2024-10-30 20:002024-11-09 23:0060Canada/Eastern🎟 NAC: Snow in Midsummer
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35941
In-person event
An NAC English Theatre presentation of the Shaw Festival production
Dou Yi, a young widow wrongfully executed for murder, has cast a chilling curse on her town: if she is innocent, a summer snowfall and a devastating drought will befall the townspeople. Three years later, a wealthy businesswoman arrives in the parched and locust-plagued town to revive its failing factory. When her daughter encounters a haunting apparition, the townspeople are compelled to confront their buried, harrowing...
By Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig
Based on the classical Chinese drama The Injustice to Dou E that Moved Heaven and Earth
by Guan Hanqing
An NAC English Theatre presentation of the Shaw Festival production
October 30 – November 9, 2024, Azrieli Studio
SETTING: New Harmony, a remote factory town in Jiangsu Province. Present day and three years earlier.
Snow in Midsummer Production History
Snow in Midsummer was commissioned and produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company as the first of the RSC’s Chinese Translations Project, a cultural exchange program to adapt Chinese plays that were written during Shakespeare’s time (1564-1616). In 2012, international headlines were made when their adaption of The Orphan of Zhao employed only three actors of East Asian descent out of seven cast members. The British East Asian acting community reacted swiftly, demanding change that led to a complete overhaul of the company’s Chinese Translations project. Then, in 2015, the RSC contacted Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig about a new adaptation for their current project. It premiered in February 2017 at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
In 2018, the US premiere was held at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The first New York production occurred in June 2022 at the Classical Stage Company, in part to respond to increasing violence against the East Asian community since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Malaysian, Singaporean and Taiwanese film adaptation of some themes found in Snow in Midsummer was selected to open the 2023 Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei, a parallel section of the Venice International Film Festival, where it had its global premiere.
The Tell Tale Heart
by Christine Mok
What happens when the world ends, but the world keeps revolving? When your husband dies? And your son passes? When injustice persists? What happens when the machines stop working? When work stops? When the lakes dry up? And the air fills with smoke and haze? What happens when the world as you know it ends? What happens when the world keeps ending? What happens after that?
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig explores these afterworlds in Snow in Midsummer, the final play in her China trilogy. Along with World of Extreme Happiness and King of Hell’s Palace, Snow in Midsummer is part of an extended exploration of the forces of global capital as they shape, constrain, and explode within the lives of everyday people in contemporary China. Most recently a recipient of the 2024 Whiting Award, which is given annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama, Cowhig uses the theatre, a space of play and collective attention, to provide an unflinching look at the consequences of human actions and the possibilities for speaking truth to power. In Snow in Midsummer, Cowhig returns to the contemporary Chinese factory town, the setting of World of Extreme Happiness, to weave together the historical with the contemporary, the mythological with the ecological. Snow in Midsummer is a ghost story, murder mystery, detective story, post-apocalyptic, supernatural adventure – all in the pursuit of justice, hope, and future possibility.
As a ghost story, Snow in Midsummer is haunted by a past that is never really, past. One of the pasts to Cowhig’s play that ghosts it is the 13th century play by Guan Hanqing, known as Dou E Yuan (or The Injustice to Dou E and Snow in Midsummer). Snow in Midsummer is an adaptation of a 13th century play. It is the first commission of the RSC’s Chinese Translations Project, a cultural-exchange program that brings Chinese classics to a new audience. The Chinese Translations Project draws a lineage between Shakespeare and works written in China that were performed or adapted within Shakespeare’s lifetime (1564-1616) in the Yuan, Song, Tang, and Ming dynasties – exceptionally rich periods in Chinese artistic and cultural history. With research on more than 45 classical Chinese titles nominated by scholars, academics, theatre-makers, playwrights and translators from across the world, the RSC matched Cowhig with translator Gigi Chang.
When Cowhig sifted through the stories of several golden age Chinese plays, the story of Dou E, a woman executed for a crime she did not commit, whose ghost returns to seek justice, caught her eye. Cowhig then built her adaptation from Chang’s literal translation of the original play, keeping some elements and radically revising others. The central love story is no longer between Dou E and her dead husband. Cowhig shifts our attention to the love between two men, Rocket and Handsome (who gets all of Dou E’s most romantic lines), between mothers and daughters, and between sisters. Guan Hanqing’s Dou E ruffles some papers to get her father’s attention so that he might right the wrongs of the past; Cowhig’s Dou Yi takes vengeance into her own hands, quite literally.
Cowhig also built her adaptation from conversations and interviews with British East Asian actors because another past haunts Cowhig’s Snow in Midsummer, the historic underrepresentation of Asian actors on British and American stages, in addition to political censorship. Cowhig situates herself as a writer in an interview from 2014 in the following ways: “because Chinese writers who try to write about social or political truths are often punished by the government, because there aren’t many plays about contemporary China, and because there aren’t very meaty roles for Asian actors in the US or the UK, by writing a few plays on China, I can address multiple ‘gaps’ at once.”
For Snow in Midsummer, Cowhig traversed one of these gaps by undertaking a listening tour in London, in the aftermath of RSC’s 2012-2013 production of the classical Chinese play, The Orphan of Zhao, which elicited criticism over its casting of only three actors of East Asian descent to play a servant and two dogs. In her listening tour, she was interested not just in how British East Asian actors felt about representation, she wanted to hear from them the kinds of roles they dreamed for themselves, using their wish list to populate the world of Snow in Midsummer. For Cowhig, there is a direct connection between writing about China from outside, as a member of the diaspora, and writing dream roles for actors of Asian descent. Though the characters are Chinese, the actors are Asian North American and British East Asian.
For the Shaw Festival’s production of Snow in Midsummer, an even more recent past may haunt the stage. The play’s stage directions name the time and place of the play as “New Harmony, a remote factory town in Jiangsu Province. Present day and three years earlier.” From the vantage point of today, “three years earlier” was still the early days of the global outbreak of coronavirus, when life and work looked very different. The play’s US and UK premieres were before the pandemic, in 2017 at Stratford-upon-Avon, produced by the RSC, and in 2018 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.
The play’s then and now, now feel very different. We will never look at a face mask the same way. We understand the end of work as we know it differently. We hope we understand communal care differently. Some of us worked from home, whereas others were essential workers, often without adequate protections. Cars stayed off highways in garages, airplanes were left in hangers, and ships remained docked. Scientists found that, in some places, air and water quality improved. On the one hand, it seemed as if human-disturbed habitats began to recover. On the other, the pandemic was not a disruption but rather part of climate change’s disastrous effects, just like wildfires, heat waves, floods, and storms.
A signal feature of Guan Hanqing’s play that remains in Cowhig’s is the natural world’s attunement to the injustices done to Dou Yi. The natural world bears witness to Dou Yi’s innocence through the following anomalies: first snow falls in midsummer, then three years of drought, and finally a dust storm and plague of locusts that halts New Harmony’s factories, transforming the engine of economic growth into “ten thousand tons of broken, dust and locust clogged machinery.” Many of the characters ignore the world, even as it speaks out in snow, haze, and locusts. These characters may refuse to see, but we, as the audience, cannot ignore the effects of injustice as it unfolds in front of us on the stage. In unravelling a mystery, Snow in Midsummer, at its heart, is not just a whodunnit but ponders a telling of how and why. With Tianyun Lin, we embark on a journey of discovery, driven by vengeance, with the promise of justice, so that rather than the past continuing to haunt the present, we can better build a future of never again.
