By William Shakespeare
Directed by Chris Abraham
This production uses haze, as well as prop guns and associated gunshot sounds. While the play is suitable for older children, sexual innuendo and bawdy physical humour help shape the storytelling.
Harvests have grown thin, and the world is out of joint. Duke Frederick seizes power from his sister, the Duchess, forcing her into exile in the Forest of Arden. Her daughter Rosalind soon follows, fleeing the court with her loyal cousin Celia. Disguised as a boy named Ganymede, Rosalind navigates a new life among exiles, rebels, and the rural inhabitants of an ancient forest. There, she encounters Orlando—fleeing his vindictive brother Oliver—and puts his claim of love to the test. Their witty role-playing sparks a charged, self-questioning, and profound journey towards love. Amidst mistaken identities, multiple romantic entanglements, and a few songs, the forest becomes a place where exiles, lovers, and a banished Duchess come to see the world—and their place in it—differently. The play ends in celebration, with long-separated families reunited and multiple couples joyfully wed.
As You Like It Study Guide
Interview with Christopher Allen and Sara Farb
The 2025 Season is supported by Ophelia Lazaridis.
Production Underwriters:
John & Therese Gardner
Production Co-Sponsors:
Martie & Bob Sachs
This production is dedicated to the memory of actor Dame Maggie Smith, a member of the company between 1976 and 1980.
(he/him)
2025: Orlando in As You Like It, Gossip #1 in Sense and Sensibility and understudy in Dangerous Liaisons. Second season. Stratford: Cloten in Cymbeline, Lachlan in The Diviners. Selected theatre credits: The Master Plan (Theatre Aquarius, Soulpepper); Rockabye (ARC Stage); The Master Plan (Crow's Theatre); Redbone Coonhound (Tarragon Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Bard on the Beach); Sweat (Canadian Stage); Antigone…, Selfie (Young People's Theatre); Julius Caesar, The Comedy of Errors (Canadian Stage); The Adonis Project (The Piece of Mine Festival). Film/TV: Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+/CBS); Coroner, Workin' Moms (CBC); Murdoch Mysteries (CBC Television, Citytv); 13: The Musical (Netflix). Voiceover: Audiobook: No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot. Education: York University Acting Conservatory. Awards: Dora Award winner and nominee. Online: Instagram: @christopherallen.me.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2013
2025: Rosalind in As You Like It, Fanny (Ferrars) Dashwood, Lady Middleton in Sense and Sensibility and Emilie in Dangerous Liaisons. Seventh season. Stratford: Juliet, Anne Frank, Cordelia, Mary in The Last Wife and The Virgin Trial, A Little Night Music, The Lion... Wardrobe, The Merchant of Venice, She Stoops to Conquer, The Beaux' Stratagem, Finally There's Sun, others. Broadway: Delphi in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Elsewhere: Delphi in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Mirvish, Canadian première); The Last Timbit; Medium Alison in Fun Home (Musical Stage/Mirvish, Dora nominee, TTCA winner); Brigid in The Humans (Canadian première at Citadel/Canadian Stage); many productions at Soulpepper, Citadel, Musical Stage Company, Theatre Calgary, Tarragon, Passe Muraille, Segal Centre, YPT and others. Film/TV: Hudson & Rex, Frankie Drake, Departure, Nurses, others. Et cetera: Sara is a musical theatre bookwriter and a playwright. Thank you Chris and Antoni, Tovah and Michele. Hi Josh.
