Buddies in Bad Times TheaTre is siTuaTed on The lands of The haudenosaunee, The anishinaaBe, and The WendaT, and The TreaTy TerriTory of The mississaugas of The CrediT. We aCknoWledge Them and any oTher naTions Who Care for The land (aCknoWledged and unaCknoWledged, reCorded and unreCorded) as The pasT, presenT and fuTure CareTakers of This land, referred To as TkaronTo (“Where The Trees meeT The WaTer”; “The gaThering plaCe”). Buddies is honoured To Be a home for queer, Trans and 2-spiriT arTisTs on These sToried and saCred lands ThaT have Been sTeWarded By Indigenous peoples for Thousands of years Before The arrival of Colonial seTTlers.
Emerson Sanderson was born and raised in Prince Edward Island and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Intermedia and Cyber Arts from Concordia University in 2023. Drag allows Emerson to combine his passions of performance, fashion, makeup, video, and textile art into one medium. Emerson’s drag persona, Denim, is best known for being on Canada’s Drag Race Season 4, showcasing her otherworldly looks and performances. As an autistic trans man, Denim seeks to broaden the boundaries of drag, making it more inclusive for neurodiverse and trans communities. Denim manifested from the hyper-feminine persona Emerson saw as a “gender performance” before his medical transition. Through Denim, Emerson explores identity as fluid, creating something physical and tangible from imposed gender and neurotypical stereotypes.
Christos Darlasis is a Greek-Canadian artist, best known for his appearances as Pythia on Canada’s Drag Race Season 2 and RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars, and ORACULUM is his debut project at Buddies in Bad Times. Christos has a unique gift for turning fantasy into reality, weaving intricate storytelling through drag, which alchemizes his obsession with history, mythology, culture, fashion, and art. He holds a degree in Costume and Set Design from the National Theatre School of Canada (2019), and his work embodies years of passion and devotion, delivering other-worldly experiences every time he struts in heels on stage.
Lauren Gillis (she/her) // ghostwriter
Lauren Gillis does a bunch of things (performance, creation. dancing around all weird, and now, ghostwriting). Her most recent appearance at Buddies was giving people the visceral experience of being overwhelmed by snakes while coated in diluted J-lube at her installation, “Snakepit”. Lauren is the co-artistic director (with pal Alaine Hutton) of the Dora-winning duo Lester Trips, a theatre, film & digital-not-otherwise-specified entity that cranks out cringe comedy, speculative fiction, and horror including the CBCGem series Content Farm, and most recently, the overstimulation doom fable Honey I’m Home at Factory Theatre. Up next, an animated series about earwig pick-up artists, Daygamers, and a glorious dive into darkest recesses of content moderation, Public Consumption
ted witzel (he/him) // director
ted witzel is a queer theatre-maker and artistic leader based in toronto / tkaròn:to (these days). primarily a director, ted is also variously a dramaturg, curator, teacher, writer, translator, designer, and performer. he has worked with theatres and cultural organizations across canada, the uk, germany, and italy (she gets around). fusing high-octane performance, rigorous dramaturgy, filthy homosexuality, digital aesthetics, and poetic text, ted’s directing is located at the intersection between the personal and the political, and the (visceral, emotional, intellectual) frictions between them. previous buddies credits: artist-in-residence 2014–18 with LULU // aspects of a femme fatale, the scavenger’s daughter [2019], taylor mac’s holiday sauce (the afterparty) [2020].
Cosette “Ettie” Pin is an international, multi-disciplinary designer based out of New York City, specialising in lighting, sound, projection, and scenic design for theatre and live performance.
For Buddies in Bad Times: Box 4901 (Lighting Design);
Off-Broadway: Stranger Sings! (Sound Design), The Big Reveal: Live Show! (Production Design, LaMama), Loula: 19/85 (Video & Scenic, LaMama). Select design credits: Velour: A Drag Spectacular (Video, Tectonic Theatre Project, La Jolla Playhouse), Third Law (Video & Sound, WWTNS?), Hypothetical Baby (Sound, Howland Theatre Company), Traces (Video, WWTNS?), The Gambler (Video & Scenic, Exponential Theatre Festival), Orestes (Video & Scenic, University of Oxford), The Ballad of Stompin’ Tom (Lighting, The Capitol Theatre), Children of Fire (Sound, Nightwood Theatre Company), Resident Designer (House of Velour), Resident Designer (Sister Sylvester). Awards: Dora Award nomination for Box 4901. Education: National Theatre School of Canada www.cosettepin.com
Alessandra Cronin is a multi-dick-siplinary projection designer, projection ass-ociate, and animator living, laughing, and loving in Queens, New York.
