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Home , Bard on the Beach, Juan Chioran, New Place, Othello (paintings), Red Velvet (play), Stratford Festival

PRODUCTION SPONSOR

SUPPORT FOR THE 2019 SEASON OF THE FESTIVAL IS GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY DANIEL BERNSTEIN AND CLAIRE FOERSTER PRODUCTION SUPPORT IS GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY THE WESTAWAY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

2 DIRECTOR’S NOTES THEIR WORLD IS OUR WORLD BY NIGEL SHAWN WILLIAMS

Hate and intolerance continue to spread throughout the world like a virus – a virus that once appeared to be contained to small pockets of the globe. However, over the past twenty-five to thirty years, this virus, this poison of racial and religious intolerance, has been slowly released again, and has been given permission to spread by some of our political leaders. I dedicate this production to the victims of Christchurch, New Zealand. I dedicate this production to all victims who have fallen at the hands of violence, both domestic and by acts of terrorism. These acts are, at their core, spurred on by hate and intolerance and fear. They are spawned by lies, misinformation, and ignorance. We live in a world where truth has little value and must battle through the mire of misinformation just to be heard. Values, principles, and easily hold on to a corrosive and insidious honour are moralities that are slowly patriarchal system that works on fear and crumbling away from us on a global scale. saves them from ridicule, rather than to The world we live in and the world in which trust and seek the source of real truth: this production of is set are the women. Men in this patriarchal trap would same. This is a world in which words are rather kill than be ridiculed. How weak are weaponized, and the fear of “the other” we? How long have we been this weak? can lead to violent and tragic conclusions. How much longer can the world sustain this weakness? Love and peace and trust, which are the bonds that hold Othello and If we allowed a spirit, a life force, such as together, are at frightful risk. ’s own Desdemona’s to flourish in our world, how jealousies, insecurities, and self-hatred are much better our existence might be. The turned into a poison that is used to destroy world in which the play Othello takes place these bonds. Iago’s racial and religious does not allow this force of hope and truth bigotry, his misogyny, his fear of losing and light to exist. I wonder what hope there place in a system, in the world, make him is for such a world. If we do not fight for attack the love and peace that Desdemona hope, truth, and light in our world, if we and Othello share. We once again witness, cannot overcome fear and intolerance, I with tragic consequence, how men can so wonder what we have.

9 BREAKING BOUNDARIES OF GENDER AND RACE BY PHILIPPA SHEPPARD

“Othello has made me free!” So in 1930 detriment. The dramatic irony is agonizing: declared Paul Robeson, one of the first we watch her fall in Othello’s esteem as black actors in the role. Just by having a she pleads for Cassio, unaware that Iago black hero at its centre, Shakespeare’s is poisoning her husband with lies of their great domestic tragedy has been breaking adulterous encounters. When Othello’s boundaries (the theme for the Festival’s jealousy reaches a fever pitch, he slaps season) for some time. Shakespeare her face. She responds at once, “I have not tackles two significant issues, race and deserved this!” gender, in ways that are so prescient that it is entirely appropriate to set the play now. In the “Willow” scene, Iago’s wife, , reacts to Othello’s treatment Othello was one of Shakespeare’s most of Desdemona in surprisingly modern popular plays in his own era and directly speeches where she asserts that women after; today it is particularly beloved by should have sexual equality with men. The actors for the richness of the parts. The Willow scene was cut from performances hero, described as “an extravagant and for centuries, as male directors dismissed wheeling stranger / Of here and every it as mere domestic prattle. The play would where,” is a product of what we would have been diminished by its omission, as now term “globalization.” It is precisely it is a rare meditative moment in a play Othello’s “traveller’s history” that captivates full of violent action. As Emilia prepares Desdemona: “She wished / That heaven had Desdemona for bed, the two women made her such a man.” Desdemona here engage in a revelatory tête-à-tête which not only wants a wooer like Othello, she also highlights Desdemona’s sterling qualities. wants to be a man like Othello. Despite the stage tradition of portraying Desdemona as In this scene, Shakespeare demonstrates submissive, the text offers other possibilities. that Desdemona’s integrity is so essential to Desdemona chooses Othello as her mate her that she cannot even imagine spouses in defiance of her society. Then, in front being unfaithful, despite Othello’s sudden of the whole court of Venice, she boldly brutality. Emilia provides a salty antidote, defends her right to join him even while he claiming that it is wayward husbands who is leading the Venetian military campaign teach their wives to cheat; that wives “have against the Turks. Is Desdemona’s love a sense like them: they see and smell, / And case of opposites attracting – the timid girl have their palates both for sweet and worshipping the warrior hero? Or a case of sour, / As husbands have.” Emilia’s general Desdemona recognizing a kindred spirit in worldliness, a product of her marriage the valiant Othello? to Iago, leaves Desdemona’s idealism The play reveals Desdemona as a woman unaffected. Desdemona’s compassion (for of uncompromising virtue. When Cassio Othello, for Cassio) is the calm centre in asks her to persuade Othello to reinstate Iago’s manufactured maelstrom of jealousy. him as lieutenant, she embraces this Tragically, Othello listens better to his charitable office with zeal, even to her own sergeant, Iago, than to his wife.

10 MICHAEL BLAKE

The misunderstanding between that drew Othello and Desdemona Desdemona and Othello, engineered together renders them blind to Iago’s by Iago, is one not only of gender but corrupt genius. also of culture. Othello is above all a Iago is a descendant, like Richard III before soldier. Admired by all who have served him, of the Vice fi gure of morality plays, under him, he is a natural leader who can whose mission is to lead the hero into sin command with his musical eloquence through temptation. When confronted by alone: “Keep up your bright swords, for the beauty of the lead couple’s love, Iago the dew will rust them.” He had, by his craves only to wreck it. For Iago, love is a own admission, never thought to marry: fable, a euphemism for lust. In fact, he is “But that I love the gentle Desdemona, / undone by underestimating his own wife I would not my unhoused free condition Emilia’s protective love for Desdemona. In / Put into circumscription and confi ne / a play in which men constantly try to stifl e For the seas’ worth.” Here, he supplies women’s voices, Emilia manages to blurt Iago with ammunition – not by nature a out the truth. And at the end, it is Iago’s husband, Othello will easily be made to reductive voice that is silenced; the last feel inadequate in this role. He is also words go to Cassio and Lodovico, who unfamiliar with Venetian customs. Iago interpret life more generously. plays on these vulnerabilities, citing his greater knowledge of women, particularly Othello is one of Shakespeare’s most the “super-subtle” Venetian kind, to bolster concentrated plays; among his tragedies, his calumny of Desdemona. The innocence it is unusual in its small cast and lack of a

11 real subplot. The experience of watching the mouthpiece of his society’s racism. it is therefore unbearably intense. Part of Aptly, he swears by Janus the two-faced, this effect is derived from the relentless a deity of doors and borders – structures focus on jealousy. Shakespeare presents a that separate people. The other characters spectrum of people afflicted by it: , in the play who deliver racist remarks , Othello, but most of all, Iago. Iago are its fools. We hear racist remarks confesses to all kinds of jealousy in the from Iago’s dupe, Roderigo, whom Iago play: envy of Cassio’s promotion, and of dismisses as a “quat” (pimple), and from the beauty of his life, and suspicion that , Desdemona’s hoodwinked both Cassio and Othello have slept with his father, angry because he has inadvertently wife. He manipulates Othello into a frenzy undone his own plans for his daughter. of jealousy because he is so familiar with He loved Othello, inviting him often to his it. Iago can thus describe it with special house to tell the extraordinary story of his vividness: “It is the green-eyed monster life. But Brabantio’s love does not extend which doth mock / The meat it feeds on” and, later, “Trifles light as air are to the to welcoming him as a son-in-law. jealous confirmations strong / As proofs It is racism such as Brabantio’s, in of holy writ.” Iago exploits these true combination with his society’s misogyny, observations in false accusations, thereby that equips Iago with what he needs to keeping his appellation of “honest.” ensnare Othello and Desdemona. But the Othello responds absolutely as a man image the play leaves with us – a husband, of the seventeenth century in wanting a wife and her friend dead from loving “not to punish his wife and her “lover” with wisely but too well” – is not only a “tragic death. Shakespeare’s time is crammed loading” of the marital bed. It is also a with accounts of crimes like Othello’s, both poignant challenge to those left behind to fictional and real. Shakespeare’s canon has do better, to nurture rather than destroy other protagonists who, supposing their love that breaks boundaries. chaste wives unfaithful, plot their deaths (in The Winter’s Tale and ). The least blameworthy of Shakespeare’s murderous “cuckolds,” Othello alone has a diabolical Iago constantly whispering in his ear. Philippa Sheppard teaches Renaissance Shakespeare casts Iago as not only the and modern drama at the University of most jealous character in the play but also Toronto.

