Winter Theatre Update

Northern Lights Landscape Aurora Borealis Sky NightFrom my new home, a cabin in the shadow of Mt. Lorne, I’m happy to inform you all about a busy and productive few months; a season which has been full of twists and turns for me, but which has yielded its share of great news.

1474890808First, November saw the Toronto production of Qui Nguyen’s She Kills Monsters, directed by my good friend Tom Beattie under the Orphaned Egret banner. I’d like to congratulate the cast and crew, many of whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with before, and thank everyone who came out to see the show!

Gift HorseMore recently, my full-length play-in-progress Gift Horse had a public reading at Nakai’s Pivot Festival for the second straight year. With the help of a very talented cast of performers, the majority of the all-new second act was read, and I feel I have the inspiration I need to carry this two-year saga to an exciting conclusion! Thanks so much to all those who came out to produce, perform, or hear the event!

 

Map2016-20171

Coming up, I’m excited to announce I’ll be featuring as a performer in Gwaandak Theatre’s Map of the Land, Map of the Stars, a collaborative telling of Northern and Indigenous stories which premieres in Whitehorse May 10th – 13th and will go on to tour smaller communities throughout the territory in the following weeks. I’ve had the privilege of working with Gwaandak many times in the past, most recently bringing an excerpt from this very show to Haines Junction for the Intertribal Gathering, so getting to expand my role with them in such a challenging and exciting new project is a dream come true. Stay tuned for more details to come!

 

 

Spring Theatre Update!

Photo by Christian Kuntz, christiankuntz.com
The Frantic Follies Vaudeville Revue, Photo: Christian Kuntz

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be joining the cast of Whitehorse’s famed Frantic Follies Vaudeville Revue, a proud Yukon institution! I’ll be doing music-hall comedy, reciting Robert Service, singing, dancing, playing music, and generally hamming it up all summer with this goofy bunch and lots more new friends.Headshot 1 b&w

“The Frantic Follies is a turn-of-the-century vaudeville revue that depicts the entertainment seen by the pioneers of the Great Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. The company has been in operation for 46 years and is known as the most popular and successful show in the Yukon and Alaska.”

The Frantic Follies’ opening night is May 31st, and performances continue every night for the length of the Summer. What better excuse to come join us in the Great White North than to see me strut my stuff in authentic Klondike fashion?

These great photos are courtesy of Christian Kuntz, at ChristianKuntz.com.

Magnetic North BannerBut wait, that’s not all! The theatre community here in Whitehorse is bursting at the seams this Spring, in preparation for the arrival of the Magnetic North Festival, Canada’s largest national theatre fest!

It seems every able-bodied theatre-person in town is hard at work on some project or another (and often two or three!) and I’m no exception: In addition to the Follies and Kill Shakespeare I’ll be pitching in as a stage-hand at various venues during the festivities throughout June, and will be performing in a staged reading of Bystander by Wren Hookey. It’s an intense and thought-provoking play that addresses themes of fate, oppression, altruism, and a single person’s power to right the wrongs perpetrated in the name of society. We’ll be performing the reading on June 15th as part of the Magnetic North Festival, and again on June 29th for Arts in the Park. Hope to see you there!