by Alice Childress
Directed by Sam White
This production includes mature themes and triggering language regarding race.
“SOME TRUTH HAS NO NOURISHMENT IN IT.”
The stellar work - written with great precision and powerful storytelling by Alice Childress - gives an emotional portrayal of a relationship between a Black seamstress, Julia, and a white baker, Herman, in the shadow of the First World War and the 1918 flu epidemic in Charleston, South Carolina. The couple's deep love and commitment faces the cruel racism of the Deep South in this revealing portrayal of interracial love, forced to navigate the societal racism of laws and culture, along with heartbreaking judgment from their own families and communities. Written during the Civil Rights era, the play resonates in our modern times of racial reckoning with movements such as Black Lives Matter, across North America, and at a time when a new pandemic is tragically altering lives.
Setting: South Carolina, 1918.
House Program: Wedding Band
Runtime: Two hours and 20 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.*
*Please note that all run times are approximate.
The Feminist Expansion of the Western Canon
Hannah Rittner was curator-in-residence for the Festival in 2020-2022 with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. In this role, she read, researched and selected 400-plus plays written by women between the 17th and 21stcenturies to create a research project entitled “The Feminist Expansion of the Western Canon,” in which she seeks to transform the Western theatrical canon so that it may include and celebrate the female gaze.
Explore the history behind Wedding Band.
Selection of this play was supported by extensive research conducted by Hannah Rittner with support from the Canada Council.
Production support is generously provided by Peter & Carol Walters.
Corporate support for the 2023 season at the Tom Patterson Theatre is generously provided by BMO Financial Group.
Photo credits: From left – Cyrus Lane and Antonette Rudder. Photo by Ted Belton.
2023: Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and Annabelle in Wedding Band. Eighth season. Stratford: Gertrude (Hamlet), Jane Pilkings (Death and the King's Horseman), Cookie (The Front Page), Elmire (Tartuffe), Lady Sneerwell (The School for Scandal), Sorrel (Bunny), Kate (The Last Wife), Kate Hardcastle (She Stoops to Conquer), Goneril (King Lear). Elsewhere: August: Osage County, Little Menace: Pinter, La Ronde, Parfumerie (Soulpepper); The De Chardin Project (Passe Muraille); Proud (Michael Healey), Terminus (Outside the March/Mirvish); Wide Awake Hearts (Tarragon); Another Africa (Volcano); The Mill (Theatrefront); Palace of the End (Canadian Stage). Awards: Multiple Dora winner and 14-time nominee. Film/TV:Beau is Afraid (dir. Ari Aster), Mouthpiece (TIFF, dir. Patricia Rozema), Murdoch Mysteries.Online: maevbeaty.com. Et cetera: 21 world premières, including her co-creations Montparnasse, Goblin Market and Secret Life of a Mother (PlaywrightsCanadaPress). For Dorothy and Esmé, the before and the after.
2023: Lula Green in Wedding Band and Yvette Longpré in Les Belles-Soeurs. Second season. Training: BFA Acting, York University. Awards: 9-time Winner Toronto Queen of Carnival. Et cetera: Endless gratitude. What a gift this all is. Dreams do come true. To Mom, Mischka and Sandy, thanks, truly, for everything. Solomon, I think of you always, I carry you everywhere with me. I know what love is because of you. To my Mathew, SAME. Special thanks to my agent Alicia, I appreciate you. Cheers to all at the Stratford Festival, can't thank you enough. Spread kindness wherever you go, it grows and it feels good. Online: @joellacrichton
Birmingham Conservatory, 2015/16
2023: Mattie in Wedding Band, Linda Lauzon in Les Belles-Soeurs and understudy in Much Ado About Nothing. Eighth season. Stratford (selected): Guildenstern in Hamlet, Co-host of Showstarters, Tituba in The Crucible, Death and the King's Horseman, The Neverending Story, As You Like It, Love's Labour's Lost, Hay Fever. Elsewhere: Death and the King's Horseman Radio Play (Soulpepper); Romeo & Juliet (Spontaneous Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Theatre New Brunswick); five seasons with Shaw Festival including Major Barbara, Serious Money, Ragtime, Born Yesterday; Binti's Journey (Theatre Direct); The Aftermath (Nightwood Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare in High Park, Canadian Stage). Film/TV: Hamlet (2022), Death and the King's Horseman, Love's Labour's Lost, Hamlet, Macbeth, Timon of Athens (Stratford Festival on Film). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre; BFA, University of Windsor. Et cetera: All for the love of Jake and Z.