CHRISTINE MOK, AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, RECEIVED HER PHD IN THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE STUDIES FROM BROWN UNIVERSITY, AND HOLDS AN MFA IN DRAMATURGY AND DRAMATIC CRITICISM FROM THE YALE SCHOOL OF DRAMA. SHE WAS THE DRAMATURG FOR THE US PREMIERE OF SNOW IN MIDSUMMER AT THE OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL AND IS THE CO-EDITOR WITH JOSHUA TAKANO CHAMBERS-LETSON TO FRANCES YA-CHU COWHIG'S CHINA TRILOGY: THREE PARABLES OF GLOBAL CAPITAL (2021).
The Golden Age of Chinese Drama
by Christine Mok
Snow in Midsummer is a contemporary adaptation of a canonical Chinese drama, Dou E Yuan a beloved play from the Yuan dynasty. Though millennia of recorded theatre history prior to the Yuan dynasty exists – with Chinese actors, even today, tracing their craft to the famous Pear Orchard Conservatory established during the Tang dynasty (618–907) – Yuan drama is considered the golden age of Chinese theatre. Within the span of a century, some of the greatest works of classical Chinese drama were written and produced. Today, more than 160 plays, known as zaju, from this era are extant. Zaju flourished under Mongolian rule and especially during the reign of Kublai Khan (1260–1294), becoming the dominant dramatic form, thus taking on the name of the dynasty, Yuan drama.
When Mongols invaded and conquered China, they unified north and south, connecting people and cultures through trade and empire across Asia, Eurasia and Europe. The Yuan dynasty was an era of unprecedented cultural and artistic advances in a variety of fields, including poetry, theatre, painting, mathematics and medicine. While many enjoyed peace and prosperity, educated Han Chinese elite found their social and political power greatly diminished under the Mongols. The civil-service examinations that had determined court positions and organized bureaucratic imperial life were abolished. Displaced Confucian scholar-officials turned to the arts, especially poetry and playwriting, to make a living and seek glory.
With the Confucian literati joining theatrical troupes as playwrights, the plays fused a new narrative tradition with older musical performance practices to create Yuan drama: popular variety plays with songs, dance, monologues, farce and probably acrobatics. Yuan playwrights found inspiration in literary tales, histories from earlier dynasties, and popular tales passed through oral traditions that imparted Confucian values. Yuan drama mixed both high and low culture, reflecting the literary aspirations of their authors, without neglecting the entertaining high jinks that their non-elite audiences demanded. The plays are full of romance, adventure and the supernatural. Enough plays deal with the criminal justice system to suggest that the exiled scholar-playwrights wove critiques of their diminished experience under Mongolian rule into plays that grappled with morality and injustice.
Article reprinted by permission of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig is an internationally produced playwright known for The China Plays: Three Parables of Global Capital. The plays in the trilogy, The World of Extreme Happiness, The King of Hell’s Palace, and Snow in Midsummer, have been produced in the UK at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Hampstead Theatre and the National Theatre, and in the US at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theater Club, Classic Stage and Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. Her recent audio musical Last Words of Uncle Dirt was produced by Playwrights Horizons (New York City) and is a collaboration with composer Michael Roth.
Frances was born in Philadelphia, and raised in Northern Virginia, Okinawa, Taipei and Beijing. She received an MFA in Writing from the James A. Michener Center for Writers at UT Austin, a BA in Sociology from Brown University, and a certificate in Ensemble-Based Physical Theatre from the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre.
Her body of work has been honoured with the Wasserstein Prize, the Yale Drama Series Award (selected by David Hare), an Edinburgh Fringe First Award, the Keene Prize for Literature, and a United States Artist Fellowship. She has taught at Bennington College and was formerly an Associate Professor of Drama at uc Santa Barbara, where she mentored undergraduate playwrights and directed the New Works Lab.
Frances lives in Southern Appalachia, where she enjoys growing vegetables and dramatic worlds. She is currently working on a middle-grade fantasy trilogy, an opera libretto, and new play commissions for Yale Rep and the Perelman Center.
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig est une dramaturge de renommée mondiale, principalement connue pour The China Plays: Three Parables of Global Capital. En 2024, le jury du prix Whiting a qualifié les pièces de cette trilogie de « fables méticuleuses et d’une grande perspicacité politique qui donnent vie aux histoires des nations, du capital et de la censure. Saisissantes et dynamiques, ses pièces examinent la distance entre idéologie et réalité par l’intermédiaire des relations brutalement transactionnelles des personnages, créant des formes inoubliables et d’une étrange tendresse sur scène et dans les esprits. Une artiste à l’ambition et à l’intégrité remarquables, qui n’a pas peur de faire les choses en grand. »
Les pièces de la trilogie, The World of Extreme Happiness, The King of Hell’s Palace et Snow in Midsummer ont été produites au Royaume-Uni, aux États-Unis, au Japon, en Hongrie et à Singapour. Cette production de Snow in Midsummer est la première mise en scène d’une œuvre de la dramaturge sur une scène canadienne.
Née à Philadelphie, Frances Ya-Chu-Cowhig a grandi en Virginie du Nord, à Okinawa, à Taipei et à Beijing. Elle a enseigné au Bennington College et a été professeure agrégée d’art dramatique à l’Université de Santa Barbara. Elle vit dans le sud des Appalaches, où cultiver des légumes et modifier le sol sont désormais ses formes favorites de procrastination. Elle coécrit actuellement une trilogie fantastique pour jeunes adultes et travaille sur des commandes de nouvelles pièces pour Yale Rep et le Perelman Performing Arts Center.
Guan Hanqing (c.1245–c.1322) is the best known of all the dramatists working during the Golden Age of Chinese Drama. He is the first playwright listed in A Register of Ghosts, a record of poets and playwrights, published in 1330. He was a prolific writer, playing a large role in theatrical innovation and the cultural boom of a decisive historical age.
Guan is often acknowledged in Western texts as “China’s Shakespeare.” Considering that Guan preceded Shakespeare by more than 300 years, Shakespeare may be Brittania’s Guan Hanqing. Either trained for a life in medicine or a practicing court physician, he lived in Yen-Ching, the site of modern-day Beijing. He began writing plays in 1260 and wrote more than 60, 18 of which have survived. These extant works are now exemplary forms of classical Chinese drama, with a robust history of revival and adaption. His best-known play is Dou E Yuan, or The Injustice to Dou E that Moved Heaven and Earth, the source play for Cowhig’s Snow in Midsummer.
Guan Hanqing (vers 1245–vers 1322) est le plus connu des auteurs dramatiques de l’âge d’or du théâtre chinois. C’est le premier dramaturge listé dans Le Registre des spectres, un registre de poètes et de dramaturges publié en 1330. Écrivain prolifique, il a joué un rôle important dans l’innovation théâtrale et l’essor culturel d’une époque historique déterminante.
Dans les textes occidentaux, Guan Hanqing est souvent surnommé le « Shakespeare de Chine ». Sachant que l’auteur a précédé Shakespeare de plus de 300 ans, il faudrait plutôt dire que Shakespeare était le « Guan Hanqing britannique »! Vraisemblablement formé à la médicine ou comme médecin à la cour, il a vécu à Yen-Ching, là où se trouve Beijing de nos jours. Il a commencé à écrire des pièces en 1260 et en compte plus de 60 à son actif, dont 18 ont été conservées. Ces œuvres encore existantes sont aujourd’hui des références en matière de théâtre classique chinois et ont été maintes fois revisitées et adaptées. Sa pièce la plus connue, Dou E Yuan ou Le Ressentiment de Dou E, a inspiré la pièce de Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig Snow in Midsummer.
