The Performers Podcast

Naomi went from dreaming about doing the works of Shakespeare and Shaw to abandoning the theatre classics for The Second City. These days you might recognize Naomi from her role in the hit comedy TV show "Mr.D" where she plays Bobbi the gym teacher. And in the theatre and comedy community she's well respected as a founding member, and performer, in the National Theatre of the World.

Susan is best know for playing Fantine in "Les Miserables" on Broadway and with the first international tour. Susan shares some of the techniques she used to play one of the most celebrated parts in musical theatre. We also discuss the time, early in her career, Susan lost a job as a cruise ship entertainer. as well as her critically acclaimed work at The Stratford Festival with director Peter Hinton.

"Kim's Convenience," a play by Ins Choi, debuted at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival where Ins both directed and acted.

Today it's one of Canada's most successful theatrical works, with productions across Canada and in New York.

The CBC TV show, based on the play, launched in 2016 and has been renewed for a third season. It's launched the careers of several actors and writers. "Kim's Convenience" follows in the footsteps of Fringe shows including "Life After," "Da Kink in My Hair," "Machomer," "The Drowsy Chaperone" and others that have gone onto great things. We talk about the time in his life when Ins gave up a job with security, benefits and a housing allowance, everything that would have set him up for a traditional life, but it wasn't a job in the Arts which Ins knew he needed to truly enjoy life.

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Bethany has been dancing for most of her life. She's danced in New York and at some of the best theatres in Canada. She also gives back to the dance community by sharing her skills with younger dancers. She loves educating and mentoring young dancers to be the strongest performer; mentally, emotionally, and physically. She's particularly enjoys working with dancers in their late teens. She's a proud graduate of the Sheridan Institute's Musical Theatre Performance Program. We talk about her work in A Chorus Line at The Stratford Festival as well as the carer decisions dancers have to make.

Rebecca is an innovative artists and a creative entrepreneur. I Interviewed Rebecca after a performance of her show "Blind Date," an improvisational show unlike anything I've ever seen before. Rebecca is truly a theatre innovator. Rebecca recently won a Dora Mavor Moore award for her performance in "Blind Date" and her other show, "Legend Has It," just got nominated for a Betty Mitchell Award in Calgary in the category of Best Ensemble. We talk about how a 10 minute theatre experiment turned into a full-length show that played off-Broadway and London's West End.

Bruce is best known for his four featured roles on Broadway, his 12 seasons in leading roles at the Stratford Festival and his Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning performances at Buddies in Bad Times, the world's largest and longest running LGBTQ theatre. His career at the Stratford Festival began as an ensemble member in HMS Pinafore and he went on to receive rave reviews as a leading man. We talk about that professional transformation and how Bruce transcended personal struggles to achieve a life changing transformation too.

Nicky Guadagni has been nominated for five Gemini awards and won two for her roles in "Major Crime" and "Blue Murder." Her one woman show "Hooked" started as private performance in people's home and eventually made it's way to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. In the podcast we talk about acting, producing at festivals, her training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and of course our lives as parents. I don't know what part of our conversation I enjoyed most: Learning about her youth in Montreal, the creative process behind her hit show "Hooked," or how she and her husband dealt with their teen aged son who spent way too much time playing video games, and online poker, but then turned that into a career.

Brooke is an award winning actor who, when she was in her teens, launched her career by working as a production assistant at the Shaw Festival, often driving actors to and from Toronto. She has an expansive career but I decided to focus our chat on her solo performance "Trudeau Stories." She met Trudeau at the National Theatre School of Canada where she was studying acting. They shared a dance at the school and their cheek to cheek moment sparked a relationship that lasted years. Brooke documented the relationship with Trudeau in a journal and in 2007 created the solo performance, "Trudeau Stories" based on her time with Trudeau. We talk about her time with Trudeau and how she developed the solo show.

This episode was recorded at before a live audience at The Winnipeg Comedy Festival. My Guests: Ashley Moffatt comedian, writer, and father figure to two small dogs. Adam Schwartz comedian, Fringe Festival performer and author of I've got Aspergers, so I'm better than you. Dan Taylor comedian and Pastor. Meghan Riley theatre geek and comedy nerd who In her spare time, works full-time as a litigator and raises two delightful little goofballs.

Dayna Manning is one of Canada's most accomplished singer songwriters. When she was in her teens she had a hit song on the radio and soon after that found herself, in the words of Joni Mitchell, "Stoking the star maker machinery behind the popular song." At times the chat you are about to listen to unfolds like an episode of the popular TV show Nashville, except it's not a TV show. This is the story of a real person, trying to make a difference in her community and the world through music. We discuss how Tom Petty was an influence, and her work with Grammy award winning music producer and engineer Jim Scott. As well as having a successful solo career, these days Dayna is playing sold out concerts with Emm Gryner and Lindsay Schindler as part of the popular trio Trent Severn.