(she/her)
2023: Fanny Johnson in Wedding Band and understudy in Les Belles-Soeurs. Stratford debut. Selected Theatre: Magi in Harlem Duet (Bard on the Beach); Inez in No Exit (Realwheels Theatre); Mrs. Muller in Doubt: A Parable (Seven Tyrants Theatre). Television credits include: recurring roles on Motherland: Fort Salem, Mysterious Benedict Society and LostOllie. Leo Nominated performance as Nina in Ruby (Lifetime). Formal theatre training completed at Studio 58, attended the National Voice Intensive and trained with Richard Armstrong in voice at the Banff Centre. Liza has toured internationally as a vocalist, is also an Expressive Art Therapist, and a certified Life coach. She is an executive board member of UBCP/ACTRA and Chair of their Mental Health and Addiction Committee.
2023: Germaine Lauzon in Les Belles-Soeurs and Herman's Mother in Wedding Band. 36th season. Stratford: Over 80 productions including the stories of Ophelia, Rosalind, Viola, Portia, Desdemona, Lady Macbeth, Titania, Beatrice, Gwendolyn, Helena, Duchess of Malfi, Masha, Mary Stuart, Volumnia, Queen Elizabeth, and Satan. Also: Three Tall Women, Bakkhai, All My Sons, John Gabriel Borkman, Private Lives, The Beaux Stratagem, Hello, Dolly!, The King and I, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, The Blonde, the Brunette, and the Vengeful Redhead and Late Night with Lucy. Training: The National Theatre School and the grace and wisdom of all the extraordinary artists, colleagues and conspirators over the years. Et cetera: I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to journey through these wonderful stories at the Festival and across the country, and Forever Blessed by the Real Story, my husband Christopher and our Harri and Ben.
2023: Des-Neiges Verrette in Les Belles-Soeurs and understudy in Wedding Band. Second season. Stratford: Death and the King's Horseman, Hamlet. Elsewhere: Fatima in The Container (SummerWorks); Petra in Petra (Theatre Direct); UK: Woman in Death and the King's Horseman (Royal Exchange Manchester); Miseyi in The Beatification of Area Boy (The West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds); Jack in The Man in the Moon, Balthasar/Friar Frances in Much Ado About Nothing (The Everymans' Theatre, Liverpool). Film/TV: Clarice (CBS), The Expanse (Syfy), Coroner (CW), Damien (A&E), Lucky Day (feature), 'Da Kink in my Hair (Global), Crown Prosecutor (BBC TV, UK). Radio/Recordings: Miseyi in The Beatification of Area Boy (BBC Radio); First Girl in Blood Wedding (BBC Radio); Alaba in Memories of a Distant Past (BBC Radio); Woman in Death and the King's Horseman (BBC Radio). Training: Academy of Live and Recorded Arts London, UK. Online: @bolaaiyeolaowens imdb.com/name/nm2416924.
(she /her)
2023: Teeta in Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Aliya is represented by AMI Artist Management in Toronto! Film/TV:How to Hero (PBS); Tall Boyz (CBC Television); Blues Clues and You (Nickelodeon) Creeped Out (BBC/Netflix/DHX); Napkin Man (CBC). Elsewhere: 2023 Scotiabank commercial for The Hockey Jersey celebrating Diversity in Sports. Ads: Clorox, McDonald's-Ronald McDonald House, Paw Patrol, Mini-Mouse and Kit Kat. Online: Motion Capture for top ranked Ubisoft video game. Aliya is a high level rep soccer player for Oakville and plays piano and guitar. Competitive Sports: Volleyball, Swimming, Running. Awards: 2023 Student Council House Spirit Rep. Special thanks to my identical twin sister and fellow AMI actress, Aria Anthony. Thank you Stratford Festival for this opportunity and thanks Mom and Dad, Anthony-Jean-Pierre, Thadani family, for your love and support of my acting journey!
2023: Teeta in Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Aria is represented by AMI Artist Management in Toronto! Film/TV: Shazam! (Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, DC Comics, New Line Cinema, one of the highest global grossing films ever shot in Canada); Odd Squad created by Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman (PBS and TVOKids); How to Hero (PBS); TallBoyz (CBC Television); Blues Clues & You (Nickelodeon); Creeped Out (CBBC, Netflix, DHX); The Adventures of Napkin Man (CBC). Ads: Nationwide Insurance USA, Gain, Clorox, McDonald's-Ronald McDonald House, Paw Patrol, Minnie Mouse and KitKat. Activities: Rep soccer for Oakville, competitive volleyball, and swimming. Musical Instruments: Aria plays both the piano and guitar! I would like to thank my Family for your love and support of my acting journey! Thank you Stratford Festival for this opportunity!
