Washington, DC. brucedow.com Twitter: @DowBruce Instagram: @dowbruce Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Mar 8, 2022
Mateo Chavez Lewis
Mateo is a young singer, songwriter, actor and pianist currently working on the lands traditionally known as Tkaronto. In 2020, he wrote and produced "Quarantine Songs," a song cycle about different characters dealing with the pandemic, which had its digital premiere on YouTube, featuring performers from Stratford, Mirvish and Charlottetown Festival stages. He is currently preparing to appear in Forever Plaid with Starvox Entertainment, and running a YouTube channel where he uploads weekly analysis videos of the greatest songs from the musical theatre canon. In the meantime, he continues to perform regularly alongside cabaret and comedy legend Mandy Goodhandy in their act, "Lady and the Rambler." www.mateochavezlewis.com Twitter: @MChavezLewis Instagram: @mateochavezlewis Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Mar 1, 2022 · 1 hr 3 min
Lisa Alves
Lisa Alves is a queer artist, theatre producer, educator, and human resource practitioner based in Tkaron:to near the Wonscontach. They grew up in a two-parent household, both Portuguese immigrants and from working-class families. Currently, they are the Managing Producer at Cahoots Theatre with their amazing co-leader, Artistic Director, Tanisha Taitt. Lisa is a graduate Humber’s Theatre Performance Program, Humber's Entrepreneurial Studies Program, and is currently completing her Human Resource Management Certificate. Working as a freelance producer for over 10 years, some of Lisa's favourite productions they've produced include manidoons collective’s bug by Yolanda Bonnell, Soulo Theatre Summer Festivals and Cahoots Theatre’s Supermodel. In their spare time Lisa practices yoga, plays video games, reads way too much, and hangs out with their hamster, Eleanor Waffles. Twitter: @lisa_a_alves Instagram: @lisa_a_alves Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Feb 22, 2022 · 1 hr 20 min
Indie Theatre Roundtable with The Red Sandcastle and The Assembly Theatre
The Red Sandcastle is a 50 seat storefront theatre, where Anything is Possible! In May of 2011, Rosemary Doyle opened the RED Sandcastle Theatre, with the intent of giving theatre artists a canvas. That feeling that Anything is Possible! has become a reality with 922 Queen Street East acting as an artistic hub to rent for creators in theatre, dance, visual art, and music. The Red Sandcastle is managed by the Eldritch Theatre team of Eric Woolfe and Adrianna Prosser. redsandcastletheatre.com Instagram: @redsandcastletheatre The Assembly Theatre provides independent and emerging artists with affordable performance space, and is always actively seeking new modes of outreach in order to better prioritize its use by under-represented and marginalized artistic communities. Co-artistic Directors Luis Fernandes and Cass Van Wyck keep the vision clear and the community thriving. www.theassemblytheatre.com Twitter: @assemblytheatr_ Instagram: @assemblytheatre Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Feb 15, 2022 · 56 min
Jackie Latendresse
Jackie Latendresse is an alumnus of the University of Waterloo where she obtained her H.B.A. in Dance with a minor in Fine Arts. She founded Free Flow Dance Theatre in 1995 and has been the artistic director ever since. The Company relocated to Toronto in the winter of 1996 and has since found a home base in Saskatoon. (17 years) Jackie has been choreographing and producing her own shows since 1993 when she presented her first full evening of dance works at Abstract Machines that Recognise Certain Languages. She has since created a large volume of work and her repertoire includes 20 full-length works (20 min+) and numerous shorter works, Her work has been presented all over Canada at many venues ranging from traditional theatres to schools to parks and back alleys. The company has toured extensively with the Canadian Fringe Festival Circuit and is invited to present work regularly throughout Saskatchewan. She has received various awards including the Special Merit award for outreach with the LGBTQ community from Out Saskatoon 2011, been named Champion of the arts by the Star Phoenix in 2017, was awarded a Saskatoon Foundation for the Arts Artist award 2018 and most recently she received the 2021 Saskatoon YWCA Woman of Distinction award for arts and culture. freeflowdance.com Twitter: @DanceTheatreCo Instagram: @freeflowdancetheatre Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Feb 8, 2022 · 1 hr 7 min
