vol 24 • no 2 nov/dec 2016
JOHN HIRSCH MAINSTAGE
BY PETER
MORGAN
BY CAREY
CRIM
tom hendry warehouse season sponsor:
TOM HENDRY WAREHOUSE
Actor
Proudly supporting our arts community today as it inspires the artists of tomorrow.
MESSAGE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR I’m in an airport departure lounge, a place that offers little privacy and even less intimacy. When we fly, we spend hours sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers, and often talk of nothing more than our mutual desire to arrive on time and to find the weather at our destination mild. We exchange mere pleasantries and, if truth be told, we seldom go deeper, even with those close to us. We dare not speak of our fears and desires, and so our conversations become as insubstantial as dandelion seeds or goose down. Great playwrights plunge their characters down past the veneer of everyday life. In Peter Morgan’s The Audience, Steven Schipper
the Queen must get the true measure of each Prime Minister if she is to protect the British citizens she has
sworn to serve. No question is too personal, no revelation too naked. We feel privileged to eavesdrop on conversations that are at once historically momentous and deeply personal. Carey Crim’s central character in 23.5 Hours is a high school drama teacher who swears he’s been falsely accused of a crime. As Tom, his friends and his family struggle with the consequences, they realize they may not really know each other. Does trust have limits? Can unconditional love crumble under certain conditions? As Crim’s characters plumb each other’s depths, we can’t help but wonder about our own precarious lives. Can we ever really know the people around us? And do we even know ourselves? Theatre gives us the courage to ask these hard questions, and to open ourselves to deeper connections. We cannot live our lives on an airplane, six seats to a row, all of us tapping out an existential S.O.S. on our individual touch screens. Solitude should be only a respite from deep communion with others, the kind of courageous communion we find here in these theatres. Yours always,
november/december 2016
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THEATRE ABBREVIATION LEGEND Arts Club Arts Club Theatre Company • Vancouver, BC ATF Atlantic Theatre Festival • Wolfville, NS ATP Alberta Theatre Projects • Calgary, AB BAM Brooklyn Academy of Music • NYC Bard on the Beach Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival • Vancouver, BC Belfry The Belfry Theatre • Victoria, BC Blyth Blyth Theatre Festival • Blyth, ON Broadway Theatre district • New York, NY CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Centaur Centaur Theatre Company • Montreal, QC Citadel The Citadel Theatre • Edmonton, AB COC Canadian Opera Company • Toronto, ON CS Canadian Stage • Toronto, ON Dora Dora Mavor Moore Award • Toronto, ON Drayton Drayton Entertainment • Ontario Dry Cold Dry Cold Productions • Winnipeg, MB Factory Factory Theatre • Toronto, ON GCTC The Great Canadian Theatre Company • Ottawa, ON Grand The Grand Theatre • London, ON Mirvish Mirvish Productions • Toronto, ON Moving Target Moving Target Theatre Company • Winnipeg, MB MTYP Manitoba Theatre for Young People • Winnipeg, MB NAC National Arts Centre • Ottawa, ON Necessary Angel Necessary Angel Theatre Company • Toronto, ON Neptune Neptune Theatre • Halifax, NS NFB National Film Board of Canada NTS National Theatre School of Canada • Montreal, QC Persephone Persephone Theatre • Saskatoon, SK PTAM Popular Theatre Alliance of Manitoba • Winnipeg, MB PTE Prairie Theatre Exchange • Winnipeg, MB
Rainbow Rainbow Stage • Winnipeg, MB RNT Royal National Theatre • London, England Royal Alex The Royal Alexandra Theatre • Toronto, ON RSC Royal Shakespeare Company • Stratford-upon-Avon, England RWB Royal Winnipeg Ballet • Winnipeg, MB Sarasvàti Sarasvàti Productions • Winnipeg, MB Segal The Segal Centre for Performing Arts • Montreal, QC Shaw Shaw Festival • Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON SIR Shakespeare in the Ruins • Winnipeg, MB Soulpepper Soulpepper Theatre Company • Toronto, ON Stratford Stratford Festival • Stratford, ON SummerWorks SummerWorks Theatre Festival • Toronto, ON TA Theatre Aquarius • Hamilton, ON Tarragon Tarragon Theatre • Toronto, ON TBTR Theatre by the River • Winnipeg, MB TC Theatre Calgary • Calgary, AB TiFT Talk is Free Theatre • Barrie, ON TNB Theatre New Brunswick • Fredericton, NB Toronto Free Toronto Free Theatre • Toronto, ON TPM Theatre Projects Manitoba • Winnipeg, MB TSO Toronto Symphony Orchestra U of M University of Manitoba U of T University of Toronto U of W University of Winnipeg VP Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company • Vancouver, BC West End Theatre district • London, England WJT Winnipeg Jewish Theatre WSO Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra WST Winnipeg Studio Theatre YPT Young People’s Theatre • Toronto, ON zone41 zone41 theatre • Winnipeg, MB
OVATION
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 2 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
Ovation is published six times per theatre season and has an approximate yearly circulation of 100,000. printing: Premier Printing Ltd. ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Thomas Urish telephone: 204 954 6413 email: turish@royalmtc.ca
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Royal MTC is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and engages, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional artists who are members of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Scenery, Carpentry and Show Running Crew at the John Hirsch Mainstage and the Tom Hendry Warehouse are members of IATSE Local 63.
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THE AUDIENCE
Peter Morgan’s The Audience imagines conversations that might have taken place between Queen Elizabeth II and her Prime Ministers at their traditional weekly meetings.
At the final meeting portrayed in the play, Parliament has just been dissolved and the 2015 election is underway. Although the play concludes before the end of this election and the “Brexit” referendum that follows, the interaction between David Cameron and the Queen reflects the decidedly mixed feelings of the British (primarily English) toward the European Union, and how these attitudes were partially encouraged by nostalgia for a Britain that is forever gone. In early 2013, the polls did not look good for Cameron’s coalition
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government. The polls showed the Tories were running behind the Labour Party, and furthermore, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) had surpassed the Liberal-Democrats. UKIP emphasized national sovereignty, demanding an end to British membership in the European Union and a reduction in the number of immigrants permitted entry to the United Kingdom. Some Anti-European Union Conservative MPs, fearing their party was losing voters to UKIP, demanded action from the Prime Minister.
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THE AUDIENCE Cameron responded by promising to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s membership in the EU, and pledging that if his party was re-elected in 2015, an in-or-out referendum on continued membership in the EU would be held before the end of 2017. In the moment, this might have seemed like a skillful political maneuver. It got him in front of an issue of public concern, made peace between factions of his party, and possibly won back some voters from UKIP. It turned out, however, to be a very risky decision, one that will likely define Cameron’s place in British history. On May 7, 2015, Cameron’s Conservatives won a slim Parliamentary majority. In February 2016, Cameron informed the public he had won some small concessions from the EU in areas such as government benefits owed to EU migrants, sovereignty, and the rights of non-euro countries. He also announced that a referendum would take place on June 23, 2016, and he strongly
favoured remaining within the EU. Some of his cabinet ministers, however, campaigned for the “Leave” side. It is interesting to read the play’s exchange between Cameron and the Queen in light of the outcome of the “Brexit” vote. Cameron laments to the Queen that “It’s hard to understand why we British have been so “It’s impossible resistant to Europe for us as subjects historically,” and to commit suggests possibilities ourselves fully such as the physical to any other separation from Europe, language union.” barriers, or lingering - David Cameron in The Audience memories of the war. He then states another possibility might be that “we have a head of state who has such strong emotional ties with the Commonwealth that it’s impossible for us as subjects to commit ourselves fully to any other union. That is, until you…”
THE PRIME MINISTERIAL TIMELINE
1940–45 1951-55
WINSTON CHURCHILL
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1955–57
1957–63
ANTHONY EDEN
HAROLD MACMILLAN
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1963–64
ALEC DOUGLAS–HOME
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THE AUDIENCE Both recoil at the impropriety of what Cameron has suggested. This reference to the Commonwealth is interesting because memories of a lost Britain at the centre of a great empire, capable of shaping world events alone, might have contributed to the discomfort that some in Britain (especially England) have historically shown toward the European Union. For “Euro skeptics,” Britain was still a nation apart from Europe, and they resisted encroachments on its sovereignty in the form of political and economic integration with the EU. Polling conducted throughout the Brexit campaign suggested a generation gap among voters, with the majority of those under 40 supporting the “Remain,” while voters 55 and older favoured “Leave.” Older voters were more likely to remember the days of the empire and Britain’s elevated status in the world, as well as the prosperity of the later 1950s and 1960s. They would also remember the humiliation of Britain’s rejection for entry to the EEC in 1961 before finally being admitted in 1973, followed by decades
1964–70 1974-76
HAROLD WILSON
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of deindustrialization and more difficult and insecure times for the working class. Indeed, the campaigners for the “Leave” side frequently invoked patriotism and the glories of Britain’s past. Obviously, race, xenophobia and discomfort with social and cultural changes were also critical factors in the outcome as well. For younger voters, Britain had always been a part of Europe, perhaps identifying more with it than the Commonwealth, and most viewed their political and economic future as part of the European Union. On June 23, 2016, voters in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar voted 51.9% to 48.11% to leave the EU. Cameron resigned immediately after the vote, and on July 13 he was replaced by Home Secretary Theresa May. It will fall to her to invoke article 50 to initiate the process of Britain’s formal exit. Undoubtedly, she will have some very interesting weekly audiences with the Queen. Christopher Frank University of Manitoba Department of History
1976–79
1979–90
JAMES CALLAGHAN
MARGARET THATCHER
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1990–97
JOHN MAJOR
november/december 2016
THE AUDIENCE
THE BRITISH SOVEREIGN Queen Elizabeth II. Born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, April 21, 1926, in London, to Prince Albert, Duke of York (later known as King George VI), and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1947, became Queen on February 6, 1952, and was crowned on June 2, 1953. Prince Charles, her son, is heir to the throne. Prince William and Prince Harry continue her line. She is the longest-serving monarch in British history.
Synopsis – The Audience
Every week, Queen Elizabeth II meets with her Prime Minister in the Private Audience Room at Buckingham Palace. As we observe the Queen at various points in her life – from her first audience with Winston Churchill to more recent meetings with David Cameron – we get glimpses of the fascinating woman behind the crown.
1997–2007
TONY BLAIR
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2007–10
2010–16
GORDON BROWN
DAVID CAMERON
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2016– present
THERESA MAY
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Steven Schipper, Artistic Director • Camilla Holland, Executive Director PRESENTS A CO-PRODUCTION WITH MIRVISH
PRODUCTIONS
The Audience By Peter Morgan
November 24 – December 17, 2016 preview November 23
Director.................................................................................. Christopher Newton Set & Costume Designer.................................................Christina Poddubiuk Lighting Designer...................................................................... Scott Henderson Sound Designer..........................................................................................John Lott Queen’s Wig Design.......................................................................Sharon Ryman Dialect Coach..............................................................................Shannon Vickers Assistant to the Set Designer..................................................Tyler Sainsbury Stage Manager......................................................................... Dianne Woodrow Rehearsal Stage Manager.............................................................Chris Pearce Assistant Stage Manager......................................................Linsey Callaghan Apprentice Stage Manager.............................................. Katherine Dermott THE CAST (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Equerry............................................................................................Anthony Bekenn Harold Wilson................................................................................... Nigel Bennett John Major............................................................................................Evan Buliung Gordon Brown....................................................................... Benedict Campbell David Cameron/Bishop...................................................................Ben Carlson Young Elizabeth.................................................................................Naomi Cronk Anthony Eden/Bishop.................................................................Paul Essiembre Margaret Thatcher.............................................................................Kate Hennig Tony Blair/Footman.........................................................................Kevin Klassen Winston Churchill/Detective.......................................................John B. Lowe Private Secretary/Archbishop/Detective.........................Rob McLaughlin Queen Elizabeth II..................................................................................Fiona Reid Footman................................................................................................ Ray Strachan Mistress of the Robes/Lady-in-Waiting...............................Melanie Whyte Bobo MacDonald/Lady-in-Waiting....................................... Stefanie Wiens The Audience is performed with one intermission. The Audience was revived at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, New York, on 8 March 2015, presented by Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert Fox and Andy Harries. The Audience was revived at the Apollo Theatre, London, on 5 May 2015, presented by Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert Fox and Andy Harries. The Audience is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York. Special thanks: The Shaw Festival.