2023: Princess in Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Elsewhere:Miracle on 34th Street (Perth County Players); Enchanted Forest (Playmakers Theatre School). Training: Intensive Dance Program (Onstage Dance); Piano (Music for Young Children); Ukulele/Voice (Dayna Manning Folk Army). Et cetera: Eleanor is thrilled be a part of the Stratford Festival this season and understands how important it is for this story to be told. She would like to thank her friends, family, and teachers for supporting her along this journey. Thank you to Mom, Dad and Fergus, for nurturing my love of performing and your constant love and support. Anything's possible!
2023: The Bell Man in Wedding Band and Seacoal in Much Ado About Nothing. Sixth season. Stratford: Barnardo in Hamlet, The Resident in Death and the King's Horseman, Undiscovered Sonnets, Michael, Moloch in Paradise Lost, Sir Thomas Cromwell and Bishop of Lincoln in Henry VIII. Fight Director, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Elsewhere: 12 Angry Men, Death of a Salesman (Drayton); Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Henry V (BOTB); Romeo and Juliet, The Glass Menagerie, Rough Crossing (TC); Death of a Salesman, The Wars (Playhouse); The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Red Priest (Globe); Hedda Gabler (Persephone); The Secret Annex, The Philadelphia Story (MTC); The Drawer Boy, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Belfry); Aberhart Summer, Respectable, that elusive spark (ATP); Boeing Boeing, The School for Scandal (Arts Club); The Woman in Black (CTF); Guys and Dolls (Gateway); Macbeth (theatre nomad - England/South Africa tour); Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (BeMe Theatre - Munich, Germany).
2023: Princess in Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Stratford: Madison is a true native to Stratford, being born and raised here, and has been a lifelong dancer with On Stage Dance Studio. Elsewhere: Madison's first foray into the performing world was with Society Performers Visual, where she supplied monologues for commercials. Et cetera: In her free time, Madison enjoys reading, drawing, fashion, makeup, creating TikTok videos, and much more.
Birmingham Conservatory 2020/21
2023: Shrimp Man in Wedding Band and understudy in Much Ado About Nothing. Fourth season. Stratford: Lord in All's Well That Ends Well, understudy in Little Women, Demetrius, Peter Quince, Mustardseed in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Valentine in Two Gentlemen of Verona (Birmingham Conservatory). Elsewhere: Iago in Othello, Richard in Richard III, Sparkish in The Country Wife, Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art); Paul Bratter in Barefoot in the Park, Paul Verral in Born Yesterday (Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre); Henry Baskerville in Hound of the Baskervilles (Royal Canadian Theatre Co.); Young Sherlock in Sherlock Holmes (Chemainus Theatre Festival). Film/TV:Fragile Seeds (feature film), The Flash, Far Cry 4, Monkey Up, Cascadia, Ollie and Emma. Directing:Julius Caesar, Mr. Burns, LaRonde at New Image College, Vancouver BC. Training: Birmingham Conservatory, LAMDA (Masters with Distinction, Classical Acting).
2023: Member of the Watch in Much Ado About Nothing and understudy in Wedding Band and Les Belles-Soeurs. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: The Royale (Citadel); The Color Purple, As You Like It (Citadel/Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre);The Wolves (Maggie Tree/Citadel); The Fiancée(Persephone); Heaven (Lunchbox); Sister Act, All Shook Up, Soul Sistas (Mayfield); John Ware Reimagined, Tell Us What Happened (Workshop West).Training: MacEwan Theatre Arts Alumnus, RBC Horizon Emerging Artists Program (Citadel). Online: Instagram- jameela_jade. Et cetera: Thank you to my family, friends, and C for all of your love and support. "I am my ancestors' wildest dreams."
2023: Teeta in Wedding Band. Stratford debut. TV/Commercials/Print/Other: Ariel played Chinch in My Favorite Wife with the Newmarket Stage Company. She also played herself in an award-winning TV show on the Family Jr. Network. Ariel was featured in several commercials and print work for well-known brands in North America. Training: Acro dance, martial arts, acting, and voiceover. Awards: Won Best Self-tape Award and nominations for favourite monologue and commercial actor. Online: Instagram - @ariel.ollivierre. Et cetera: Ariel enjoys learning French, playing with her dog and martial arts. She is currently learning to play the piano. Ariel appreciates her family, friends and school for supporting her and her coach and agent for believing in her. She is grateful to the Stratford Festival for this opportunity. If you believe, you can achieve!