Nina Lee Aquino is a renowned Filipino Canadian director, dramaturg, artistic leader, teacher, and mentor. She previously served as Artistic Director at Cahoots Theatre (2009–2012) and Factory Theatre (2012–2022). Currently, Nina is the Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre English Theatre. She edited the country’s first two-volume Asian Canadian play anthology and co-edited the award-winning inaugural book on Asian Canadian theatre. In addition, she holds an adjunct professorship at York University's Theatre Department and serves on the board of directors for the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres. Her numerous accolades include the Canada Council for the Arts’ John Hirsch Prize for Directing, the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Director, the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Margo Bindhart and Rita Davies Cultural Leadership Award, and three Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding Direction.
Nina Lee Aquino est une metteuse en scène, conseillère dramaturgique, directrice artistique, pédagogue et mentore d’origine philippino-canadienne. Directrice artistique du Cahoots Theatre de 2009 à 2012 et du Factory Theatre de 2012 à 2022, elle occupe actuellement le poste de directrice artistique du Théâtre anglais du Centre national des Arts. Elle a dirigé la publication des deux tomes de la toute première anthologie de pièces canado-asiatiques et a codirigé celle d’un premier ouvrage primé sur le théâtre canado-asiatique. Elle occupe également un poste de professeure associée au Département de théâtre de l’Université York et siège au conseil d’administration de l’Association professionnelle des théâtres canadiens. Parmi les nombreuses récompenses qui lui ont été décernées, mentionnons le prix John-Hirsch de mise en scène du Conseil des arts du Canada, un Toronto Theatre Critics Award pour la meilleure mise en scène, le prix de leadership culturel Margo Binhardt et Rita Davies de la Toronto Arts Foundation ainsi que trois prix Dora Mavor Moore pour la meilleure mise en scène.
Camellia is a Toronto based set and costume designer for theatre, opera, dance and site-specific performance installations and collaborations. Recent designs for theatre and opera include collaborations with The Electric Company, Factory Theatre, The National Arts Centre, Soulpepper Theatre, The Shaw Festival, The Stratford Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Against the Grain, Banff Centre, Boston Lyric Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Edmonton Opera, Helikon Opera (Moscow), Minnesota Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Santa Fe Opera, and Tapestry New Opera. Camellia has received six Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Toronto), a Sterling Award (Edmonton), a Chalmers Award Grant, 2006 Siminovitch Protégé Prize, and the 2016 Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award for Costume Design.
Établie à Toronto, Camellia est une conceptrice de décors et de costumes pour le théâtre, l’opéra, la danse et pour des installations-performances et collaborations contextuelles. En tant que conceptrice pour le théâtre et l’opéra, elle a récemment collaboré avec, entre autres : l’Electric Company, le Factory Theatre, le Centre national des Arts, le Soulpepper Theatre, le Festival Shaw, le Festival de Stratford, le Tarragon Theatre, Against the Grain, le Centre des arts de Banff, le Boston Lyric Opera, la Compagnie d’opéra canadienne, l’Edmonton Opera, l’Opéra Helikon (Moscou), le Minnesota Opera, le Pacific Opera Victoria, le Santa Fe Opera et le Tapestry New Opera. Camellia a remporté six prix Dora Mavor Moore (Toronto), un prix Sterling (Edmonton), une bourse Chalmers, le Prix de la protégée Siminovitch 2006 et le prix Virginia and Myrtle Cooper 2016 pour la conception de costumes.
Joanna is an award-winning set and costume designer, having designed over 100 productions; over half of which have been World Premieres. She's designed for the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, Mirvish, Soulpepper, Canadian Stage, Canadian Opera Company, Arts Club, Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, the Grand, Neptune, Theatre New Brunswick, Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Buddies in Bad Times, Obsidian, fu-Gen, Cahoots, Theatre Centre, Young People’s Theatre, Tarragon, and many others. Joanna proudly sits on the board of the Associated Designers of Canada (ADC659) www.joannayudesign.com.
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Joanna Yu (elle)
Joanna Yu est une conceptrice de décors et de costumes primée qui a pris part à plus de 100 productions, dont plus de la moitié étaient des premières mondiales. Elle a œuvré pour le Festival de Stratford, le Festival Shaw, Mirvish Productions, le Soulpepper Theatre, la Canadian Stage Company, la Compagnie d’opéra canadienne, l’Arts Club, le Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary, le Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, le Grand Theatre, le Neptune Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick, le Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Buddies in Bad Times, l’Obsidian Theatre Company, le fu-Gen Theatre, Cahoots Theatre Projects, le Theatre Centre, le Young People’s Theatre, le Tarragon Theatre et beaucoup d’autres. Elle est membre du conseil d’administration de l’Association des designers canadiens (ADC659). www.joannayudesign.com
Michelle Ramsay is an award-winning lighting designer for dance, theatre and opera. Previous designs include: Come Home: The Legend of Daddy Hall (Tarragon Theatre); Women of the Fur Trade (Stratford Festival); Bed and Breakfast (Capitol Theatre); Prison Dancer (Citadel Theatre/National Arts Centre); Beautiful (Arts Club); Redbone Coonhound (Tarragon Theatre/Imago Theatre); Martyr (ARC); The First Stone (New Harlem); The Doctors Dilemma (Shaw Festival); The Tempest (Theatre Rusticle).
Michelle has received eight Dora Awards, a SATAward, the 2008 Pauline McGibbon Award, and was a finalist for the 2021 Siminovitch Prize. She is on the Board of the Associated Designers of Canada.
Michelle Ramsay est une conceptrice d’éclairages primée qui œuvre dans les domaines de la danse, du théâtre et de l’opéra. Parmi les productions auxquelles elle a pris part, mentionnons Come Home: The Legend of Daddy Hall (Tarragon Theatre), Women of the Fur Trade (Festival de Stratford), Bed and Breakfast (Capitol Theatre), Prison Dancer (Citadel Theatre/Centre national des Arts), Beautiful (Arts Club), Redbone Coonhound (Tarragon Theatre/Imago Theatre), Martyr (ARC), The First Stone (New Harlem), The Doctors Dilemma (Festival Shaw) et The Tempest (Theatre Rusticle).
Elle a reçu huit prix Dora, un prix SATAward et le prix Pauline McGibbon 2008, et elle a été finaliste pour le prix Siminovitch en 2021. Elle fait partie du conseil d’administration de l’Association des designers canadiens.
Composer, sound designer, musician and instrument maker John Gzowski worked on over 250 theatre, dance and film productions for which he has composed, created sound designs, performed live foley and live music and as acted as musical director. He has played banjo for opera in Banff, studied Carnatic classical music in India and played oud and guitar in jazz and folk festivals across Canada and Europe. His theatre work has won him six Dora’s, from 20 nominations for companies like Ex Machina, Stratford, Shaw Festival, Luminato, National Arts Centre, the Mirvishes, MTC, the Arts Club, Canstage, Soulpepper, Dancemakers, Red Sky, Tarragon, Factory Theatre and YPT. Gzowski has played on numerous CD’s, with releases with Patricia O'Callaghan, Tasa, and Autorickshaw as well as a Juno nomination with Maza Meze. He has run Canada’s first microtonal group, touring Canada playing the works of Harry Partch, composed and performed with several new music groups and worked as co-artistic director of the Music Gallery.