THE STORY

Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army, has just eloped with Desdemona, daughter of the senator Brabantio – much to the chagrin of a rival suitor, Roderigo. At the instigation of Othello’s trusted but secretly manipulative sergeant Iago (who is consumed by his own deep-seated resentment of Othello), Roderigo rouses Brabantio, who goes before the Duke to accuse Othello of bewitching Desdemona. This absurd charge is quickly dismissed; however, when Desdemona and the recently promoted lieutenant accompany Othello on a military mission to Cyprus, Iago seizes the opportunity to begin planting in Othello’s mind seeds of unjustified suspicion that will grow into a deadly obsession.

12 THE ORIGIN OF OTHELLO BY DAVID PROSSER

“There once lived in Venice a Moor, who only reason for ignoring his hints must be was very valiant and of a handsome that her heart is already bestowed in that person; and having given proofs in war of direction, and his love for her eventually great skill and prudence, he was highly turns to hate. esteemed by the Signoria of the Republic.” Using tactics very similar to those in Thus, in an 1855 translation by J. E. Taylor, Shakespeare’s play, the Ensign plants begins a story by Italian novelist and in the Moor’s mind suspicions about poet Giovanni Battista Giraldi, also known Disdemona and the Captain. Challenged as Cinthio. It was part of a collection by the Moor to provide proof of his published in 1565 under the title Gli allegations (“or on thy life I’ll make thee Hecatommithi or The Hundred Tales. wish thou hadst been born without a Shakespeare, born the year before that tongue”), the Ensign uses his three- collection appeared, later used it as a year-old daughter to distract Disdemona source for two of his plays: Measure for while he steals from her an embroidered Measure and Othello. handkerchief that the Moor had given her, and contrives to get it into the Captain’s The Moor in Cinthio’s tale is identified by possession. no other name; neither is the villainous Ensign (“a man of handsome figure, but of Convinced at last of Disdemona’s infidelity, the most depraved nature in the world”) the Moor joins with the Ensign in planning who corresponds to Shakespeare’s Iago. her murder and that of the Captain. The Indeed, only one of Cinthio’s characters Ensign attacks the Captain, but succeeds has an actual name: the Moor’s virtuous only in cutting off one of his legs. He has but ill-fated wife, Disdemona. more luck with Disdemona, emerging from her bedroom closet at night and In Cinthio’s story, the Moor and bludgeoning her to death with a sandbag. Disdemona fall in love and marry despite He and the Moor then pull down rafters the opposition of both her parents (in from the ceiling onto her body, to make her Shakespeare’s play, we know only of her death look like an accident. father). Their union is a sublimely happy one, and when the Moor is ordered to take The Moor’s rage subsequently turns to command of Venetian troops in Cyprus, grief, however, and he and the Ensign fall his pride in being assigned the mission is out. The Ensign denounces the Moor to the tempered by his distress at the thought of Signoria, the governing authority of Venice. leaving Disdemona behind. She, however, Denying all charges, even under torture, declares that she would follow him the Moor is eventually released, only to anywhere regardless of danger, so they be killed by members of Disdemona’s both embark for Cyprus. family. The Ensign, meanwhile, becomes embroiled in another murderous scheme, There, the Ensign conceives a violent which blows up in his face and leads him passion for Disdemona, which he dare not too to torture and death. The whole truth openly declare and of which she remains is eventually revealed by the Ensign’s wife, unaware, despite his subtle attempts to who has been privy to all these events but awaken reciprocal feelings in her. The has hitherto held her peace. frustrated suitor, noting her kindness toward a certain Captain whom Othello David Prosser is the ’s holds in high regard, concludes that her Literary and Editorial Director. 13 Great theatre lives here.

BMO is proud to be the presenting sponsor of ’s Othello, directed by Nigel Shawn Williams.

14 PLAYWRIGHT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, William Shakespeare was the eldest son of , a glover and tanner who rose to become an alderman and bailiff of the town, and Mary Arden, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but there is a record of his baptism at Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church on April 26. Since an interval of two or three days between birth and baptism would have been quite common, tradition has it that he was born on April 23 – the same date as his death fi fty-two years later. The young Shakespeare is assumed to have attended what is now King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford, where he would have studied rhetoric, grammar and ancient Roman literature in its original Latin. In 1582, when he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, a farmer’s daughter who was eight years his senior. Anne was pregnant at the time, and the By 1595, Shakespeare was back in the couple’s fi rst daughter, Susanna, was born theatre, writing and acting for the Lord a few months afterwards in 1583. Twins Chamberlain’s Men. His income as one followed two years later: a son, Hamnet, of London’s most successful dramatists who died at the age of eleven, and a enabled him, in 1597, to buy a large house second daughter, Judith. called New Place back in Stratford, and in 1599 he became a shareholder in London’s Nothing further is known of Shakespeare’s newly built . life until 1592, by which time he was suffi ciently established as an actor In 1603, when James I had succeeded and writer in London to be the target Elizabeth on the throne, Shakespeare’s of a literary attack by a jealous fellow company was awarded a royal patent, playwright, Robert Greene. Soon becoming known as the King’s Men. afterwards, an outbreak of plague forced Meanwhile, the playwright continued the temporary closure of the , and his business dealings in Stratford and Shakespeare turned his attention instead to in London, where in 1613 he bought his long narrative poems Venus and Adonis a property known as the Blackfriars and . He also began Gatehouse. He is believed to have spent writing the Sonnets, a series of 154 complex increasing amounts of his time in Stratford and often ambiguous poems on themes from around 1609 until his death on April of love, jealousy and mortality that have 23, 1616. He is buried in the town’s Holy aroused much biographical speculation. Trinity Church.

15 Support for the Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and The T.R. Meighen Family Foundation

MARK KINGWELL LISA RAMSHAW WORDPLAY JULY 17 SEPTEMBER 18 OCTOBER 17

TAKING THE BAIT Chalmers Lounge, Avon Theatre, Wednesday, July 17, 10:45 a.m.–noon. From $25 In Othello, Iago successfully manipulates and dupes not only the general but everyone around him. How can we shape the successful lie, and how has our contemporary society dulled our faculties for critical thinking? A discussion with philosopher Mark Kingwell, women and gender studies PhD candidate Huda Hassan and assistant director Jennifer Stewart.

MOTIVELESS MALEVOLENCE Chalmers Lounge, Avon Theatre, Wednesday, September 18, 10:45 a.m.–noon. From $25 Shakespeare’s Iago is a fascinating character of deceit, false truth and cunning charm. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Lisa Ramshaw and Dr. Mark Rapoport, professor of psychiatry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, discuss the motivations and mind of Iago.

WORDPLAY: Studio Theatre, Thursday, October 17, 8–11 p.m. From $25 In 1833, the great actor Edmund Kean collapses during his performance of the title role in Othello and an African-American actor, Ira Aldridge, is asked to take over. A dramatic reading of Lolita Chakrabarti’s play, based on a true story. SUPPORT FOR WORDPLAY IS GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY THE DOROTHY STRELSIN FOUNDATION. Photo (above): Painted sometime between 1840 and 1863, this portrait by William Mulready depicts the celebrated black actor Ira Aldridge in a Shakespearean role, believed to be that of Othello.

STRATFORDFESTIVAL.CA/FORUM

16 OTHELLO | BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

THIS PRODUCTION IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF DOUGLAS RAIN, A VETERAN OF 32 FESTIVAL SEASONS AND MEMBER OF OUR INAUGURAL COMPANY IN 1953.