2023: Thérèse Dubuc in Les Belles-Soeurs and understudy in Wedding Band. 10th season. Stratford: Marmee in Little Women, Interpreter in All's Well…, Katherine in Henry VIII, Catalina in Mother's Daughter, Jean Louise in To Kill a Mockingbird, Cassius in Julius Caesar, Breath of Kings, Kate in The Little Years, Katherina in Taming of the Shrew, Olga in Three Sisters. Elsewhere: Happy Place, The Gigli Concert (Soulpepper); How Do I Love Thee? (Canadian Rep); The Bakelite Masterpiece, The Little Years (Tarragon); Manon, Sandra and the Virgin Mary (Buddies…); The Glace Bay Miners' Museum, The Age of Arousal (Dora Award, Factory Theatre); The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Dora Award, Birdland). Film/TV: Frankie Drake (CBC); Salvation, Indian Horse (Elevation Pictures); Cardinal, Reign, Murdoch Mysteries, Republic of Doyle, Carrie (MGM); Breakout Kings.
2023: Rhéauna Bibeau in Les Belles-Soeurs and understudy in Much Ado About Nothing and Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Past credits include: Stage - Cinnamon in Rumspringa Break (NextStage), The Sour Kangaroo in Seussical (Lorraine Kimsa Theatre). Film/TV - Gladys Kravitz in CHUCKY, Agent Orange in Slumberland, Ida Clark in Murdoch Mysteries, and many characters in Baroness Von Sketch. Music - Add "It's All About Christmastime" to your Spotify playlist. You'll be happy you did. Et cetera: Jamillah lives with the sweetest cat in the world, can juggle three small objects and is an alumnus of The Second City Toronto MainStage. Jamillah has dreamed of performing at Stratford since having her mind blown in 1988 while watching The Taming of the Shrew in the Festival Theatre. Thanks Mr.Cal! DREAMS COME TRUE, PEOPLE!
(he/him) Birmingham Conservatory, 2019/21
2023: Nelson Green in Wedding Band and Messenger in Much Ado About Nothing. Fourth season. Stratford: Danny in Hamlet-911 (2022); Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream (2021). Elsewhere: Riley in Is God Is (Obsidian Theatre/Canadian Stage/NAC); Taz in Samantha: A Concept Album, Set to Stage (Greenlight Theatre); Slightly in Peter Pan (Bad Hats Theatre); Dido in Dido, Queen of Carthage, directed by Peter Hinton (York University Theatre). Training: Birmingham Conservatory, 2019, 2021 (Stratford Festival); Acting Conservatory, York University, 2018 (BFA); Michael Gordon Shore, Role Development. Online: Instagram: @micah.woods. Et cetera: "Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations." - Dr. Mae Jemison. Thank you to my family for their love and support.
Playwright of Wedding Band.
Born in 1916 and raised during the Harlem Renaissance under the watchful eye of her beloved maternal grandmother, Alice Childress grew up to become first an actress and then a playwright and novelist. A founding member of the American Negro Theatre, she wrote her first play, Florence, in 1949. The script was written in one night on a dare from close friend and actor Sidney Poitier, who had told Alice that he didn't think a great play could be written overnight. She proved him wrong, and the play was produced Off-Broadway in 1950.
In 1952 Childress became the first African-American woman to see her play (Gold Through The Trees) professionally produced in New York. In 1955, Childress' play Trouble In Mind was a critical and popular success from the beginning of its run Off-Broadway at the Greenwich Mews Theatre. The play immediately drew interest from producers for a Broadway transfer. In an ironic twist echoing the tribulations of the characters in the play itself, the producers wanted changes to the script to make it more palatable to a commercial audience. Childress refused to compromise her artistic vision, and the play didn't open on Broadway. If it had, at that time Childress would have been the first African-American woman playwright to have a play on Broadway. Trouble In Mind received a well-reviewed Off-Broadway revival in 1998 by the Negro Ensemble Company and has since been produced by Yale Repertory Theatre, Centerstage, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage. Trouble In Mind, directed by Charles Randolph Wright, produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company, opened on Broadway in November 2021.
Childress is perhaps best known today for A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich, her 1973 novel about a 13-year-old Black boy addicted to heroin, which was subsequently made into a movie in 1978. Other plays written by Childress include Just a Little Simple (1950), Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White (1966) and Gullah (1984).
Alice Childress died in New York in 1994. Throughout her career, she examined the true meaning of being Black, and especially of being Black and female. As Childress herself once said, "I concentrate on portraying have-nots in a have society."
