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Stephanie Alexandre, Matthew Mooney,
Christian Krushel, Kathleen Faith Ballangan (2023).
Photo: Kristian Jones
A Midsummer Night's Dream
- By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
- Adapted by ANNA CUMMER, Directed by KELLI FOX
Overview
Thank you to everyone who joined us On the Go this year!
This summer, our traditional Shakespeare by the Bow program will once again be going on the road… as Shakespeare on the Go!
From July 14 to August 6, we will be taking a cast of seven emerging artists to a variety of Calgary locations to present a 85-minute version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Join us for a madcap comedy of vaudevillian proportions as seven actors perform one of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays.
Cast and Creative Team
Stephanie Alexandre
(she/her) Theatre Calgary debut. Stephanie is a hockey goalie-turned-theatre-nerd. As a recent graduate from the University of Calgary with a degree in English and Drama, she is passionate about storytelling in all its forms— whether through music, on the page, stage, or over a cup of tea and some good conversation. She was a participant in this year’s Stage It Festival with Downstage Theatre as a co-creator of her team’s show, Kindling. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering as a youth and kid’s drama club leader at Journey church, spending time with family, and going on long walks with her terrifyingly large but incredibly friendly dogs. Stephanie is delighted to be a part of this year’s Shakespeare by the Bow team in her favourite Shakespeare play.
Thalia Altura
(she/they) Theatre Calgary debut. Elsewhere: Since Brass Nor Stone (Ignite: Sage Theatre); Lola, Nanay, Anak (Jupiter Theatre); Moon Legends (SideNote/DIY Theatre); Tawa Filipinx Comedy Festival (Bad Dog Theatre); Memoirs of a Trans Artist (120 Diner Cabaret Series); The Dangerous Hour (Royal Princess Cruises). Education Mechanicals 2018-2019 Season (Factory Theatre); Performing Arts, Diploma (Randolph College). Thalia is a proud multidisciplinary Trans ARTivist and Chanel Confidant #sakscalgary. She’s a foodie and an Art collector luxury handbags included. Instagram: @thaliaxchanel
Kathleen Faith Ballangan
(she/her) For Theatre Calgary: The Importance of Being Earnest, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare on the Go 2022). Though she be but little, she is fierce! Standing at a glamorous 5 feet tall, Kathleen is an emerging Filipino-Canadian artist born and raised in Mohkintsis. She is delighted once again to be touring the bard’s words across Calgary and area. When not on stage, Kathleen spends her time teaching young people drama and acting for the screen in her partner’s films. As an artist of colour, she is eager to bring representation of her heritage onto the stage and hopes that by doing so, the next generation of young artists of colour will be able to do the same. She extends all her love to mom, Josh, and her friends and family for their endless support.
Steph Bessala
(she/they) Theatre Calgary debut. Steph is an emerging artist born and raised in northeast Calgary, and is proud to call Mohkintsis her home. Some of their most recent performance credits: Hookman (Chromatic Theatre); Climate Shorts (Downstage Theatre); Formations, Argonautika, A Monster Calls (UCalgary SCPA). She graduated with a BFA in Drama from the University of Calgary, and is so grateful for the opportunity to bring Shakespeare around the city with Theatre Calgary this summer! When not in rehearsal, driving to rehearsal, or buying gas to keep driving to rehearsal, they enjoy spending time with their bunnies, Lugh and Scout. And no, Lugh’s name isn’t pronounced the way you probably just read it. To Mama and Papa, who supported her up and down and sideways, your daughter is doing what she loves! Bring lots of water, and save me a bottle because it’s going to be so, so, SO hot.
Sarah Glubish
Theatre Calgary debut. Sarah is an actor, writer, and theatre enthusiast living in Calgary, Alberta. She has studied acting through Company of Rogues Actors’ Studio, and improvisation, hip hop and rap through Freestyle Love Supreme Academy NYC. Previous theatrical experience includes roles with Annerin Productions, Birnton Theatricals, Workshop Theatre Company, St. Peter’s Players, Clowns With Issues, and most recently in the off-off-Broadway production of Listen To Your Mother NYC, where she presented a piece she wrote about her experience with motherhood. Sarah is a creative team member of Urban Stories Theatre Collective, and the creator and producer of her pandemic-inspired digital theatre, Grid View Theatre. When she’s not involved with a production, Sarah can be found composing music, reading, writing, and running around the Bow River as she trains for her next road race.