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THE AUDIENCE Continues, Murdoch Mysteries, Psi Factor, Hotel Metropolitan, The Strain, Roadside Picnic. ET CETERA Gemini Award nominee four times and winner once. ACTRA Award nominee three times and winner twice.
Anthony Bekenn Equerry
ROYAL MTC There Goes the Bride.
Evan Buliung
OTHER THEATRE 19 seasons with the Shaw
John Major
Festival including Journey’s End, Serious Money, On the Rocks, Saint Joan and Rebecca; Stuff Happens (Mirvish/Studio 180); Kindertransport (Harold Green Jewish Theatre); See How They Run (TA); Wizard of Oz, Run for Your Wife (Drayton); Arms and the Man (Western Canada Theatre); Noises Off (Citadel). FILM/TV Includes Murdoch Mysteries, Tracker, Doc, The Two Mr. Kissels, Wind At My Back, Counterstrike, E.N.G., Street Legal, Secret Service. TRAINING/TEACHING Webber-Douglas Academy in London, England. ET CETERA Anthony is delighted to be working with Christopher Newton again, for the eleventh time.
Nigel Bennett Harold Wilson
ROYAL MTC Medea.
ROYAL MTC Chimerica, The Homecoming. OTHER THEATRE Upcoming: Sky Masterson in
Guys and Dolls (Stratford). Ten seasons with Stratford, including: title role in The Adventures of Pericles, Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, Edgar in King Lear, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet; four seasons with the Shaw Festival; Macbeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, We Will Rock You (Mirvish); Art (CS); Bloodless: The Trial of Burke and Hare (Theatre 20); Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Soulpepper); Peter and the Starcatcher (WCT). FILM/TV Damnation,The Art of More, Reign, Saving Hope, Bitten, The Listener, Haven, Nikita, Warehouse 13, Copper, The Adventures of Pericles, King Lear, Brainwashed, Skating to New York, Assassins Creed Syndicate, Far Cry Primal. ET CETERA Thrilled to be in this company with such great artists working on this great play with the great Christopher Newton at the helm.
OTHER THEATRE Peter Pan, The Merry Wives
of Windsor, Cymbeline, Measure for Measure, Richard III, Mary Stuart, Oedipus Rex, She Stoops to Conquer, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Thrill (Stratford); The Last Confession, with David Suchet (world tour); Hamlet, Closer, The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Sound of Music, The Price (Neptune); Something Fishy (Lighthouse Festival Theatre). FILM/ TV Narrow Margin, Murder at 1600, Rats and Rabbits, Legends of the Fall, xXx3 – The Return of Xander Cage, The Shape of Water, Forever Knight, Kung Fu: The Legend
Benedict Campbell Gordon Brown
Royal MTC Six Degrees of Separation, 1949, Bent. OTHER THEATRE 13 seasons at the Shaw
Festival including Sweeney Todd, Our Town, Juno and the Paycock, Cabaret, Major Barbara, Ragtime, Heartbreak House, My Fair Lady, John Bull’s Other Island, The Cherry
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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THE AUDIENCE Orchard, The Entertainer, Mack and Mabel, The Crucible, Happy End, Man and Superman, The Plough and the Stars. Elsewhere: Wormwood (Tarragon); title role in King Lear (TC/Bard on the Beach); Oedipus in Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, Henry IV, Julius Caesar, The Alchemist (Stratford); King Lear (Lincoln Center); My Fair Lady (Arena Stage, Washington). FILM/TV Republic of Doyle, Act of Dishonour, Slings and Arrows, Road to Avonlea, Dieppe.
Ben Carlson David Cameron/ Bishop
Naomi Cronk Young Elizabeth
ROYAL MTC First appearance. OTHER THEATRE For (Winnipeg Fringe);
Reunion (Black Hole); The Laramie Project, Killing Game, Seven Doors (U of W). TRAINING Graduate of U of W, BA (Hons.) Acting. ET CETERA Much love to my family and appreciation for their tireless support of me and my dreams.
Paul Essiembre
ROYAL MTC The Seafarer, The Homecoming, Closer.
Anthony Eden
OTHER THEATRE Selected from over 80
productions: Hamlet, Petruchio, Benedick, Leontes, Feste, Touchstone, Brutus; A Little Night Music, The Hypochondriac, Mother Courage, Mary Stuart, The Misanthrope (Stratford); Man and Superman (Tanner), Saint Joan, Major Barbara, The Plough and the Stars, Three Sisters, The Return of the Prodigal, All My Sons, The Madras House, The Seagull, Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Shaw). Across Canada: Canadian Stage, Mirvish Productions, Grand Theatre, Soulpepper, NAC, Neptune, Factory, Necessary Angel, PTE, Theatre Calgary, Theatre New Brunswick. Chicago Shakespeare Theater: Hamlet, Macbeth, Pericles, The School For Lies. Upcoming: The Changeling, Timon of Athens, The Madwoman of Chaillot (Stratford). FILM/TV The Strain, Reign, The Anniversary, Saving Hope, Rookie Blue, Grey Gardens, Slings and Arrows, The 11th Hour.
ROYAL MTC Unnecessary Farce, Things We Do For Love, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Heart of Robin Hood (with Mirvish), Other People’s Money, A Few Good Men (with Citadel). OTHER THEATRE Paul has been performing professionally throughout the country for almost 25 years, most recently in Dry Cold’s A Little Night Music. Other favourites include Butcher, The Best Brothers (PTE); Romeo and Juliet (Citadel); The Normal Heart, The Overwhelming, Stuff Happens (Studio 180); To Kill a Mockingbird, The Odyssey, The Duchess of Malfi, Don Juan, Macbeth (Stratford); L’Emmerdeur, Le Dîner de cons, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Art (Théâtre français de Toronto); Tillsonburg (CS); Zadie’s Shoes, Oui (Factory); Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Centaur). FILM/TV More than 50 film and television appearances and extensive work in documentary narration, animation and commercial voice-overs.
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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“…they thought they were making music. They ended up making history.” -sam phillips, owner of sun records in million dollar quartet
of RBC Dominion Securities RBC Dominion Securities Inc.
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THE AUDIENCE Kate Hennig Margaret Thatcher
ROYAL MTC First appearance. OTHER THEATRE Breath of Kings, Romeo and
Juliet, Fiddler on the Roof (Stratford); Hedda Gabler (Necessary Angel); The December Man (NAC); Mrs. Wilkinson in Billy Elliot (Broadway/ Mirvish); The Penelopiad (RSC/NAC); Ragtime, When We Are Married, A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur (Shaw). Playwright: The Last Wife (Stratford, 2015 premiere); The Virgin Trial (Stratford, 2017 premiere). FILM/TV Rachel Lynde in Anne of Green Gables (PBS/YTV); Saving Hope; Bomb Girls; Flashpoint; 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould. TRAINING MA in Voice Studies, Central School of Speech and Drama. ET CETERA Awards: 2015 Christopher Plummer Fellowship Award of Excellence; two Dora Awards; Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award; three Betty Mitchell Awards; Genie Award nomination. www.katehennig.com
Kevin Klassen Tony Blair
ROYAL MTC Chimerica (with Canadian Stage),
Alice Through the Looking-Glass, The Melville Boys (Tour), Romeo and Juliet, The Shunning, White Christmas, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Radio Play, Bleeding Hearts, Our Town, The Tempest, A Christmas Carol, The Dresser, Feelgood (with GCTC), King Lear, Romeo and Juliet. OTHER THEATRE (Selected) A Little Night Music (Dry Cold); A Strange Pair (Echo); Edward II (TBTR); Antony and Cleopatra (SIR); Arcadia (Citadel); Annie (Rainbow); Till It Hurts (PTE); John and Beatrice (TPM); Death of a Salesman (WJT); The Sea, Tartuffe, The Three Sisters (U of W).
FILM/TV Channel Zero, Barbara Blackwood, The Pinkertons, New in Town, Elijah, Gavin Alcock, Niagara Hotel, Unwoven. TRAINING/TEACHING University of Winnipeg, 2015 Citadel/Banff Professional Training Program. ET CETERA Kevin is a proud member and product of The Reg Skene Legacy, and the recipient of the 2014 Reg Skene Award for Emerging Playwright. Love always to Charlene.
John B. Lowe Winston Churchill
ROYAL MTC Harvey, Unnecessary Farce. OTHER THEATRE Common Sense Cabarets
(Broccolo Creative); The Secret Mask, The Savannah Disputation, Having Hope at Home (PTE); Here on the Flight Path, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, The Drawer Boy (Sunshine Theatre); An Inspector Calls (Chemainus Theatre Festival); Measure for Measure (Citadel); Dear Santa, Over the River and Through the Woods (Western Canada Theatre). FILM/TV Series regular: Tiny Plastic Men, Cashing In, Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy. Movies: Juliana and the Medicine Fish, Reasonable Doubt, Silent Night, The Christmas Heart, Euphoria, Lucky Christmas, Wedding for One, Locked Down, The Hessen Conspiracy, The Secrets of Comfort House, Fido, The Butterfly Effect, The Ultimate Christmas Present, Trapped. TV appearances: The Pinkertons, Less Than Kind, Millennium, The X-Files, First Wave, The Immortal, The New Addams Family, Cold Squad. ET CETERA Producer for Broccolo Creative (www.broccolocreative.com). Writer/Director of several short films including W(or)K, Just One and Windows of White. Formerly School Director at Prairie Theatre Exchange.