2023: Director, Wedding Band. Second season. Stratford: Assistant Director, The Tempest. Elsewhere: Founding Artistic & Executive Director at Shakespeare in Detroit; Director, Othello (Shakespeare in Detroit); A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program), Antigone (University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance) Training: Wayne State University, B.A.; Michael Langham Director's Workshop, Stratford; 2019 Director's Workshop, Yale University, Paul Nicholson Arts Management Fellow, Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Awards: The Detroit News Michiganian of the Year, Crain's Detroit Business 40 Under 40. Et cetera: Sam dedicates this production to her sweet, Southern father, Fred White, Martha Henry and Alice Childress. Thank you to them and all the ancestors whose shoulders I stand on. Une vie honorable est une vie éternelle. Merci.
2023: Set designer of Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Richard H. Morris Jr. (scenic designer) is a Cleveland, Ohio based scenic and lighting designer. Recent designs include, Wine in the Wilderness (Two River Theatre); Two Trains Running (Pittsburgh Public Theatre); Twelfth Night (Cleveland Playhouse). Mr. Morris has designed scenery for over 160 productions, and was the recipient of the National Black Theatre Festivals award for Outstanding Achievements in Scenic Design. In 2013 Mr. Morris was Keynote Speaker at Alabama State University on African Americans in Scenic Design. He is currently Technical Director/Resident Scenic Designer for Weathervane Playhouse in Akron, Ohio. Mr. Morris holds a B.A. in Scenic and Lighting Design from Kent State University.
2023: Costume designer of Wedding Band. Second season. Sarah is a Nigerian multi-disciplinary artist and theatre designer based in Calgary. Stratford: Death and the King's Horseman (2022). Elsewhere: Trouble in the Mind (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre & Citadel Theatre); Steel Magnolias (Theatre Calgary); The Fiancée, The Mountaintop (Persephone Theatre); Scope (Lunchbox Theatre); Murder in the Studio (Vertigo Theatre); Gimme Chance Leh (Chromatic Theatre); Actually (Alberta Theatre Projects); The Sound of Music, Where Words Once Were (StoryBook Theatre). Online: sarahuwadiae.com, @sarahuwadiae.
2023: Lighting designer for Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Kathy has designed for Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatres such as American Conservatory Theatre, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory, Seattle Repertory, St. Louis Black Repertory, Alliance, Goodman, Steppenwolf, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Two River, Mark Taper, and Yale Repertory. As a scholar, she is the editor of seven anthologies focusing on women both nationally and internationally. Kathy is the recipient of numerous research and design awards, including Ford Foundation, Fulbright, an NAACP Image Award and Henry Hewes Design Award. In 2007 she was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. She received her BFA from Howard University and her MFA from the University of Michigan. Kathy is faculty Emerita at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
(he/him)
2023: Composer of Wedding Band. Fourth season. Stratford: Guys and Dolls, HMS Pinafore, Freedom Cabaret, Freedom 2.0: Black Music That Shaped The Dream Of America. Elsewhere: Shape Of Home: Songs In Search Of Al Purdy, Ghost Quartet (Crow's Theatre);Harlem Duet, Orphan Song (Tarragon Theatre); The Father, Marjorie Prime (Coal Mine Theatre); Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Soulpepper); Passing Strange (Obsidian/ Musical Stage Co.). Film/TV/Radio: Station Eleven (HBO/Max); The Expanse (Amazon). Voiceover: The Journey Prize Stories (Penguin). Training: Self-taught. Awards: Two Dora Mavor Moore, Two Toronto Critics', and a Calgary Critics' Awards. Online: www.beaudixon.com. Writing Credits: Bloom: A Rock 'n' Roll Fable (4th Line Theatre); Beneath Springhill: The Maurice Ruddick Story (Arts Club/Neptune Theatre/ Thousand Islands); From Here To Africville, Once A Flame (Factory Theatre).
2023: Composer and sound designer of Casey and Diana, Women of the Fur Trade, and sound designer of Wedding Band. Seventh season. Stratford: Composer for Serving Elizabeth; composer and sound designer of The Crucible, Treasure Island, The Changeling, Breath of Kings; sound designer of Death and the King's Horseman, Mother's Daughter, The Aeneid. Elsewhere: Music and sound for Peggy Baker Dance Projects, Soulpepper, Volcano Theatre, Theatre Centre, and others; appearances at MUTEK Japan, MOCA Toronto, Banff Centre, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Guelph Jazz Festival, Sound Symposium, Art Gallery of Ontario and other venues. Radio/Recordings: Radio works on Deutschlandradio Kultur, ORF Kunstradio, Radio National España, Banff New Media Institute, NAISA; numerous solo recordings, audio artworks, and audiovisual projects. Awards: Dora Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Design (Opera) and for Original Music and Sound Crash (Theatre Passe Muraille); We Are Proud to Present… (Theatre Centre/Why Not); 2023 Louis Applebaum Composers Award Laureate.