À la fois compositeur, concepteur sonore, musicien et facteur d’instruments, John Gzowski a travaillé sur plus de 250 productions pour le théâtre, la danse et le cinéma, autant en composition qu’en conception sonore, bruitage en direct, jeu et direction musicale. Il a joué du banjo pour un opéra à Banff, a étudié la musique classique carnatique en Inde et a joué de l’oud et de la guitare dans des festivals de jazz et de folk au Canada et en Europe. Il a remporté six prix Dora et été finaliste à vingt reprises pour son travail dans le milieu théâtral avec Ex Machina, le Festival de Stratford, le Festival Shaw, Luminato, le Centre national des Arts, la famille Mirvish, le Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, la Arts Club Theatre Company, Canadian Stage, Soulpepper, Dancemakers, Red Sky, Tarragon, Factory Theatre, le Young People’s Theatre et d’autres grands noms. Il a joué sur de nombreux albums, dont des parutions de Patricia O’Callaghan, Tasa et Autorickshaw ainsi que Maza Meze, qui lui a valu d’être finaliste aux prix JUNO. Il a aussi dirigé le premier groupe de musique microtonale au Canada, présenté la musique d’Harry Partch aux quatre coins du pays, composé et joué avec plusieurs groupes de musique nouvelle et été codirecteur artistique de la Music Gallery.
Richard Lee is an award winning theatre artist and film maker. His work has garnered him multiple Dora Mavor Moore nominations out of which he has received three. His play Monday Nights (an interactive and immersive basketball show), has recently toured to PuSH International Performing Arts Festival, after a successful run at Toronto’s Luminato Festival. Richard is an advocate of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the arts and works tireless for a better more thoughtful tomorrow.
Richard Lee est un artiste de théâtre et cinéaste primé. Il a obtenu de nombreuses nominations aux prix Dora Mavor Moore et en a remporté trois. Sa pièce Monday Nights (un spectacle interactif et immersif autour du basketball) a récemment pris l’affiche au PuSH International Performing Arts Festival, après avoir été présentée avec succès au Festival Luminato de Toronto. Défenseur de l’équité, la diversité et l’inclusion dans les arts, il œuvre sans relâche à l’avènement d’un monde meilleur et plus attentionné.
Theatre Credits Include: Associate Artistic Director Shaw Festival since 2020; Co–director and Choreographer: My Fair Lady; Director: Cotton Club, The Amen Corner, Man and Superman, O’Flaherty V.C.; Director/Choreographer: Chitra; appeared as Lola in Damn Yankees, Holiday Inn (2019), Grand Hotel, Pygmalion, Nickie in Sweet Charity (Shaw Festival); Director: King Lear, Serving Elizabeth (Stratford Festival); The Color Purple (Neptune/Citadel/RMTC); Intimate Apparel (WJT); How Black Mothers Say I Love You (GCTC); hang (with Philip Akin) (Obsidian); Choreographer, Matilda (RMTC/Citadel/Arts Club); Bittergirl (RMTC); Passing Strange (Musical Stage Company/Obsidian); Seussical (YPT); Associate Choreographer: Hairspray (NETworks - U.S./Asian tours); appeared in Crazy for You, Man of La Mancha (Stratford Festival); Helen in The Penelopiad, Judy in White Christmas (RMTC). Awards: Evie, Merritt, Sterling and Prix Rideau awards; two Dora nominations; Gina Wilkinson Prize, OAF; Guthrie award, Stratford Festival; Maud Whitmore Scholarship, Charlottetown Festival. Other: Philip Akin Black Shoulders Legacy Award committee member; AFC board member; Gina Wilkinson Prize committee member. Kimberley is currently making her UK debut as the director and choreographer of The Red Shoes for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Directrice artistique adjointe du Festival Shaw depuis 2020, Kimberley Rampersad a participé à plusieurs productions au théâtre : My Fair Lady (co-mise en scène et chorégraphie); Cotton Club, The Amen Corner, Man and Superman, O’Flaherty V.C. (mise en scène); Chitra (mise en scène et chorégraphie); Damn Yankees (rôle de Lola), Holiday Inn (2019), Grand Hotel, Pygmalion, Sweet Charity (rôle de Nickie) (Festival Shaw); King Lear, Serving Elizabeth (mise en scène) (Festival de Stratford); The Color Purple (Neptune/Citadel/RMTC); Intimate Apparel (WJT); How Black Mothers Say I Love You (GCTC); hang (avec Philip Akin) (Obsidian); Matilda (chorégraphie) (RMTC/Citadel/Arts Club); Bittergirl (RMTC); Passing Strange (Musical Stage Company/Obsidian); Seussical (YPT); Hairspray (assistance à la chorégraphie) (NETworks – tournées aux États-Unis et en Asie); Crazy for You, Man of La Mancha (interprétation) (Festival de Stratford); The Penelopiad (rôle de Helen) et White Christmas (rôle de Judy) (RMTC). Récompenses : prix Evie, Merritt, Sterling et Rideau; deux nominations aux prix Dora; prix Gina Wilkinson, Fondation des arts de l’Ontario; prix Guthrie, Festival de Stratford; bourse Maud Whitmore, Festival de Charlottetown. Autre : membre du comité du prix Philip Akin – Black Shoulders Legacy Award; membre du conseil d’administration de l’AFC; membre du comité du prix Gina Wilkinson. Kimberley Rampersad fait actuellement ses débuts au Royaume-Uni en tant que metteuse en scène et chorégraphe de The Red Shoes pour la Royal Shakespeare Company.
Selected Theatre Credits: The Bidding War, Fifteen Dogs, The Master Plan (Crow’s Theatre); One Man, Two Guvnors, Damn Yankees, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Christmas Carol, Charley’s Aunt, Gatsby’s Jazz, Sonny’s Blues, Russian Play, Brigadoon (Shaw Festival); Pollyanna (Aquarius); Almost a Full Moon, Peter and the Starcatcher, (Citadel); Kelly v Kelly, Passing Strange (with Obsidian), Onegin (with NAC) (Musical Stage Company); Rose, Father Comes Home From the Wars, Incident at Vichy, The Just, Alligator Pie, Marat/Sade, The Dead, The Thirst of Hearts, The Dybbuk, Spoon River, Tartuffe, The Crucible, Idiot’s Delight (Soulpepper); Vietgone (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love & Information, Twelfth Night, King Lear (Canadian Stage); Jerusalem, (Outside the March/Company); Charlie Brown, Last Tree of Rapa Nui (MTYP). Film/Television: God of Frog, 21 Black Futures, Pretty Hard Cases, Odd Squad. Awards: Philip Akin Black Shoulders Legacy Award, Multiple Dora Awards. TRAINING: BFA, University of Alberta; Soulpepper Academy. UPCOMING: Fat Ham (Canadian Stage)
Au théâtre, il a notamment participé aux productions The Bidding War, Fifteen Dogs, The Master Plan (Crow’s); One Man, Two Guvnors, Damn Yankees, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Christmas Carol, Charley’s Aunt, Gatsby’s Jazz, Sonny’s Blues, Russian Play, Brigadoon (Festival Shaw); Pollyanna (Aquarius); Almost a Full Moon, Peter and the Starcatcher (Citadel); Kelly v Kelly, Passing Strange (Obsidian), Onegin (CNA) (Musical Stage Company); Rose, Father Comes HomeFrom the Wars, Incident at Vichy, The Just, Alligator Pie, Marat/Sade, The Dead, The Thirst of Hearts, The Dybbuk, Spoon River, Tartuffe, The Crucible, Idiot’s Delight (Soulpepper); Vietgone (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love & Information, Twelfth Night, King Lear (Canadian Stage); Jerusalem, (Outside the March/Company); Charlie Brown et Last Tree of Rapa Nui (MTYP). À la télévision et au cinéma, on a pu le voir dans God of Frogs, 21 Black Futures, Pretty Hard Cases et Odd Squad. Récompenses : prix Philip Akin – Black Shoulders Legacy Award et plusieurs prix Dora. Formation : baccalauréat en beaux-arts, Université de l’Alberta; Soulpepper Academy. À venir : Fat Ham (Canadian Stage).