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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THE
PRIME MINISTERS
Sir Winston Churchill (born Nov 30, 1874, Oxfordshire, England – died Jan 24, 1965). British statesman, orator and author. As Prime Minister (1940-45, 1951-55) he rallied the British people during the Second World War and led his country from the brink of defeat to victory. One of his major achievements was to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 “for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values” (The Nobel). Sir Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (born
Jun 12, 1897, Durham, England – died Jan 14, 1977). British foreign secretary 1935-38, 194045, 1951-55, and Prime Minister 1955-1957. Eden was knighted in 1954 and created Earl of Avon in 1961. Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (born Mar 11, 1916, Yorkshire, England – died May 24, 1995). Wilson was a Labour Party politician who was Prime Minister 19641970 and 1974-1976. Wilson won four of five general elections, more than any other postwar British leader of any party. Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher
of Kesteven (born Oct 13, 1925, Lincolnshire, England – died Apr 8, 2013). Thatcher was a British Conservative Party politician and Prime Minister 1979-1990. Europe’s first female Prime Minister. The only British Prime Minister in the 20th century to win three consecutive terms and, at the time of her resignation, Britain’s longest november/december 2016
continuously serving Prime Minister since 1827. She became, in personality and achievement, the most renowned British political leader since Winston Churchill. The term “Thatcherism” came to refer to her policies but also to her moral absolutism, fierce nationalism, a zealous regard for the interests of the individual, and a combative, uncompromising approach to achieving political goals. Sir John Major (born Mar 29, 1943,
London, England). British politician and public official who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1990-1997. Tony Blair (born May 6, 1953, Edinburgh, Scotland). Blair was the British Labour Party leader who served as Prime Minister 19972007. He was the youngest Prime Minister since 1812 and the longest-serving Labour Prime Minister. His 10-year tenure as Prime Minister was the second-longest continuousperiod (after Thatcher) in more than 150 years. Gordon Brown (born Feb 20, 1951,
Glasgow, Scotland). British Labour Party politician who served as chancellor of the Exchequer under Blair (1997-2007) and Prime Minister 2007-2010. Before becoming Prime Minister, he had been the longestserving Chancellor of the Exchequer since the 1820s. David Cameron (born Oct 9, 1966, London,
England). British Conservative Party leader who served as Prime Minister 2010-2016.
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THE AUDIENCE Rob McLaughlin
Ray Strachan
Private Secretary/ Archbishop/Detective
Footman
ROYAL MTC Things We Do For Love, The Seagull, A Christmas Story, Gone With the Wind, The Seafarer, The Shunning. OTHER THEATRE Julius Caesar – Casca, The Merry Wives of Windsor – Mistress Quickley (SIR); The Three Munchketeers – Porthos (PTE); Three Sisters – Andy (zone41); The Winter’s Tale – Antigonus/Shepherd (Tom Tom Theatre); Einstein’s Gift – Deacon (WJT).
Fiona Reid Queen Elizabeth II
ROYAL MTC The Man Who Shot Liberty
Valance, Romeo and Juliet, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (with TC). OTHER THEATRE Dutchman (play On theatre); Peg and the Yeti (MTYP); Lobby Hero (The 28th Minute); Remember the Night (Moving Target Theatre); Fen (Sarasvàti); Jonno, Dog Act, A Behanding in Spokane, Shock Corridor, The Ingrates (Winnipeg Fringe). TRAINING Black Hole Theatre Company (U of M). ET CETERA Ray will be featured in the powerful play The Whipping Man later this spring at Winnipeg Jewish Theatre. Luv to Mom, Dad and Gerls.
Melanie Whyte ROYAL MTC Vanya and Sonia and Masha
and Spike, Calendar Girls (with Mirvish), The Constant Wife (with Citadel), Arcadia (with CS), Six Degrees of Separation (with CS), Hay Fever (with Citadel), Death and the Maiden (with CS), A Bee in Her Bonnet, She Stoops to Conquer, The Cherry Orchard, The Boy Friend. OTHER THEATRE Shaw Festival (13 seasons): productions include A Woman of No Importance, The Dance of Death, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide, The Divine, The Sea, The Charity that Began at Home, Hay Fever, Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Seagull, The Secret Life, Cavalcade, Waste, Point Valaine, Hedda Gabler, Present Laughter, Heartbreak House, Private Lives, The Skin of Our Teeth. Extensive work across Canada/ internationally, including five seasons at the Stratford Festival. FILM /TV Many roles, including The Time Traveler’s Wife, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 1 & 2. ET CETERA Sterling; Jessie; Dora; Honorary Doctorate, Bishop’s University; ACTRA Award of Excellence; Order of Canada. Fiona is also President of The AFC.
Mistress of the Robes/Lady-in-Waiting
ROYAL MTC First appearance. OTHER THEATRE A Man of No Importance, The
Light in the Piazza, Company, Nine (Dry Cold); Till it Hurts (PTE); Sister Act, Mary Poppins, Annie, The Full Monty, Fiddler on the Roof (Rainbow); Miss N’ Me (Sarasvàti Productions); Strike! The Musical (Danny Schur Productions). TRAINING/TEACHING Graduate of Vancouver’s Film & Theatre School under direction of Anthony Holland and Catherine Caines. ET CETERA Melanie maintains a singing teaching studio in Winnipeg and specializes in training theatre singers.
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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THE AUDIENCE Stefanie Wiens
Christopher Newton
Bobo MacDonald/ Lady-in-Waiting
Director
ROYAL MTC Actor: Alice Through The
Looking-Glass, Miracle on South Division Street (Mainstage and tour), Strong Poison, Pride and Prejudice, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III. Assistant Director: Steel Magnolias. Apprentice Director: Calendar Girls (with Mirvish). OTHER THEATRE Selected: Blithe Spirit (Echo Theatre/CowardFest); The Touring Test, Wild Magic (Winnipeg Fringe); Kindness (MTYP); A Moon for the Misbegotten (O’NeillFest); Beauty and the Beast, Fiddler on the Roof (Rainbow); Sorority Girls Slumber Party Massacre: The Musical, Bad Girls Jailhouse (Canadian Fringe tours). FILM/TV Selected: The Pinkertons, Barbara Blackwood Movie (post-production), Denizens of the Dead, Barbara James. TRAINING U of M, U of W.
ROYAL MTC Director The Innocent Eye Test, You Never Can Tell. Actor The Homecoming, The Three Sisters, Galileo, The Private Ear & The Public Eye, The Caretaker. OTHER THEATRE Artistic Director Emeritus of the Shaw Festival. Founding Artistic Director of Theatre Calgary. Artistic Director of the Vancouver Playhouse and founder of the Playhouse Acting School. ET CETERA Molson Prize, Governor General’s Award, Chalmers Award, seven Honorary Degrees, the Order of Canada.
Christina Poddubiuk Set & Costume Designer
Peter Morgan Playwright
ROYAL MTC Costume Designer: A Streetcar
Peter Morgan’s first stage play was FROST/ NIXON, developed with producer Matthew Byam Shaw for the Donmar Warehouse. His film credits include screenplays for The Queen, starring Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen (Academy Award nomination, Golden Globe Winner); The Last King of Scotland, starring Forest Whitaker (BAFTA Award Winner) and the screen adaptation of FROST/NIXON, directed by Ron Howard, starring Frank Langella and Michael Sheen. His TV credits include HBO’s multi-Golden Globe-winning Longford, The Deal (BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama) and Henry VIII (International Emmy for Best Drama, 2004).
Named Desire, Six Degrees of Separation, Hamlet. OTHER THEATRE Numerous productions at the Stratford Festival (including John Gabriel Borkman, Phèdre, All’s Well That Ends Well and Hamlet) and the Shaw Festival (including Pygmalion, Faith Healer, Come Back Little Sheba, On the Rocks and A Moon for the Misbegotten). Costumes for Don Quichotte (COC); Lucia di Lammermoor, Tosca, Capriccio (Pacific Opera Victoria); Romeo and Juliet (Denver Center Theater); Venus in Fur, A Tender Thing (Belfry); Romeo and Juliet (NAC); Much Ado About Nothing, Othello (Chicago Shakespeare). TRAINING McGill University, National Theatre School.
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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THE AUDIENCE Riverdance. Several exciting new projects for Mirvish Productions, Acting Upstage and Teatro Proscenium Productions on the near horizon will be keeping him busy. Go, Jets!
Scott Henderson Lighting Designer
Shannon Vickers
ROYAL MTC Over fifty productions since 1995, including Billy Elliot The Musical, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (with Mirvish), Good People, Next to Normal, The 39 Steps, Doubt, A Parable (with TC), Shakespeare’s Dog (with NAC), White Christmas (Mainstage); Red (with Belfry), The Seagull, Top Girls, The Shape of Things, Closer (Warehouse). OTHER THEATRE Most recent: The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble (PTE); Cash: Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash and Shrek: The Musical (Rainbow). Scott has designed lighting for opera, dance and theatre companies in Winnipeg and across Canada, including the Shaw and Stratford festivals. TRAINING Scott is a graduate of Ryerson Theatre School and a member of the Associated Designers of Canada. ET CETERA Special thanks to Karen, Sean and Alex for love and support.
Dialect Coach
ROYAL MTC Myth of the Ostrich, Billy Elliot The Musical, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Woman in Black, Private Lives, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily, Good People, The Secret Annex, Venus in Fur, Gone With the Wind, August: Osage County, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Top Girls, Steel Magnolias. OTHER THEATRE Voice/Text/Dialect Coaching: DAI (Enough) (WJT); Village Wooing (zone41); Bingo! (PTE); The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz (TPM/SAC); The Merry Wives of Windsor (SIR); Fen (Sarasvàti); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CS). TRAINING/TEACHING Shannon earned an MFA in Theatre Voice Pedagogy at the University of Alberta. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Winnipeg and is a certified Associate Teacher of Knight-Thompson Speechwork.
John Lott Sound Designer
Dianne Woodrow Stage Manager
ROYAL MTC Larry’s Party (with NAC/CS) OTHER THEATRE Having worked in theatre
for the past 25 years, there are far too many wonderful experiences to list. Recent productions include: Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd (Shaw) and Grey Gardens (Acting Upstage). John has been part of nine seasons with the Shaw Festival, two seasons at the Stratford Festival, the inaugural season at the Atlantic Theatre Festival and 12 seasons at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre. John has toured with many of the mega musicals: Phantom of the Opera, Show Boat, Sunset Boulevard and
ROYAL MTC Calendar Girls, The Boys in the Photograph. OTHER THEATRE Production Stage Manager: Workshop of the new musicals Sousakzka and Hard Times. The Canadian debut productions of Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, Rent, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Les Misérables; Shaw Festival and Charlottetown Festival. Other stage management credits include shows at Soulpepper Theatre, National Arts Centre, Canadian Opera Company,
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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THE AUDIENCE Canadian Stage, Stratford Festival, Vancouver Playhouse, Rainbow Stage and Theatre Calgary. ET CETERA Dianne has served on the Advisory Boards for Sheridan and Niagara Colleges.
Linsey Callaghan Assistant Stage Manager
ROYAL MTC Apprentice Stage Manager: Chimerica, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily, The Seagull, A Christmas Story. OTHER THEATRE Production Assistant: Romeo and Juliet, Fiddler on the Roof, The Three Musketeers, The Merchant of Venice (Stratford). Apprentice Stage Manager: Danny, King of the Basement, James and the Giant Peach (MTYP); Les Misérables (Rainbow); King Lear, The Beaux’ Stratagem, All My Sons (Stratford); Gifts of the Magi, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Chemainus
Great entertainment lives here.
Theatre Festival); Initiation Trilogy (Electric Theatre Company). Upcoming: Assistant Stage Manager for The Birds and the Bees (PTE). TRAINING Graduate of the National Theatre School’s Production Program.
Katherine Dermott Apprentice Stage Manager
ROYAL MTC First engagement. OTHER THEATRE Recent credits include:
Macbeth, The Hypochondriac, Festival Theatre Production Assistant (Stratford). Anne & Gilbert: The Musical, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, The Sound of Music (NAC); Tosca, Madama Butterfly (Opera Lyra, Ottawa); This is War (GCTC); As You Like It, Hal & Falstaff, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry V (A Company of Fools); Pacino One Night Only (NAC).
BMO Financial Group BMO is proud to support is proud to support the the Royal Manitoba Royal Manitoba Theatre Theatre Centre, Centre, and to beand theto be the 2016/2017 Tom Tom Hendry Warehouse Hendry Warehouse Season Sponsor. Season Sponsor.