2023: Dramaturge of Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Arminda Thomas is resident dramaturg and a producing member of CLASSIX. Selected dramaturgy credits include The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Brooklyn Academy of Music); Death of a Salesman (Hudson Theatre); Wedding Band (Theatre for a New Audience); Black Picture Show (Artists Space); Mirrors (Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop); Black History Museum...According to the United States of America (HERE Arts Center); Jazz (Marin Theatre Company). She previously served as archivist and dramaturg for Dee-Davis Enterprises, where she was an executive producer for the Grammy-awarded audiobook, With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together, and consultant for the film Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee.
2023: Supervising fight director for the 2023 season. 12th season. Stratford: Supervising Fight Director 2022, Associate: 2013-2020 seasons, Assistant: 2004, 2009 seasons. Elsewhere: Fight director - Bengal Tiger... (Crow's Theatre); Black Drum (Soulpepper); Peter and the Starcatcher, Sweet Charity, Cyrano (Shaw); Don Giovanni, War and Peace (COC). Film/TV Stunts (selected): The Boys (four seasons), See, FUBAR, Jack Reacher, What We Do In The Shadows, The Lost Symbol, Hardy Boys, The Man from Toronto, It Chapter Two, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Schitt's Creek, Murdoch Mysteries, Ginny & Georgia, Jupiter's Legacy, Supergirl, Impulse, I Was Lorena Bobbitt, Save Me, Frankie Drake, Titans, Umbrella Academy, The Expanse, Designated Survivor, Suicide Squad, Dark Matter, Killjoys, 12 Monkeys, Bitten, The Strain, Pompeii, Orphan Black, Total Recall. Training: Supreme Fight Master Elite Level 3. BFA, Ryerson University. Awards: SAG nomination, Best Stunt Ensemble, 2021, 2023 Paddy Crean. Online: @GeoffScovell.
(she/they)
2023: Intimacy Director of Rent, Much Ado About Nothing and Wedding Band. Second season. Stratford: Hamlet (2022). Elsewhere: Intimacy Professional - Civil (Netflix); Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation (Lifetime/MUSE); Fat Lady Sriracha (Sriracha Productions); Sin and Sorrow are Common to All, The Judas Kiss (Talk is Free Theatre); Salome Learns to Dance (7 Veils Productions.); Pomegranate Opera (Buddies in Bad Times); Happily Undead After (Canadian Film Centre). Movement Director: The Monkiest King (CCOC). Director - The Magic Flute, Pirates of Penzance (Opera Lyra/OYA touring productions). Actor - nine seasons at the National Arts Centre (resident actor with the NAC English Theatre, 2012/13); The Cherry Orchard (Modern Times); Like Wolves (GCTC); Better Days (Paragraph Pictures). Recent media credits: Assassins Creed: Odyssey, Valhalla (Ubisoft). Et cetera: Alix's film chemography: a study in light can be found on CBC Gem: Reflections. Online: @alikisideris, alixsideris.com. Gratitude to David, Meagan, Amanda. This one's for you, Richard C.
2023: Child performer advocate of Wedding Band and Frankenstein Revived. Eighth season. Stratford: Acting - title role in The Diary of Anne Frank, Queen Isabel in Richard II, Macbeth, Brothers Karamazov, Measure for Measure, Julius Caesar, The Imaginary Invalid, The Three Musketeers. Child Performer Advocate - R+J, Hamlet-911, Richard III. Elsewhere: Maggie was an actor for 25 years, playing leading roles at The Shaw Festival, Blyth Festival, The Grand Theatre, The Citadel Theatre and Manitoba Theatre Centre amongst others. Maggie holds a Masters in Classical Theatre, a Masters in Child and Youth Work and is certified in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. For the past six years she has worked at Boost Child and Youth Advocacy Centre in Toronto. She is also an independent consultant for arts organizations on Trauma-Informed Practice. Et cetera: Much love to my husband Josh and our kids Arthur and Winifred.