Theatre credits include: Stage Manager for Snow in Midsummer, The Roll of Shaw, The Shaw Variety Show, A Grand Night for Singing; assistant stage manager for The Amen Corner; Happy End, Detective Story, Peter Pan, Picnic, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Passion Poison and Petrifaction (Shaw Festival); Stage Manager for Shorelines (Tactics); The Tempest (A Company of Fools); Behaviour, You Are Happy (GCTC); And Slowly Beauty, A Christmas Carol (NAC); Assistant Stage Manager for Forever Young: A Ghetto Story, Daisy, Bang Bang (GCTC); Mother Courage and Her Children, Happy Days, I Am My Own Wife (NAC English Theatre); The Unnatural and Accidental Women (NAC Indigenous Theatre/English Theatre); Production Stage Manager for Imperial Theatre, Resident Stage Manager for Persephone Theatre; productions with Theatre Kingston, Thousand Islands Playhouse, and ten tours of Nova Scotia with Mulgrave Road Theatre and Mermaid Theatre. Two-time recipient of the Rideau Award for stage management.
Au théâtre, elle a été régisseuse pour Snow in Midsummer, The Roll of Shaw, The Shaw Variety Show, A Grand Night for Singing; assistante à la régie pour The Amen Corner; Happy End, Detective Story, Peter Pan, Picnic, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Passion Poison and Petrifaction (Festival Shaw); régisseuse pour Shorelines (Tactics); The Tempest (A Company of Fools); Behaviour, You Are Happy (GCTC); And Slowly Beauty, A Christmas Carol (CNA); assistante à la régie pour Forever Young: A Ghetto Story, Daisy, Bang Bang (GCTC); Mother Courage and Her Children, Happy Days, I Am My Own Wife (Théâtre anglais du CNA); The Unnatural and Accidental Women (Théâtre anglais/Théâtre autochtone du CNA); régisseuse de production pour le Imperial Theatre et régisseuse en residence pour le Persephone Theatre. Elle a participé à des productions avec le Theatre Kingston et Thousand Islands Playhouse ainsi qu’à 10 tournées en Nouvelle-Écosse avec le Mulgrave Road Theatre et le Mermaid Theatre. Elle a reçu un prix Rideau en régie scénique à deux reprises.
Theatre credits include: Assistant Stage Manager for Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart, Snow in Midsummer, The Amen Corner and The Clearing (Shaw Festival); Songs My Mother Never Sung Me (Concrete Theatre); A Christmas Carol, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Honour Beat (Theatre Calgary); Rock of Ages, Vegas Live, Sexy Laundry, Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story (Mayfield Dinner Theatre); The Herd (Citadel Theatre/Tarragon); Opera in the 21st Century (program) (Banff Centre); The Fiancée, A Brimful of Asha, The Tempest, Hadestown, Redpatch, Mamma Mia!, Sense and Sensibility, Million Dollar Quartet, West Side Story, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Avenue Q, One Man, Two Guvnors, Make Mine Love, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Private Lives (Citadel Theatre); Love is for Poor People, The Exquisite Hour, Fever Land (Teatro La Quindicina); Makings of a Voice, The Blue Hour (SkirtsAfire Festival); Disgraced (ATP); Hamlet, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Freewill Shakespeare Festival); Salt Baby (Globe Theatre).
Au théâtre, elle a été assistante à la régie pour Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart, Snow in Midsummer, The Amen Corner et The Clearing (Festival Shaw); Songs My Mother Never Sung Me (Concrete Theatre); A Christmas Carol, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Honour Beat (Theatre Calgary); Rock of Ages, Vegas Live, Sexy Laundry, Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story (Mayfield Dinner Theatre); The Herd (Citadel Theatre/Tarragon); le programme « Opera in the 21st Century » (Centre des arts de Banff); The Fiancée, A Brimful of Asha, The Tempest, Hadestown, Redpatch, Mamma Mia!, Sense and Sensibility, Million Dollar Quartet, West Side Story, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Avenue Q, One Man, Two Guvnors, Make Mine Love, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Private Lives (Citadel Theatre); Love is for Poor People, The Exquisite Hour, Fever Land (Teatro La Quindicina); Makings of a Voice, The Blue Hour (Festival SkirtsAfire); Disgraced (ATP); Hamlet, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Freewill Shakespeare Festival) et Salt Baby (Globe Theatre).
Theatre credits include: Snow in Midsummer and The Shaw Variety Show (Shaw Festival); The Ladies Foursome, The Christmas Tree, Aunt Agnes for Christmas, Renovations for Six, Screwball Comedy (The Foster Festival); Halfway There (Globus Theatre), Salt (Lark and Whimsey); And Then the Lights Went Out (Stage West Theatre); The Queens (Glasswater Theatre); Imprints: The Ancestry Project (Theatre Gargantua); Eve’s Garden (Moon in June); Romeo and Juliet (Canopy Theatre); 36 Little Plays About Hopeless Girls (Birdtown and Swanville); Hollywood Stunt Spectacular (Paramount Canada’s Wonderland). Selected TV and film credits include The Boys, Private Eyes, State Like Sleep, The Good Witch, Suicide Squad, In Bosnia (short film), Reign, A Date With Miss Fortune, Defiance, The Strain, The Listener, Satisfaction, The Ron James Show, Crash and Burn Interactive, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, The Jon Dore Show, A Broken Life.
Au théâtre, on a pu la voir dans Snow in Midsummer et The Shaw Variety Show (Festival Shaw); The Ladies Foursome, The Christmas Tree, Aunt Agnes for Christmas, Renovations for Six, Screwball Comedy (Festival Foster); Halfway There (Globus Theatre); Salt (Lark & Whimsy); And Then the Lights Went Out (Stage West Theatre); The Queens (Glasswater Theatre); Imprints: The Ancestry Project (Theatre Gargantua); Eve’s Garden (Moon in June); Romeo and Juliet (Canopy Theatre); 36 Little Plays About Hopeless Girls (Birdtown and Swanville) et Hollywood Stunt Spectacular (Paramount Canada’s Wonderland). À la télévision et au cinéma, elle a notamment joué dans The Boys, Private Eyes, State Like Sleep, The Good Witch, Suicide Squad, In Bosnia (court-métrage), Reign, A Date With Miss Fortune, Defiance, The Strain, The Listener, Satisfaction, The Ron James Show, Crash and Burn Interactive, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, The Jon Dore Show et A Broken Life.
Theatre credits include: Actor: Snow in Midsummer and The Shaw Variety Show (Shaw Festival); Forgiveness (Arts Club/Theatre Calgary Co-production); Courage Now (Firehall Arts Centre); Baking Time, Learning and Forgetting, So How Should I Be, Cat Killer (Presentation House Theatre); Kuroko (vAct at Cultch); China Doll (Richmond Gateway Theatre); This Stays In the Room (Horseshoe & Hand Grenades Theatre); After the Quake (Pi Theatre/Rumble Production Co-Production at Studio 16 and Cultch); Top Girls (Vancouver Playhouse); Sexual Practices of the Japanese (Theatre Replacement at Factory Theatre, NAC, On the Board and Cultch); Hanna’s Suitcase (Grand Theatre); Apple (Touchstone Theatre at Studio 16); The Tempest (Globe Theatre); Romeo and Juliet (Carousel Theatre at Waterfront Theatre and British Columbia Tour); Playwright: Courage Now, The Café-Anna’s Story, Pillar Clock; Co-writer/creator, Nom Nom Gnomes, This Stays in The Room, Sextual Practices of the Japanese, Herotica I & II. Selected Film/Television: Shogun, Pachinko, War Between Us, I'll be Home for Christmas, Stargate:Atlantis and DaVinci's Inquest. Training: Studio 58
Au théâtre, on l’a vu jouer dans Snow in Midsummer et The Shaw Variety Show (Festival Shaw); Forgiveness (coproduction Arts Club/Theatre Calgary); Courage Now (Firehall Arts Centre); Baking Time, Learning and Forgetting, So How Should I Be, Cat Killer (Presentation House Theatre); Kuroko (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre au Cultch); China Doll (Richmond Gateway Theatre); This Stays In the Room (Horseshoe & Hand Grenades Theatre); After the Quake (coproduction Pi Theatre/Rumble Production au Studio 16 et au Cultch); Top Girls (Vancouver Playhouse); Sexual Practices of the Japanese (Theatre Replacement au Factory Theatre, CNA, On the Board et Cultch), Hanna’s Suitcase (Grand Theatre); Apple (Touchstone Theatre au Studio 16); The Tempest (Globe Theatre) et Romeo and Juliet (Carousel Theatre au Waterfront Theatre et tournée en Colombie-Britannique). Elle a également écrit Courage Now, The Café-Anna’s Story et Pillar Clock, et coécrit/cocréé Nom Nom Gnomes, This Stays in The Room, Sexual Practices of the Japanese et Herotica I & II. À la télévision et au cinéma, on l’a entre autres vu dans Shogun, Pachinko, War Between Us, I'll be Home for Christmas, Stargate:Atlantis et DaVinci's Inquest. Formation : Studio 58.
