Stageworthy

Aaron Malkin and Alastair Knowles are better known as James and Jamesy. The James & Jamesy Performance Society creates multi-award winning theatrical performances typified by extended characters, rich emotion, and fantastical trips of the imagination. Their shows are investigations in participatory theatre that merge physical comedy, clown, and dance to create theatrical environments where audiences feel invited and compelled to participate. Since 2012, James & Jamesy shows have sold over 80,000 tickets and been performed over 750 times across Canada, the United States, and the UK. Their accessibility and wide appeal is evident by numerous 5-Star reviews and 20 Best-of-Fest awards. Regarded as “Fringe legends” (Montreal Gazette), “Fringe stalwarts” (Winnipeg Free Press) and “One of the most popular fringe duos ever” (CBC), James & Jamesy have firmly claimed a place in the ranks of contemporary Canadian theatre. www.jamesandjamesy.com Twitter: @jamesandjamesy Instagram: @jamesandjamesy O Christmas

Matthew Romantini is a multi-disciplinary artist, the artistic director of Omnivore Performance, and works in dance, theatre, and with orchestral ensembles across the continent. He is also teaches and coaches performance, directs and choreographs as part of his performance work. He has been lucky to direct Unity (1918) and Gogol's The Government Inspector at Randolph College, and is gearing up to direct another production at the college in January. He has been nominated for 5 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, the CTC Award (winning best production for The Boys In The Band), the KM Hunter Award, the Total Theatre Award, and has received two Chalmers Professional Development Grants. Notable credits include Kokoro Dance’s epic Sunyata, Gorey Story (as performer and Artistic Director, nominated for 5 Dora Awards), Theatre Rusticle’s signature April 14, 1912, PNME’s Just Out of Reach (which toured to the Edinburgh Fringe), co-creating Tomoe Arts’ Weaver Woman, and PNME’s “heart-rending” Psappho’s Sparrows/In The Wake conce

Born in Albania, Indrit has made Tkarón:to his home since 2000. He is the Founding Artistic Producer for lemonTree creations and Artistic Producer for Theatre Passe Muraille. lemonTree creations focuses on queer works, and Indrit has produced, acted in, choreographed and directed several critically acclaimed and award winning productions, including a national tour for MSM [men seeking men]. As the Artistic Producer of Canada’s original alternative theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Indrit continues to develop exciting new theatrical voices while also focusing on national and international touring for the company. As a performer, Indrit has had the privilege to work with many talented writers, directors, designers and companies in a myriad of projects that more often than not are interdisciplinary in nature making use of both his ability with movement and text. Most notably he is a company member of the award winning dance theatre company CORPUS. Through Corpus he has helped develop and premiere two new works (M

Joseph Zita (he/him) is a Toronto based actor, singer, and theatre artist. He was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and grew up in Mississauga, ON. Select Theatre Credits include: The Antipodes (Coal Mine Theatre), Peter Pan (Neptune Theatre, Halifax), Lilies; Or, the Revival of a Romantic Drama (lemonTree Creations/Why Not Theatre/Buddies in Bad Times), Picture This (Soulpepper), Richard III (Shakespeare BASH'd), Kitsault: A New Canadian Musical (Staged Reading - Al Green Theatre), In the Heights: In Concert (We Are Here Productions), Beauty and the Beast: In Concert (Angelwalk Theatre), and several new works for the Toronto and Hamilton Fringe Festivals. Film/Television: Locke and Key, Firehouse Dog, Mayday. When not on stage, Joseph is quite active behind the scenes, and is currently serving his fifth term on the Board of Directors for Shakespeare in the Ruff. He holds BFA in Acting from the University of Windsor, and has also studied at the Stella Adler Studio in New York City. Twitter: @josephzita Insta

Curtis Campbell is a writer and theatre artist. Some previous credits as a writer and director include Katherine Is Not A Communist, Imp, BETR With Bevan and Color Me Pablo. His novel Dragging Mason County will be published by Annick Press in the fall of 2023. Check out Gay for Pay, co-written by Curtis and Daniel Krolik at Streetcar Crowsnest, Nov. 16-27. Twitter: @Alanis_Percocet Instagram: @gayforpayproductions Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