Lauren Allen
Lauren Allen is a theatre and film artist originally from Saskatoon now living in Toronto. She is a lover of puzzles and a foster mother of cats. She is currently working in communications for the Future Prairie Theatre Project. www.lauren-allen.net Twitter: @lesmis456 Instagram: @lesmis456 Support Stageworthy Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthypod Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy
Oct 5, 2021 · 12 min
Phil Rickaby - An Announcement
Phil Rickaby, host of Stageworthy, announces that after over 300 episodes, he's taking a brief break from the podcast, but he'll be back in a couple of months. www.philrickaby.com Twitter: @philrickaby Instagram: @philrickaby Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philrickaby Transcript: https://stageworthypodcast.com/308-phil-rickaby-an-announcement/ Stageworthy Survey: https://philrickaby.typeform.com/to/gZOjh8lk Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy Merch: https://shop.stageworthyproductions.com/
Sep 28, 2021 · 50 min
Scott Emerson Moyle
Scott Emerson Moyle is an intimacy director, educator, visual artist, director, producer, actor, and ship’s captain based in Toronto. He does lots of things for The Boundless Library, mostly involving audio drama and making weird physical objects. He probably has one cat, but there may be more hiding in his beard. His favourite accolade is having been Harolded into the House of Don McKellar. Instagram: @moylesmeticulousminis The Boundless Library The Boundless Library is a groundbreaking way to experience stories. Told across multiple formats and from varied perspectives, each of our transmedia experiences stretch what stories can be. Through complex and interactive narrative forms, our stories might span multiple timelines — or even multiple realities! One fragment of a story might come to you in an exquisitely crafted package filled with unusual relics; another might come as an unnerving audio recording; and a third may come as a digital research dossier. www.theboundlesslibrary.com Instagram: @boundlesslib Twitter: @boundlesslib TikTok: @theboundlesslibrary Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy Merch: https://shop.stageworthyproductions.com/
Sep 21, 2021 · 44 min
Jacqui Du Toit
An award nominee for the Prix Rideau award and Capital Critics, Jacqui Du Toit is an international theatrical performer and storyteller from South Africa. She has a B.A in Theatre and Performance from the University of Cape Town and has been working extensively as a professional actress, storyteller and arts educator. Her experience covers a wide range of fields including: writing, directing, acting, movement and puppetry. Jacqui immigrated to Canada in 2011 and now resides in Ottawa, where she is the Co-creator of The Origin Arts and community centre and the Creator of 8th Generation Performance. With both of her companies, Jacqui has created numerous community engaged theatrical storytelling productions, including IT IS GOOD - 2018, VALLEY OF STONE - 2017, THE HOTTENTOT VENUS - UNTOLD - 2016 Her most recent theatre performance was in THE OMNIBUS BILL by DARRAH TEITAL, Tactics Theatre festival 2019, directed by Esther Jun and THE DROWNING GIRLS at the GCTC 2018, directed by Bronwyn Steinberg. Twitter: @generation8th Instagram: @jacqui.dutoit Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy Merch: https://shop.stageworthyproductions.com/
Sep 14, 2021 · 1 hr
Keshia Palm & Julia Dickson of The Paprika Theatre Festival
Keshia Palm (she/they) is a Toronto-based Filipinx-Canadian settler from Treaty 6 Territory who seeks to expose, challenge and dismantle systems of oppression by creating thoughtful and inclusive art/spaces. Her creative practice includes dramaturgy, direction, performance, writing and producing. Keshia has developed and performed new works with theatre companies across Canada and is the dramaturge for a number of works in development by IBPOC, queer, women and trans artists. Her digital community arts project Make Me An Alleycat (created with wheels from Claren Grosz) invites people to connect over stories and destinations while social distancing by going for a bike ride. Keshia is a playwright in the 20/21 Hot House Lab at Cahoots Theatre, and a former Factory Foreman. She has been the Online Content Producer for ArtistProducerResource.com at Generator since 2018. Julia Dickson (she/her) is an arts manager, educator, and producer currently based in Toronto. She currently works as the General Manager of the Paprika Festival, with