Eponine Lee was born and raised in Toronto, but is now based in Ottawa. She holds a deep love for the cinema and aspires to make her mark as a musician/songwriter, producer, and actor. Theatre credits include: The Orphan of Chao and Snow in Midsummer (Shaw Festival); performer, The Fixing Girl, The Girl, Her Mum and The Raccoon With No Name, R & J, We Will Be: Rising as a Community, A Winter’s Tale, The Full Light of Day, A Christmas Carol, Tails from the City; carried away on the crest of a wave, productions with Young People’s Theatre, Stratford Festival, WhyNot Theatre, SummerWorks Performance Festival, Shakespeare in the Ruff, Electric Company Theatre, Luminato Festival, Soulpepper, Common Boots Theatre, Tarragon Theatre. FILM: actor, Queen of the Morning Calm; Shorty; productions with QOTMC Inc. and OLG, TIFF, the NBA.
Originaire de Toronto, Eponine Lee vit aujourd’hui à Ottawa. Elle voue une passion sans borne au cinéma et aspire à se réaliser en tant que musicienne, auteure-compositrice, productrice et actrice. Au théâtre, on a pu la voir dans The Orphan of Chao et Snow in Midsummer (Festival Shaw); The Fixing Girl, The Girl, Her Mum and The Raccoon With No Name; R & J, We Will Be: Rising as a Community, A Winter’s Tale; The Full Light of Day, A Christmas Carol, Tails from the City et carried away on the crest of a wave. Elle a également participé à des productions avec le Young People’s Theatre, le Festival de Stratford, le WhyNot Theatre, le Festival SummerWorks Performance, Shakespeare in the Ruff, Electric Company Theatre, le Festival Luminato, Soulpepper, le Common Boots Theatre et le Tarragon Theatre. Au cinéma, elle a joué dans Queen of the Morning Calm et Shorty et a collaboré à des productions avec QOTMC Inc. ainsi qu’avec OLG, TIFF et la NBA.
Worker Huang / Ox-Head / Officer / Ensemble
Richard Lee
Richard Lee is an award winning theatre artist and film maker. His work has garnered him multiple Dora Mavor Moore nominations out of which he has received three. His play Monday Nights (an interactive and immersive basketball show), has recently toured to PuSH International Performing Arts Festival, after a successful run at Toronto’s Luminato Festival. Richard is an advocate of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the arts and works tireless for a better more thoughtful tomorrow.
Richard Lee est un artiste de théâtre et cinéaste primé. Il a obtenu de nombreuses nominations aux prix Dora Mavor Moore et en a remporté trois. Sa pièce Monday Nights (un spectacle interactif et immersif autour du basketball) a récemment pris l’affiche au PuSH International Performing Arts Festival, après avoir été présentée avec succès au Festival Luminato de Toronto. Défenseur de l’équité, la diversité et l’inclusion dans les arts, il œuvre sans relâche à l’avènement d’un monde meilleur et plus attentionné.
Theatre credits include Playwright, The Orphan of Chao; Actor Snow in Midsummer, Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart, Prince Caspian, Village Wooing, The Doctor’s Dilemma, Everybody, Cyrano de Bergerac (2022/2019), Victory (Shaw Festival); The Two Noble Kinsmen (Dora award nomination), Duchess of Malfi, Measure for Measure (Shakespeare Bash’d); Hymn of the Weaverbird (workshop) (找我劇場 ESP-I Theatre - Taipei, Taiwan); Meet Chloe (Carousel Players); When Ladies Meet (Meighen Forum/Stratford Festival); MH370 (fu-GEN Theatre); The Birds and the Bees, The Jungle Book (Magnus Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Grand Theatre); King Lear, Twelfth Night, Titus Andronicus, As You Like It (Canadian Stage); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Chekhov Collective, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing (St Lawrence Shakespeare Festival). Film/Television: What We Do in the Shadows, Backstabbing for Beginners. Other: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Board Member. Teaching: 國立清華大學 National Tsing Hua University (Hsinchu, Taiwan); George Brown Theatre School (Yuan, Ming Dynasty Chinese Theatre).
Au théâtre, il a adapté The Orphan of Chao et joué dans Snow in Midsummer, Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart, Prince Caspian, Village Wooing, The Doctor’s Dilemma, Everybody, Cyrano de Bergerac (2022 et 2019), Victory (Festival Shaw); The Two Noble Kinsmen (mise en nomination pour un prix Dora), Duchess of Malfi, Measure for Measure (Shakespeare Bash’d); Hymn of the Weaverbird (atelier) (找我劇場 ESP-I Theatre – Taipei, Taïwan); Meet Chloe (Carousel Players); When Ladies Meet (Meighen Forum/Festival de Stratford); MH370 (fu-GEN Theatre); The Birds and the Bees, The Jungle Book (Magnus Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Grand Theatre); King Lear, Twelfth Night, Titus Andronicus, As You Like It (Canadian Stage); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Chekhov Collective, Julius Caesar et Much Ado About Nothing (St Lawrence Shakespeare Festival). À la télévision et au cinéma, on a pu le voir dans What We Do in the Shadows et Backstabbing for Beginners. Il est membre du conseil d’administration de Buddies in Bad Times Theatre et enseigne à l’Université nationale de Tsing Hua (國立清華大學) (Hsinchu, Taïwan) ainsi qu’à l’École de théâtre George Brown (théâtre chinois de la dynastie des Yuan et des Ming).
Theatre credits include: The Orphan of Chao and Snow in Midsummer (Shaw Festival); actor, The Chinese Lady (Studio 180/fu-GEN); Kuroko (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre); Antigone (Young People’s Theatre); The Full Light of Day (Electric Company Theatre); carried away on the crest of a wave (NAC/Tarragon); Nine Dragons (Vertigo Theatre); Reckoning (Article 11); Acquiesce (Factory Theatre); The Best Brothers, This Is War (GCTC); Hallaj, Waiting For Godot, The Sheep and the Whale (Modern Times); productions with Gateway, RMTC, Native Earth, Passe Muraille, Cahoots, Nightwood.