On this episode of Stageworthy, joining host Phil Rickaby, are Kate Werneburg, Suchiththa Wickremesooriya, Eric Benson and Chi-Chi Onuah from Dauntless City Theatre. Dauntless City Theatre is dedicated to bringing site-specific performances to non-traditional spaces. This summer, Dauntless presents This Earth of Majesty an adaptation of Richard II by William Shakespeare, directed by Kate Werneburg. www.dauntlesscitytheatre.com Instagram: @dauntlessto Kate Werneburg is originally from Ottawa, ON, which is on the unceded and traditional territory of the Algonquin Nation. Niagara-based, she is a queer settler. She brings social justice work along with artistic and administrative experience to her work with Dauntless. Highlights in theatre: Carousel Players, Dauntless City Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick, The Nearly-World Famous Dufflebag Theatre (bilingual troupe), Ergo Arts Theatre, A Company of Fools, The Great Canadian Theatre Company, Elizabeth - Darcy. Journalism: She Does The City, Intermission Magazine. P

This week's guest is theatre & cabaret performer, astronomy enthusiast, and 2022 Neil Munro Directing Intern at the Shaw Festival, Ryan G. Hinds. A Toronto-based theatre artist and cabaret performer, Ryan has performed #KanderAndEbb at the Stratford Festival (with digital appearances from John Kander and Chita Rivera); We Will Rock You for Magnus Theatre; Starry Notions for Toronto Fringe; Hedwig in Hedwig & the Angry Inch at the Capitol Theatre; and Piragua Guy in In The Heights for We Are Here. An Artist-in-Residence at Buddies in Bad Times from 2014 to 2016, Ryan is also an Associate Artist at lemonTree Creations, where the work has included Lydie-Anne in Lilies; Or, The Revival of a Romantic Drama; the development, premiere, remount and national tour of dance-theatre hybrid MSM [men seeking men]; and the world premiere of Private Eyes (in association with the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario). Currently one of the two 2022 Neil Munro Directing Interns at the Shaw Festival and Assistant Director for

Drew Murdock (he/him) is a theatre maker based in Saint John, NB. He is the director of the Fundy Fringe Festival, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this summer. Drew also works year round at The Saint John Theatre Company and regularly works with the Atlantic Repertory Company, Theatre Six, Improvisation Corporation, Loylist City Shakespeare, and other fine theatre makers in Saint John as a stage manager, lighting and projection designer, production manager, video director, and more. fundyfringefestival.com Twitter: @FundyFringeFest Instagram: @fundyfringefest Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Andrew Kushnir is an actor, playwright, director, as well as artistic director of the socially-engaged theatre company Project: Humanity (PH) in Toronto. Since 2021, he has steered PH’s Proximity Lab, an incubator for new approaches to verbatim theatre -- a form he has been working in for 15 years. He has collaborated on two books coming out in 2022: Moving the Centre: Two Plays: Small Axe and Freedom Singer (Talon Books, with Khari Wendell McClelland) and Hope in a Collapsing World (U of T Press, with Kathleen Gallagher). Andrew is the creator and host of _This Is Something Else – _an investigative theatre history podcast for the Arts Club. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta, a Loran Scholar and alumnist of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction at the Stratford Festival. Andrew is the inaugural recipient of the Shevchenko Foundation REACH residency prize.  A proudly queer Ukrainian-Canadian, he founded the We Support LGBTQ Ukraine Fund with the Veritas Foundation in April 2022.  Dr.