Young People’s Theatre as an Artist Educator, and with Single Thread Theatre Company as their Artistic Producer. Previously, Julia worked with Studio 180 Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, and the Festival Players of Prince Edward County. Julia has a post-graduate certificate in Arts Administration and Cultural Management from Humber College, and a Bachelor of Education with a focus on Artist in the Community Education from Queen’s University. About Paprika Paprika Festival is a youth-led professional performing arts organization. Paprika runs year round professional training and mentorship programs that culminate in a performing arts festival of new work by young artists. Paprika generates opportunities for young artists to lead their own creative process with the support of their peers and professional mentors. paprikafestival.com Instagram: @paprikafestival Twitter: @paprikafestival Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy Merch: https://shop.stageworthyproductions.com/
Sep 7, 2021 · 53 min
Sunny Drake
Sunny Drake’s inventive theatre works have been presented in over 60 cities across the world and translated into 4 languages. His wide range of audiences have spanned international arts festivals, queers in underground warehouses, elderly ladies in regional theatres and young people in drop-in centres. ‍ Sunny was commissioned by the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, Playwrights Guild of Canada and ATFC to write the 2019 World Theatre Day message for Canada. He was awarded the inaugural Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize 2019 ($25,000) for having a significant impact on performing arts in Ontario, and was a finalist for the K. M. Hunter Theatre Award (2018). www.sunnydrake.com Twitter: @sunny_drake Instagram: @sunny_drake About CHILD-ish Following sold-out showings at SummerWorks in 2019 as a theatre play, Sunny Drake brings you the CHILD-ISH web series, shot at Toronto playgrounds. The virtual event will also digitally tour around the world. Virtual Tour Dates and more: https://www.sunnydrake.com/creations/child-ish-web-series Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy Merch: https://shop.stageworthyproductions.com/
Aug 31, 2021 · 59 min
Debashis Sinha & Maev Beaty
Maev Beaty and Debashis Sinha joined Stageworthy host, Phil Rickaby to talk about Necessary Angel's upcoming audio production of Roland Schimmelpfennig's play The Great Fire. Maev Beaty is a critically-acclaimed actor, writer and voice-over artist. She has originated roles in 23 Canadian premieres (Hannah Bunny, Kate Hennig’s The Last Wife, Michael Healey’s Proud and The Front Page, Judith Thompson’s Palace of the End, Sharon Pollock’s Angel’s Trumpet); co-writing and starring in award-winning theatre (Secret Life of a Mother, Montparnasse, Dance of the Red Skirts); performing in ensembles of epic theatre endeavours (Sheep No Wool/Outside the March/Convergence’s Passion Play, Nightwood’s Penelopiad, Volcano’s Another Africa, TheatreFront’sThe Mill); and interpreting lead classic roles across the country and over five seasons at the Stratford Festival (The Front Page, King Lear, She Stoops to Conquer, School for Scandal). She is a Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award winner, three-time Dora Award winner and twelve-time Dora nominee in both performance and writing, referred to as “the excellent Maev Beaty” by the New York Times. Her film debut (Mouthpiece) was a Special Presentations Opening Film at 2019 TIFF. maevbeaty.com Instagram: @maevbeaty Twitter: @maevbeaty Debashis Sinha’s creative output spans a broad range of genres and media, from solo audiovisual performance projects on the concert stage to the interior spaces between two headphones. Driven by a deep commitment to the primacy of sound, Sinha has developed his creative voice by weaving together his own experience as a 2nd generation south Asian Canadian, his training with master drummers from various world music traditions, a love of electronic and electroacoustic music and technology, and a desire to transcend the traditional expectations of how these streams might intersect and interact. debsinha.com Twitter: @sinhadeb Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/debsinha Necessary Angel Theatre Company is one of English Canada’s most vital original creation and touring organizations. The company has a history of innovation and risk taking and engages theatre artists from a variety of disciplines in the creation of new work. An influential and original presence on the national and international theatre scene for over 40 years, the company has produced more than 60 productions, including 30 world premieres and 11 North American premieres. Work created by Necessary Angel has been nominated for and has won Governor General’s Awards for Drama, Chalmers Awards for Outstanding New Play, and numerous Dora Mavor Moore Awards. www.necessaryangel.com Twitter: @necessaryangel The Great Fire: https://www.necessaryangel.com/the-great-fire