2023: Set and lighting designer of Grand Magic and associate set designer of Wedding Band. 10th season. Stratford: The Miser - lighting; A Midsummer Night's Dream - costumes; Mother's Daughter - set and costumes; Two Gentlemen of Verona - set and lighting; The Front Page, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Timon of Athens, Agamemnon, Electra, Bereav'd of Light, Fellini Radio Plays, Walk Right Up and Shadows - set; The Flies - set and costumes. Elsewhere: Set: Mahabharata (WhyNot Theatre/Shaw). Set and lighting: Network (Citadel/RMTC); New (MTC); Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Crow's/Modern Times). Designs for Soulpepper, Pershing Square Theatre, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Joffrey Ballet, and regional theatres throughout Canada. Awards: Dora Awards: Lighting design for Julius Caesar (Crow's); set and projection design for Rose (Soulpepper); set and lighting design for Of Human Bondage (Soulpepper). Et cetera: Member of the Associated Designers of Canada. www.lorenzosavoini.com.
(she/her) Langham Directors' Workshop
2023: Assistant director of Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Directing: Freaky Green Eyes (Punctuate Theatre/Edmonton Fringe); Shark Bite (Lunchbox Theatre); Peppergrass (BLS Prod.); The Strid (Downstage Theatre); Master Oogam's Blessing (Jupiter Theatre). Assistant Directing: Benefit (Downstage); Waiting for the Parade (Alberta Theatre Projects); Polonius and His Children (Sage Theatre). On Stage: Post-Democracy (Tarragon Theatre); Strangers on a Train (Vertigo Theatre); Smoke (Downstage); Kim's Convenience (Soulpepper/MTC/Arts Club/Citadel); Slipper (Alberta Theatre Projects); Medea (Chromatic Theatre). On Screen: Murdoch Mysteries (CBC); Peppergrass (BLS Prod.); Black Summer (Netflix), Departure (Global); Circle of Steel (Kino Sum); Hell on Wheels (AMC). Training: Mount Royal University - Theatre Performance. Awards: Nightmares Film Festival Award - Peppergrass (BLS Prod.); Stinger Award - Circle of Steel (Kino Sum). Upcoming: Gangrene, USA: The Musical (Barbet Theatre). Online: @chantellemariehan.
2023: Assistant set designer of Richard II and Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Theatre Critic - Kingston Theatre Alliance. Creative Consultant - Why Are You Like This? Productions. Co-Hostess - Cabaret Brouhaha. Training: BFA, Performance Creation (Concordia University). Online: Instagram: @freddy.vancamp. Et cetera: Freddy would like to thank her parents, Chad and Nicole for their continued and unending support.
2023: Assistant costume designer of Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Seamstress: Controlled Damage (Grand Theatre); Elf: The Musical (Grand Theatre); Grand Ghosts (Grand Theatre). Film: Design Assist: Tenth Generation. Online: @meghanchoma
2023: Assistant lighting designer of Grand Magic and Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Assistant lighting designer of Peter's Final Flight (Ross Petty Productions) and Contemporaneity (Anandam Dance Theatre); lighting designer of The Late Wedding (Theatre at York), Fruits of Labour (Devised Theatre Festival), Art Of Time (Dance at York), Music Media Concert (MMC at York) and Thirumagal (Veenix Productions); sound designer of Our Mothers and Fathers (playGround Festival). Film: Technical director of Sacrifice (Film at York). Upcoming: Lighting designer of Do You Think You're Better Than Me (Fringe Festival). Training: Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours in Theatre Production from York University. Awards: Canadian College Cricket Women's Nationals MVP and Women's Ontario Cup MVP & Best Bowler 2019; Trustee Lister Leadership Award 2017; GSHA Student Council Vice President Award and Senior Girls Athlete of the Year 2017. Instagram: @superstarsimran.
2023: Assistant sound designer of Grand Magic, Wedding Band and Richard II. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Sound design and composition credits include Gaslight (Vertigo Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatre Calgary); All I Want For Christmas, The Pink Unicorn (Lunchbox Theatre); Grace & Glorie, Lilia! (Rosebud Theatre). Original compositions have been featured in Parts & Labour (Fieldwork), Alberta Kitchen Party (Alberta Theatre Projects) and Flibbertigibbet's Story Exhibit (Quest Theatre). Alixandra also works as a composer for musical theatre. Her musical Home for the Holidays made its world premiere at Lunchbox Theatre in December 2022. Online: alixandracowman.com. Et cetera: Born in Regina and based in Calgary, Alixandra is a prairie woman through and through. She is thrilled to be spending time surrounded by the incredible artists at the Stratford Festival this year. Boundless gratitude to Conrad for the neverending love and support.