Au théâtre, on a pu le voir dans The Orphan of Chao et Snow in Midsummer (Festival Shaw); The Chinese Lady (Studio 180/fu-GEN); Kuroko (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre); Antigone (Young People’s Theatre); The Full Light of Day (Electric Company Theatre); carried away on the crest of a wave (NAC/Tarragon); Nine Dragons (Vertigo Theatre); Reckoning (Article 11); Acquiesce (Factory Theatre); The Best Brothers, This Is War (GCTC); Hallaj, Waiting For Godot et The Sheep and the Whale (Modern Times). Il a également participé à des productions avec Gateway, RMTC, Native Earth, Passe Muraille, Cahoots et Nightwood.
Theatre credits include: Snow in Midsummer, The Shaw Variety Show (composer and performer), The Roll of Shaw (creator, director and performer), Brigadoon, The Game of Love and Chance, The Apple Cart, A Christmas Carol, Everybody, Too True To Be Good, Shawground, Gatsby’s Jazz, Sonny’s Blues, Rope, Grand Hotel, the titular role in The Magician’s Nephew, 1837: The Farmers’ Revolt, Me and My Girl, Pygmalion, Sweet Charity, Juno and the Paycock, Cabaret, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Guys and Dolls (Shaw Festival); Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd (Talk Is Free Theatre/UK tour); Jay in Mustard (Tarragon Theatre); Jack in Into the Woods (Thousand Islands Playhouse); West Side Story (Citadel Theatre); Sleeping Beauty (Ross Petty Productions); Rolf in The Sound of Music (Theatre Aquarius); You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Pirates of Penzance (Stratford Festival). Directing Credits: Overruled, Shaw: What’s the Point? (Brock University).
Au théâtre, on a pu le voir dans Snow in Midsummer, The Shaw Variety Show (composition et interprétation), The Roll of Shaw (création, mise en scène et interprétation), Brigadoon, The Game of Love and Chance, The Apple Cart; A Christmas Carol, Everybody, Too True To Be Good, Shawground, Gatsby’s Jazz, Sonny’s Blues, Rope, Grand Hotel, The Magician’s Nephew (rôle principal), 1837: The Farmers’ Revolt, Me and My Girl, Pygmalion, Sweet Charity, Juno and the Paycock, Cabaret, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Guys and Dolls (Festival Shaw); Sweeney Todd (rôle d’Anthony Hope) (Talk Is Free Theatre/tournée au Royaume-Uni); Mustard (rôle de Jay) (Tarragon Theatre); Into the Woods (rôle de Jack) (Thousand Islands Playhouse); West Side Story (Citadel Theatre); Sleeping Beauty (Ross Petty Productions); The Sound of Music (rôle de Rolf) (Theatre Aquarius); You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown et The Pirates of Penzance (Festival de Stratford). Il a mis en scène Overruled et Shaw: What’s the Point? (Université Brock).
Donna happily returns to the NAC, having first come with King of the Yees in 2017. Theatre credits include: Snow in Midsummer, The Orphan of Chao, Village Wooing, Blithe Spirit; Everybody, Too True To Be Good, Sherlock Holmes and The Raven’s Curse, Shawground (2021), Fairground (2021) (Shaw Festival); Miracle on 34th Street: The Radio Play Musical, Half Life (Theatre NorthWest); Panto Come Home, Cinderella: An East Van Panto (Theatre Replacement); K BODY AND MIND (A Wake of Vultures); Kuroko (vAct); China Doll, King of the Yees (Gateway Theatre); Nassim (Bush Theatre); The Enemy (Firehall Arts Centre); The Drowning Girls (Vertigo Theatre); Salmon Girl (Raven Spirit Dance); Green Lake (Solo Collective); Benefit (Downstage Theatre); Cock (Rumble Theatre); Little Brother, Little Sister (Caravan Farm Theatre). Film/Television: Virgin River, The Flash, The Baby-Sitters Club, Supernatural, The Magicians, Riverdale. Training: Studio 58.
Donna Soares est heureuse d’être de retour au CNA après son premier passage avec King of the Yees en 2017. Au théâtre, on a pu la voir dans Snow in Midsummer, The Orphan of Chao, Village Wooing, Blithe Spirit, Everybody, Too True To Be Good, Sherlock Holmes and The Raven’s Curse, Shawground (2021), Fairground (2021) (Festival Shaw); Miracle on 34th Street: The Radio Play Musical, Half Life (Theatre NorthWest); Panto Come Home, Cinderella: An East Van Panto (Theatre Replacement); K BODY AND MIND (A Wake of Vultures); Kuroko (vAct); China Doll, King of the Yees (Gateway Theatre); Nassim (Bush Theatre); The Enemy (Firehall Arts Centre); The Drowning Girls (Vertigo Theatre); Salmon Girl (Raven Spirit Dance); Green Lake (Solo Collective); Benefit (Downstage Theatre); Cock (Rumble Theatre) et Little Brother, Little Sister (Caravan Farm Theatre). À la télévision et au cinéma, elle a joué dans Virgin River, The Flash, The Baby-Sitters Club, Supernatural, The Magicians, et Riverdale. Formation : Studio 58.
Theatre credits include: The Orphan of Chao, Snow in Midsummer, Fred in A Christmas Carol, Melchior in On the Razzle, The Playboy of the Western World, director of A Year with Frogand Toad in Concert, Meek in Too True To Be Good, Shawground (2022), Flush, Agnes in Sex, Jim in The Glass Menagerie, Wilde Tales, Saint Joan, Smee in Peter and the Starcatcher, Present Laughter (Shaw Festival); The Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (Bad Hats 2021); carried away on the crest of a wave (NAC); Amadeus (TIFT); Seussical (YPT); Cowboy Versus Samurai (Soulpepper); Little Women (Theatre New Brunswick); The Gift of the Magi (Smile Theatre); I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (Théâtre du Châtelet); Assassins (TIFT/Birdland). Animation Voiceover: Let’s Go, Bananas!; My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale & Make Your Mark; Rubble & Crew; Riley Rocket; Saving Me; Remy & Boo; Detentionaire. Film/Television: Coroner (CBC); Private Eyes, (Global). Graduate of The University of Western Ontario's Faculty of Music, Sheridan College's Music Theatre Performance program, and proud alumnus of The Amabile Choirs of London.
Au théâtre, on a pu le voir dans The Orphan of Chao, Snow in Midsummer, A Christmas Carol (rôle de Fred), On the Razzle (rôle de Melchior), The Playboy of the Western World, A Year with Frog and Toad in Concert (mise en scène), Too True To Be Good (Meek), Shawground (2022), Flush, Sex (rôle d’Agnes), The Glass Menagerie (rôle de Jim), Wilde Tales, Saint Joan, Peter and the Starcatcher (rôle de Smee), Present Laughter (Festival Shaw); Alice in Wonderland (rôle du chat de Cheshire) (Bad Hats 2021); carried away on the crest of a wave (CNA); Amadeus (TIFT); Seussical (YPT); Cowboy Versus Samurai (Soulpepper); Little Women (Theatre New Brunswick); The Gift of the Magi (Smile Theatre); I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (Théâtre du Châtelet) et Assassins (TIFT/Birdland). Il a également doublé des films d’animation : Let’s Go, Bananas!; My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale & Make Your Mark; Rubble & Crew; Riley Rocket; Saving Me; Remy & Boo; Detentionaire. À la télévision et au cinéma, on l’a vu dans Coroner (CBC) et Private Eyes (Global). Diplômé de la Faculté de musique de l’Université Western Ontario et du programme d’interprétation de théâtre musical du Collège Sheridan, il est aussi un ancien membre des Amabile Choirs de London.