Projection Design credits include Magic Flute (Mannes Opera), Sleeper (The Tank), and How to Find A Husband in 37 Years or Longer (Edinburgh Fringe). Associate Projection Design credits include We Live in Cairo (NYTW), Velour: A Drag Spectacular (La Jolla Playhouse), Water For Elephants (The Imperial Theatre), Scene Partners (Vineyard Theatre). Alessandra is a technical collaborator for The New York Neo-Futurists. Alessandra is elated to be here doing queer theater with queer people, making their Buddies debut! alessandracronin.com
steph raposo (they/them) // sound designer
steph raposo is a toronto-based theatre designer. as a trans artist they have a deep interest in presenting queer histories, uplifting queer communities, and celebrating queer joy through their work and within their life.
selected credits: Lighting Designer, No One’s Special at the Hotdog Cart (Theatre Passe Muraille, 2024); Lighting Designer, The Rhubarb Festival (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 2024); Sound Designer, Sugar Plum (Nightwood Theatre, 2024); Sound Designer, This Inescapable City (Audio Play, Probably Theatre Collective, 2021). upcoming credits: Lighting Designer, The Holiday! (Bad Dog Theatre & Factory Theatre, December 2024); Lighting Designer, Blind Dates (Theatre Passe Muraille, 2025).
River Oliveira (he/they) // sound design associate
River is a queer, trans multi-disciplinary artist based in Toronto/ tkaròn:to. He works as a musician, sound artist, creator, performer, and dramaturg. As an artist, he enjoys uplifting and unearthing queer voices and histories.
Selected sound associate/assistant credits include The First Stone (Buddies in Bad Times), The Darkest Dark (Young People’s Theatre), Cockroach (Tarragon Theatre).
Jaime Lujan (he/him) // costume design associate
Jaime Lujan is the result of a lifelong obsession with Elizabeth Taylor, surrealism, and wax-coated denim. A performance artist/ actor/writer whose name is misspelled at least once a day, he made his Buddies debut earlier this year appearing in his underwear as Jeremy in WHITE MUSCLE DADDY. Also a prolific costume designer by day, he’s had the good fortune of marrying his design prowess with his love of being in front of a camera by co-hosting OutTV’s original series, Sew Fierce. To this day, however, he is most recognized on the street for his TikToks.
Elm Reyes (he/they) // choreographer
Elm is a queer/trans theatre and movement artist, drag king, and arts worker with a BFA in Acting degree from the University of Windsor. Recently seen at Canadian Stage as a part of the Canadian Festival of New Musicals and performing internationally as their alter ego El Experimento. Currently Elm is working on emerging works as well as developing performance workshops for queer/trans youth. In his work, Elm is inspired by community building, physical theatre, and devised work that pulls from the fantastical, the mundane and all the magic in between.
Lisa E. Morrison (they/them) // assistant director + stage kitten
Lisa E. Morrison is a director, drag artist, and puppet consultant based in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal). A 2023 graduate of Concordia University’s Theatre program, specializing in Performance Creation, Morrison seeks to blur their cabaret roots with theatrical storytelling. Their work and practice, including the award-winning What It Means (PussyPop Productions, 2024), delves into realms of queer intimacy, neurodivergent approaches, and sustainable artistic creation in the face of climate collapse. This is their debut at Buddies!
Sandy Plunkett (he/him) // stage manager
STAGE MANAGER: Buddies in Bad Times: LULU v.7 // aspects of a femme fatale, The Silicone Diaries, The Beauty Salon
Recent Credits: The Lehman Trilogy (Theatre Calgary); The Farm Show: Then and Now, Resort to Murder (Blyth Festival).
Selected Credits: Guilt (A Love Story), Withrow Park Orphan Song, Bunny, (TarragonTheatre);The Donnelly Trilogy, The Drawer Boy, (Blyth Festival); Bigger than Jesus (Necessary Angel); The Fish Eyes Trilogy, Boys with Cars (Nightswimming); Dividing Lines, Madre, (Aluna Theatre); Public Servant (Common Boots); Gladstone Variations, Yichud (seclusion) (Convergence).
