PLAY BY THE BOOK: UPRISING SERIES Wedding Band by Alice Childress MARION ADLER HERMANN’S MOTHER ALLISON EDWARDSCREWE MATTIE Stratford: Grandma Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical, lyricist for The Merry Wives of Allison has traveled across Canada performing on stage and screen. Selected Windsor, Lady Markby in An Ideal Husband, Mrs. Dubose in To Kill a Mockingbird, credits: Theatre: Serving Elizabeth (Western Canada Theatre); The Color Purple Cicero, Volumnius in Julius Caesar, Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Gabrielle (Citadel Theatre and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); School Girls; Or, the African in The Madwoman of Chaillot, Diana in and lyricist for The Adventures of Pericles. Mean Girls Play (Obsidian and Nightwood Theatre); How Black Mothers Say Elsewhere: Paulina and Hermione in The Winter’s Tale, Queen Marguerite in I Love You (Factory Theatre); All Shook Up (The Globe Theatre); Miss Bennet: Exit the King, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Philaminte in The Learned Christmas at Pemberley (Citadel); Girls Like That (Tarragon Theatre); ’da Kink in Ladies, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare Theatre of New My Hair (Theatre Calgary, National Arts Centre); Dreamgirls (Grand Theatre). Film/ Jersey); Princess of France in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Emilia in Othello, Mistress TV: The Handmaid’s Tale (MGM/Hulu), Baby in a Manger (BrainPower), Surviving Quickly in Henry IV Part 2 (Shakespeare Santa Cruz). Et cetera: Ms Adler is an Evil (Cinefl ix), Black Actress (JungleWild). Audio Dramas: Liming (Expect Theatre/CBC), Every Second internationally acclaimed, award-winning lyricist. of Every Day (Factory Theatre). Training: High Honours Bachelor of Music Theatre, Sheridan College. INTISAR AWISSE DRAMATURGE CHRISTINE HORNE ANNABELLE Intisar Awisse is a playwright, dramaturg, and editor currently based in Waterloo, Christine is the co-adapter and assistant director for R+J in Stratford’s 2021 season. Ontario. As a playwright, her work includes Blackbird (Impact Festival); Thing, As an actor, her stage credits include Prince Hamlet, Iceland (Why Not Theatre), Painting the Sea (Groundswell Festival of New Works); Many Words for No (NTS); Portia’s Julius Caesar (Shakespeare in the Ru ), Asking For It (Crow’s/Nightwood), and We Be Splendid (Green Light Arts). Intisar is a Playwright-in-Residence at Cam Baby (Toronto Fringe), Tom At The Farm (Buddies), The Seagull (Crow’s), Green Light Arts where she continues to develop her latest play, (m)otherhood. Belleville (Company Theatre), Vimy, Farther West (Soulpepper), Between the She has also developed work with theatre companies such as Obsidian Theatre Sheets (Nightwood), The Great Gatsby (The Grand), Andromache (Necessary and Nightwood Theatre. As an inaugural ThisGen Dramaturgy Fellow with Why Angel), Romeo and Juliet (Canadian Stage), The Turn of the Screw (DVxT), and Not Theatre (Toronto), Intisar developed her dramaturgical practice to focus Miss Julie: Sheh’mah (KICK Theatre). She has also worked extensively in fi lm on cultural dramaturgy and advocacy that centres the needs of BIPOC artists. and television. Christine has received a Dora Award, Canadian Screen Award, Currently, she is expanding her work in dramaturgy to include artistic curation through the support of and the Birks Diamond Tribute to Women in Film. She is a member of the incoming Collective Artistic the Metcalf Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts. Leadership of Shakespeare in the Ru . LISA BERRY FANNY ANNE MURPHY STAGE MANAGER Lisa Berry is an accomplished Canadian stage and screen actor who has worked 2021: Stage manager of You Can’t Stop the Beat. 29th season. Stratford: Anne is extensively across North America. She is known to TV and fi lm audiences so happy to be back for the 2021 season after our COVID year away. Elsewhere: through her recurring roles on top sci-fi shows, including Billie the Reaper Cabaret (MTC), Sleeping Beauty (Globe Theatre), Orpheus Descending (MTC, in Supernatural (aka “Death”); Cleophas Garroway in Shadowhunters: The Royal Alexandra Theatre), toured the Belfry Theatre’s The Year of Magical Mortal Instruments; Detective Roberta Hanson in Slasher season three; Nolan Thinking to the Tarragon Theatre and the National Arts Centre, toured with in Continuum; and Power Rangers. Other recurring roles include Natasha in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the NAC’s The Mikado, the critically acclaimed series Workin’ Moms, Detective Nellie Bullock in Bad The Lion King and Jane Eyre in Toronto. She has had the pleasure of working Blood and Rita in 19-2. On stage, Lisa has performed in Soulpepper Theatre across Canada at the Grand Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, Neptune Theatre, Company’s Father Comes Home from the Wars, which earned her a 2017 Manitoba Theatre Centre and Expo ’86 in Vancouver. Et cetera: Anne lives in Dora nomination, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Pericles (2014), Obsidian Theatre’s Stratford with her partner, Anne; their son, Callum; daughter Brianna; Luna, the cutest German Spitz/ Dora-nominated production