Christian Krushel
(he/him) Theatre Calgary debut. Christian is an Edmonton based actor, writer, and creator. He holds a B.F.A. in Acting from the University of Alberta, and has a diploma in Theatre Performance: Acting from Douglas College. With a keen interest in helping cultivate and collaborate on work with fellow artists, he has worked interprovincially performing in both Vancouver and Edmonton. He is incredibly excited to make his professional debut with Theatre Calgary and is looking forward to experiencing all that the city has to offer. Select Credits include: The Devils, Ubu Roi, and Macbeth (University of Alberta), Musical for the Endtimes (Third Arrow Theatrics), Crisp Trepidation (The Campfire Anthology), The Taming of the Shrew (1001 Steps Theatre Society), Legoland (Ragamuffin Productions), The Diviners, and Lion in the Streets (Douglas College).
Matthew Mooney
(he/him) Theatre Calgary debut. Hello lovely theatre go’ers, avid artists or supportive spouses; dragged along to another show with a loving smile. My thanks goes to you for supporting theatre and taking time out to watch this summer show. I am thrilled to be involved with this Theatre Calgary production. As a new resident to Canada starting January 2023, I have travelled from my home in Bonnie Scotland in efforts to explore and learn. I have performed in Scotland for 15 years in Theatre, Television and Film. In 2020, I graduated from Queen Margaret University (Edinburgh) with a degree in Acting. With that, I would sincerely like to praise my lecturers from the University for their continued support and efforts in promoting the arts in Scotland. I send love to everyone back home in Glasgow. In due course I hope to return with stories of this wonderful country. Enjoy the show. With Love, Matt
Kelli Fox
(she/her) For Theatre Calgary: Actor - The Audience. Kelli Fox is an actor/director with 35 years on stages across Canada, and in the US, including 13 seasons with the Shaw Festival, and 3 seasons with the Stratford Festival. Recent directing work includes Gaslight (Shaw Festival), and Between Riverside and Crazy (Coal Mine Theatre) for which she received a Dora nomination. As an actor, Kelli has been recognized with a Jessie award (Keely & Du, Arts Club/Canstage), a Dora nomination (Top Girls, Soulpepper), a Capitol Critics Circle award (A Room of One's Own, Shaw tour), a Toronto Critics Circle award (Penelopiad, Nightwood Theatre), as well as sharing a Dora with the Penelopiad ensemble. She was the 2016 recipient of the Gina Wilkinson Prize recognizing emerging directors transitioning mid-career. Next, Kelli will be at the Here For Now Festival in Stratford, ON directing the premier of The Fox, a new play by Daniela Vlaskalic.
Anna Cummer
(she/her) Anna is an actor turned playwright. She has had the good fortune of performing throughout the country with a variety of companies including The Vancouver Playhouse, The Arts Club, Bard on the Beach, Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, Vertigo Theatre, Lunchbox, Persephone Theatre, and The National Arts Centre. On a dare from her husband, Anna started writing seven years ago. She cut her teeth adapting Shakespeare for The Shakespeare Company (Macbeth: The Ambitious Man’s Dilemma in 2016 & Hamlet: A Ghost Story in 2019). Anna’s first commission was Whispers in the Dark, a Victorian ghost story, which premiered at Vertigo Theatre in January 2020. In Wonderland marked Anna’s second locally produced play at Alberta Theatre Projects in December 2022. And what a treat is has been to revisit the Bard for this seven-player A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Discovering a real love for the art form and a penchant for adaptations, she now has a handful of independent writing projects in the works ranging from original dark comedies to more classical adaptations.