Sandy is the great-grandson of Morley Plunkett of the almost forgotten WW1 Canadian Vaudeville Troupe, The Dumbells.
season 46 | 2024 – 25
a BuddIes In Bad TImes produCTIon
roBerTo ZuCCo
WriTTen By
Bernard-marIe kolTÈs
TranslaTed By marTIn CrImp
dIreCTed By Ted WITZel
sepT 15 – oCT 5, 2024
a BuddIes In Bad TImes and denIm + pyThIa Co-produCTIon
oraCulum
CreaTed By denIm + pyThIa
nuIT BlanChe and BuddIes In Bad TImes presenT
nuIT BlanChe (nuIT des mauvaIs Jours)
feaTurIng fakeknoT, karIm olen ash, vivek shraya + ChrisTopher sherman, and Xlq
oCT 5, 2024
a Bad neW days produCTIon In parTnershIp WITh Common BooTs TheaTre
ToronTo frInge presenTs
neXT sTage TheaTre fesTIval
feaTurIng Works By keir CuTler, louise Casemore, lyndsey Bourne, frankÉTienne, lou CampBell, and Bonnie duff
oCT 16 – 27, 2024
deC 1 – 15, 2024
a BuddIes In Bad TImes and naTIve earTh performIng arTs Co-produCTIon
There Is vIolenCe and There Is rIghTeous vIolenCe and There Is deaTh or, The Born-agaIn CroW
By CaleIgh CroW
dIreCTed By JessICa
CarmIChael
mar 9 – 29, 2025
BuddIes In Bad TImes parTy In resIdenCe
ConCeived and dIreCTed By adam paoloZZa CreaTIve produCer vICTor pokInko
Jan 12 – 26, 2025 lasT landsCape
a nIghTWood TheaTre produCTIon In assoCIaTIon WITh BuddIes In Bad TImes
sheddIng a skIn
By amanda WIlkIn dIreCTed By CherIssa rIChards
The 46Th edITIon of fesTIval dIreCTor ludmylla reIs
feB 13 – 23, 2025 The rhuBarB fesTIval
a BuddIes In Bad TImes performanCe serIes In parTnershIp WITh fu-gen TheaTre, pnsnv, and penCIl kIT produCTIons
apr 22 – may 4, 2025
a podCasT By vivek shraya, Co-produCed WiTh Buddies in Bad Times
oCT 31 | feB 1 | pride ’25 neW ho queen queer asian love I Won’T envy
never Walk alone By JulIe phan goner By marIkIsCryCryCry reIna By augusTo BITTer BIJurIya By gaBrIel dharmoo
may 14 – 31, 2025 genrefuCk.
your favouriTe queer Bar
CheCk ouT BuddIesInBadTImes.Com/ evenTs or @TallulahsCaBareT for upComing evenTs Tallulah’s CaBareT
feaTuring ConversaTions WiTh pyThia + denim, alok, kiran rai, paul sepuya, sara quin, and aliCia ellioTT Wed – sun, 6:30pm – 12am +
buddIes In bad tImes theatre
Artistic Director
TED WITZEL
Artistic Associate
ERUM KHAN
Interim Director of Operations
KRISTINA LEMIEUX
Rhubarb Festival Director
LUDMYLLA REIS
Operations Coordinator
MASON MCDONALD
Production Manager
REBECCA VANDEVELDE
Technical Director
CONRAD MCLAREN
Producer
AIDAN MORISHITA-MIKI
Marketing Manager
KATIE CLARKE
Social Media Coordinator
OLYA GLOTKA
Bookkeeper
CAMERON O’CONNOR
Facility Manager
PAUL THERRIEN
Tallulah’s Cabaret Manager
AL THOMAS-HALL
Development Manager
SHOWMIA CHANDRABALA
ArtAttack! Coordinator
CHRIS IRONSIDE
Rentals Coordinator
KATHERINE TEED-ARTHUR
Chamber Coordinator
AMBER PATTISON
Publicity
KATIE SAUNORIS | KSPR
Hosting Lead
SEBASTIAN URMOM
Hosting Team
CONI AGURTO, MAXWELL COWAN, HANNAH KENNEDY, DIVINE MARKSOWUSU, MACKENZIE MCCALLUM, LESLEY NICHOLLS, NETA ROSE, SARAH ROWE, SIWAR SORIA, MAIREAD STEWART, DANNY SYLVAN, BRAWK HESSEL
Head of Security AIDAN MCKENDRICK
Head of Security ATRI SAHA, MARY RUMBAWA
Bar Personnel
RICHARD BELL, CHARLEE BOYES, ANDREW DESABRAIS, DANIEL HOANG, RONNIE LÉGÈRE, NETA ROSE
Residency Program Artists
BILAL BAIG
CELIA GREEN
JULIE PHAN 潘家雯
HEATH V. SALAZAR
Emerging Creators Unit Director AMANDA CORDNER
Board of Directors
SEDINA FIATI
JESSE GRIFFITHS
ALEXANDER HUTCHISON
MICHAEL MAN
ANU RADHA VERMA
ALEX RAND
buddIes communIty oF donors
legaCy CIrCle
Ed Cabell + Roy Forrester
John Alan Lee
Russell Mathew + Scott Ferguson
Richard McLellan
Adam Morrison + James Owen
Jim Robertson + Jim Scott
vIsIonarIes ($5000+)
Fabio Mascarin Foundation
The Estate of George Grant
The Estate of Dr. Beverly Harris
The Kingfisher Foundation
Metcalf Foundation
Pride and Remembrance Foundation
heroes ($2500+)
Elephant Shoes Foundation
House of Beida
The KM Hunter Charitable Foundation
Martha LA McCain
leaders ($1000+)
Ed Cabell + Roy Forrester
Carol Dilworth
Andrew Gillespie
Paul Hartwick
William Hodge + Robert Wylie
Jim Lawrence + David Salak
Lydia Leatherdale + Mike Cox, in memory of Calvin Cox
Richard McLellan
NIgE Gough Shine On Foundation
Oldfield Management Inc.