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
You can play a leading role! DONATE TODAY
donate online at royalmtc.ca or call 204 954 6412 today 22
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PLAYWRIGHT ’S NOTES
A number of years ago, I volunteered at a weekend camp for kids who had lost a parent or sibling. At the orientation we were told, “Never hug a camper unless you hug all of them. Never take a camper to the bathroom unless another adult comes with you. Never close a door if you are alone with a camper and certainly never ever let them climb into your bunk.” This was not unique to that camp. It exists almost anywhere adults are working with children. Although I understood the reasoning behind these rules, that they were for our protection as much as the kids’, I couldn’t help but reflect back to my own summer camp days when we’d all pile onto the counsellor’s bunk for ghost stories and pillow fights. I began to think about what has led us here. When I was in middle school, rumor had it that our gym teacher had drilled tiny holes in the girls’ locker room in order to spy on us in the showers. Search as we might, we never found those holes. Yet, to us, their existence was incontrovertible. At my all-girls Catholic high school, the stories were different but no less ubiquitous. I still don’t know which were true and which were just stories. But I would wager it’s a bit of both.
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23.5 HOURS You can’t open a paper, it seems, without seeing an article about some sort of teacher/student relationship: male teachers, female teachers, confessions, convictions and denials. I know well at least three people who have had relationships with their teachers or teachers’ aides and everyone I talk to about this play seems to have a story of their own or knows someone who does. The more I read, researched and listened, the more I began to think about the other people involved. What happens to the families, friends, coworkers and communities? What happens when everything you
think you know about someone you love is suddenly called into question? When you realize that if the things being said about them are true, perhaps you never really knew them at all. Or an even greater fear that, maybe, somehow you knew something deep down all along? When trust slowly crumbles and moral boundaries become less than clear? Can these relationships survive? Should they survive? At what cost? And either way, what are we left with when our deepest held convictions are pitched upside down? Carey Crim
DIRECTOR’S NOTES demanded to know if Tom was innocent or guilty, and to what degree. Did he seduce an underage student, or was he the target of a young woman’s overactive imagination? Were he and his family naive victims of a system that doesn’t work? Or was Tom an arrogant rebel who thought the rules didn’t apply to him? If he didn’t commit the crime of which he was accused, was he guilty of breaking other rules?
Dear Patron: We have a producer friend who says he judges plays by the quality of the dialogue in the “third act” – the conversation that happens after the show at a talkback, or a coffee shop on the way home. By his standards, and ours, 23.5 Hours is a remarkable play. From our very first reading of 23.5 Hours in Rubicon Theatre’s Plays-in-Progress program three years ago, the play caused a stir.
The play seems to affect audiences on other levels as well. It inspires impassioned discussion about the corrosive nature of doubt and shifting moral boundaries in our society.
At face value, the play follows the plight of a teacher and those close to him after he is accused of an inappropriate relationship with an underage student, a topic found all too often in today’s newspapers and tabloids. This confounding and disturbing subject in and of itself provokes strong reactions from theatregoers.
And it speaks to our deep desire to be known. As Tom says at one moment in the play, “I thought you’d know. I thought you’d have to know.” Can we ever be fully and truly known?
Those who attended the workshop, and the subsequent U.S. premieres at Rubicon and Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, engaged in heated debate about the play. They 24
Each of the characters in 23.5 Hours has a different and valid perspective on what has taken place. What ennobles them is that despite their own feelings, fears and shortcomings, they are fiercely committed to
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Jo-Ann Sundermeier PHOTO Réjean Brandt Photography
23.5 HOURS
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trying to return to normal – the affection and freedom and understanding we experience in the first scene. The tragedy of the play is that in the process of trying to go back, in trying to take care of each other, they nearly lose themselves. In the end, there is not resolution but there is some recognition of where they have been and the possibility of a new normal. We are grateful to Steven Schipper and the staff and board of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre for producing the Canadian premiere of 23.5 Hours. We could never
fully express our admiration for the work produced here and the thoughtful, exemplary way in which it is done. This place is a shining example of all that theatre should be. We are also deeply grateful to playwright Carey Crim for entrusting us with her beautiful play. And finally, we are thankful to you for supporting live theatre and new works. We hope you enjoy the “third act.” Karyl Lynn Burns and Katharine Farmer Co-Directors
Synopsis – 23.5 hours Tom Hodges is a popular and respected drama teacher who has directed a successful high school production of Romeo and Juliet. As Tom and his wife toast the play’s opening night with life-long friends, they receive a phone call that changes the course of their lives.
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Steven Schipper, Artistic Director • Camilla Holland, Executive Director PRESENTS
23.5 hours By Carey Crim
November 17 – December 3, 2016 preview November 16
Co-Director.................................................................................. Karyl Lynn Burns Co-Director.................................................................................Katharine Farmer Set & Costume Designer...........................................................Brian Perchaluk Lighting Designer................................................................................Larry Isacoff Sound Designer...................................................................................... Chris Brett Assistant Director.............................................................................Kevin Klassen Stage Manager.....................................................................................Paul Skirzyk Apprentice Stage Manager.............................................................Paige Lewis THE CAST (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Nicholas Hodges.......................................................................... Tristan Carlucci Leigh Hodges................................................................................ Amanda Lisman Bruce Wagner...........................................................................Arne MacPherson Jayne Wagner........................................................................................ Lisa Norton Tom Hodges.................................................................................Jonathan Watton 23.5 Hours is performed with one intermission. The World Premiere of 23.5 Hours (under the title Conviction) was originally produced by Dead Posh Productions, Rubicon Theatre Company, Bay Street Theatre and the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, in association with OffBroadway Across America. The first performance was May 27, 2014. 23.5 Hours is presented by special arrangement with Off-Broadway Across America. For information about future productions, e-mail offbroadwayacrossamerica@gmail.com or call (805) 407 7797. The Canadian premiere of 23.5 Hours is produced by Royal MTC with support from 23.5 Hours LLC. Special thanks: Sue and Simon Ruddick, Jim O’Neil, Christina Burck and the staff of Rubicon, Scott Schwartz, Tracy Mitchell and the staff of Bay Street Theatre, Tom Astor, Daniel Burns, Garret Dillahunt, Joseph Fuqua, Julie Granata, Brian Hutchinson, Michael Jackowitz, Elyse Mirto, Sarah Paulson, Elizabeth Reaser.
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23.5 HOURS Outstanding Performance for Venus in Fur. Critics’ Choice Spotlight Award for Best Performance for My Fair Lady.
Tristan Carlucci Nicholas Hodges
Arne MacPherson Bruce Wagner ROYAL MTC Alice Through the Looking-Glass. OTHER THEATRE Another Way Home
(WJT); Danny, King of the Basement, Peter Pan, Night Light (MTYP); The December Man (PTE); A Doll’s House, The Diary of Anne Frank, Faust(us): A Fantasy (U of W). FILM/TV The Pinkertons (Buffalo Gal); Deserted Cities (Arcadia Pictures); Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (Young Faust); Wrong Turn 4 (20th Century Fox). TRAINING Bachelor of Arts Honours from the University of Winnipeg. ET CETERA Tristan is also a proud member of Skene Stunts. Look for him next at Prairie Theatre Exchange’s season closer The Birds and the Bees. Much love (as always) to Mom, Dad, Anthony, Petty and Max.
Amanda Lisman Leigh Hodges
ROYAL MTC Selected: Unnecessary Farce, The
Hound of the Baskervilles (tour), Alice Through the Looking-Glass, A Few Good Men (with Citadel), August: Osage County, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Shakespeare’s Dog (with NAC), The Crucible, King Lear. OTHER THEATRE Hamlet, Richard III, Othello and others (SIR); I Dream of Diesel (One Trunk Theatre/TPM); Encore (TPM); Ivanov, Way to Heaven, Lenin’s Embalmers (WJT). Other credits include directing Sargent and Victor and Me (TPM) and many productions for SIR. FILM/TV Arne has appeared in over 25 shot-in-Winnipeg film and television productions. TRAINING Graduate of the BFA (Acting) program at the University of Alberta. ET CETERA Arne’s family, Deb, Gislina and Solmund, are all Winnipeg artists.
Lisa Norton
ROYAL MTC First appearance.
Jayne Wagner
OTHER THEATRE Venus in Fur (ATP); Titus
Andronicus, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Tempest, Zastrozzi, Macbeth (Stratford); Pride and Prejudice (Arts Club, Citadel); The Big Sleep (TA); A Christmas Carol (Belfry); Othello (Segal Centre); Private Lives, My Fair Lady, Uncle Vanya (Blue Bridge). FILM/TV Suits, Reign, The Listener, Arrow, Supernatural, 24 Hour Rental, Copper, The L.A. Complex, Psych. TRAINING Amanda has a BFA in Acting from the University of Alberta, and is a graduate of the Citadel/Banff Program and the Stratford Festival’s Birmingham Conservatory. ET CETERA Betty Mitchell Award for
ROYAL MTC The Innocent Eye Test. OTHER THEATRE The Model
Apartment (Harold Green Jewish Theatre); Tribes (Segal Centre); One Man Two Guvnors, Make Mine Love, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Penelopiad (Citadel); Of Mice and Men (Canadian Stage/Theatre Calgary); Calendar Girls (Arts Club); Better Living, Escape From Happiness (Factory); And Up They Flew (Theatre Columbus);
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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23.5 HOURS St. Christopher (Theatre Passe Muraille); An Acre of Time (Tarragon); five years at the Shaw Festival, including Man and Superman, Picnic, Hay Fever and Widowers’ Houses; three seasons premiering Canadian work at the Blyth Festival. TV Reign; Fringe; Rookie Blue; Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story; Living In Your Car; Degrassi; Emma Goldman in Murdoch Mysteries; Edith on Global TV’s Bomb Girls. VOICE WORK Rocket Monkeys; The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog; Willa’s Wildlife; The Doozers; Detentionnaire; Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: The Series; Pauline in Atomic Puppet (new on Teletoon); Lydia Frye in the video game Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. TRAINING George Brown Theatre School. ET CETERA One of the joys of this career is getting to explore new places and visit old friends; Lisa’s so glad to be back in Winnipeg after ten years.
Jonathan Watton Tom Hodges
ROYAL MTC IN THE NEXT ROOM or the vibrator play (with Tarragon), The Importance of Being Earnest, The Winslow Boy (with TA); Richard III, The Blue Room. OTHER THEATRE Many of Canada’s stages and with leading ensembles such as Soulpepper and Shaw. Recent appearances include The Pitmen Painters (TA); Loot (Soulpepper) and The Leisure Society (c2c). FILM/TV Recent films include Closet Monster, The XX and David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars. Recent TV includes Private Eyes, Reign, Saving Hope and Murdoch Mysteries. TRAINING Graduate of Memorial University’s theatre program. And a recent graduate of The Canadian Film Centre’s Directors Program. ET CETERA An emerging filmmaker, Jonathan would like to thank his mentor John Paizs and he salutes his acting teacher and friend, the late Arif Hasnain.
Carey Crim Playwright
ROYAL MTC First engagement. OTHER THEATRE 23.5 Hours (Conviction)
Ovation award nominated. Growing Pretty, Wake (Critics’ Pick LA); Some Couples May and Morning After Grace productions, readings or workshops at Pasadena Playhouse, Primary Stages, Luna Stage, Asolo Rep Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Miami City Theatre, Rubicon Theatre, Barrow Group Theatre and The Purple Rose Theatre Company. FILM/TV Wake (begins filming 2017). TRAINING/TEACHING Bachelor of Arts in Performance Studies, Northwestern University. The Royal Court Theatre in London. The Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York. Second City Detroit. ET CETERA Thanks to Karyl Lynn Burns, Katharine Farmer and the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Special thanks to Bill Keeler. Love and gratitude to George and Eliana.