THE CAST in alphabetical order

Othello Venetian Soldier UNDERSTUDIES Michael Blake Daniel Krmpotic Emma Grabinsky Bianca, Emilia Lodovico Cypriot Soldier John Kirkpatrick Lodovico, Josue Laboucane Brabantio, Gratiano, Priest Senator Venetian Soldier Daniel Krmpotic Roderigo Josue Laboucane Cassio, David Collins Jamie Mac Montano Emilia Cypriot Soldier Jamie Mac Iago Laura Condlln Hilary McCormack Hilary McCormack Desdemona Othello Roderigo Iago E.B. Smith Brigit Wilson Duchess of Venice, Farhang Ghajar Gordon S. Miller Senator Duchess of Venice Desdemona Michelle Giroux Amelia Sargisson Venetian Soldier Montano Emma Grabinsky E.B. Smith Brabantio Cassio Randy Hughson Johnathan Sousa Naval Officer, Herald Cypriot Gratiano, Priest Soldier Michael Spencer-Davis John Kirkpatrick Venetian Soldier Bianca Brigit Wilson Shruti Kothari

THERE WILL BE ONE AUDIENCE ALERT This production contains mature content and 20-MINUTE intense violence. Strobe lights and fog/haze INTERVAL effects are used during the performance.

17 ARTISTIC CREDITS

Director Nigel Shawn Williams

Designer Denyse Karn Lighting Designer Kaileigh Krysztofiak Composer and Sound Designer Verne Good Projection Designer Denyse Karn Fight Director Anita Nittoly Intimacy Director Siobhan Richardson

Producer David Auster Casting Director Beth Russell Creative Planning Director Jason Miller

Assistant Director Stage Manager Jennifer Stewart Judy Farthing Assistant Set Designer Assistant Stage Managers Joshua Quinlan Kimberly Brown Assistant Costume Designer Elizabeth McDermott Joseph Abetria Apprentice Stage Manager Assistant Lighting Designer Brandon Hepworth Amber Hood Production Assistant Associate Fight Director Cody Burns Geoff Scovell Production Stage Managers Fight Captain Meghan Callan E.B. Smith Cynthia Toushan

Technical Director Robbin Cheesman

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks to Dr. David Thompson, MD, Stratford; Dr. Jennifer Anderson, MD, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto; Heather Gillis, PT, M.Sc. Anat., FCAMPT, Darcy Trefiak, PT, B.Sc.PT, FCAMPT, Physiotherapy Alliance, Stratford; Dr. Simon McBride, MCISc., MD, London Health Sciences Centre Vocal Function Clinic; Dr. Brian Hands, MD, FRCSc., Vox Cura voice care specialists, Toronto; Dr. John Yoo, MD, London Health Sciences Centre; Dr. P. Neilsen, Goderich; Dr. Laurel Moore, MD, Dr. Sean Blaine, MD, Dr. Shawn Edwards, MD, STAR Family Health Team, Stratford. Pianos tuned and maintained by Stephenson Concert Group. Special thanks also to Nadine Hyatt. The services of C.J. Astronomo were made possible through Theatre ’s Professional Theatre Training Program, funded by the Ontario Arts Council; The George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation; and the Ontario Arts Council’s Skills and Career Development: Indigenous Arts Professionals and Arts Professionals of Colour grant. Cover: Michael Blake. Photography by David Cooper.

Funding for artisan apprenticeships is provided by the William H. Somerville Theatre Artisan Apprenticeship Fund, funded by the J.P. Bickell Foundation and by Robert and Jacqueline Sperandio.

18 MUSIC ORIGINAL MUSIC FANFARE MUSICIANS Director of Music RECORDED BY Soprano Herald Trumpet/ Franklin Brasz Fanfare Leader Verne Good Music Administrator Larry Larson Marilyn Dallman Soprano Herald Trumpet Administrative Assistant Derek Conrod Janice Owens Soprano Herald Trumpet Kate Stone Bass Herald Trumpet Janice Owens Parade Snare Drum Dale Anne Brendon

BACKSTAGE

Production responsibilities during the performance accomplished by: Head Stage Carpenter Alternate Swing David McDonald Anthony Gentile Sherri Neeb Alternate Head Sound Wigs and Makeup Show Les MacLean Scott Matthews Head Head Electrician Wardrobe Head Dave Kerr Mick McDonald John Bynum Wigs and Makeup Crew Alternate Wardrobe Attendants Angela Moncur Douglas Ledingham Margie Bell Bruer Head Property Luci Pottle Nick Glenn

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Director of Production Metcalf Foundation Intern in Technical Management Simon Marsden Production Management Assistant Production Administrator C.J. Astronomo Michael Besworth Carla Fowler Design Coordinator Transportation Administrative Assistant Mary-Jo Carter Dodd Paul Jamieson Cindy Jordan Technical Director – Scenic Dirk Newbery James Thistle Associate Technical Director Construction David Campbell Andrew Mestern Electronics Technologist Scene Shop Manager Chris Wheeler Evan Bonnah-Hawkes

A member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, the Stratford Festival engages, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Stage crew, scenic carpenters, drivers, wigs and makeup attendants, facilities staff and audience development representatives are members of Local 357 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). Wardrobe attendants are members of IATSE Local 924. Scenic artists are members of IATSE Local 828. The musicians, musical directors, conductors, and orchestra contractors engaged by the Stratford Festival are members of the Toronto Musicians’ Association, Local 149 of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.

19 PROPERTIES WARDROBE Costume Painting Lisa Hughes Head of Properties Head of Wardrobe – Dona Hrabluk , Henry VIII, Millinery Kaz Maxine Lead Builder Birds of a Kind Dylan Mundy Michelle Barnier Assisted by Head of Wardrobe – Thea C. Crawford Assisted by Monica Viani Eric Ball The Merry Wives of Windsor, Karine Cusson The Neverending Story, Apprentice Milliner Ken Dubblestyne Little Shop of Horrors, Chantal Laurendeau Michelle Jamieson The Crucible Purchasing Coordinator Kathryn Kerr Elizabeth Copeman Penelope Schledewitz Shirley Lee Head of Wardrobe – Purchasing Assistant Jennifer Macdonald Othello, Billy Elliot the Erin Michelle Steele Nina Mueller Musical, Mother’s Daughter Toronto Wardrobe Buyer Heather Ruthig Linda Sparks Susan Rome Lisa Summers Costume Coordinator – Wardrobe Apprentice Katelyn Vere Nathan the Wise, Erin Lounsbury Properties Buyer The Front Page Tracy Fulton Kimberly Catton Warehouse Supervisor William Schmuck Assistant Properties Buyer Cutters Kathleen Orlando Terri Dans Warehouse Assistant Melanie Farrar-Jackson Michael Piscitelli SCENIC ART Carol A. Miller Lela Stairs Murphy WIGS AND MAKEUP Head Scenic Artist First Hands Head of Wigs and Makeup Duncan Johnstone Gina Schellenberg Gerald Altenburg Assistant Head Scenic Artist Patricia Taylor Construction Crew Daniel McManus Sewers Teddi Barrett Assisted by Susy Arnold Erica Croft Kira Duff Cindy Brown Jessica Elsbrie Kevin Kemp Rebecca Forsyth Lena Festoso Lisa Summers Karen Hancock Tracy Frayne Michael Wharran Patricia Hawkins-Russell Dave Kerr Steve Wiseman Shona Humphrey Angela Moncur Blair Yeomans Olga M. Kouzmina Barbara Newbery Elisabeth Mastrandrea Mallory Reeves Karen Merriam Alana Scheel SCENIC CARPENTRY Emma Pawluk Julie Scott Head Carpenter Georgina Schinkel Stanley Wickens Ryan Flanagan Laura Snowden Assistant Head Carpenter Silvia Widmer Paul Cooper Christine Yundt Head of Automation Bijoux/Decoration Ian Phillips Kathi Posliff Assisted by Assisted by Simon Aldridge Rebecca Dillow David Bedford Liane Guttadauria Gary Geiger Tami MacDonald Paul Hyde Boots and Shoes Scott King Sarah Cook Cory Mielke Assisted by Stephen Morgan Karen Beames John Roth Connie Puetz Jody Satchell Dyeing Joseph Saunders Linda Pinhay Scott Schmidt Mark Smith Assisted by Cliff Tipping Sylvia Minarcin