of Intimate Apparel, and most recently in the Shaw Festival’s critically poodle ever; and two beautiful cats. acclaimed production of An Octoroon. HANNAH RITTNER CURATOR KYLE BLAIR HERMANN Hannah Rittner is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, and dramaturge. Kyle has spent 18 seasons between the Stratford and Shaw Festivals. Shaw roles She began working with the Stratford Festival through the 2019 Metcalf Internship, include Octavius (Man and Superman), The Captain (Androcles and the Lion), where she was mentored by Bob White, Director of The Foerster-Bernstein New Oscar (Sweet Charity) and Jim (Holiday Inn). Stratford roles include Frederic (The Play Development Program. During that season she won the Guthrie Award for Pirates of Penzance), Lucentio (The Taming of the Shrew), Will Parker (Oklahoma!) Outstanding Apprentice. Thanks to the generous support of the Canada Council and Jack (Into the Woods). Other appearances include National Arts Centre, Grand for the Arts, Hannah is currently the “Feminist Curator in Residence” with the Theatre, Musical Stage Company, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Neptune Theatre, Stratford Festival, and will be until spring of 2022. She has several works in Theatre Aquarius, Young People’s Theatre, Talk Is Free and Drayton Entertainment. development including a feature fi lm. She wants to thank her parents for their A graduate of the University of Windsor and Stratford’s Birmingham Conservatory, love and unending support, and her incredible circle of brilliant and deeply soulful Kyle is currently completing an MA in Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph. friends. Thank you, Stratford, for seeing the value in these classic plays by women and for giving them a platform so they may be presented on large stages across the world. For more info on Hannah, her bio, and creative statement, go to www.hannahrittner.com. DEVON MICHAEL BROWN NELSON Stratford: Chicago, Frankenstein Revived (2020 season), Billy Elliot, Tommy Djilas in The Music Man, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet Remixed (workshop), VANESSA SEARS DIRECTOR Guys and Dolls, HMS Pinafore, Frankenstein (workshop). Elsewhere:Joseph 2021: Singer in Why We Tell the Story. Third season. Stratford: Up Close and and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Theatre Aquarius); national tour of Musical, Mum in Billy Elliot, Ronnette in Little Shop of Horrors. Elsewhere: Red Laurier (Charlottetown Festival/Theatre New Brunswick); Shrek the Musical Queen in Alice in Wonderland (Bad Hats and Soulpepper); Emmie in Caroline, (Rainbow Stage); Hill Rise in Dancer! (A Musical in Ten Furlongs) (workshop) or Change, Edwina in Passing Strange (Musical Stage Company and Obsidian); (Elgin Theatre). Film/TV: Mia Michaels Live; series lead (Max) in The Next Step; Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (Young People’s “Dangerous Home” (music video); Ruin; MuchMusic Video Awards. Training: Theatre); Flaemmchen in Grand Hotel, Polly Plummer in The Magician’s Bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University, Canadian Dance Company, Louisa Nephew, Zoe in An Octoroon (Shaw Festival); Nicola in Kinky Boots (Mirvish). Burgess Corbett, Jennie Such. Online: @thedevonbrown. Et cetera: All my love goes to beautiful Film/TV: Sex/Life, Tallboyz, Too Close for Christmas, Love in the Wilds, Suits. wife, Heather. Directing: Talk is Free Theatre, Grand Theatre London, Sheridan College. Awards: Dora Awards: Caroline, or Change, Kinky Boots, The Wizard of Oz. Critic’s Pick: Mary Poppins, Passing Strange. Toronto Theatre Critics Award: Passing Strange. Online: Instagram: @ JENNI BURKE LULA vanessa_sears. Twitter: @nessasears. Jenni Burke is a Canadian actress, singer and cabaret artist. She has had a diverse career spanning screen, television and stage. She has performed to rave reviews and in venues across Canada. Stage credits include: Bang Bang, SAMANTHA WALKES JULIA Chicago, King Lear, Twelfth Night, Intimate Apparel, The Vagina Monologues, Born and raised in Hamilton, ON, Samantha Walkes is an artist in theatre, TV The New Canadian Curling Club, Mamma Mia!, The Wars, All Shook Up and and fi lm. She was living in New York City, working on The Book of Mormon on The Drowsy Chaperone. Recent TV and fi lm credits include: Kim’s Convenience, Broadway, when the pandemic hit. Since April 2020, she has relocated back to Private Eyes, Kids in the Hall, Say Yes to Christmas, Colors of Love, Odd Squad, Canada and has been fi nding her voice again. Feeling grateful for the slower Overlord and the Underwoods, Reacher, and she just wrapped a principal role pace and time for refl ection, her passions now include the work of The Collective in a fi lm called Pattern. Other fi lm credits include The Music Man, Undercover in producing The Black Pledge, writing spoken word poetry and her own music Brother, Half Baked and Rookie Blue. Jenni is also known for hosting a successful cabaret collective (something that has always frightened her), digging deep into her spiritual journey, called Curtains Down at the Pantages Hotel Martini Lounge in Toronto and for performing her own as well as vocal and acting classes.