Karyl Lynn Burns Co-Director
ROYAL MTC Producing Partner: Wiesenthal, Daddy Long Legs, Night of the Iguana, Driving Miss Daisy, Dance of the Werewolf. OTHER THEATRE Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Rubicon Theatre Company in California – more than 100 productions, festivals and events, and 20 world premieres. Four off-Broadway productions. TRAINING/TEACHING University of Kansas/ American Conservatory Theatre. ET CETERA LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Sustained Excellence, NY Drama Desk Award (The Best is Yet to Come), 14 Ovation Awards, NAACP Award.
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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23.5 HOURS OTHER THEATRE Brian’s work has been
Katharine Farmer Co-Director
ROYAL MTC First engagement. OTHER THEATRE See Rock City by Arlene
Hutton, Last Train to Nibroc (Rubicon); Pig Farm (St. James Theatre). Readings include: Three Sisters Brontë by Arlene Hutton at The Barrow Group and New Dramatists, New York; 23.5 Hours by Carey Crim at The Barrow Group. Assistant Director credits include: The Last Five Years, Conviction (Rubicon); Lonesome Traveler, Wiesenthal (Off-Broadway); Scenes from a Marriage directed by Sir Trevor Nunn (St. James, London). TRAINING/TEACHING BA (Hons.) in Theatre Studies from the University of Warwick, UK. ET CETERA Katharine is the Director of International Programming at Rubicon Theatre in California and is from the UK. She has an Indy Award for Directing Last Train to Nibroc, which was also nominated for three Ovation Awards including Best Production of a Play.
Brian Perchaluk Set & Costume Designer
ROYAL MTC Recent and favourites: Billy Elliot The Musical, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Late Company, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily, A Christmas Story, Harvey, August: Osage County, The Boys in the Photograph (with Mirvish), The Lonesome West, Patience, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, M. Butterfly (with NAC).
featured at theatres across the country, including two seasons each at the Shaw and Stratford festivals. Selected recent credits include: Les Misérables (Rainbow); The Drowsy Chaperone (Globe); Vimy (NAC/ GCTC); The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble, Marriage: A Demolition in Two Acts, Butcher (PTE); A Little Night Music (Dry Cold); King Lear, Fidelio (Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada); Proud (TPM). ET CETERA Recipient of a Gemini Award for production design, and a Jessie Richardson Award and a Prix Rideau Award for outstanding set design.
Larry Isacoff Lighting Designer
ROYAL MTC Armstrong’s War, The Secret Annex, Harvey, Other People’s Money, August: Osage County, The Fighting Days, The Shunning, The Seafarer, Looking Back – West, Bleeding Hearts, Rope’s End, The Retreat from Moscow, Fully Committed, Mating Dance of the Werewolf, The Miracle Worker, Cloud Nine, Bedroom Farce, How I Got That Story, The Affections of May, Mrs. Klein, The Gin Game, Paper Wheat. OTHER THEATRE Globe Theatre, 25th Street Theatre, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, PTE, MTYP, Persephone Theatre, Dry Cold Productions. ET CETERA Larry divides his time between engaging theatre projects, sitting on the Board of Directors for Sarasvàti Productions and teaching yoga.
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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23.5 HOURS Chris Brett
Paul Skirzyk
Sound Designer
Stage Manager
ROYAL MTC Things We Do For Love, Myth of
the Ostrich. TEACHING Chris has taught Audio Engineering at Mid Ocean Recording, Ambience Professional and Studio 11. ET CETERA Chris is a music composer as well as an audio engineer, music producer and sound designer.
Kevin Klassen Assistant Director
ROYAL MTC Actor: Chimerica (with Canadian Stage), Alice Through the Looking-Glass, The Melville Boys (Tour), Romeo and Juliet, The Shunning, White Christmas, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Radio Play, Bleeding Hearts, Our Town, The Tempest, A Christmas Carol, The Dresser, Feelgood (with GCTC), King Lear, Romeo and Juliet. OTHER THEATRE Director: JONNO, Dr. Kellogg’s System, Lulu: A Monster Tragedy, Grand-Guignol Sur La Prairie, Missadventurous Perils Of Pauline, Poet and the Rent (Echo); Dog Act (Nancan); The Merry Wives of Windsor (SIR). FILM/TV Channel Zero, Barbara Blackwood, The Pinkertons, New in Town, Elijah, Gavin Alcock, Niagara Hotel, Unwoven. TRAINING/TEACHING University of Winnipeg, 2015 Citadel/Banff Professional Training Program. ET CETERA Kevin is a proud member and product of The Reg Skene Legacy, and the recipient of the 2014 Reg Skene Award for Emerging Playwright. Love always to Charlene.
ROYAL MTC Shakespeare’s Dog (with NAC), Guys and Dolls (with TC/Citadel), Closer. OTHER THEATRE 28 years of theatre in Winnipeg, across Canada and globally. In Winnipeg: Manitoba Opera, PTE, Theatre Projects, Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Rainbow Stage, Royal Winnipeg Ballet. TRAINING/TEACHING Instructor/SM at Banff Arts Centre summer program: Opera - Magic Flute. FILM/TV Grip crew member on Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Channel Zero: Candle Cove, Channel Zero: No-End House. ET CETERA Also a proud member of IATSE Local 63 - stage and IATSE Local 856 – film. Thank you to Patti for enabling me to stay happy by following my passions.
Paige Lewis Apprentice Stage Manager
ROYAL MTC Billy Elliot The Musical. OTHER THEATRE The Last Dog of War
(TPM); Q Dance (RWB); Kathleen Hiley Solo Projects; Eclipse (Mouvement/Winnipeg Dance Projects); 50 Dancer Project, 60 Dancer Project (Canada Dance Festival); Basement Projects, Dance Reflections, The School of Contemporary Dancers 40th Anniversary Galas (SCD); Duets, Toward Light: A Tribute to Rachel Browne, Prairie Dance Circuit (WCD); Homeagain, A Christmas Carol (Stephanie Ballard Dance Projects).
For a complete list of theatre abbreviations, please refer to legend on page 4
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POPS
ROYAL MTC/MBA LAWYERS PLAY
WE ARE WHAT WE ARE! The glittering curtain parted and the showgirls strutted their stuff from April 26 to 30 in La Cage aux Folles, St. Tropez’s most unusual cabaret nightclub!
The cast of La Cage aux Folles PHOTO BY RANDY ZYLA HARDER 32
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ROYAL MTC/MBA LAWYERS PLAY The musical featured star turns by Richard Yaffe as Albin and Mark O’Neill as Georges, supported by a dedicated cast of 22 Manitoba Bar Association members who volunteered hundreds of (unbillable) hours to create this very special production. The sold-out crowd was wowed by this hilarious and touching story of love and acceptance. The annual Royal MTC/MBA Lawyers Play
DIRECTOR
Steven Schipper* CHOREOGRAPHER
Sofia Costantini* MUSIC DIRECTOR
Danny Carroll CAST
Gail Asper, Andrea Bellhouse, Kalyn Bomback, Krista Boryskavich, Paul Cooper, Joel Guénette, Melissa Hazelton, Kate Henley, Vivian Hilder, Reannah Hocken, Jessica Isaak, Bryan Klein, Ryan Krahn, Mark O’Neill,
is an important fundraising event for the theatre, and has raised more than $1,000,000 since 1990. The support of our patrons, donors, advertisers and sponsors allows us to offer extraordinary theatre at accessible prices to all Manitobans. Royal MTC extends sincere thanks to the talented cast and hardworking crew, as well as our many volunteers and audience members.
Jeff Palamar, Sandi Phillips, Laura Robinson, Evan Roitenberg, Jaime Rosin, Priti Shah, Garth Smorang, Neil Steen, Maria Versace, Richard L. Yaffe PRESENTING SPONSOR
PwC SILVER SPONSOR
Lawton Partners RECEPTION SPONSOR
The Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre
WINE SPONSOR
De Luca Fine Wines Gifts and Accessories COMMITTEE
Melissa Beaumont John Harvie Joan Holmstrom Shawn Hughes Jamie Jurczak Michael Kay Brenda Keyser Jim McLandress Stacy Nagle Neil Steen
DESIGN SPONSOR
Relish New Brand Experience
Join us May 3 to 6, 2017 as Royal MTC and Manitoba’s legal community celebrate the 25th anniversary Lawyers Play with the gripping and powerful courtroom drama 12 Angry Jurors by Reginald Rose. *Appears with permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association
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LEGACY GIVING
YOUR INVITATION TO
CREATE A LASTING LEGACY
Imagine, MTC by Ruth Abernethy. PHOTO BY CARA HILL
In anticipation of our 60th anniversary, we’ve launched a Legacy Giving campaign. Our goal is to climb from our current 20 Founders’ Circle members to 60 by the end of the 60th anniversary season on May 31, 2018. We invite you to reflect on Royal MTC’s role in your life and in the community. If this theatre has made a difference to you or a loved one, you may want to consider leaving a gift, of any size, in your will to Royal MTC. What is the Founders’ Circle?
The Founders’ Circle recognizes donors who have chosen to leave a charitable gift in their estate plans. By becoming a Founders’ Circle member, Royal MTC can appropriately thank you for your generosity. The Founders’ Circle honours the vision and dedication of John Hirsch and Tom Hendry who founded the Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1958. How do I become a member of the Founders’ Circle?
Just let us know you’ve remembered Royal MTC in your will or plan to include us in your 34
estate arrangements. You can contact Heidi at 204 954 6412 or hstruck@royalmtc.ca to confirm your intentions. Why should I consider leaving a legacy gift?
Your generosity contributes to the sustainability of this theatre, creating a future that is filled with joy, laughter and dreams being turned into reality. Charitable gifts in your will can greatly reduce the payment of your final income taxes, helping preserve the value of your estate. You can make a significant gift that you might not have been able to make during your lifetime. Your legacy gift can leave your cash flow and current financial plan untouched.
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LEGACY GIVING I’m interested in leaving a gift through my estate but where do I start?
We want all Founders’ Circle members to feel comfortable with their decision and would appreciate the chance to discuss your wishes with you. We can also provide you with the correct language to use when including Royal MTC in your will. You will also want to speak with an estate lawyer or financial advisor who can give you professional advice about making the right decision based on your financial circumstances. Can I direct my gift to specific funds at Royal MTC?
Many Founders’ Circle members choose to direct their gift to the Royal MTC Endowment Fund because the donation will be held in perpetuity to support the future
work of the theatre. However, you have other options such as designating the gift to the annual operating fund or a special project, or allowing the Board of Trustees to determine where the gift should be directed when the donation is received. I don’t plan to update my will for a few years. How can I contribute to this Legacy Campaign?
You can still make a difference! Please contact Royal MTC to fill out a Statement of Commitment form. For more information or to establish a planned gift, please contact Heidi Struck, Individual Giving Manager, at 204 954 6412 or hstruck@royalmtc.ca.
