Stageworthy

A Toronto native and graduate of George Brown Theatre School, Lisa Norton has had the pleasure of splitting her time between the worlds of stage, screen and voice acting.

Her twenty-year theatre career has taken her across Canada to major venues including The Arts Club (Vancouver), Citadel Theatre (Edmonton), Theatre Calgary, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, The Globe (Regina), The Segal Centre (Montreal), Odyssey Theatre (Ottawa), Theatre Aquarius (Hamilton), and Thousand Islands Playhouse, as well as throughout the U.S. on tour with Roseneath Theatre. At home in Toronto, some of Lisa's favourite stage appearances include The Model Apartment (Harold Green Jewish Theatre), Of Mice and Men (Canadian Stage), And Up They Flew (Theatre Columbus), Den of Thieves (Surface Underground), Better Living and Escape From Happiness (Factory Theatre), An Acre of Time (Tarragon), and The Innocent Eye Test (Mirvish Productions). Lisa premiered new work at the Blyth Festival for three summers, played the role of Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream for the inaugural season of Newmarket's Resurgence Theatre, and was a member of the esteemed Shaw Festival acting company for five years, performing in eleven shows including Picnic, Widowers' Houses, Hay Fever, andlate great director Neil Munro's full six-hour Man and Superman. While at the Shaw, she was chosen by then-Artistic Director Christopher Newton as the recipient of a Toronto Arts Protégé Honour.

Busy treading the boards, Lisa got around rather late to trying her hand at fim and TV, but has since found success in that realm as well. Her most recent appearances are in the film A Deadly View and the new TV series Carter (Sony Pictures/Bravo). Other work includes a recurring role as famous anarchist Emma Goldman in Murdoch Mysteries (Shaftesbury Films); appearances on Reign (CBS/Warner Bros./The CW), Fringe (Warner Bros./Fox), Rookie Blue (Global/ABC); Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story (Lifetime Network); Degrassi (CTV); Living In Your Car (Movie Central), and the role of war widow Edith McCallum on Global Television's hit WWII series Bomb Girls.

More recently, Lisa discovered a whole new crazy and rewarding job upon breaking into the world of voice acting. As well as using her dulcet tones to sell you everything from cars to tuna to cell phones in dozens of TV and radio ads, Lisa has voiced characters in numerous cartoons including Atomic Puppet (Disney XD), Rocket Monkeys (Teletoon), Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: The Series (Sony/Teletoon), Creative Galaxy (Amazon); Doozers (The Jim Henson Company), The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog (Muse/TVO), Willa's Wild Life (Nelvana/YTV), and Detentionnaire (Teletoon). Lisa also provides the voice and motion capture perfornance of Lydia Frye in the Ubisoft game Asssassin’s Creed: Syndicate. She is currently recording one of the lead roles in the upcoming CBC Kids series Glowbles, and will be back on stage in March, in Pyretic Productions’ Blood of Our Soil at the Tarragon Extra Space.

See Lisa in Eldritch Theatre's Space Opera Zero, at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, until Dec 2.

Tickets: eldritchtheatre.ca/tickets

Johnny is the Artistic Director and a founding member of Theatre of the Beat. Studied Drama at the University of Waterloo & Theatre at the University of Sussex where he focused on politically oriented theatre & practitioners. He enjoys hypothetical jokes, riding his motorcycle and lives in Stouffville, ON.

#CHURCHTOO

Artfully depicted through a variety of scenes and relationships, #ChurchToo explores the struggle of wading into the realities of sexual assault and examines the difficulties of speaking out in a community where the topic of sex is often considered taboo. Follow an array of characters through seven vignettes, each bringing to life stories about hidden trends within our church communities. From the secret relationship of a young woman and her pastor, to discriminatory church policies, all the way to bringing forth allegations against persons in power, #ChurchToo illuminates the messy dynamics that accompany the complicated truths of power and sexual abuse.

theatreofthebeat.ca
Twitter: @TheatreBeat
Instagram: theatreofthebeat

Crux Encounter Productions combines performance, research and development, and training to create a company unlike any other. Our mission is to be a home for stage combat. A sandbox for fellow fight directors and performers. A place to tell stories of conflict with honesty, reverence, and a commitment to safety. It is the world’s first multimedia, multiplatform stage combat company.

Founders Siobhan Richardson and Jade Elliott McRae recognized that combattual theatre needs a place to live in its own right through their own work in theatre, film, and a multitude of martial disciplines. They have formed a world-class company of professional stage combat artists dedicated to the world-wide dissemination of exciting and authentic modern and historic techniques.

CEP performances are simulcast so you can watch from anywhere in the world. Our research into historical systems will be available for study. And our training will further the understanding and practice of this artform for everyone from beginners to elite fighters.

www.cruxencounter.com
Instagram: cruxencounterproductions

Upcoming:

Why do we fight? Why do we love to watch others fight?