20 21 ACTING COMPANY

MICHAEL BLAKE JUAN CHIORAN DAVID COLLINS LAURA CONDLLN FARHANG GHAJAR

MICHAEL BLAKE 2019: Othello in Othello, Mr. Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Diamond Louis in The Front Page. Eighth season. Stratford: , , Napoli Milionaria!, , , All My Sons, , , Dream, , Three Musketeers, Merchant of Venice, Much Ado, , Merry Wives. Elsewhere: Lincoln, Topdog/Underdog (Arts Club); James, Superior Donuts (Coal Mine); Beast/Prince, Beauty and the Beast (Theatre Aquarius); MLK, Mountaintop (Theatre Kingston); Edmund, King Lear (Theatre Calgary/Bard on the Beach); Simba, The Lion King (Mirvish/Disney); Othello, Othello (Bard on the Beach); Clybourne Park (Citadel); Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet; Eilif, Mother Courage; Nativity, A Christmas Carol (NAC); Gratiano/Morocco, Merchant of Venice (SITR); Mitch, Spelling Bee (Belfry/Arts Club); Orlando, (Soulpepper); Rock and Roll (Canadian Stage); Wilbur County Blues (Blyth). Film/TV: Expanse, Senior Trip, YTV Rocks, Degrassi. Training: National Theatre School of Canada, Soulpepper Academy, St. Michael’s Choir School. Online: @samo_crown.

JUAN CHIORAN 2019: Lodovico in Othello and The Mayor in The Front Page. 17th season. Stratford: Paradise Lost, , Romeo and Juliet, Treasure Island, The Breathing Hole, , A Little Night Music, Henry V, Much Ado, , Twelfth Night, Kiss Me, Kate, Evita, Bartholomew Fair, Three Sisters, All’s Well, Shrew, As You Like It, , Dracula, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, . Elsewhere: Nine (Podium Concerts); The Motherf**ker with the Hat (Bob Kills Theatre); , Philadelphia Story, Light in the Piazza (Shaw); Madonna Painter (Factory); New Brain, Piazza (Acting Up Stage); It’s a Wonderful Life, Goodnight Desdemona, Much Ado (Canadian Stage); Cymbeline, The Three Musketeers, Hecuba ( Shakespeare); Blithe Spirit, An Ideal Husband (Citadel); Love’s Labour’s Lost (NAC); The Producers (Mirvish). Training: BFA, U of A. Awards: Dora, Gemini, Jeff, Ovation, Carbonell.

DAVID COLLINS 2019: Senator in Othello, Bardolph in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Alderman Dwight D. Willoughby in The Front Page. 11th season. Stratford: The Tempest, Coriolanus, Napoli Milionaria!, The Changeling, , Macbeth, As You Like It, Pericles, The Alchemist, King Lear, , Henry V, Richard III, , The Tempest, Caesar and Cleopatra. Elsewhere: Shakuntala (Premiere Dance Theatre); The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God (Mirvish); Twelfth Night, Donut City (Canadian Stage); Pusha Man, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Passe Muraille); Top Gun the Musical (Factory Theatre/N.Y.C.); Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare in Action); Founding Member of Obsidian Theatre Company. Film/TV: Assassin’s Creed Origins, Killjoys, Dark Matter, Watch Dogs 2, 12 Monkeys, Jean of the Joneses, Saving Hope, Murdoch Mysteries, Nikita, The Firm, ReGenesis, Owning Mahowny, The Incredible Hulk, MVP, Warehouse 13, Nurse.Fighter.Boy, XIII. Training: MFA, York University. Awards: Award. Dora nominations: Twilight Café, The America Play.

LAURA CONDLLN BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 2004 2019: Emilia in Othello and Ygramul in The Neverending Story. 13th season. Stratford (selected): Bakkhai, The Virgin Trial, The Matchmaker (Irene Molloy), Elektra (Chrysothemis), Peter Pan (Mrs. Darling), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Mistress Page), King of Thieves (Polly), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena), Shakespeare’s Universe (the Moll), Pentecost (Amira), The Liar (Clarice/ Lucrece/Sabine), The Duchess of Malfi (Cariola), As You Like It (Audrey), Henry IV, Part 1 (Lady Mortimer). Elsewhere: Appearances with theatre companies across the country including Mirvish, Musical Stage Company, Soulpepper, Tarragon, Crow’s, Canadian Stage, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Segal Centre, Necessary Angel, The Grand, Globe Theatre and Theatre Aquarius. Film/TV: Murdoch Mysteries. Training: BFA, University of Windsor; Birmingham Conservatory. Awards: Toronto Theatre Critics Award (Best Actress 2018 & 2016: Fun Home, Mirvish/Musical Stage Company; Enemy of the People, Tarragon); Mary Savidge Award.

FARHANG GHAJAR BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 2016/17 2019: Roderigo in Othello, Nim in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Mr. Irving Pincus in The Front Page. Third season. Stratford: Federico in Napoli Milionaria!, The Tempest, Coriolanus, The School for Scandal, Twelfth Night, Tartuffe. Elsewhere: Iago in Othello (McMaster Thespian Company); Hamlet in Hamlet’s Dorm (McMaster University); Jesus in The Last Judgement (University of Toronto). Film/TV: Man Seeking Woman (FXX); Dark Matter (SYFY); lead in Capture Kill Release, lead in Something to Hide, principal in Uncle Brian (independent feature films).Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre, Advanced Shakespeare (Kristin Linklater, Orkney, Scotland), Strasberg Method Intensive (Tony Greco, N.Y.C.), scene study (Angela Besharah and Jimi Shlag, Toronto), scene study (Caymichael Patten, N.Y.C.), Actors Exchange (David Matheson, Toronto). Awards: Michael Mawson Award (Stratford 2017), Award (Stratford 2018). Et cetera: Love and thanks to everyone who has supported me.

22 ACTING COMPANY

MICHELLE GIROUX EMMA GRABINSKY RANDY HUGHSON JOHN KIRKPATRICK SHRUTI KOTHARI

MICHELLE GIROUX BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 1999 2019: Duchess of Venice in Othello and McLaren in The Front Page. 13th season. Stratford (selected): , Breath of Kings, , Blithe Spirit, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Edward II, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pride and Prejudice, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Delicate Balance, The Seagull, Henry VI, , Twelfth Night, As You Like It, The Swanne Part III, The Brothers Karamazov, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Miser (New York City Centre) and The School for Scandal (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). Elsewhere: Groundling Theatre, Factory Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, Great Canadian Theatre Company, Theatre Aquarius, Segal Centre. Film/TV (selected): Anne, Suits, Saving Hope, Sensitive Skin, Rookie Blue, The Listener, Flashpoint, L.A. Complex, King, Murdoch Mysteries, John A: The Rivals, Life in a Year, Blood Pressure. Training: National Theatre School, Birmingham Conservatory, Canadian Film Centre Actors’ Conservatory.

EMMA GRABINSKY BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 2018 2019: Appears in Othello, The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Front Page. Stratford debut. Elsewhere (selected): The Comedy of Errors, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Gut Girls, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (University of Victoria); Duke in Twelfth Night (Greater Victoria ); Hamlet in Hamlet (SATCo); Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker ( Playhouse). Film/TV (selected): Grand Unified Theory (Second Chance Productions); The Haunting Hour (Hub Network); Mr. Hockey (CBC); Supernatural (CW). Awards: Jessie nomination for The Miracle Worker (Best Actress in a Leading Role), Beijing International Film Festival nomination for Grand Unified Theory (Best Actress in a Feature Film). Training: BFA, University of Victoria. Et cetera: Much love to Mom, Dad, Dorothy, Mary and Ash. Huge gratitude.