Jenny Gates, Founder’s Circle Member Gordon Keatch, Royal MTC Executive Director Camilla Holland. PHOTO BY DAVE SWIECICKI
NEXT AT THE JOHN HIRSCH MAINSTAGE
JANuary 3–28 “Great balls of fire! Here’s a hit.” – Chicago Tribune It sounds like one of those ‘what if’ questions: “If you could be part of a jam session with four great musicians, who would you choose?” How about Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins? This dream session was orchestrated by Sam Phillips, a producer famous for discovering Elvis Presley. Phillips worked with so many greats of his day, he actually considered Elvis to be his second best discovery after Howlin’ Wolf. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Sam Phillips played a pivotal role in the early days of rock but he’ll always be remembered as the man who brought together the Million Dollar Quartet.
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NEXT AT THE TOM HENDRY WAREHOUSE
JANuary 25–february 11 “Ridiculously raunchy, irreverent and funny” – NY Daily News After her husband dies, Margery channels her grief into her Christian puppet ministry. Her intentions are pure but when her son loses control of his demonic sock puppet, all hell breaks loose. Before long, an unholy war is being waged over the unhappy teen’s soul, unleashing a torrent of barely suppressed rage and frustration in the rest of the group. Described as “Sesame Street meets The Exorcist” by the New Yorker, Hand to God is a hilarious, sexy and provocative new comedy that will make you look at sock puppets in a whole new light.
TICKETS START AT
$22 BUY NOW
PRODUCTION SPONSOR DEBORAH GRAY
CALL 204 942 6537 | VISIT ROYALMTC.CA
SUPPORTERS Many thanks to our donors who made a gift between August 20, 2015 and October 20, 2016. DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE HERO $6,000+
Gail Asper, OC, OM, LLD* & Michael Paterson The Albert D. Cohen Family Robert B. & the late S. June Jackson Hartley & Heather Richardson Leslie John Taylor Fund - The Winnipeg Foundation
BENEFACTOR $2,000-5,999 Leah Bjarnarson & Robert Malech J.W. Burns OC David* & Lianne Carefoot Terri Cherniack & Steven Schipper, CM+ ‡ David Christianson & Vera Steinberger Heather Clarke* Kerry Dangerfield*‡ John F. (Jack) Fraser* James R. Gibbs Susan Glass & Arni Thorsteinson Sylvia Guertin-Riley Rita Gunn* & Greg Mason Elba Haid & Lara Secord-Haid Camilla Holland+ & Colin Viebrock‡ Ms Maureen E. Jay Andrew & Wendy Jensen Derek & Mary Johannson Dr. Leonard Kahane John Kearsey*‡ Terry Klassen & Grace Dueck Dr. P. Kmet & Mr. B. Roslycky Sam & Mary Kohn Drs. Ken & Sharon Mould In Memory of Liam Murphy - Leigh Murphy‡ The Michael Nozick Family Foundation Cam & Carole Osler Mrs. Shirley Richardson Derek Riley Triple A Fund- The Winnipeg Foundation Marcel Van Woensel Joan Wright Sonya & Scott Wright Anonymous
LEADER $1,500-1,999 Marjorie Blankstein CM, OM, LLD & the Late Morley Blankstein
Dr. Bonnie Cham & Dr. Lorne Bellan Dave* & Barb Christie Neil & Carol Duboff Tony* & Jennifer Fletcher‡ Gary Hannaford* & Cathy Rushton Investors Group Matching Gift Program David & Diane Johnston Kevin & Els Kavanagh Laurie Lam+ & Larry Desrochers Bill & Shirley Loewen Elizabeth Marr & Nick Slonosky Virginia & the late Robert Martin Jim* & Penny McLandress‡ Mr. & Mrs. Lawrie & Fran Pollard Dr. Bill Pope & Dr. Elizabeth Tippett-Pope Sanford & Deborah Riley Kevin Hines & Shelly Smith-Hines+‡ Maitland & Pat Sundmark Jim & Jan Tennant Helga Van Iderstine* Richard L. Yaffe* & John A. Statham Darcy & Brenda Zaporzan
Grant Mitchell & Cat Lambeth Jeffrey* & Mary Morton James Nielsen‡ Edward Nigma Dr. & Mrs. Kieran O’Keeffe Linda & Wayne Paquin M. Plett-Lyle K. Heather Power & Harold Klause‡ Lawrence Prout* & Lisa Gardewine‡ Margaret Redmond* & Greg Gillis‡ Andrea* & Michael Robertson‡ Barbara & Derek Rolstone*‡ Morley & Debbie Silverman Ken & Susan Skinner* Bill & Laurie Speers* Shelley+ & Mark Stroski‡ Melinda Tallin+ & Glen Mitchell‡ Tim Valgardson* Dorothy Y. Young 2 Anonymous
MEMBER $1,000-1,499
ENTHUSIAST $500-999
Margaret & Jim Astwood Dr. Jerry Baluta & Olga Kandia Doneta* & Harry Brotchie‡ Brenlee Carrington Trepel & Brent Trepel Haderra & Mark Chisick Jan* & Kevin Coates Gerry* & Chris Couture Robert* & Florence Eastwood Lawrence & Brenda Ellerby Paulo Fernandes*‡ Katherine Fox‡ Sandy Gousseau*‡ Shayla Harapiak-Green & Patrick Green* John* & Nicola Guttormson‡ Linda Hamilton & Grange Morrow‡ In memory of Kristin Hanson - Dawn & Brian Hanson Dr. Ted & Gail Hechter Shawn Hughes* & Bruno Koehn Katie Inverarity+‡ Jason Kasper* Laurence Katz & Zoe Kogan Gordon Keatch*‡ James & Teresa Kraemer Brenda* & Trevor Kriss Jeff & Jillian Lamothe Rick Lee & Laurie Shapiro Peter & Karen Leipsic Reginald & Judy Low Pat & Jim Ludwig Dr. Douglas MacEwan Mark & Gloria Mancini‡ Carol & Barry McArton
Nancy & Bob Adkins Archie & Jo-Anne Arnott Michael Bartmanovich Zita & Mark Bernstein Family Foundation Bruce & Shelley Bertrand-Meadows Ron Blicq Helga & Gerhard Bock Cathie & Brian Bowerman James A. Bracken Saul Cherniack & Myra Wolch J. Davidson‡ Al Dyregrov Selma Enns Sylvia & Doug Hannah Gordon Hannon Gregg & Mary Hanson Hon. Justice William Johnston Brenda Keyser & Peter Murdock Ian Kirk+‡ Katarina Kupca Frank Lavitt & Ahava Halpern Karen Lee Peter & Maureen Macdonald Mr. G. Markham Mr. Gerry Matte & Mrs. Lydia Surasky-Matte Irene & the late Claire Miller Margaret & Fred Mooibroek Vivienne Nickerson Richard & Bonnie Olfert Kerrie Orlick Peter & Anita Pelech Donna Plant Maureen Prendiville & Paul Jensen
*Current Royal MTC Board of Trustees/Advisory Board members
november/december 2016
Ovation
FRIENDS OF ROYAL MTC
†Current Royal MTC staff
‡Monthly donors
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SUPPORTERS Iris Reimer Ricou-Manfreda Charles & Naida Rubin Barbara Scheuneman Melanie Sexton+ & Ian Walsh‡ Diane Shapiro Margaret & Paul Shuckett Jennifer Skelly+ & Family‡ Debbie Spracklin Louis Trepel & W.T. Grogan Carol & Hugo Unruh Dr. Kristel van Ineveld Florence & Donald Whitmore Winfield Developments Canada Valerie Wowryk In Memory of Evelyn Hutsal - Janice & Brent Young 2 Anonymous
SUPPORTER $150-499 Robert & Ina Abra Family Fund - The Winnipeg Foundation Acuity HR Solutions Pat & Bob Adamson Dr. Liz Adkins Dawn Andersen Judy & Jay Anderson Bernice Antoniuk Ignatius Anyadike Richard & Nancy Ball June & Ted Bartman Dianne J. Beaven Larry Beeston & Anna Sikora Trish Bergal‡ Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Bergbusch Terri & Morley Bernstein Bruce & Joyce Berry Brenda Binda Tyler & Sable Birch‡ Joan Blight Denise Bonner Dr. Elizabeth Boustcha Ron & Joan Boyd Brandt Consultants Janice Braun Susan Brownstone Brock & Thomas Brock Billy Brodovsky & Libby Yager Sheila & David Brodovsky Gerald R. Brown Lynne & Stuart Brown Carol Budnick Giles Bugailiskis & Margo Foxford Donna Byrne Kelly & Judy Caughlin Ron & Carol Chapman Rosemary Chapman Dave & Audrey Cheyne Mr. Jaydeep Chipalkatti Shelley Chochinov Glen & Lorna Clark
Bev & Ron Clegg Katherine Cobor & Gordon Steindel Agnes & John Collins Diane M. Connelly Joan E. Coombe Mr. & Mrs. Marek & Karen Corbett Philip Coulter James & Gwen Court Daniel Cowan Ray & Brenda Crabbe R. Lynn Craton Margaret Cuddy Ellen Curtis J. Dale Dr. & Mrs. James Dalton G. L. Damphousse Lorraine Daniel Ms Linda Daniels Mrs. Maureen Danzinger Mr. & Mrs. Hy Dashevsky* J. Dawson Faye Dixon Dr. Sheila Domke & Stephen Ross Mr. & Mrs. Drewett John & Ada Ducas Sharron & Joel Dudeck Helene Dyck Mr. & Mrs. Glen* & Joan Dyrda Mr. & Mrs. William Easton Greg Edmond & Irene Groot-Koerkamp John Edwards Enda Egan John Ekins Michael Eleff & Chana Thau Mr. & Mrs. John & Martha Enns Ernest & Ruth Epp Dan Erickson Michael & Lynn Evans Nelma Fetterman Gayle Fischer Marcia Fleisher Lawrence Foster Chris Freeman Susan & Ab Freig Arnold Frieman Menno H. & Jolanda Friesen Felicia & Trevor Frost James Fulkerson Monica Furer Colleen & Dan Furlan‡ Ron Gaffray Mr. & Mrs. R. Gallant Lynne & Lindsay Gauld‡ Ronald & Denise George Rick & Patti Gilhuly Sharon & Arnold Glass Dr. & Mrs. Andrew Gomori Alicyn Goodman Paul Goodman Jeremy & Maureen Gordon‡
*Current Royal MTC Board of Trustees/Advisory Board members
38
Ovation
Barbara Goszer Shawn & Bill Gould Noreen Greenberg Leona & Siegfried Hackbart Kari Hagness+‡ Bonnie Hallman Bruce & Judy Harris Sandra & Hans Hasenack Teresa A. Hay Mary Heindle John & Lenore Hodge Mr. Dennis Hodgkinson Jennie Hogan Gary Hook & Charmine Lyons Vicki Hooke Mary Horodyski & Alexander Shewchuk C. Houde Mr. & Mrs. Richard & Karen Howell Dan Ilchyna G. C. Irwin-Kilfoyle Peter Isaac Marlis & David Jacobson Elizabeth Janzen Cliff Jeffers Margaret Jeffries Lynne Jentsch Claire & Gerald Jewers In Memory of Sybil Shack for the benefit of MTC - Jewish Foundation of Manitoba Bruce & Grace Johnson Lisa Johnston‡ Brian & Renee Kaplan Dr. & Mrs. Philip Katz Donald & Sheila Keatch Rick Kendall Robert Kennedy & Claudette LeClerc Nancy Kerr M. J. King Peter Kingsley Soody & Orah Kleiman Kevin & Deneen Klippenstein Myron & Marion Klysh Julie Ann Kniskern John & Kathryn Knowles Paul Kochan Ms Julie Koehn E. Koop Donna Korban David & Denise Koss Lorraine Kraichy Carol Campbell & Andy Krentz Paula Kristjanson Hasiuk The Estate of Pat Carrigan Gene & Janet Lacroix Teena Laird Dr. Patricia Landolfo Brenda & Glenn Lange Barbara Latocki