Georgia Findlay (she/her) is a Toronto-based actor, playwright, producer and younger sister. This summer she made her Fringe debut with her first original script "Joan & Olivia: A Hollywood Ghost Story," which explores themes of sibling rivalry through the ghosts of real life Old Hollywood movie star-sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland. Selected credits include: several roles in the 2019 Newmarket National 10-Minute Play Festival; Mrs. Clandon, "You Never Can Tell" (2019, George Brown Theatre School, Susan Ferley); Arsen Kazbeki/The Fat Prince, "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" (2019, GBTS, Richard Greenblatt); Josie Hogan, "A Moon for the Misbegotten" (2017, GBTS Scene Study, Elizabeth Saunders). Georgia learned so much in her whirlwind Fringe experience, and can't wait to continue following her passions and expanding her career. Instagram: @georgiagfindlay Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Natalia Bushnik (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and Dora Mavor Moore-nominated playwright. She is fascinated by immersive experiences that examine morally grey territories and unnerve audience members in their complicity. Select theatre: 'SAMCA' (Spindle Collective); 'The Bathtub Girls' (Kairos Theatre); 'PING!' (Workshop-Aaron Jan/Urjo Kareda Residency). Select film: 'Revenge of the Black Best Friend', 'peopleWatching' (CBC Gem). Her radio play, 'Just Across the Causeway', was produced through the National Theatre School’s #ArtApart Program, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council, and a live version was performed as a staged reading in the UK through Little Lion Theatre Company this past November. Her favourite pastimes include having no visible eyebrows and watching c-level horror movies. https://natbushnik0.wixsite.com/spindlecollective Twitter: @spindletheatre Instagram: @spindlecollective Kathleen Welch is a writer, performer, and composer from Toronto. She

Aaron Jan is a Hamilton-born playwright, director, dramaturg. and educator. He has worked as a creator with Factory Theatre, UpintheAir Theatre, Soulpepper, York University, Boca Del Lupo, fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, the Musical Stage Company, Canadian Stage, Theatre Erindale, Sheridan College and most recently as a guest director at the Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University. A member of the critically acclaimed Silk Bath Collective, Aaron is the 2019 winner of the Ken McDougall directing award, the 2021 inaugural co-winner of Highland Arts Theatre’s Rita Joe playwriting award, a 2021 Johanna Protege Award, the 2022 winner of the Urjo Kareda Award and a co-recipient of The Musical Stage Company's Aubrey and Marla Dan Fund for New Musicals. Alongside Karen Ancheta, Aaron is a co-founder of Porch Light Theatre (currently a company in residence at Theatre Aquarius), and is dedicated to making his hometown a place where professional theatre artists can make new work and be

Vikki describes herself as a storyteller, a serial entrepreneur and a fighter of the status quo. She lives in Toronto with her dog GusGus and her two cats, Matt Damon and Gracie Lou Freebush. ​ Current Projects Founder/CEO-Space Space Revolution Head Writer-Business Owner By Mistake Blog Co-Founder-Brick and Mortar Theatre and Studios (RIP) Twitter: @Vikkivelenosi Instagram: @businessownerbymistake 2 Robs, 1 Cup: What Happens When You're Done Eating Shit? Tickets: https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/2-robs-1-cup-what-happens-when-youre-done-eating-shit Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Steven Elliott Jackson is an award-winning playwright originally from Minto Manitoba and now living in Kitchener, Ontario. In 2017, he won Best New Play at the Toronto Fringe for “The Seat Next To The King” and it was produced in Canada and the United States subsequently. It was published by Scirocco Drama. In 2020, he won Best New Play for “Three Ordinary Men” at the Hamilton Fringe and it will be produced in June 2022 by Cahoots Theatre in Toronto. In 2022, he will be premiering TOM as well as The Garden Of Alla and The Prince’s Big Adventurer at the Toronto Fringe. www.stevenelliottjackson.ca Twitter: @MinmarGaslight Instagram: @minmar_gaslight Neta J. Rose is a proud Ashkenazi Jewish queer non-binary actor based in Toronto/Tkaronto. They are a founding member of Create! Youth Theatre, in Scotland, now entering its 13th year. Neta's stage credits include: Henry G20 (Luminato),The Omnibus Bill (TACTICS), The Bonds of Interest (Odyssey), The Penelopiad (Hart House), Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night