RANDY HUGHSON 2019: Brabantio in Othello, Pistol in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Fife in The Front Page. 12th season. Stratford (selected): Bob Ewell (To Kill a Mockingbird), Sir John Franklin (The Breathing Hole), Capulet (Romeo and Juliet), Lucky (), Antigonus (The Winter’s Tale), Senex (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), Richard Voss (The Physicists). Elsewhere: Leading roles at the Belfry Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, Citadel Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Canadian Stage, Segal Centre, Neptune Theatre, Soulpepper, Tarragon, Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Alberta Theatre Projects, Centaur Theatre, Blyth Festival, National Arts Centre and many others. Film/TV: Randy has worked extensively in television, film and radio. Awards: Nominated for eight Awards, three Edmonton Sterlings, one Calgary Betty Mitchell, three Vancouver Jessies and one Gemini. Randy has won one of each award. Et cetera: Gratitude and love to Melissa, Georgina and Harvey.

JOHN KIRKPATRICK 2019: Naval Officer, Herald Cypriot Soldier in Othello, John in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Endicott in The Front Page. Sixth season. Stratford: Walter Cunningham Sr., To Kill a Mockingbird; Caius Ligarius, Julius Caesar; Lt. Brannigan, Joey Biltmore, Guys and Dolls; Apothecary, Romeo and Juliet; Doctor, Macbeth; Oliver, As You Like It; Deuxfois, The Hypochondriac; Marcellus, Fortinbras, Hamlet; Boyet, Love’s Labour’s Lost; René Descartes, Christina, The Girl King; Red Knight/Walrus, Alice Through the Looking-Glass. Elsewhere: Marley, A Christmas Carol; Jaques, As You Like It; Cassius, Julius Caesar; Lucio, (Citadel); Slim, Of Mice and Men (Canadian Stage/Theatre Calgary); Tybalt/Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet (Theatre Calgary); Everard, Age of Arousal (ATP); Milan, Rock ’n’ Roll (Canadian Stage/Citadel); Kent, King Lear; , Twelfth Night (Freewill). Training: BFA Acting, University of Alberta. Awards: Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award, Measure for Measure. Et cetera: Former Artistic Director, Freewill Shakespeare Festival (Edmonton). All my love to Breanna and Aidan.

SHRUTI KOTHARI 2019: Bianca in Othello, Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Jennie Stroud in The Front Page. Third season. Stratford: Napoli Milionaria!, The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest, Hamlet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, . Elsewhere: Million Dollar Quartet (Thousand Islands Playhouse, Sudbury Theatre Centre); Five Alarm (Lighthouse Festival); Little Pretty and the Exceptional (Factory Theatre, Dora nomination); James and the Giant Peach (Young People’s Theatre); My Co-Mates and Brothers in Exile (Shakespeare in the Ruff); Aladdin (Diversified Productions); Rent, Avenue Q (Lower Ossington Theatre). TV: The Handmaid’s Tale (MGM/Hulu); Designated Survivor (ABC). Voice Work: Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft), My Dad Is Scrooge (Eb Scrooge Productions). Training: Factory Mechanicals, Queen’s University, Bishop Strachan School, Claude Watson School for the Arts. Et cetera: Endless love and gratitude to my family and friends whose constant support inspires me daily and I cherish deeply.

23 ACTING COMPANY

DANIEL KRMPOTIC JOSUE LABOUCANE JAMIE MAC HILARY McCORMACK GORDON S. MILLER

DANIEL KRMPOTIC BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 2018 2019: Robert in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Carl in The Front Page and appears in Othello. Stratford debut. Elsewhere (selected): Hamlet in Hamlet (Ryerson Theatre School), Dr. John Buchanan in Summer and Smoke, King Alexander in The Possibilities (Ryerson School of Performance), Clov in Endgame (Michael Chekhov Europe). Collaborator in Daughter (Quiptake Productions/Opia Studios). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre, Ryerson University’s School of Performance, Michael Chekhov Europe (Hugh O’Gorman, Craig Mathers, Croatia), vocal technique (David Dunbar, Toronto), scene study and coaching (Jane Moffat, Toronto) and an Advanced Combatant Certificate with the Academy of Dramatic Combat (Steve Wilsher, Toronto). Et cetera: Thank you to my mentors, friends and family for continually encouraging me to strive towards a greater potential in all spheres of life.

JOSUE LABOUCANE BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 2012/13 2019: Simple in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Woodenshoes Eichorn in The Front Page and appears in Othello. Seventh season. Stratford: The Comedy of Errors, Napoli Milionaria!, The Tempest, Timon of Athens, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Changeling, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Aeneid, The Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labour’s Lost, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Beaux’ Stratagem, , Measure for Measure, Othello. Birmingham Conservatory: Twelfth Night (); Private Lives (Christopher Newton); Hamlet (Stephen Ouimette); Love’s Labour’s Lost (). Elsewhere: Henry VI: Wars of the Roses, Richard III, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Timon of Athens (Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach); The Exquisite Hour (Relephant); The Wizard of Oz, Seussical (Carousel); The Emperor’s New Threads (Axis). Training: Birmingham Conservatory, Studio 58, Canadian National Voice Intensive. Awards: Jessie Award; Sydney J. Risk Award. Online: Twitter: @josuelaboucane.

JAMIE MAC BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 2013/14 2019: Slender in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Kruger in The Front Page and appears in Othello. Fifth season. Stratford: Benvolio (Romeo and Juliet), Allardyce (Treasure Island), Wickers (The Breathing Hole), Lennox (Macbeth), Silvius (As You Like It), First Doctor (The Hypochondriac), Kastril (The Alchemist), Fisherman (Pericles), Young Soldier (Mother Courage), Towrus (). Birmingham Conservatory: Berowne (Love’s Labour’s Lost), Polixenes (The Winter’s Tale). Elsewhere: Petruchio (St. Lawrence); Jacob Mercer, Salt-Water Moon (NAC); Laurie, Vimy (GCTC); Clown, The 39 Steps (Stage West); David Jung, Rockbound (Two Planks); Michael, Elephant Song (Beothuk Street); Dromio of Ephesus, The Comedy of Errors (SBTS); Jerry, Zoo Story (Reid Theatre). Film/TV: Murdoch Mysteries, Played, Beauty and the Beast, Republic of Doyle, Covert Affairs, Life With Derek. Training: Birmingham Conservatory; Ryerson University, BFA Acting. Awards: Elephant Song: Walter C. Chambers Scholarship, D.A. Matthews Scholarship, Honorary Chairman’s Award for Best Actor. Et cetera: Jamie is a Newfoundlander.

HILARY McCORMACK BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 2018 2019: Swing in The Neverending Story and appears in Othello. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: in Twelfth Night, Liz in Hanger (Toronto Fringe); Desdemona in Othello, Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Olivia in Twelfth Night (Ale House Theatre Company). Film/TV: Guest star on Killjoys, Rae in Sugar Daddy, A Very Benson Christmas (lead), ’Sup Meg (lead), Carolina on Samanthology. Training: Ryerson Theatre School, BADA (Midsummer in Oxford program). Awards: Emerging Artist Award (MyTheatre Awards), Perry Schneiderman Award (Ryerson). Et cetera: Hilary is very excited to be working with the company this year and thanks her Mom for everything!

GORDON S. MILLER BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 2002 2019: Iago in Othello, Dr. Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Schwartz in The Front Page. 13th season. Stratford (selected): James Tyrone Jr. (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), God the Son (Paradise Lost), Pentheus (Bakkhai), Laurent (Tartuffe), Fabian (Twelfth Night), Biondello (The Taming of the Shrew), Williams (Possible Worlds), Scrub (The Beaux’ Stratagem), Andrei (Three Sisters), Apollodorus (Caesar and Cleopatra), Roderigo (Othello), Flaminius (Timon of Athens). Elsewhere: A&R Angels (Crow’s Theatre); Pride and Prejudice, Robin Hood (Globe Theatre); A Doll’s House (Montgomery/TNB). Film/TV: Dmitri in the award-winning miniseries Fargo (Season 1; Best Miniseries: Emmy, Golden Globe), Suits, Republic of Doyle, The Ron James Show, Warehouse 13, Lost Girl. Training: National Theatre School of Canada; Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Awards: Tyrone Guthrie Award (2003, 2007, 2018), Award (2004) and the inaugural recipient of the Travel Grant (2009).