2023: Production stage manager of the Tom Patterson Theatre and stage manager of Wedding Band. 17th season. Stratford: Production stage manager of the Studio Theatre (2018, 2019); Stage manager - Freedom Cabaret 2.0: Black Music That Shaped the Dream of America, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet (2017), Bunny, Possible Worlds, Hirsch; Assistant stage manager - Tartuffe, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Evita, Kiss Me, Kate, Macbeth, Rice Boy, Romeo and Juliet (2008), Caesar and Cleopatra, My One and Only, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Duchess of Malfi, The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead; Apprentice stage manager - Noises Off; Production coordinator - Just Short of Reality (Stratfest@Home). Elsewhere: University of Waterloo, Inter Arts Matrix, Theatre Sheridan, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Erindale, Theatre Direct Canada/Eldritch Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille/Obsidian Theatre Company, Bluewater Summer Playhouse, Charlottetown Festival. Training: Sheridan College.
2023: Stage manager of Grand Magic and assistant stage manager of Wedding Band. Ninth season. Stratford: Stage manager of The Miser, Othello, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Changeling, Breath of Kings: Redemption and Oedipus Rex. 17 seasons with the Shaw Festival, production stage manager from 2003 to 2011. Favourite productions with the Shaw Festival include My Fair Lady, Gypsy, You Can't Take It With You, Detective Story, All My Sons, Chaplin, The Madras House, Man and Superman, Peter Pan and Lady Windermere's Fan. Productions with the Grand Theatre, Drayton Entertainment, Canadian Stage, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Mirvish Productions, National Arts Centre, Blyth Festival, Factory Theatre, Tarragon Theatre.
2023: Assistant stage manager of Richard II and Wedding Band. Fifth season. Stratford: Assistant lighting designer of Little Women and Wendy and Peter Pan. Apprentice stage manager of I Am William. Production assistant for the Avon Theatre and The Langham Directors' Workshop. Elsewhere: Stage manager on WaterFall (Gargantua Theatre); apprentice stage manager on Julius Caesar (Crow's/Groundling Theatre); stage manager/associate lighting designer on Kiviuq Returns: An Inuit Epic (Qaggiavuut, National Theatre of Greenland, Tarragon Theatre); writer/director of The Stage Manager's Guide to Dating Assholes (self-produced at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Toronto Fringe Festival). Training: MA in Art History and BFA in Theatre Production from York University. Awards: Outstanding Global Achievement Award from York University, Guthrie Award from Stratford Festival.
2023: Assistant stage manager of Wedding Band. Stratford debut. Elsewhere:This is How We Got Here (Green Light Arts); Sweeney Todd (Talk is Free Theatre); Constellations (Cosmic Fishing Theatre); Back Home for the Holidays, Elf: The Musical, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Panto (Drayton Entertainment); A Belly Full (Theatre Aquarius); and various workshops for new Canadian plays. Charlotte is also a scenic painter and writer, with work seen on stages and pages through Canada and the United States. Et cetera: For Dean, Kapinga, and all that wasn't.
2023: Production stage manager of the Tom Patterson Theatre and stage manager of Rent. 27th season. Stratford: Shows include Chicago, Billy Elliot, A Chorus Line, Crazy for You, Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, Man of La Mancha, Hello, Dolly!, The King and I and others. Elsewhere: Over 40 years as a stage manager in live entertainment including gala events, music concerts, opening ceremonies and fundraising events. Over 25 years with the Canadian Opera Company as a stage manager; production stage manager and resident director of Jersey Boys, Toronto; 25 years as a singer/dancer and choreographer in Canadian theatre; associate director/choreographer to her mentor, Alan Lund. Et cetera: Love to Paul, daughters Stephanie and Jennifer, son-in-law Andrew, and her grandchildren, Kennedy, Koston and Connor. Happy to be working through this pandemic!!
2023: Tom Patterson Theatre production assistant. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Brianna has stage managed for Toronto Dance Theatre, Director's Lab North, Just For Laughs Montreal, and Toronto Fringe's 2021 Primetime Festival. She has also worked as the Assistant Stage Manager for TouchX (Kaeja Dance), Digital Production Coordinator for Toronto Fringe's 2022 Next Stage Festival and as the Dresser for Bentboy and Snow White (YPT). Training: McMaster University, Theatre and Film, The National Theatre School of Canada, Production Design and Technical Arts.
TOM PATTERSON THEATRE To find out more about all our theatres, please visit the Theatre Maps & Guides page.
Need Help?
Box Office hours
Ticketing FAQs Visit FAQs Membership FAQsCare Commitment