Aug 24, 2021 · 44 min
The Red Sandcastle Theatre & Eldritch Theatre
The Red Sandcastle is a 50 seat storefront theatre, in which_ Anything is Possible!_ In May of 2011, Rosemary Doyle opened the Red Sandcastle Theatre, with the intent of giving theatre artists a canvas. The Red Sandcastle acts as an Artistic Hub to rent for creators in theatre, dance, visual art, and music. 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of Red Sandcastle, and brings a new look and new management: long time renter with Red Sandcastle, Eldritch Theatre‘s production and artistic team, Eric Woolfe and Adrianna Prosser, join the Red Sandcastle team as Managing Director and General Manager and will act as Caretakers of the Castle. Adrianna Prosser Adrianna is a Theatre Erindale + Sheridan College Alumnus and award winning storyteller. She joined Eldritch Theatre as their Marketing Monster and Artistic Producer in 2016, marketing and producing Dora award winning shows such as The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy and Space Opera Zero! _as well as adding new programming such as children and adult Dungeons and Dragons camps _Sword and Sorcery School, and online digital theatrical experiences during the COVID-19 theatre blackout. Adding a new layer of support for artists at Red Sandcastle Theatre, with her digital marketing expertise; Adrianna has been teaching digital marketing storytelling at Centennial College since 2017 to both their Arts Management and the Museum Management program, and has been a guest lecturer for Humber College. As well as leading Eldritch Theatre’s marketing, Prosser has led digital marketing for the City of Toronto’s museums, Festival Players, Groundling Theatre, Theatrefront, GhostLight, and many more. Eric Woolfe Eric is an actor, playwright, puppeteer and magician, and the Artistic Director and founder of Eldritch Theatre which has been horrifying audiences since 1999 using puppetry, live actors, and parlour magic. His work for Eldritch Theatre includes Dora award winning and nominated works such as Space Opera Zero!, The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy, Frankenstein’s Boy, Madhouse Variations, _and _The Babysitter. He is resident Dark Arts Professor at Eldritch Theatre’s Sword and Sorcery School, where he is head Dungeon Master and writer of Dungeon and Dragon adventures for the young and young at heart. Some of his other theatre credits include Old Man and the River (Theatre Direct), The Comedy of Errors (Humber River Shakespeare), The Glass Menagerie, Ghosts (Touchmark Theatre) Rocket & the Queen of Dreams, (Roseneath Theatre). Little Shop of Horrors (Canstage), and Timon in Disney’s The Lion King. Rosemary Doyle Rosemary founded the Red Sandcastle Theatre in 2011, after being in theatre for 80% of her life and counting. Currently she is the Artistic Director of Theatre Kingston in Kingston, Ontario her home-town. Notable roles created by Rosemary include, Jane in My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, (Fringe, Mirvish), and A.L.P. for Finnegans Wake (Grand Theatre, Tarragon). Doyle has won seven 24 hour playwriting contests. This love of instant creation inspired her to create the Thousand Monkeys Playwriting Festival and her Play in a Week Camp that creates a play from nothing to full production in 5 days. Because of her love and talent for creation, she has been referred to as the “patron saint of indie theatre” a nickname she works hard to live up to, even in the government funded theatre world she is navigating now. Rosemary actively acts, directs, builds and designs sets and costumes and, of course, writes plays. We call her our Red Queen Emeritus. redsandcastletheatre.com Instagram: @redsandcastletheatre Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedSandcastle Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy Merch: https://shop.stageworthyproductions.com/
Aug 17, 2021 · 44 min
Mark Crawford