Cathleen Sbrizzi
(she/her) For Theatre Calgary: The Merry Wives of Windsor (Costume design - Shakespeare on the Go 2022). Cathleen is a Costume Designer based in Calgary. She holds a BA in Costume studies from Dalhousie University and a Certificate in Innovative Pattern Cutting from Central Saint Martins in London. She has had the pleasure of designing for the opera, theatre, local indie-musicians, film, and television. She has a strong design approach which aims to draw in the audience by bringing a visual dream to life on the stage. Website: Cathleen.Design
Joy Robinson
(she/her) Theatre Calgary debut. Joy is a graduate of the Ambrose University theatre program and is a sound designer, actor, musician, and singer/songwriter, having recently released three original songs into the world on all streaming platforms. She is honoured to have William Shakespeare as her lyricist for her compositions in this unique rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Joy was a member of the Artistic Associate Company at Lunchbox Theatre this past year and sound designed the final show of their season, Cottagers and Indians. Other recent design credits include (Taylor’s Version) (Baker Miller Pink at Edmonton’s NextFest), The Christians*, Sunny Side Up, Mary Jane, Communion (Fire Exit Theatre, *Hit & Myth/Ambrose University). Other favourite credits include playing Louise in Marion Bridge (Fire Exit Theatre), 6 seasons with the Badlands Passion Play, and the many devised theatre projects she has collaborated on at Ambrose University. Follow for more: @KeyWordJoy (Instagram & YouTube) @JoyRobinsonMusic (Facebook).
Jane MacFarlane
(she/her) For Theatre Calgary: Resident Voice Coach – More than 60 productions since 2000 including Jimmy Buffet's Escape to Margaritaville, Forgiveness, Little Women, The Importance of Being Earnest, Million Dollar Quartet, Steel Magnolias, Admissions, The Louder We Get, Noises Off, Billy Elliot The Musical, The Scarlet Letter, Mary and Max – A New Musical, Honour Beat, 11 seasons of Shakespeare by the Bow and 15 years of A Christmas Carol. Recently, Jane adapted and directed the 2022 Shakespeare on the Go production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. She has also worked for ATP, Vertigo Theatre and is the Voice & Text Coach for The Shakespeare Company. Jane also coaches Voice and Presence through her business Voice Activated. She has taught Voice for the Actor and Acting at such institutions as York University, Harvard University, Southern Methodist University,MRU, UofA, and is currently on faculty in the Drama Division in the School of Creative & Performing Arts at UCalgary.
Steven Conde
(he/him) Theatre Calgary debut. Steven has been an actor/director in Manila for over 20 years. He has acted in the Southeast Asian Premiere of musicals such as Waitress, Kinky Boots, Matilda, Shrek, Aladdin, The Bridges of Madison County and Jersey Boys to name a few. He has also directed shows such as My Name is Asher Lev, Wit, Sideshow, Once Upon A Mattress, Madagascar the Musical, etc. Right before the pandemic, he served as assistant director for the Manila and Singapore run of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Here in Calgary, he has just finished directing a production of Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls and is currently finishing his MFA in Directing at the University of Calgary.
Anton deGroot
(he/him) For Theatre Calgary: The Importance of Being Earnest, Noises Off. Anton is a set, light and sound designer based here in Calgary. Select credits include: Misery, Nine Dragons, Murder in the Studio, Clue (Vertigo); STRUCK, GIANT (Ghost River); Countries Shaped Like Stars (Lunchbox); Macbeth, All’s Well That Ends Well, Goblin: Macbeth (The Shakespeare Company); Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Stage West); Crime Does Not Pay, Sequence, Smoke (Downstage). This summer, Anton will be co-teaching a workshop on devised scenography at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design & Space in the Czech Republic.
Naomi Esau
(she/her) For Theatre Calgary: The Importance of Being Earnest (Apprentice Stage Manager). Naomi is thrilled be spending her summer with Theatre Calgary “on the go”. Shakespeare and Outdoor theatre? Two of her favorite things! She is no stranger to outdoor shows in Calgary. In the summer of 2021, she worked with Arts Commons on their ArtsXpeditions series, Where she brought 75 pop-up concerts across the city. Elsewhere: Makambe Speaks (Ghost River Theatre), Gaslight (ASM-Vertigo Theatre), The F Word (Downstage / ATP), Heaven (APSM-Lunchbox Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (CYPT), Men Express Their Feelings (Downstage), A Christmas Story, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol, The Christians (Rosebud Theatre) and [titleofshow] (Birnton Theatricals), She is also an actor, musician, seamstress, part- time princess and baker of many cupcakes.
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