2009/2010 Season
The Company
Rod Beilfuss
The Robe: North Main Gothic
Since moving to Winnipeg from Brazil, in 2001, Rod Beilfuss has graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a B.A. Honours in Theatre & Film, and appeared in quite a few shows around this lovely town. Some of his credits include The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth (Shakespeare in the Ruins), Comedy of Errors, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Saint Joan (Theatre by the River), Winter’s Tale (Tom-Tom Theatre) and the commedia dell’arte pieces Triumph of Love and The Mirror (Foolish Wit). Directorial projects include Resurrection Blues, Enter a Free Man and The Duck Variations (MTC Playwrights Festivals) and the musical Billy Bishop Goes to War (Theatre by the River).
Eric Blais
Ian Trelkovsky: North Main Gothic
Eric’s previous credits with TPM include Stretching Hide and last season’s Age of Arousal. Other recent credits include Dr.Faustus with Adhere and Deny, Kindness with MTYP, and The Vertical Hour with PTE. Eric will be seen in the MTC Warehouse production of Looking Back West this March. Eric is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg.
Ardith Boxall
Director: North Main Gothic
A graduate of the University of Winnipeg, Ardith has performed with Prairie Theatre Exchange, Manitoba Theatre for Young People (touring Northern Manitoba three times!), Theatre Projects Manitoba, Adhere and Deny, and the Manitoba Theatre Centre. With the exception of the first Canadian production of Sarah Cane’s Crave, her roles have almost exclusively been in Canadian plays! Some favorites are: Shakespeare’s Dog by Rick Chafe, Zadie’s Shoes by Adam Pettle, The Norbals by Brian Drader, Albertine in Five Times by Michel Tremblay, and The Darling Family by Linda Griffiths. Film/TV roles include The Stone Angel, The Nature of Nicholas, The Adventures of Shirley Holmes and Milgaard.
In 2005, Ardith took the reins as Artistic Director of Theatre Projects Manitoba where her directing credits include God’s Country: Tales of Doom from the North End, The Monster Trilogy, Chekhov and Me, Area 51, Hi Diddle Dee Dee, Seeing Red, and Floodgates.
Hugh Conacher
Set and Lighting Design: North Main Gothic
TPM Production Manager
Best known for his lighting design for dance, Hugh has collaborated with choreographers and dance companies throughout the world. His work in theatre is also prolific, having worked in virtually every major centre in Canada. Hugh is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.
HughConacher.com
Sarah Constible
Director and Dramaturg: In The Chamber
Sarah’s TPM acting credits include In the Chamber 2008, The Monster Trilogy and Between Then and Now. Other acting credits include Merchant of Venice, Othello, Richard III King Lear and Three Penny Opera (SIR); Bleeding Hearts (MTC); Unity(1918) and Strawberries in January (PTE). She was a member of the comedy troupe, The Royal Liechtenstein Theatre Company, where all seven members wrote, acted and performed music. She most recently directed Stripped Down Hamlet for Shakespeare in the Ruins and co-directed Ginger’s Walk at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival with Michelle Boulet.
Sarah is delighted to have had a front row seat watching Steve and Gord create their chamber pieces. Literally watching. Sometimes while standing. Steve uses an Underwood. Gord refuses to write if anyone else touches his nib.
Wanda Farian
Costume Design: North Main Gothic
Wanda Farian has been involved in the arts scene since 1989, beginning with her job as Costume Mistress at the Contemporary Dancers and continuing on to costume design for the film industry. To this day she is dabbling in film, dance and sometimes theatre. She is feeling very blessed to be involved in the current production of North Main Gothic.
Carolyn Gray
Writer: North Main Gothic
Carolyn is a writer and theatre artist. She is a founding member of Adhere and Deny Object Puppet Theatre, now in its eleventh year. The Association of Manitoba Archivists awarded her the Manitoba Day Award for her play The Elmwood Visitation(Scirocco). Also, she was the recipient of the John Hirsch Most Promising Manitoba Writer award, 2008. She is currently working on a young adult novel.
Linda Griffiths
Writer and Performer: The Last Dog of War
As playwright and actor, Griffiths is the winner of five Dora Mavor Moore awards, a Gemini award, two Chalmer’s awards, the Quizanne International Festival Award for Jessica, the Betty Mitchel Award for Age of Arousal and Los Angeles’ A.G.A. Award for her performance in John Sayles’ film Liana. She has twice been nominated for the Governor General’s Award (The Darling Family, 1992 Alien Creature, 2000). Her plays include Maggie & Pierre, The Darling Family, Alien Creature: a visitation from Gwendolyn MacEwen, Age of Arousal. As co-author of The Book of Jessica (written with native author and activist Maria Campbell), Griffiths and Campbell created a new hybrid of theatre book, one which included the play Jessica, as well as the personal and political process of it’s creation. Through her company Duchess Productions Griffiths produces a unique theatre class “Visceral Playwrighting”, which has inspired many young theatre artists. Her latest play, Age of Arousal will receive five productions in 08/09 in Canada and the U.S. New projects include a new one-person-show, The Last Dog of War and Boys in the Basement.