Doctor Lu / Worker Chen / Horse-Face / Ensemble
Kelly Wong
Theatre credits include: Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart, Snow in Midsummer, Brigadoon, The Apple Cart, The Clearing, White Christmas, Damn Yankees, Shawground (2021-22), A Christmas Carol (2021), Fairground (2021), The Duke and Two Irenes, Brigadoon, Rope, The Orchard (After Chekhov), Of Marriage and Men, Wilde Tales, 1979, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland, Light Up the Sky, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Sea, Cabaret, The Light in the Piazza, Guys and Dolls, His Girl Friday, Ragtime, My Fair Lady, Serious Money, Sunday in the Park with George (Shaw Festival); Aunt Agnes for Christmas (Foster Festival); Richard III (Shakespeare Bash’d); The Wind in the Willows (Yellow Door); The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen (SummerWorks); Little Shop of Horrors (Stage West); Seussical (Silver Mist); Miss Saigon (Drayton); The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Vertigo); Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare by the Bow). Training: Hon. BM Theatre, Sheridan Institute; Mount Royal University.
Au théâtre, on a pu la voir dans Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart, Snow in Midsummer, Brigadoon, The Apple Cart, The Clearing, White Christmas, Damn Yankees, Shawground (2021–2022), A Christmas Carol (2021), Fairground (2021), The Duke and Two Irenes, Brigadoon, Rope, The Orchard (After Chekhov), Of Marriage and Men, Wilde Tales, 1979, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland, Light Up the Sky, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Sea, Cabaret, The Light in the Piazza, Guys and Dolls, His Girl Friday, Ragtime, My Fair Lady, Serious Money, Sunday in the Park with George (Festival Shaw); Aunt Agnes for Christmas (Festival Foster); Richard III (Shakespeare Bash’d); The Wind in the Willows (Yellow Door); The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen (SummerWorks); Little Shop of Horrors (Stage West); Seussical (Silver Mist); Miss Saigon (Drayton); The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Vertigo); Romeo and Juliet et A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare by the Bow). Formation : baccalauréat en théâtre musical avec mention honorable, Sheridan Institute; Université Mount Royal.
Theatre credits include: The Orphan of Chao, Snow in Midsummer, On the Razzle and The Shadow of a Doubt (Shaw Festival); Little Women, All’s Well That Ends Well, Mary Stuart (director’s workshop), A Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret (director’s workshop) (Stratford Festival); Between a Wok and a Hot Pot (workshop) (Cahoots Theatre); Wildwoman (workshop) (Soulpepper); Lady Sunrise (Factory Theatre). Film/Television: Coming Distractions (Zuzu VOD); Grand Army (Netflix). Training: University of Toronto, Sheridan College.
Au théâtre, on a pu la voir dans The Orphan of Chao, Snow in Midsummer, On the Razzle et The Shadow of a Doubt (Festival Shaw); Little Women, All’s Well That Ends Well, Mary Stuart (atelier de mise en scène), A Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret (atelier de mise en scène) (Festival de Stratford); Between a Wok and a Hot Pot (atelier) (Cahoots Theatre); Wildwoman (atelier) (Soulpepper) et Lady Sunrise (Factory Theatre). À la télévision et au cinéma, elle a joué dans Coming Distractions (Zuzu VOD) et Grand Army (Netflix). Formation : Université de Toronto, Collège Sheridan.
Based on the classical Chinese drama The Injustice to Dou E that Moved Heaven and Earth
by Guan Hanqing
Director
Nina Lee Aquino
Officer / Ensemble
Cosette Derome
Nurse Wong / Mother Cai
Manami Hara
Fei-Fei
Eponine Lee
Worker Huang / Ox-Head / Officer / Ensemble
Richard Lee
Handsome Zhang
Michael Man
Master Zhang / Judge Wu / Ensemble
John Ng
Worker Fang / Officer / Ensemble
Travis Seetoo
Tianyun
Donna Soares
Rocket Wu / Ensemble
Jonathan Tan
Doctor Lu / Worker Chen / Horse-Face / Ensemble
Kelly Wong
Dou Yi
Lindsay Wu
Set Designer
Camellia Koo
Costumes Designer
Joanna Yu
Lighting Designer
Michelle Ramsay
Original Music and Sound Designer
John Gzowski
Fight Designer / Fight Captain
Richard Lee
Stage Manager
Jane Vanstone Osborn
Assistant Stage Manager
Sang-Sang Lee
Production Stage Manager
Kim Charleen Smith
Assistant Director
Micah Jondel DeShazer
Assistant Set Designer
Aurora Judge
Associate Costume Designer
Ximena Pinilla
Assistant Lighting Designer
Nathan Bruce
Movement Designer
Kimberley Rampersad
Movement Captain
Travis Seetoo
Magic and Illusions Creator
Peter Fernandes
Magic Captain
Kelly Wong
Voice and Dialect Coach
Ausar Stewart
The National Arts Centre is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and engages, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.
Snow in Midsummer was first presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre on February 23, 2017.
US Premiere produced by Oregon Shakespeare Company, August 2018 Produced off-Broadway by Classic Stage Company, John Doyle, Artistic Director. Snow in Midsummer is presented by special arrangement with United Talent Agency.
The Shaw Festival
Artistic Director
Tim Carroll
Executive Director
Tim Jennings
Associate Artistic Director
Kimberley Rampersad
Associate Executive Director
Melissa Novecosky
Planning Director
Jeff Cummings
Producer
Natalie Ackers
Head of Scenic Construction
Lesslie Tunmer
Assistant Head of Scenic Constrution
Myron Jurychuk
Scenic Construction
Rob Brophy
Kevin Harte
Mike Haslehurst
Head of Scenic Art
Jana Bergsma
Assistant Head of Scenic Art
Andrea Harrington
Scenic Art
Rebecca Lee
Jessica MacDuff
Mathilda Pich
Head of Props
Anna-Marie Baumgart
Show Lead
Dana Cornelius
Associate Head of Props
Alexa MacKenzie
Props
Emily Dyck
Samantha Felsbourg
Rachelle Garrett
Brent Hickey
Mac Hillier
Jason Jennings
Matt Leckie
Jenna Purnell
Wayne Reierson
Blake Wilson
Andrea Willette
One of North America’s finest repertory theatre companies, the Shaw Festival creates unforgettable theatrical encounters in the heart of historic Niagara-on-the-Lake. Inspired by the spirit of Bernard Shaw and helmed by Artistic Director Tim Carroll (TC), The Shaw is a place where people who are curious about the world gather to share the unique experience of live theatre and to create a deeper human connection with the artists, the beauty and abundance of Niagara, and with each other.
Stage Crew
Ray Budavari
Anne Griffore
Joe Bonar (Shaw Festival)
Wardrobe
Joanna Jones
Heidi Strober
Margaret Molokach (Shaw Festival)
Wigs
Norm Couvrette
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
Projectionists, Wardrobe Mistresses, Masters and Attendants are members of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 471.
NAC English Theatre
Managing Director
David Abel
Artistic Director
Nina Lee Aquino
Learning Coordinator
Aimee Bouchard
ASL Interpreter Consultant
Carmelle Cachero
Marketing Strategist
Bar Clement
Communications Strategist
Sean Fitzpatrick
Senior Producer
Alexandra Lunney
Senior Marketing Manager
Bridget Mooney
Associate Producer, Artistic Programming and Environmental Projects
Judi Pearl
Technical Director
Eugenio Saenz Flores
Company Manager
Samira Rose
Administrative Coordinator
Monika Seiler
Official Hotel Sponsor
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
Recognizing your support and passion
Every season, thousands of individuals, corporations, and foundations express their passion for the performing arts in Canada by making a gift to the National Arts Centre. Your donations help to bring breathtaking performance to Canada’s stage, inspire new creation and provide life-changing learning opportunities for young people.
Our loyal supporters deserve to be recognized for the starring role you play. Please give yourselves a round of applause.
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