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AMELIA SARGISSON E.B. SMITH JOHNATHAN SOUSA MICHAEL SPENCER-DAVIS BRIGIT WILSON

AMELIA SARGISSON 2019: Desdemona in Othello, Peggy Grant in The Front Page and appears in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Second season. Stratford: Eve in Paradise Lost, Luciana in The Comedy of Errors. Elsewhere: Constanze in Amadeus (TIFT); The 39 Steps (META nomination for Outstanding Ensemble) and The Madonna Painter (Centaur Theatre); /Cordelia in Twelfth Night/King Lear (Canadian Stage); The Watershed and Seeds (Crow’s Theatre/Porte Parole); The Millennial Malcontent (Tarragon Theatre); Philomela in If We Were Birds (Imago Theatre – META nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress); Jamie in The Incredible Speediness of Jamie Cavanaugh (Carousel Players); Les Moutons and Camping Royale (CORPUS); six seasons of Shakespeare-in-the-Park (Repercussion Theatre). Training: Ryerson Theatre School. Awards: Faculty Award of Excellence and Louis Taube Memorial Award (Ryerson); Cartes Premières Award for Best Actress for Laurel in down from heaven (Imago Theatre); Spotlight Award for The Art of Catching Pigeons by Torchlight (SummerWorks). Et cetera: Love & thanks.

E.B. SMITH BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY, 2010/11 2019: Montano in Othello, Wilson in The Front Page and appears in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Ninth season. Stratford: Boatswain (The Tempest), Surrogate (Coriolanus), Doctor (Napoli Milionaria!), Orsino (Twelfth Night), Seyton (Macbeth), Dr. Jim Bayliss (All My Sons), Thaliard, Leonine (Pericles), Eilif (Mother Courage), Melun (), Bellievre (Mary Stuart), Abhorson (Measure for Measure), Cymbeline, Elektra. Elsewhere: Othello, Othello (Shakespeare BASH’d); Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Mountaintop (Grand); Big Sam, Gone With the Wind (RMTC); Seyton, Macbeth; Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare); Macduff, Macbeth (); King, King Hedley II (Karamu); Moustique, Dream on Monkey Mountain; Junior, Before It Hits Home; Cleveland Play House; Idaho Shakespeare Festival; Theater Wit, Chicago; The Great Lakes Theater Festival. Film/TV: The Beast, Ask Gilby, Maybe By Then, Thunder Bay. Training: Ohio University, Birmingham Conservatory. Et cetera: E.B. would like to dedicate his work to his parents and grandmother, and to the memory of his Papa.

JOHNATHAN SOUSA 2019: Cassio in Othello, Rugby in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Earl Williams in The Front Page. Fourth season. Stratford: Francisco in The Tempest, Lieutenant in Coriolanus, Amedeo in Napoli Milionaria!, Hotspur in Breath of Kings: Rebellion, Valere in Tartuffe. Elsewhere: Charlie Breathing Corpses (Coal Mine Theatre). Film/TV: Rookie Blue (Global TV), The Animal Project (principal), Relative Happiness (lead), What We Have (lead), Kidnap Capital (lead). Training: Ryerson Theatre School (2010), Norman Jewison Canadian Film Centre Actors’ Conservatory. Awards: Lou Taube Memorial Award, 2013 Toronto International Film Festival Rising Star, John Hirsch Memorial Award. Online: Instagram: @Jsous29. Et cetera: Thanks to Alicia Jeffery, my family, friends, coaches, and my wife, Brittany, for encouraging me every step of the way. Special thank-you to Ian Watson for your friendship, guidance and constant support.

MICHAEL SPENCER-DAVIS 2019: Gratiano in Othello, Justice Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Roy V. Bensinger in The Front Page. Ninth season. Stratford: Paradise Lost, Timon of Athens, The Changeling, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Shakespeare in Love, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Aeneid, Taming of the Shrew, Possible Worlds, Beaux’ Stratagem, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, Richard III, Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Bartholomew Fair, Shakespeare’s Universe. Elsewhere: The Fourth Graders Present An Unnamed Love Suicide (Tiny Room); Jerusalem (Outside the March/Company Theatre); Silence, Art (Grand Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Western Canada Theatre); Hound of the Baskervilles, Robin Hood (Globe Theatre); The Castle (Storefront); Pitmen Painters, Boeing Boeing (Theatre Aquarius); Vigil, Lawrence and Holloman (Prairie Theatre Exchange); Having Hope at Home (Neptune); Twelfth Night, The Tempest (Hartford Stage); Pride and Prejudice (Theatre Calgary/NAC); The Lonely Diner (Blyth Festival); Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night (NAC); Macbeth, Othello (NAC/Citadel); Einstein’s Gift (Citadel). Online: michaelspencerdavis.com.

BRIGIT WILSON 2019: Mrs. Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, appears in Othello and understudy in The Front Page. 14th season. Stratford: Coriolanus, Napoli Milionaria!, School for Scandal, Macbeth, As You Like It, Hypochondriac, Pericles, Alchemist, Swanne, All’s Well, Quiet in the Land, Hunchback, Count of Monte Cristo, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Orpheus Descending (Stratford, MTC, Mirvish), Merchant of Venice, The Comedy of Errors, An Ideal Husband, Three Sisters, Bartholomew Fair, Peter Pan, Grapes of Wrath, King John, Christina, Mother Courage. Elsewhere: Agamemnon (Next Stage); Narcisse Mondoux (Grand); Come Back to the Five and Dime… (Grand/Five & Dime Productions – Dora nomination); Enron (Theatre Calgary); The Merry Wives of Windsor, Glorious, Man of La Mancha (TBTB); The Ballad of Stompin’ Tom, Another Season’s Harvest (Blyth); The Odd Couple (Segal). TV: Harriet Sims, The Campbells (four seasons). Film: Beyond Innocence, Anne of Avonlea, The Marriage Bed, Echoes in the Darkness, Lustre. Online: Twitter @HOOPOOHEART.

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JOSEPH ABETRIA KIMBERLY BROWN MEGHAN CALLAN JUDY FARTHING VERNE GOOD

JOSEPH ABETRIA 2019: Assistant costume designer of Othello and The Neverending Story. Third season. Stratford: Assistant costume designer: The Rocky Horror Show 2018, Romeo and Juliet 2017. Elsewhere: Costume design: Women of the Fur Trade (Vault Projects); Mary’s Wedding, Iceland (Theatre Projects Manitoba); The Game, Two Indians, The Seduction Theory (Sarasvàti Productions); Last Train to Nibroc (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Richard III (Shakespeare in the Ruins); Concord Floral, Vinegar Tom, The Cassilis Engagement (University of Winnipeg). Training: Honours BA from University of Winnipeg in theatre design and production.

KIMBERLY BROWN 2019: Assistant stage manager of Othello and . Fifth season. Stratford: Assistant stage manager of To Kill a Mockingbird, Julius Caesar, Bakkhai, A Chorus Line, Bunny, The Diary of Anne Frank and She Stoops to Conquer. Elsewhere: Jack of Diamonds (Theatre Aquarius); The Heart of Robin Hood (Mirvish Productions/Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Footloose, South Pacific, Twist and Shout (Drayton Entertainment). Training: Technical Theatre Production, Sheridan College. Et cetera: Kimberly would like to thank Alex for all his love and support and for always knowing that anything was within her reach.

MEGHAN CALLAN 2019: Production stage manager of the Festival Theatre and Avon Theatre. 19th season. Stratford (selected): Paradise Lost, The Virgin Trial, A Little Night Music, The Physicists, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014), Tommy, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, , The Tempest (2010). Elsewhere: At Soulpepper, Meghan stage-managed The Virgin Trial and The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? Meghan has worked in stage management for the Shaw Festival, Atlantic Theatre Festival, Theatre New Brunswick, NAC, Citadel Theatre, Globe Theatre and Lighthouse Festival Theatre. She has also worked in stage management for corporate clients such as General Motors, Toyota Canada, the Retail Council of Canada and the Canadian International Auto Show. Training: BFA, York University. Awards: 2017 Tyrone Award, Stratford Festival. Et cetera: Much love and thanks to Beatrice, Ella and Peter for their support and for making her so happy.