Krista Jackson
Janice: North Main Gothic
Krista played the “ferociously odd” Rhoda Nunn in last year’s Age of Arousal. She was fortunate to work with TPM throughout the year developing new works and is thrilled to be in the world premiere of Carolyn Gray’s North Main Gothic. She has worked with MTC, PTE, MTYP and most recently was part of Tom-Tom Theatre’s stunning production of The Winter’s Tale- playing Paulina. Krista left Winnipeg to begin her training at Ryerson Theatre School the year TPM was formed. Twenty years and many projects later she would like to raise a glass to Canadian theatre companies and artists who manage to weather the storm and stick it out during dry spells and government cutbacks. To the transformative power of live theatre and a very happy birthday Theatre Projects!
Alicia Johnston
Lisa Pancharek, Ministry of Mourning Clerk: North Main Gothic
Theatre credits include: Blue Kettle (Dancing Hen/Churchill Fest), The Winter’s Tale (Tom-Tom Theatre), Toronto Noir (SummerWorks), Essay & The Russian Play (WJT), The Taming of The Shrew (SIR), The Poet and the Rent (Echo Theatre/Mamet Fest), The Amorous Servant (Pleiades Theatre), The Edible Woman (PTE), Happening 2000, La Femme d’Urie (Le Cercle Molière).
Film and TV credits: The Christmas Hope, Foodland, Break In, Chasing the Devil, Deception, Eye of the Beast, The Stone Angel, The Good Life, Cinderella Man, Category 6:Day of Destruction. Alicia is a graduate of Canada’s National Theatre School.
Daniel MacIvor
Director: The Last Dog of War
Daniel MacIvor Bio Daniel MacIvor was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in 1962. He is a stalwart of the Canadian theatre scene, having written and directed numerous award-winning productions including See Bob Run, Wild Abandon, 2-2-Tango, This Is A Play, The Soldier Dreams, You Are Here, How It Works and A Beautiful View. With long time collaborator Daniel Brooks, he created the solo performances House, Here Lies Henry, Monster and Cul-de-sac. Daniel’s play Never Swim Alone won the award for overall excellence at the New York Fringe in 1998 and in 2002, he won a GLAAD Award and a Village Voice Obie Award for his play In On It, which was presented at PS 122. His play Marion Bridge received its off-Broadway premiere in New York in October of 2005. From 1987-2007, with producing partner Sherrie Johnson, he ran da da kamera, a respected international theatre touring company that has brought his work to Australia, Israel, Europe, the UK, and extensively throughout Canada and the US.
As an actor, Daniel has appeared in his own films, Thom Fitzgerald’s Beefcake, Don McKellar’s CBC series Twitch City, and Jeremy Podeswa’s film The Five Senses, for which he was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor.
In 2006, Daniel received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama for his collection of plays I Still Love You. In 2007, his play You Are Here was translated into Japanese and produced in Tokyo and he directed his play How It Works in a successful production at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. Also in 2007, his play His Greatness was critically lauded in its premiere production at the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver.
Currently, Daniel is working on a new play entitled Communion for New York based Montsgo Projects and a three woman show called Was Spring for Nova Scotia’s Mulgrave Road Theatre. As well, Daniel has a screenplay in development called Remember Me and in May of 2008 Daniel will be the inaugural Senior Playwright In Residence at the Playwrights Colony at the Banff Centre.
Monique Marcker
Stella Dupree: North Main Gothic
Nineteen years ago Monique performed in the premiere season of Theatre Projects, in the production Albertine in Five Times. More recent TPM credits are in The Elmwood Visitation and Encore. Her other credits include Sight Unseen, Sunday Father (Winnipeg Jewish Theatre), Pinocchio (Manitoba Theatre for Young People), All Fall Down (Prairie Theatre), and Flippin In (Toronto’s Theatre for Young Peoples). Monique has also co-wrote and starred in a short film With Wings seen on CBC’s Canadian Reflections.
Suzie Martin
Assistant Director: North Main Gothic
A graduate of The University of Winnipeg’s Acting Honours stream, Suzie has also studied clown with John Turner (of the Canadian clown duo “Mump and Smoot”). In her desire to be involved in high quality theatre any way she can, Suzie has worn many hats (sometimes up to 3 at once, which she dos not recommend to anyone fond of sanity); thus in addition to acting (which is her true passion) she has worked as a director, assistant director, producer, stage manager, and teaching assistant. She has the great fortune to also have a day job in the world of high quality theatre as the Administrator of Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, where she has the best boss ever who lets her leave her post to go do fun projects for weeks on end!