Brian Sambourne
Peter Taylor
Greg Tranah
David Wong + Dennis Yu
Woody’s on Church
advoCaTes ($500+)
Mark Aikman + Gustavo Cerquera Benjumea
Emily Derr
Philip Doiron
Philip Gazaleh
Sean Hillier
Richard Isaac
Kent James
Sarah Kaplan and Anita McGahan
Karim Karsan + John Rider
Montana Kimel
Stephen McGregor + Tony De Franco
Aidan Morishita-Miki
Adam Morrison and James Owen
Option Properties (Canada) Inc.
Paul Petro
Smokestack Studio
J.R.Tennyson.
Michael David Trent
Anu Radha Verma
R. Howard Webster Foundation
parTners ($250+)
D. Arcand + A. Karmali
Kate Bishop + Doug Gerhart
Mark Brodsky
Jeffrey Buttle
Robert Coates
Russell Connelly
James Davis
Alan Dingle
Dennis Findlay
Berkha Gupta
Neil Guthrie
Ronald Haynes
Raymond Helkio
Jaigris Hodson
Tom Hutchinson
Alex Hutchison
Dr. Ben Louie
Dhanveer Mangat
Gilles Marchildon
Rebecca Markus
Al Rajan
Nik Redman
Andrea Ridgley
Jim Robertson + Jim Scott
David Steinberg
Rick Sutton
Lionel Tona
Allison Vanek
monThly donors
Mark Aikman + Gustavo Cerquera Benjumea
Golboo Amani
Artun Anto Azad
Leyla Bikbulatove
Allen Braude
Mark Brodsky
Jeffrey Buttle
Ed Cabell & Roy Forrester
Herng Yi Cheng
Nancy Clemo
Russell Connelly
David Couture
Arjun Dhanjal
Jennifer Duffy
Barbara Fingerote
Randy Goldman
Neil Guthrie
Matthew Harding
Raymond Helkio
Allen Hernandez
Sean Hillier
William Hodge + Robert Wylie
Jaigris Hodson
Andrea Houston
Alex Hutchison
Montana Kimel
Chanti Zoelene Laliberte
Kristina Lemieux
Dr. Ben Louie
Jonathan MacArthur
in memory of Stuart Hamilton
Cameron MacLeod
Gilles Marchildon
Rebecca Marcus
Catherine May
Joseph McLean
Richard McLellan
Option Properties (Canada) Inc.
Aidan Morishita-Miki
Bernadette + Gene Morishita-Miki
Hakeem Muhammad
Thompson Nguyen
Rui Pires
Al Rajan
Ingrid Randoja
Nik Redman
Andrea Ridgley
Sonja Scharf
Peter Taylor
Lionel Tona
Ayse Turak
Uncle Tee
Allison Vanek
Anu Radha Verma
VS
Paul Wollaston
David Wong + Dennis Yu
Arielle Zamora
AudAcity. LiberAtion. [Artistic] rigour.
Buddies in Bad Times is the longest-running queer theatre in Canada, and the largest in the world. And we’re still here thanks to you.
For as little as $5 a month, you can play an instrumental role in bringing vital queer arts and community programming to our city and beyond; supporting programs like our Queer Emerging Artists Awards, our community rentals program, and productions like Oraculum.
Speak to a member of our hosting team, give us a call at [416] 975-8555, or visit buddiesinbadtimes.com/support to learn more about supporting queer theatre in Toronto and beyond.
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We are pleased to support Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and the artists that are captivating audiences with exciting, innovative, and entertaining productions.
BMO is proud to be the 2024/25 Season Platinum Sponsor.