From slapstick to sport, cartoons to armed combat, violence is an integral part of human interaction and storytelling, and yet we seldom recognize it on its own merits. Why is violence so linked to the human experience? Why do we find it satisfying, terrifying, and even amusing? In a series of scenes and sketches, WHY WE FIGHT takes on the challenge of dissecting, slicing, and pummelling our ideas of conflict into passionate, perplexing, and sometimes hilarious submission.

SHOW TIMES:
November 17, 2:00pm & 8:00pm
November 18, 2:00pm
The Redwood Theatre, 1300 Gerrard St. E, TorontO
Tickets for both Live Theatre and Streaming available at https://www.cruxencounter.com/upcoming

To commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice of the First World War, this worldwide premiere takes a look at the conflict through a lesser-known perspective. In November 1917, on a yam field in Nigeria, a farmer is approached by a Canadian war recruiter to join the Allied troops to push back the German advance in East Africa. The Nigerian farmer’s morality is challenged in ways he never expected.

An allegory interwoven with traditional Nigerian music and stories, this new play by Zazu Oke and Vince Deiulis challenges audiences to question what they truly know about the World’s First War.

DATES & TIMES:
Thursday November 8th, 2018 @ 8pm (Pay-What-You-Can Preview Night)
Friday November 9th, 2018 @ 8pm (Opening Night)
Saturday November 10th, 2018 @ 2pm & 8pm
Sunday November 11th, 2018 @ 2pm
Tuesday November 13th, 2018 @ 8pm
Wednesday November 14th, 2018 @ 8pm
Thursday November 15th, 2018 @ 8pm
Friday November 16th, 2018 @ 8pm
Saturday November 17th, 2018 @ 2pm & 8pm

VENUE:
Factory Theatre Studio Theatre
125 Bathurst Street
Toronto, ON M5V 2R2

TICKETS:
General Admission: $35 plus applicable fees

www.theatrenidana.com
Twitter: @TNidana
Instagram: theatrenidana
Tickets: https://www.factorytheatre.ca/what-s-on/godslikeus/

The Spur-Of-The-Moment Shakespeare Collective (SOTMSC) was founded in 2010 by Victoria Urquhart and Sean Horbatiuk, to cultivate a community of emerging artists with a shared interest in Shakespeare and community engagement.

Annually the SOTMSC performs "Shakespeare in Hospitals". A project that is exactly what it sounds like: we create new shows, using Shakespeare’s words, designed specifically to bring to patients in hospitals across the GTA, like Mount Sinai, Sunnybrook and CAMH and more, at no charge to the hospitals or the patients.

The SOTMSC continues to grow and develop projects in 2018 under the mandate of: Establishing and cultivating community engagement in areas in and around Toronto experiencing isolation based on economic, social, and physical barriers. Our mission statement is to marry classical text, contemporary performance, and audience interaction to invite and encourage people to engage with their community.

https://www.spurofthemomentshakespeare.com/
Instagram: @shakespur
Twitter: @shakespur

Jordi O'Dael
Jordi is a Toronto based trans nonbinary performer, director, dramaturg, and producer. A UWinnipeg/Randolph College alum, Jordi has based their career on portraying 12 year old children, ancient evil constructs, and creating queer punk feminist impressionist pieces. In 2017, Jordi served as co-writer, dramaturg, producer, and performer for the award winning, breakout hit ‘NASTY’ at the Toronto Fringe. Their primary interests are the unexplained and unsettling, ghosts and ghouls, serial killers, destroying the gender binary, corgis, and using theatre as a vehicle for social change.

Andrew Gaunce
Born and raised in Saint John, New Brunswick, Andrew is a Toronto based performer, writer, producer, and lifelong devotee of the horror genre. Andrew honed his performance skills at Fanshawe College’s Theatre Arts program, and has spent the last few years performing with various indie theatre companies in Toronto, including Seven Siblings Theatre, the Spur-of-the-Moment Shakespeare Collective and Monkeyman Productions (where he now also holds a production role). Most recently, Andrew found himself at the Halifax Fringe for Aberrant Theatre’s award-winning inaugural production “Something Wrong” - a solo horror show that he also wrote and performed.

The Ghost Light Anthology
The Ghost Light Anthology is a curated evening of thrills, horror and the unknown: 5 short, scary plays tied together to create an immersive live horror experience.