Recent projects: The Gas Heart (Theatre Outgrabe, Winnipeg Fringe Festival), A Winter’s Tale (TomTom Theatre), Quite an Undertaking (Sarasvati’s FemFest).
…slightly less recent projects of which she is nonetheless particularly fond: All The World’s A Stage: A Collection of Scenes by Shakespeare (The Stratford Festival of Canada’s Shakespeare School); Persephone: Mis(s)taken, Picnic, The Adventures of Pericles (U of W); The Universal Wolf (No Sugar Added Productions); The Story of a Sinking Man (Theatre Dirigible).
Suzie is delighted to be working for the first time with Theatre Projects, and is especially excited to dig into North Main Gothic with such a fine collaboration of artists.
Joy Prime
Stage Manager: In The Chamber and North Main Gothic
Joy is delighted to work with Theatre Projects Manitoba. Being a relative newbie to Winnipeg (having moved here in late October 2008 with her husband Steve), Joy has quickly became a Moose and Goldeyes fan and has discovered some great scrapbooking stores in town. But back to theatre – Joy’s previous Winnipeg credits include Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager for the 2009 tour and 2008 mainstage MTYP production of Ri¢h. Her previous Ontario theatre credits include: the Stratford Festival, Ontario Special Olympics, the Canadian Opera Company, Upper Canada Playhouse, Smile Theatre, the Drayton Festival, and the Victoria Playhouse Petrolia. On a personal note – Joy is fiercely proud of Steve and is so grateful for his phenomenal support. Joy would also like to thank her brother-in-law, Paul, who is one of the over 37,000 Canadian Forces members serving at home and abroad. She wishes him Godspeed; keep your stick on the ice Paul.
Sheena Sanderson
Assistant Stage Manager: North Main Gothic
Sheena is thrilled to be working with Theatre Projects Manitoba on North Main Gothic. As a graduate of the University of Winnipeg theatre department, she feels right at home here at the Canwest Centre for Theatre and Film. She is excited not only to have an opportunity to revisit her academic roots, but also to experience it through the innovative style of TPM.
Other previous stage management credits include: Lawrence & Holloman (ASM), Souvenirs (ASM) and Little Munsch on the Prairie with Prairie Theatre Exchange; A Rez Christmas Carol with the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company; Surf at the 2009 Carol Shield’s Festival; A Doll’s House, The Distance from Here, Hair: the Tribal Rock Musical, The Glass Menagerie and No Offense with the University of Winnipeg; The Yeomen of the Guard and The Mikado with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Winnipeg; and Mozart-A Life Worth Noting with the University of Manitoba Opera Apprenticeship Program.
Steven Ratzlaff
Writer/Performer: In the Chamber
An established Winnipeg stage actor, Steven has recently come out as a writer. His play, Dionysus in Stony Mountain, had people talking, and thinking, at this summer’s Fringe festival. This Fall Steven is appearing in MTC’s It’s a Wonderful Life.
Gordon Tanner
Writer/Performer: In the Chamber
Gordon Tanner is one of Winnipeg’s busiest actors. He has written for theatre, radio and television, and has written/performed over 20 shows as a member of the award-winning Royal Liechtenstein Theatre Company. He directed In The Chamber 2008, and you liked what he did so much, we brought him back and gave him a pen.
Alan Williams
Dramaturg: North Main Gothic
Alan Williams was born in Manchester, England in 1954. Plays of his that have been performed in Winnipeg include, “The Cockroach Trilogy”, (on tour at the Winnipeg Art Gallery) “Rock Is Dead” for MTC, “In Dreams”, The White Dogs of Texas”, “The King Of America”, “Dixieland’s Night of Shame”,(all for Aggasiz Theatre), “Welcome To The NHL” (for Prairie Theatre Exchange), “The Lancashire Witches” (for the University of Winnipeg). He was co-founder and director of The Rude Players of Winnipeg. With them he devised and directed “Return To The Lost Planet”, and “Indescribably Blue”.
Plays of his that never made it to Winnipeg include, “Mean Streaks”(London, England, and on tour), “The Warlord Of Willowdale” (Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto), “The Duke Of Nothing” (Tarragon Theatre, Toronto), and “The Consolation Of Philosophy” (Great Canadian Theatre Company, Ottawa). He worked as a dramaturge in Winnipeg with the Manitoba Association of Playwrights for several years in the mid-eighties.