JUDY FARTHING 2019: Stage manager of Othello and assistant stage manager of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Fifth season. Stratford: Stage manager of To Kill a Mockingbird, The Changeling, Breath of Kings: Redemption and Oedipus Rex. Most Recently: Stage manager of The Runner with Cargo. Elsewhere: 17 seasons with the Shaw Festival, production stage manager from 2003 to 2011. Favourite productions with the Shaw Festival include My Fair Lady, Gypsy, You Can’t Take It With You, Detective Story, All My Sons, Chaplin, The Madras House, Man and Superman, Peter Pan and Lady Windermere’s Fan. Productions with The Grand Theatre, Drayton Entertainment, Canadian Stage, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Mirvish Productions, National Arts Centre, Blyth Festival, Factory Theatre, Tarragon Theatre.

VERNE GOOD 2019: Composer and sound designer of Othello. Seventh season. Stratford: Sound design for To Kill a Mockingbird, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Pericles, Hirsch; associate sound design for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Elsewhere: Recent favourites include sound design for Fences, Art, The Mountaintop (Grand); The Other Side of the Game (Cahoots/Obsidian); The Pigeon King, The New Canadian Curling Club (Blyth); The 39 Steps (Dora nomination), Up the Garden Path (Obsidian); Was Spring, Communion (Tarragon); Queer Bathroom Stories (Buddies); Free as Injuns (Native Earth); sound design and composition for The Virgin Trial (GCTC); Outside, Birds of a Feather, Ladies and Gentlemen Boys and Girls (Roseneath); Tick (Carousel); The Red Queen, Stockholm (Seventh Stage Productions); You Will Remember Me, The Normal Heart (Studio 180); The Atomic Weight of Happiness (StandUp Dance). Training: Bishop’s University; NTS.

27 ARTISTIC COMPANY

BRANDON HEPWORTH AMBER HOOD DENYSE KARN KAILEIGH KRYSZTOFIAK ELIZABETH McDERMOTT

BRANDON HEPWORTH 2019: Apprentice stage manager of Othello. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Apprentice stage manager of The Hockey Sweater: A Musical (Segal Centre 2017, NAC 2018); apprentice stage manager of Other People’s Children (Imago Theatre); apprentice stage manager of Successions (Centaur Theatre); tour manager and technical director for Dis Merci (Joe Jack & John); lighting designer of Lateef and the Distraction Machine (MAI Theatre). Training: National Theatre School of Canada, John Abbott College. Et cetera: Brandon is eternally grateful to his mother, for her everlasting support and friendship.

AMBER HOOD 2019: Assistant lighting designer of Othello and Billy Elliot the Musical. Stratford debut. Recent Credits: Elsewhere (Odd Stumble & Imago Theatre Company, Montréal); Journey to Broadway (The Lyric Theatre, Montréal); The Rule of Three (Great Canadian Theatre Company, Ottawa); Shrek the Musical (Orpheus Musical Theatre, Ottawa). Past Credits: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (ArtsWest Playhouse, Seattle); The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Intiman Playhouse, Seattle); Assassins, Annie Get Your Gun, Godspell, Hairspray (The Village Theatre, Seattle). Corporate Credits: Celebrity Cruise Lines – Celebrity Summit (stage and production manager), Celebrity Cruise Lines – Celebrity Solstice & Eclipse (head lighting designer). Online: AmberHoodLD.com. Et cetera: A recent immigrant to the Canadian theatre scene, Amber is thrilled to be working at the Festival this season. Many thanks and congratulations to all the immensely talented and hard-working individuals both onstage and off. Extra special thanks to her husband for his boundless love and support.

DENYSE KARN 2019: Designer of Othello. Second season. Stratford: To Kill a Mockingbird. Elsewhere: King Charles III (Studio 180/Mirvish); Art, The Mountaintop (Grand Theatre, London); Onegin (Musical Stage Company); You Will Remember Me (Studio 180/ Tarragon); NSFW (Studio 180); Das Ding (Theatre Smash/Canadian Stage); The Watershed (Crow’s Theatre/Porte Parole); Her2, The Carousel, The Penelopiad, Happy Woman, The List (Nightwood); Twisted, Stop Heart (Factory); The Winter’s Tale (Canadian Stage); Routes (Manitoba Theatre for Young People); Top Girls (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). Training: Denyse is a graduate of the Ryerson Theatre School and has her BFA from NSCAD University. Awards: Denyse has received many Dora Mavor Moore nominations and awards, a Chalmers Award and four Merritt Awards (Nova Scotia theatre award) for Outstanding Set, Projection and Costume designs. Denyse is a full member of ADC. Online: denysekarn.com.

KAILEIGH KRYSZTOFIAK 2019: Lighting designer of Othello. Eighth season. Stratford: Lighting designer, The Comedy of Errors. Assistant lighting designer, six seasons (2011-2016). Selected credits: A Chorus Line, Tommy, A Word or Two, Jesus Christ Superstar. Studio Theatre technical director, 2013. Elsewhere: After the Fire (Punctuate, Centre); Ghost, Honk! (Drayton Entertainment); Salt-Water Moon (Mirvish, Factory, Why Not); Wildfire (RARE, Soulpepper); The Emancipation of Ms. Lovely, The Breath in Between (Crow’s); Superior Donuts (Coal Mine); Laurier (Charlottetown Festival, TNB); Beaver (Storefront); Noises Off(Soulpepper); A Line in the Sand, The Crackwalker (Factory Theatre); Hana Hashimoto (Carousel Players). Kaileigh has designed for musicians Elizabeth Shepherd, Nagata Shachu, and Plants and Animals. Training: National Theatre School of Canada. Et cetera: Instructor at the NTSC and a two-time Dora nominee.

ELIZABETH McDERMOTT 2019: Assistant stage manager of Othello and Billy Elliot the Musical. Sixth season. Stratford: The Music Man, To Kill a Mockingbird, Shakespeare in Love, The Hypochondriac, The Sound of Music, The Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labour’s Lost, As You Like It, King of Thieves, Three Sisters, Bartholomew Fair, Phèdre, Ever Yours, Oscar. Elsewhere: Grease (Irregular Entertainment); King Lear, Twelfth Night (Shakespeare in High Park); A City, Divisadero (Necessary Angel); Cracked: new light on dementia (UW/Collective Disruption); Comfort (Red Snow Collective); The Road to Paradise, Night (Human Cargo); Miracle on 34th Street (STC); Bella (HGJTC); Anne of Green Gables, Canada Rocks! (Charlottetown); Falling: A Wake (Blyth); The Barber of Seville (Soulpepper); Binti’s Journey, Head à Tête, Old Man and the River (Theatre Direct); Danny, King of the Basement (Roseneath); Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, All’s Well That Ends Well (SLSF).

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ANITA NITTOLY JOSHUA QUINLAN SIOBHAN RICHARDSON BETH RUSSELL GEOFF SCOVELL

ANITA NITTOLY 2019: Fight director for the 2019 season. Fourth season. Stratford: 2013: assistant fight director; 2017: associate fight director; 2018: associate fight director.Elsewhere: Centaur Theatre (2019 – The Last Wife, 2018 – Successions, 2017 – The 39 Steps), Carousel Players (2019 – Whole World), Blyth Festival (2018 season), Outside the March/The Company Theatre (2018 – Jerusalem), Canadian Opera Company (2014/15/16). Anita is the stage combat instructor at the National Theatre School in Montréal and teaches workshops year-round across southern Ontario. Anita also works as a stunt performer and stunt actor in the film and TV industry. Selected credits: Enhanced, Teen Titans, The Boys, Dark Matter, KIN, Designated Survivor, 12 Monkeys, Murdoch Mysteries.

JOSHUA QUINLAN 2019: Assistant designer of The Front Page and assistant set designer of Othello, Billy Elliot the Musical and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Third season. Stratford: Assistant designer: Paradise Lost; assistant set designer: The Rocky Horror Show, An Ideal Husband, Napoli Milionaria!, HMS Pinafore, Treasure Island and The School for Scandal. Elsewhere: Set design: Love and Information, Bedtime Stories, Lion in the Streets, Blue Stockings, Nine Girls (University of Windsor); Book Club, Five Alarm, This One, The Drawer Boy, The Melville Boys (Port Stanley Festival Theatre); An Enemy of the People, Don Giovanni, As You Like It (OSU). Costume design: Stupid F*cking Bird, Spring Awakening, The Norwegians (OSU). Training: MFA Theatre – Design, The Ohio State University; BA Honours Drama, University of Windsor; Off the Wall Theatre Production Arts Program.Awards: 2017 Ian and Molly Lindsay Design Fellow, Stratford Festival; Peggy Ezekiel Award of Distinction in Set Design, USITT. Online: joshuaquinlan.com.