Instagram:@AberrantTheatre
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AberrantTheatre
Tickets:https://ghost-light-anthology-2018.brownpapertickets.com/

Philip Akin has been acting and directing for over 40 years. In 2000, he was a founding member of Obsidian Theatre, Canada’s leading black theatre company, and has served as its Artistic Director since 2006. In this role, he has worked tirelessly to provide opportunities and guidance for emerging artists. In 2002, he was part of the team that launched the Obsidian Mentor/Apprentice Program, a one-of-a-kind program that has so far helped 61 black artists embark on exciting careers as directors, dramaturges, producers, production managers, lighting, set and costume designers with some of the most established performing arts companies nationwide.

The Men in White
by Anosh Irani
Directed by Philip Akin

A heartwarming tale of life, love, and cricket.

When Abdul’s cricket team want to end their losing streak, they decide to recruit his brother, Hasan, who is an expert all-rounder. But bringing Hasan from India to Canada will take more than just a plane ticket, and not all of the team agree with the cost. Alternating between Mumbai and Vancouver, this touching story follows these unforgettable characters as they discover that home can be found in a sport and unite family across nations.

Tickets: https://www.factorytheatre.ca/2018-19-season/the-men-in-white/

Rosanna Saracino is an Italian-Canadian director, dramaturge, educator, acting coach and costume designer, who has worked in the professional theatre industry for more than twenty years, with forays into directing and acting coaching in film, TV, video and documentaries. She received her MFA from York University in Directing, was the Director in Residence at the Canadian Stage Theatre and at Shadowpath Theatre as part of the Femme5 Operative, is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of art & lies productions. She held the post of the Head of the Acting Division of the Randolph College for the Performing Arts for twenty years, and has been an instructor with the college for as long. Currently, she is teaching at George Brown, in the Theatre Department, as well as at TFS. Her freelance work has extended to companies such as the Classical Music Conservatory, the Canadian Opera Company, the PowerPlant. She is specialized in working with large casts, and stylized and physical theatre, and has worked extensively in classical and modern adaptations, new play work, and devised theatre. Directing credits include: Nasty by the Maelstrom Art Collective (winner of the 2017 Patron’s Pick/TOFringe and Storefront Theatre’s Feminist FuckIt Festival), Suitcases (Artscape Sandbox/Canadian Stage, art&lies), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard (Helen Gardiner), Killing Game by Eugene Ionesco (art & lies), No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre (Passe Muraille/art&lies), Lord of the Flies by William Golding (all female adaptation), Fear and Misery of the Third Reich by Bertolt Brecht (Young Centre for the Performing Arts/George Brown Theatre), and the world premiere live actor version of Provenance by Ronnie Burkett.

Dark Day Monday is a curated monthly performance series featuring artists who defy expectations and break boundaries. We seek out acts that explore, play, and fuck with performance forms or genres.

www.darkdaymonday.com
Instagram: darkdaymonday
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/darkdaymonday

Thea Fitz-James

Thea Fitz-James is part academic, part journalist, and part theatre practitioner. She is a theatre maker and performance artist, having created work with FADO in Toronto, Secret Theatre in Halifax and the School of Making/Thinking in New York. Her shows NAKED LADIES and Drunk Girl have been nominated for awards, and have toured the fringe circuit internationally.

Thea is also a theatre producer, festival curator, and arts residency facilitator with the Cucalorus Festival in Wilmington, NC. Her most recent work explores contemporary depictions of women and feminism, integrating performance art and theatre to ask difficult questions around cultural norms.

Thea is currently a PhD candidate in Performance Studies at York University, looking at knitting and
textiles in activism and performance.

www.theafitzjames.com

Wes Babcock

Wes Babcock is a Toronto-based writer, performer, and theatre designer. Recent design credits include I Cannot Lose My Mind (2018, Watah Theatre - Lights), Bone Cage (2017, Matchstick, Halifax - Set). He was selected as lighting design apprentice to Kimberly Purtell as part of Crows Theatre's Artist Cross Training Program in 2017.

His most recent written work, Your Princess is in Another Castle, a play for two actors co-created with Nancy Kenny, is currently in its second stage of development following a successful Fringe tour in 2017.

You can find him on Instagram @wildrnesswes, or online at www.wesbabcock.com.

Jennifer Walls is a performer producer, and voice-over actor. As a musical theatre performer she has played leading roles in a wide variety of musicals including RENT, Beauty And The Beast, The Wizard of Oz and number of Canadian premiers as well as the Dora Award nominated original musical review Off-Broadway, On Stage. She was also a finalist in the CBC hit show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

As a voice actor she has voiced recurring characters on a number of animated series' including PBS' Peg+ Cat and Amazon's Creative Galaxy and I am currently the voice of Family Jr.

Jennifer is also the director of Hart House Theatre’s production of Heathers: The Musical.

www.jenniferwalls.com
Twitter: @jeni_walls
Instagram: jeniwallsto

www.harthouse.ca
Twitter: @HHTheatre
Instagram: hhtheatre
Tickets: https://tickets.harthouse.ca/