The Blyth Insider

Actor Shelayna Christante first came to Blyth almost right out of theatre school.

Three seasons later, she reflects on what returning to the Festival each summer has given her: the chance to grow as an artist, to take on wildly different roles, and to become part of a theatre community that now feels like a second home.

She also talks about what makes creating new work at Blyth different: artists who are willing to collaborate, get curious, get playful, and - as Shelayna puts it - "get into the mud" together.

We wanted to share this conversation with you because it offers a glimpse of something that can be difficult to capture in campaign language: what sustained investment in Canadian theatre can mean to an artist over time.

Thank you for making all this possible❤.

Shelayna at Blyth: Joan/Nettie, Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: The Farmerettes (2024); Jane, The Wind Coming Over the Sea, Katie, Quiet in the Land, various roles, Radio Town: The Doc Cruickshank Story (2025); Angie, Sisters of '78, Georgie, Curveball (2026).

(Also, the "Landon" Shelayna speaks of in the chat is her partner and fiancé, actor/composer/music director Landon Doak.)

This conversation was never intended for public release.

What you're about to hear began as a private working discussion between Gil Garratt and Joanne Wallace as they worked to shape the Blyth Festival's 2026 matching-gift campaign. But as the conversation unfolded, it became clear they were circling something much larger than a fundraising appeal.

What emerged was an unusually candid, wide-ranging discussion about Canadian stories, artistic risk, cultural sovereignty, imagination, and what's really happening inside Canada's theatre ecosystem right now.

Moments here are messy, exploratory, deeply personal, occasionally provocative, and very, very real. In the end, we made the unusual decision to share this recording - but only with those we were asking to support the campaign. We took a chance that our closest friends, allies and supporters might value listening in on this conversation exactly as it happened.

More than anything, we hope it offers a genuine peek behind the curtain at the thinking, questioning, debating and dreaming that shapes the work happening at the Blyth Festival every day.

Lightly edited for length and clarity but otherwise left largely intact.

Support Blyth's 2026 Matching-Gift Campaign for New Play Development

Questions? Feedback? We love hearing from you.

 📧 [email protected]
Joanne Wallace
Director of Development
Blyth Festival
1.877.862.5984 x 209