SIOBHAN RICHARDSON 2019: Intimacy director of Othello. Stratford debut. Stratford: Assistant to Tonia Sina on Bakkhai. Elsewhere: Hadrian (Canadian Opera Company), Four Chords and a Gun (Starvox Entertainment), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Soulpepper), Kamp (Eastern Front Theatre/Neptune Theatre), Far From the Heart (Sheatre), Bunny and Guarded Girls (Tarragon Theatre). Radio/ Recordings: Featured on CBC’s The Current. Training: Mentored in Intimacy for the Stage by Tonia Sina (Intimacy Directors International). Awards: Chalmers Arts Fellowship (Ontario Arts Council). Online: SiobhanRichardson.com; BurningMountain. ca; Instagram/Twitter: @fighteractress.Et cetera: Award-winning actor/fighter/singer/dancer. Fight instructor/director and advanced actor combatant (Fight Directors Canada). She has completed several tours of Europe as both an intimacy and a stage combat instructor. Co-founder of Intimacy Directors International and Burning Mountain.

BETH RUSSELL 2019: Casting director of the Stratford Festival. 11th season. Elsewhere: In addition to casting, Beth has been an artists’ agent, co-producer of CBC-TV’s Triple Sensation, Senior Vice President: Casting and Creative Development for Livent, National Casting Director for CBC Radio Drama and Artistic Associate for Toronto Arts Productions (now Canadian Stage). As casting director, Ms Russell has been responsible for Broadway and West End premières of productions including Parade, Ragtime, Show Boat and Kiss of the Spider Woman, as well as productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Show Boat, Sunset Boulevard, Aspects of Love and The Phantom of the Opera in Canada, the United States, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

GEOFF SCOVELL 2019: Associate fight director for the 2019 season. Ninth season. Stratford: Associate fight director (selected): Macbeth, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Shakespeare in Love, A Little Night Music, Breath of Kings: Rebellion and Redemption, Hamlet, The Physicists, Pericles, The Taming of the Shrew, Oedipus Rex, King Lear, Crazy for You, King John, Man of La Mancha, Romeo and Juliet, The Three Musketeers, Othello. Elsewhere: Fight director: Peter and the Starcatcher, Sweet Charity (Shaw); Don Giovanni, War and Peace (COC); The Godot Cycle (Yes Let’s Go); Romeo and Juliet (ShakespeareWorks). Film/TV: Stunts (selected): It: Chapter 2, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Schitt’s Creek, The Boys, Wayne, What We Do in Shadows, Titans, Umbrella Academy, Save Me, The Expanse, Designated Survivor, Suicide Squad, Dark Matter, Killjoys, 12 Monkeys, Bitten, The Strain, Pompeii, Robocop, Reign, Orphan Black, Carrie, Total Recall. Training: BFA, Ryerson. Awards: Paddy Crean. Online: @GeoffScovell.

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JENNIFER STEWART CYNTHIA TOUSHAN NIGEL SHAWN WILLIAMS

JENNIFER STEWART MICHAEL LANGHAM WORKSHOP, 2018/19 2019: Assistant director of Othello. Ninth season. Stratford: Long Day’s Journey into Night, HMS Pinafore, , Tommy, 42nd Street, The Pirates of Penzance, The Imaginary Invalid, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, The Winter’s Tale. Elsewhere: Director: The Shape of a Girl (Calder Theatre, London, U.K.; Strictly Stratford); The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie (Talk Is Free Theatre); Emily, Becoming Dr. Ruth, Best of Enemies, The Heiress (Bluff City Theater, Hannibal, Missouri); Hairspray (YES Theatre). Assistant director: The Wedding Party (Crow’s Theatre). Actor: Mirvish, Drayton, Theatre Calgary, Theatre Aquarius, Grand Theatre, Rainbow Stage, TIFT, NAC, YPT, YES, Charlottetown Festival. Et cetera: MFA in Theatre Directing from East 15/University of Essex; Music Theatre Performance graduate from Sheridan Institute. Jennifer was born and raised in Stratford! Love to Daniel and our son, Luka. jenniferlstewart.com.

CYNTHIA TOUSHAN 2019: Production stage manager of the Festival Theatre. Stage manager of Billy Elliot the Musical. 23rd season. Stratford: Shows include A Chorus Line, Crazy for You, Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, Oklahoma!, , My Fair Lady, Man of La Mancha, Hello, Dolly!, The King and I and others. Elsewhere: Over 35 years as a stage manager; over 25 years with the Canadian Opera Company as a stage manager and choreographer; production stage manager and resident director of Jersey Boys, Toronto; 25 years as a singer/dancer and choreographer in Canadian theatre; associate director/choreographer to her mentor, Alan Lund. Cynthia has worked in many forms of live entertainment including gala events, music concerts, opening ceremonies and variety-show fundraisers. Et cetera: Love to her fiancé, Paul, daughters, Stephanie and Jennifer, son-in-law, Andrew, and her grandchildren, Kennedy, Koston and Connor. Being a grandmother is the best job in the world!

NIGEL SHAWN WILLIAMS 2019: Director of Othello. Seventh season. Stratford: Director: To Kill a Mockingbird. Actor: Breath of Kings, Fuente Ovejuna, Palmer Park, The Odyssey, Harlem Duet, Twelfth Night, Our Town, Treasure Island. Elsewhere: Nigel is the former Co-Artistic Director of Factory Theatre in Toronto, and is a four-time Dora Award winner as an actor and director. Director credits include The Invisible Hand, Other Side of the Game, Merchant of Venice, Art, Cloud 9, A Line in the Sand, The Mountaintop, The Monument, Brothel #9, Intimate Apparel, Better Angels: A Parable, Once on This Island, As You Like it, Master Harold and the Boys. Actor credits include Fences, Topdog/Underdog, The Nether, Saint Joan, Race, Stuff Happens, Amadeus, Candida, Rashomon, Belle, Six Degrees of Separation, Hedda Gabler, Othello, Angels in America, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, The Wars of the Roses trilogy.

30 THE BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATORY FOR CLASSICAL THEATRE Stephen Ouimette leads this intensive professional training program that nurtures talented young actors for a future in classical theatre. Selected by audition, participants are usually graduates of an accredited theatre training program who have at least two years’ professional experience. Upon completion of the program – which includes, among other activities, classes in voice, movement and text with Festival coaches and distinguished guest instructors – participants may be offered places in the following season’s acting company. Twenty-nine members of this season’s company are past participants. The Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre is made possible by the support of the Birmingham family, the Stratford Festival Endowment Foundation and the Department of Canadian Heritage. The 2019 in-season work of Conservatory participants is supported by the Marilyn & Charles Baillie Fund and by John & Therese Gardner.

THE MICHAEL LANGHAM WORKSHOP FOR CLASSICAL DIRECTION Overseen by Antoni Cimolino, Artistic Director, and Martha Henry, Director of the Michael Langham Workshop, this program offers an unparalleled opportunity for directors in the mid-stages of their careers to develop their craft within the rich artistry of the Stratford Festival. Each participant works as the assistant or associate director on one production in the season, as well as being offered classes focused on the classics. In the fall, selected participants direct a short piece of classical theatre performed for an invited audience. Participants this season: Rodrigo Beilfuss, Mikaela Davies, Brad Hodder, Ash Knight, Andrew Kushnir, Julia Nish-Lapidus, Jennifer Stewart. Alumni this season: , Alan Dilworth, Peter Pasyk, Zack Russell, Birgit Schreyer Duarte, Ted Witzel. We extend our thanks to the Department of Canadian Heritage, the late Johanna Metcalf and the George Cedric Metcalf Foundation and the Philip and Berthe Morton Foundation. The Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction is sponsored by

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