Stephen Near is a writer and educator living in Hamilton. 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. Stephen is a member of the Playwright’s Guild of Canada and an alumnus of both the Sage Hill Writing Experience and the Banff Centre. Last year, he was named the inaugural Writer-In-Residence for the Cotton Factory in Hamilton. His writing has appeared in a variety of online and print publications and his plays have been produced at a variety theatres and festivals, principally by the company that he co-founded, Same Boat Theatre. He is a proud husband, father and unabashed geek who is (still) obsessed with comic books and role-playing games. stephennear.com Twitter: @SNear23 Instagram: @stephenisnear Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Starring Tristan Claxton, Jamar Adams-Thompson and Jack Copland, Three Ordinary Men takes us to the final day in the lives of civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, James Chaney & Andrew Goodman in 1964 Mississippi. Helmed by Taitt in her directorial debut as Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre, Three Ordinary Men will debut in June of 2022 — the 57th anniversary of the Freedom Summer Murders. Play by Steven Elliott Jackson Directed by Tanisha Taitt Tristan Claxton Tristan is a Toronto based actor and earned a BFA in acting from the University of Windsor and an MA in classical performance from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in the U.K. Instagram: @tri_axton Jamar Adams-Thompson Jamar is a Jamaican-Candian actor and storyteller. Hailing from Mississauga, Ontario he holds a BFA-in Acting degree. He is constantly looking for new chances to tell exceptional stories. Film Credits Include: Flee The Light, Black Liberators WWII, and Kubrick. Catch Jamar next as James Chaney in Cahoots The

Laura was born to tell stories. Whether as a dancer/aerialist with Tokyo Disney, a playwright and performer for the new Canadian musical, Every Silver Lining, or her solo show, Lesbihonest, premiering at Toronto Fringe 2022, a teacher at the Toronto District School Board, or as a comédienne in Footloose with Just for Laughs, Laura’s unstoppable passion in life lies in telling people all sorts of eccentric stories, whether they want to hear them or not. Instagram: @lpiccinin Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

John D. Huston has performed in Canada, the U.K. & the States. A member of Canada’s Metis Nation, John’s lively career “culturally misappropriating the works and identities of dead white guys”, includes playing Tommy Douglas in Saskatchewan, William Lyon MacKenzie in Toronto, Shakespeare in England, & Charles Dickens across Canada. In 2017 he was privileged to portray Louis Riel for the 50th anniversary production of Canada’s longest running dramatic presentation, "The Trial of Louis Riel". In 2016, John performed Mark Leiren-Young's, controversial play, "Shylock" at UNO, Canada’s festival of solo work. "SCREWTAPE", John’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ "The Screwtape Letters", garnered him a Best Actor nomination in 2015 from the Ottawa Capitol Critics’ Circle. His performance of "A Christmas Carol" earned him a second such nomination in 2016, the only non-Ottawa actor to be nominated two years running. Twitter: @bythebookprodu1 Instagram: @bythebookproductions Tickets to CIVILIZED: https://ottawafringe.c

Santiago Guzmán (he/him) is a writer, performer, director and producer for theatre and film originally from Metepec, Mexico, now based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Santiago is the Artistic Director of TODOS Productions, an organization that seeks to promote, produce, and support work of under-represented artists in Newfoundland and Labrador. ​ He is the Artistic Associate for Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre in Halifax, NS and General Manager for Neighbourhood Dance Works in St. John’s, NL. He is a proud member of The Quilted Collective, whose first anthology, Us, Now, has been published by Breakwater Books in 2021. www.sguzman.ca Twitter: @santiguzjan Instagram: @santig1 Support Stageworthy Tip Jar: tips.pinecast.com/jar/stageworthy

Natércia Napoleão is a multifaceted Brazilian theatre artist and community advocate. Over the past eighteen years, she has had a wide influence within the Albertan theatre community, with experience in site-specific theatre, dance theatre, multimedia performance, television, musicals, and a wide range of classical and contemporary theatre. Performance highlights include the acclaimed Fado: The Saddest Music in the World (JAYMAC Outstanding Production Award) at the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver. Recent directing credits include Hummm (Climate Change Theatre Action/ New Harlem Productions); Orange Skies (Tarragon Theatre’s Young Playwright's Unit); and the multidisciplinary theatre piece, Threshold (The Lobbyists collective/2021 Chinook Series). Natércia is an associate producer with Dora Award nominated manidoons collective having recently supported the sold-out production of esteemed playwright Yolanda Bonnell’s White Girls in Moccasins, in co-production with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Natércia is curr