Mark Crawford is an actor and playwright. His plays are: The New Canadian Curling Club; Boys, Girls, and Other Mythological Creatures; The Birds and the Bees; Bed and Breakfast; and Stag and Doe. Mark's first play, Stag and Doe, premiered at the Blyth Festival in the summer of 2014. The play has received several other professional productions: Neptune Theatre, Port Stanley Festival Theatre, Lighthouse Festival Theatre, Upper Canada Playhouse, Festival Players of Prince Edward County, Theatre Orangeville, and others. Stag and Doe made its international premiere at Teatr Powszechny, Lodz, Poland in 2019 where it continues to run in rep. As an actor, Mark has performed on stages across the country. Mark grew up on his family's farm near Glencoe, Ontario. A graduate of the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, he now lives in Stratford. Twitter: @markjdcrawford Chase the Ace at Festival Players of Prince Edward County: https://www.festivalplayers.ca/chase-the-ace Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy Merch: https://shop.stageworthyproductions.com/
Aug 10, 2021 · 1 hr 6 min
Retrospective
In this, the 300th episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby presents a retrospective of some of his favourite episodes from the past 5 years. There have been so many conversations that it would be impossible to present all of the favourites, so we've narrowed it down to 6: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Siobhan Richardson, Philip Akin, Helen Knight, Diana Tso, and Tanisha Taitt. You'll find links to the full episodes of the selected episodes below. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee https://stageworthypodcast.com/62-paul-sun-hyung-lee/ Siobhan Richardson https://stageworthypodcast.com/70-siobhan-richardson/ Philip Akin https://stageworthypodcast.com/152-philip-akin/ Helen Knight https://stageworthypodcast.com/216-helen-knight/ Diana Tso https://stageworthypodcast.com/51-diana-tso/ Tanisha Taitt https://stageworthypodcast.com/210-tanisha-taitt/ Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy Merch: https://shop.stageworthyproductions.com/
Aug 3, 2021 · 1 hr 16 min
Neurodiversity & Mental Health in Theatre
Neurodiversity & Mental Health in theatre, a conversation with Alia Ettienne, Emerjade Simms, and Victoria Urquhart. Emerjade Simms is a Jamaican-Canadian actor and storyteller. She is a graduate of the Acting program at the University of Windsor and holds a BFA degree. Emerjade is also a 2016/17 graduate of the Mechanicals program at Factory Theatre. In her career as an actor so far, she has worked with many wonderful people and companies. Select theatre credits include Peter Pan (Bad Hats/Soulpepper), School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Obsidian/Nightwood), Wounded Soldiers (4th Line), The Bird Killer (Let Me In). Television credits include Forbidden, Fear They Neighbor, See No Evil and Paranormal 911. Emerjade enjoys napping in her down time and thanks her family for inspiring her daily. Twitter: @emerbabe Instagram: @em.er.jade Alia Ettienne is a theatre writer, actor, performer and facilitator from Toronto, ON. Ettienne is of Afro Caribbean descent which often influences her performances and writing. Initially, she studied Performance at Sheridan College, moving on to explore Creative Writing and Arts Marketing. Her first solo piece, YellowZoned, premiered in The 2016 Toronto Fringe Festival, remounting in Hamilton,ON on two separate occasions. This led to her being featured in Hamilton’s View’s Magazine. Her creative wellness program, Chill N Do Art, has been running for a total of four years. This workshop series then inspired her to start the Creative Coping Kits Initiative, which attracted the attention of Toronto blog She In The City. Currently, she is most focused on The Creative Coping Kits Initiative, and writing her second full length piece Allow For Release: The Xiety Complex. www.aliaettienne.com **Instagram: @**its_aliaj Victoria Urquhart is a queer, triple-invisibly-disabled neurodiverse artist hailing from Caledon, living and working professionally as an actor, director, artistic director of the Spur-of-the-Moment Shakespeare Collective and all around creator in theatre and film across Toronto and Ontario. Favourite credits include acting in Chloe Whitehorn's Dressing Amelia, directing Theatre Orangeville's 2019 TYA production of Treeboy and the fringe production, _The Girl In The Photograph. _Tune in to find her playing Vivian in the debut episode of Web of Darkness on T&E this spring. Twitter: @gnitenet Instagram: @g_nitenet Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy Merch: https://shop.stageworthyproductions.com/