†Current Royal MTC staff
‡Monthly donors
november/december 2016
SUPPORTERS Dr. G. H. Lawler Anna Lebrun & Bill Reynolds Iris Lechner Bob Leggett Ellen & Stewart Leibl Kathy & Saul Leibl Gloria Lemke Richard Lemmon Tim & Kate Letkemann‡ Carol & Clifford Levi Wendell & Eleanor Lind Judy & Eric Lister Charles & Diane Littman Wayne Loeppky David & Marie Loewen Lorron Agency Inc. Dr. Sora Ludwig & Dr. Brent Schacter Sofia Lukie Tom Lussier Enid Lyons Burton & Mary Lysecki Mr. & Mrs. E. R. MacDonald John MacDonald‡ Sharon M. Macdonald Dennis MacKay & Annette Stapenhorst Cam Mackie & Doris Mae Oulton Mr. Jim MacNair Mrs. Vera Marchuk Elaine & Neil Margolis Ms Grace Martel Agatha Massey Manuel Matas Linda McFadyen Betty & Kevin McGarry Mr. & Mrs. Campbell McIntyre Terri & Jim McKerchar Greg & Gloria McLaren John & Carolynne McLure Fund The Winnipeg Foundation Barb Melnychuk Dr. Jonathan Gabor & Tia Metaxas Albert & Judith Metcalfe Susie Miclash Jim & Karren Middagh Dr. Michael & Sharon Moffatt Marc Monnin & Donna Miller Cathie Morgan Matula Sagan Morrow* ‡ Cathy Moser & Jeff Itzkow Bill Muir John Myers Beverly Nagamori Dr. Leanne Nause Medical Corporation Edwin & Pat Nicholls Robert Nickel Chris Nielsen Helen Norrie Deborah & George Nytepchuk
Gary Oko Joanne Olchowecki Conrad Padilla Murray Palay & Ivy Kopstein Heather & Harry Panaschuk Myron Pawlowsky & Susan Boulter Christopher Pearce Ron & Anita Perron Gina & John C. Petersmeyer* Rick Pinchin Donna & John Platt Carla Plummer Len Podheiser Calvin Polet Beth Pollard Brett Porth Ms Karen Dawn Power Keith Powls Ms Judith Putter Tamara Rabkin Rudy & Audrey Ramchandar Angeline Ramkissoon Linda Ratynski Vance Rehill Erma Rempel Shelley Rennie Brian & Laurel Repski Mr. & Mrs. William Reynolds Joyce Rich Dr. & Mrs. J. Richtik Tony Robbins Daniel Robert & Chantale Gobeil Jane Robinson Mr. Robert Rogers Kevin Rollason & Gail MacAulay Renee Roseman Sheryl Rosenberg Pat & Michelle Rowan Elizabeth & Laurence Russin Michael T. Ruta Fernand Saurette Shona Scappaticci‡ Hans & Gabriele Schneider Werner & Mary Schulz Ms Faye Scott Dr. Meir Serfaty & Bonnie Talbot Bill Shepherd & Beverley Vane Ms Pat Shklanka Debra Shnider Dr. & Mrs. A.M. Shojania Shayna & Merrill Shulman Henry & Connie Shyka Pamela Simmons Meera Sinha Jeff Sisler & Cathy Rippin-Sisler Carol & Ron Slater Fund - Jewish Foundation of Manitoba Chad Smith‡ Mrs. Lorraine Smith Robert Spielman Evelyn Stephen
*Current Royal MTC Board of Trustees/Advisory Board members
november/december 2016
Ovation
Frits & Joan Stevens Heidi Struck+ Tom & Shirley Strutt Richard Swain Donald & Lorraine Swanson Mr. & Mrs. Paul Swart Shayne & Kathryn Taback Ross & BJ Taylor Karen Tereck - Welcome to Winnipeg Inc. Elizabeth B. Armytage Fund-The Winnipeg Foundation Linda Thomas Ian R. Thomson & Leah R. Janzen June Thompson Marilyn Thompson Phyllis A. C. Thomson Mary E. Tibbs‡ Malcolm & Shirley Tinsley Helen Tomlinson Gord & Lorena Trann W. Tretiak & B. Baydock Dr. Stephen Tritt & Dr. Sharon Goszer-Tritt Wendy Tschetter Terry Tully Robert Tyler & Laurel Hammond-Tyler A. Van de Vijsel Mr. Charles R. Vandekerkhove Patricia Van Doninck Fran & Bob Vannevel‡ In memory of Ruth Paul, longtime Royal MTC subscriber - Bev Venn Irv & Toby Vinsky Dr. & Mrs. M. B. Vodrey C & J Vukelic Helmut & Gwen Waedt V. Stirling Walkes Donald Wardrop Phyllis Watson Mary Agnes Welch Al & Pat Wherrett‡ Murray & Nancy Wiegand John T. & Justina Wiens Trevor Wiens Peter & Elizabeth Wijtkamp Catherine Wilkie Leslie Wilson Dennis & Gustine Wilton R & A Winstone Rick Wishart Grant & Sheila Woods Harry & Evelyn Wray Margaret & Paul Wright 28 Anonymous
SPONSOR The Asper Foundation BMO Financial Group
†Current Royal MTC staff
‡Monthly donors
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SUPPORTERS Martha Burns CIBC CN Continental Travel Group De Luca Fine Wines Gifts & Accessories Dycom Direct Mail Services Esdale Printing Co. Ltd. The Fort Garry Hotel, Spa & Conference Centre Freeman Audio Visual Canada Friesens Corporation Gail Asper, OC, OM, LLD* & Michael Paterson Deborah Gray The Great-West Life Assurance Company Greystone Managed Investments Inc. Investors Group Jewish Foundation of Manitoba Lawton Partners MacDon Industries Ltd. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries MTS National Leasing Planned Perfectly PwC The Property Registry RBC Royal Bank Relish Sky Zone Sleeman Breweries Ltd. Stantec Consulting Ltd. Subway Franchise World Headquarters TD Bank Financial Group Wawanesa Insurance The Winnipeg Free Press
CORPORATE DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE HERO $10,000+ Johnston Group Inc. Qualico Richardson Foundation
GUARANTOR $5,000-9,999 Fidelity Investments Canada ULC
BENEFACTOR $3,000-4,999 Cambrian Credit Union Maple Leaf Construction Ltd., Blake Fitzpatrick Number TEN Architectural Group, Robert Eastwood
Terracon Development Ltd. Winmar Property Restoration
PATRON $1,200-2,999 Assiniboine Credit Union Benevity Community Impact Fund Bison Transport, Don Strueber Royal Canadian Properties Limited Fillmore Riley LLP George Wakefield Foods Inc., Judy Wakefield* Manitoba’s Credit Unions The Manitoba Teachers’ Society Maxim Truck & Trailer Melet Plastics Inc., Edward Shinewald Pollard Banknote Limited Ruth & Ted Northam PRA Inc. Ranger Insurance Brokers Ltd. Regal Tours Safeway and Sobeys
CORPORATE FRIENDS OF ROYAL MTC
Maureen E. Jay Andrew & Wendy Jensen Dr. Leonard & Hope Kahane Gordon C. Keatch* Laurie Lam+ & Larry Desrochers Leona J. MacDonald Barb Melnychuk Jeffrey Morton* Dr. Bill Pope & Dr. Elizabeth Tippett-Pope Heather Power & Harold Klause Edward Fisher & Lyse Rémillard
ENDOWMENT FUND Many thanks to the generosity of our Endowment Fund donors who gave a gift or fulfilled a pledge payment between August 20, 2015 and October 20, 2016. Amounts are cumulative. $5,000,000+
Astroid Management Ltd. Mitchell Fabrics Ltd.
Government of Canada/ Gouvernement du Canada Canadian Heritage/Patrimoine canadien
SUPPORTER $600-899
$250,000-499,999
CONTRIBUTOR $900-1,199
Party Stuff/U-Rent-It
ASSOCIATE $300-599 Mid West Packaging Limited Premier Printing Ltd.
DONOR $150-299 DGH Engineering Ltd. Intergroup Consultants Ltd. Leon A. Brown Ltd. MCW/AGE Consulting Professional Engineers Noble Locksmith Ltd. Patill/St. James Insurance Reitmans (Canada) Limited
FOUNDERS’ CIRCLE Gail Asper, OC, OM, LLD* Marjorie & Morley Blankstein* Duane and Pauline Braun Terri Cherniack & Steven Schipper, CM + Kerry Dangerfield* James Gibbs Gary Hannaford & Cathy Rushton
*Current Royal MTC Board of Trustees/Advisory Board members
Gail Asper, OC, OM, LLD* & Michael Paterson
$50,000-99,999 Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Volunteer Corps of Ushers
$10,000-24,999 Terri Cherniack & Steven Schipper, CM+ Mr. & Mrs. Kristjan and Shirley Benidickson Bryan Klein & Susan Halprin The Estate of Gordon P. Linney Cam & Carole Osler Norma Anne Padilla George Sigurdson Terracon Development Ltd.
$5,000-9,999 Doneta* & Harry Brotchie Margaret Caie Susan & Keith Knox Garry Markham Jim* & Penny McLandress Heather Pullan & Tom Frohlinger
†Current Royal MTC staff §If you have remembered Royal MTC in your will, please let us know.
40
Ovation
‡Monthly donors
november/december 2016
SUPPORTERS Faye Warren Wearing Williams Limited - Don & Sheila Katz
$2,500-4,999 Ron & Carol Chapman Helene Dyck Dr. Ted & Gail Hechter Margaret & Fred Mooibroek Fran & Estela Violago Anonymous
$1,000-2,499 Jack Armstrong & Doris Quinn Doris & Burton Bass The Bohm Family David & Pamela Bolton Don & Cheryl Breakey Carol Campbell & Andy Krentz Bob & Alison Darling Brent & Debbie Gilbert David & Ewhenia Gnutel John & Margaret Graham Barbara Main Dr. & Mrs. Donald McInnes
Terri & Jim McKerchar Vera Moroz Jean & Lisa Neron Anita & Ron Perron Marc & Sherri Rittinger Ruth Simkin Jim & Jan Tennant Suzanne Ullyot
Bill & Norma Rennie Ivor & Lorna Schledewitz Jim & Susan Shaw Howie & Sue Simpson Marilyn Thompson Elaine Toms Gabor Vamos & Brenda Silver Anonymous
$500-999
UP TO $499
Joan & Ed Alexander Peggy Bainard Acheson Ron & Joan Boyd Arthur & Donna Chow John K. & Agnes Collins Dorothy Davidson Nelma Fetterman Christine Fleetwood Chris Freeman Betty Ann & Richard Graydon Teresa A. Hay Dr. Stan & Susan Lipnowski Patrick* & Clarice Matthews Estelle Meyers E.M.L. Poulter
Jacqueline Anderson Margaret & Charles Avent Ms Jean Bissett Bev & Ron Clegg Ms Simone I. Cohen Christine H. Coltart Barbara Latocki Frances Lemieux Nick Martin & Dr. Evelyn Ferguson Anthony & Joyce McWha Marcel & Louise Mollot Marlene A. Mortimer Pat & Sherry O’Connor Myrna Protosavage 4 Anonymous
F R I N G E
Groups of 10 or more
save! to book group tickets contact: Thomas Urish, Sales Manager P 204 954 6413 e turish@royalmtc.ca
F U N D R A I S E R
God Is A Scottish Drag Queen IV Jan 6, 8pm Jan 7, 2 & 8pm From 18-time Best of Fest winner and three-time Canadian Comedy Award nominee Mike Delamont comes the next chapter in one of the most popular shows in Fringe history!
– WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Buy tickets today! www.royalmtc.ca
SUPPORTING PARTNERS CORE FUNDERS
SEASON PARTNERS
TOM HENDRY WAREHOUSE SEASON SPONSOR
EXCLUSIVE PRODUCTION SUPPORTER
JOHN HIRSCH MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION SPONSOR
TOM HENDRY WAREHOUSE PRODUCTION SPONSORS Deborah Gray
JOHN HIRSCH MAINSTAGE PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
BACKSTAGE PASS
WORDPLAY
THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
TD THEATRE UNDER 30
BENEFACTORS
Deborah Gray Martha Burns
S T R O N G E R C O M M U N I T I E S T O G E T H E R TM
REGIONAL TOUR
CalmAir 42
Ovation
november/december 2016
SUPPORTING PARTNERS BLACK & WHITE BALL PREMIER SPONSOR
PLATINUM SPONSOR
SILVER SPONSOR
BRONZE SPONSOR
Gerry & Barb Price
LAWYERS PLAY
Insurance Brokers and Consultants
DESIGN SPONSOR
CAPITAL ASSISTANCE
2016 WINNIPEG FRINGE THEATRE FESTIVAL
S T R O N G E R C O M M U N I T I E S T O G E T H E R TM
AYCKBOURNFEST
MEDIA SPONSORS
november/december 2016
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
Ovation
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BEHIND THE SCENES Development
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Michael Joyal, Development Data Manager Melissa Novecosky, Special & Donor Events Coordinator Shelly Smith-Hines, Director of Development Heidi Struck, Individual Giving Manager
Honorary Members
Her Honour, Lt. Governor Janice C. Filmon The Honourable Brian Pallister, Premier of Manitoba His Worship, Mayor Brian Bowman
Front of House
Executive Officers
Adam Kozachuk, Patron Experience Manager Kim Cossette, House Manager, Tom Hendry Warehouse Front-of-House Staff: Nick Fletcher, Deanna Goring, Elfie Harvey, Marissa Kellet, Peter Kellett, Talia Kowalchuk, Tia Levine, Declan Moulden, Graeme Olson, Amariah Peterson, Angela Rajfur, Rita Vande Vyvere, Kira Watson
Anthony C. Fletcher, Chair Jim McLandress, Past Chair David Carefoot, Treasurer Heather Clarke, Secretary David Christie, Chair, Resource Development Sandy Gousseau, Chair, Audience Development Patrick Green, Chair, Organizational Performance John Guttormson, Chair, Governance & Strategic Planning Trustees
Jan Coates Paulo Fernandes Katherine Fox Rita Gunn Shawn Hughes Derek Johannson Advisory Council
Kerry Dangerfield, Chair Gail Asper Doneta Brotchie Angus Campbell Gerry Couture Hy Dashevsky Glen Dyrda, FCA John F. Fraser Jean Giguere Charron Hamilton
Maintenance
Andrew Drinnan, Building Superintendent Chris Fletcher, Assistant Building Superintendent
Jason Kasper John Kearsey Sagan Morrow Andrea Robertson Derek Rolstone Laurie A. Speers
Tim J. Valgardson Helga D. Van Iderstine Judy Wakefield Richard L. Yaffe
Gary Hannaford, FCA Yude Henteleff Ken Houssin Gordon Keatch Colin R. MacArthur, QC Patrick J. Matthews Jeffrey Morton, FCA Hon. Jack Murta Lillian Neaman Shelley Nimchonok
James Pappas John Petersmeyer Lawrence Prout Jeff Quinton Patricia Rabson Margaret Redmond Susan Skinner Al Snyder Maureen Watchorn
Sue Caughlin, Marketing & Communications Manager Kathleen Cerrer, Publicist & Online Media Coordinator Katie Inverarity, Director of Marketing & Communications Savannah Lillies, Publications Coordinator Thomas Urish, Sales Manager Paint
Susan Groff, Head Scenic Artist Megumi Hari, Scenic Artist Production
Christine Corthey, Production Associate Ian Kirk, Assistant Technical Director Rick MacPherson, Technical Director, Tom Hendry Warehouse Russell Martin, Director of Production Ben Ross, Technical Director, John Hirsch Mainstage Steven Smits, Assistant Production Manager Properties
Larry Demedash, Senior Properties Builder Kari Hagness, Head of Properties Lawrence Van Went, Properties Builder
STAFF Accounting/Finance
Stage Crew
Yvonne O’Connor, Accounts Payable Administrator Melanie Sexton, Payroll Administrator Shelley Stroski, Controller Administration
Brian Adolph, IT Manager Angela Broadbent, Education & Community Engagement Manager Devan Graham, Director of Human Resources Camilla Holland, Executive Director Mary Horodyski, Archivist Daphne MacMillan, Administrative Assistant Jennifer Skelly, IT Administrator Artistic
Joan Lees-Miller, Head of Wardrobe Claude Robert, Head Electrician Chris Thomson, Head Carpenter John Tomiuk, House Stage Hand Michael Wright, Head of Sound Tom Hendry Warehouse
Chris Brett, Head of Sound Randy Zyla Harder, Head Electrician Rick MacPherson, Technical Director Alison Nutt, Head Carpenter Carla Schroeder, Head Scenic Artist Wardrobe
Krista Jackson, Associate Artistic Director Jeff Kennedy, Literary Coordinator Laurie Lam, Producer Tiffiny Nelson, Artistic Intern* Steven Schipper, CM, Artistic Director Casey Shapira, Assistant to the Producer Melinda Tallin, Artistic Coordinator Box Office
Marketing & Communications
Thora Lamont, Cutter Lorraine O’Leary, Head of Wardrobe Lois Powne, First Hand Jackie Van Winkle, Head Buyer & Accessories Coordinator Wigs
Beverly Covert, Wigs & Makeup Supervisor
Sheena Baird, Ticketing Services Manager Laurie Fletcher, Box Office Manager Desirée Harder, Director of Patron Services Box Office Representatives: Katie Adamson, Julie Gregorchuk, Hayden Maines, Robyn Pooley, Jessy Ross, Katie Schmidt, Kira Watson
Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival & Master Playwright Festival
Jennifer Cheslock, Festival Manager Chuck McEwen, Executive Producer Honorary Staff
Zaz Bajon, General Manager Emeritus
Carpentry (John Hirsch Mainstage)
Louis Gagné, Layout Carpenter Brent Letain, Master Carpenter Chris Seida, Scenic Carpenter
*Courtesy of Grant MacEwan University’s Arts and Cultural Management Program.
44
Ovation
october/november 2016
BEHIND THE SCENES ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION STAFF
MIRVISH PRODUCTIONS
23.5 HOURS
PRODUCTION AND ADMINSTRATIVE STAFF
Chris Hadley, Props Buyer Donna Jenkyns, Warehouse Buyer Paul Moore, Assistant Carpenter the audience
Jane Buttner, Scenic Artist Ray Galinaitis, Carpenter Chris Hadley, Props Buyer Kim Hamin, Scenic Artist Amanda Isaak, First Hand Karen Luchak, Sewer Barbara McKenzie, Sewer James Moore, Carpenter Bonnie Ng, Wig Builder Teddi Peddle, Wig Builder and Stylist Sharon Ryman, Wig Builder Joy Willis, Sewer Avril Stevenson, Cutter for Ms. Reid
David Mirvish, Producer Brian Sewell, Executive Producer David Mucci, Managing Director Linda Intaschi, Associate Producer Sarah Sisko, Assistant Producer Scot Whitham, Director of Production Charles Chu, Associate General Manager Camillo Casciato, Director of Finance Josie DiLuzio, IT Manager John Karastamatis, Director of Communications Mark Lavaway, Director of Labour Relations/Business Development Chris Dorscht, Subscription and Sales Director Sue Toth, Communications Manager Randy Alldread, Public Relations Manager Laurel Purvis, Assistant to David Mirvish
P R O U D LY S P O N S O R E D BY
THEATRE FOR FANS UNDER 30 TD Theatre Under 30 is a group of 18- to 30-year-olds who dig world-class theatre at just $20 a seat. Members also get access to a number of exclusive pre-show happy hours and special events.
SIGN UP TODAY AT ROYALMTC.CA/UNDER30 PAUL ESSIEMBRE IN THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. PHOTO BY DYLAN HEWLETT.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT ANGELA BROADBENT AT UNDER30�ROYALMTC.CA
ROYAL APPLAUSE FOR DONORS
Donors enjoy How The Magic Happens donor event in Oct 2015 PHOTO BY LEIF NORMAN After Peter Morgan wrote the movie The Queen, he was inspired to explore the weekly “audiences” between the Queen and her Prime Ministers, and the relationships formed behind closed doors. While we may assume Queen Elizabeth II would offer advice and counsel to the elected officials, the play illustrates how the relationship was more mutual. They were able to find value in sharing ideas and opinions with one another. Sometimes live theatre can be perceived as one-way, too, with the audience playing a passive role. But this isn’t actually the case as patrons are active participants in every production. Ask any actor and they’ll affirm that audience reaction has a profound effect on the energy of a play. And actors see and hear everything that happens! Audience members also make an impact when they donate to Royal MTC. Subscribers have been crucial to the success of the organization, but donations are essential. Wonderful live theatre requires creativity, hard work and attention to detail which comes at an expense not entirely covered by the price of a ticket. Your donation prior to December 31 will help Royal MTC share stories that are beautiful, moving and funny. Gifts of any size strengthen the artistic quality of plays and help maintain affordable ticket prices for a wide range of audiences. To thank donors for their commitment and build deeper relationships, Royal MTC offers a number of year-long benefits that provide an
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insider’s look at the world of theatre. All donations of $20 or more receive a charitable receipt for income tax purposes and donor newsletters throughout the year. Donors who give between $50 and $999 are recognized as a Friend of Royal MTC. Your benefits may include any or all of the following: • Acknowledgment of your gift in Ovation or the Annual Report; • Invitation to attend a dress rehearsal including a presentation related to the show; • Invitation to How the Magic Happens, which takes donors behind the scenes to see how the technical aspects of a play come to life. Donors who give more than $1000 become a member of the Director’s Circle. These donors receive the benefits listed above, plus some or all of the following: • Invitation to Opening Night pre-performance receptions; • Invitation to the Director’s Circle Home event where the donor meets the cast of one of the shows; • Lunch with Artistic Director Steven Schipper. Please visit our website for a complete listing of donor benefits and events. You can make a difference with a donation before December 31 and receive a 2016 charitable tax receipt. Please donate by mail, phone or online at royalmtc.ca. For more information, contact Heidi at 204 954 6412 or hstruck@royalmtc.ca.
Ovation
november/december 2016
ASHLIN GRA D E 9
LOVE THE
STAGE? O W N I T. AT T H E C O L L E G I AT E
HIGH SCHO OL AT UNI VER SITY
COLLEGIATE.UWINNIPEG.CA
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204-975-0505
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