2025: Duke Frederick in As You Like It and Ralph's Father in Forgiveness. 23rd season. Stratford (selected): La Cage aux Folles, Richard III, Serving Elizabeth, Guys and Dolls, Julius Caesar, 42nd Street, A Little Night Music, The Neverending Story, Pericles, King John, The Pirates of Penzance, Titus Andronicus, Three Sisters, The Merchant of Venice, Cabaret, Trojan Women, The Tempest, As You Like It, Timon of Athens, The Swanne: Princess Charlotte, Macbeth, London Assurance, Twelfth Night, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Elsewhere (selected): Casey and Diana (Soulpepper); The Immigrant (Harold Green); London Road (Canadian Stage); Othello (Segal Centre); The Winter's Tale (McCarter/Shakespeare Theatre); Phèdre (A.C.T.); A Christmas Carol, The Turn of the Screw (Grand Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest (Roundabout); Copenhagen (US national tour). Film/TV: 12 Monkeys, Mayday, Murdoch Mysteries, Dark Matter, Reign, Defiance. Training: Juilliard. Awards: Dora Award and nomination, Toronto Theatre Critics' Award.
2025: The Duchess in As You Like It, Mrs. Jennings, Mrs. Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility and Madame de Rosemonde in Dangerous Liaisons. 32nd season. Last year, Ms. McKenna directed Twelfth Night on the Festival stage, mentored directing students at the National Theatre School, did her very first Murdoch Mystery, appeared on Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, received the 2024 Stratford Festival Legacy Award, and taught her grandson how to swim underwater. Her previous roles at the Festival include: Juliet, Lady Macbeth, Medea, Richard III, Portia, Paulina, Jaques, Julius Caesar, Katerina, Dolly Levi, Amanda Wingfield, the Marquise de Merteuil, Queen Elizabeth I and Madame Arcati. Elsewhere, she has played Cleopatra (Centaur), Shylock (Shakespeare Company/Hit & Myth Prod.), Hermione (Kansas City Rep), Yaga (Tarragon) and Lear (Groundling Theatre Company). She has three Doras, a Jessie and a Genie award, and is a Member of the Order of Canada. Love and gratitude to the McPotters.
2025: Touchstone in As You Like It and Sir John Middleton, Doctor in Sense and Sensibility. 22nd season. Stratford: La Cage aux Folles, Something Rotten!, Grand Magic, Richard II, Love's Labour's…, Chicago, The Miser, Finally There's Sun, Rocky Horror, Guys and Dolls, Billy Elliot, The Lion, the Witch…, Shakespeare in Love, Hamlet, Alchemist, Crazy for You, Tommy, Grapes of Wrath, Kiss Me, Kate, Cyrano, Mockingbird, The Odyssey, Dream, Julius Caesar, Coriolanus. Elsewhere: 12 Dinners, Life Without, goldfish (Here For Now); Every Brilliant Thing, The Foursome, For the Pleasure… (New Stages); Fleeto, Oh, the Humanity, 4th Graders (Tiny Room); London Road (Dora Award), Indian Ink, Into the Woods, Dream (CanStage); Assassins (Dora Award) (TIFT); Frog and Toad (MTYP); Orson's Shadow (Pilot Group); A New Brain (Musical Stage Company); Shrek, A Christmas Story (Grand); The Producers (Mirvish/Neptune); Seussical, Sylvia (Aquarius); The Three Musketeers (Chicago Shakespeare); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Citadel), Three Sisters (ATF).
(she/her)
(she/her) Birmingham Conservatory, 2022/2023
2025: Gossip #3 in Sense and Sensibility, Madame de Tourvel in Dangerous Liaisons and understudy in As You Like It. Fourth season. Stratford: Rachel Whyte in Get That Hope, Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost, Richard II, Player Queen in Hamlet and Olabisi in Death and the King's Horseman. Elsewhere: Corinna and seven other characters in Primary Trust, 16 characters in No Child (Arts Club); Ann Atwater in The Best of Enemies, Novelette in 'da Kink in My Hair (Pacific Theatre); Same Difference (Theatre Conspiracy); Catherine in The Numbers Game (Storefront Theatre). Film/TV: American Wasteland, Corrective Measures, Swan Song, Voir, The Baby-Sitters Club, Detour, Song Bird, Scared Lies, Sirens. Radio/Recordings: Aisha in Redbone Coonhound (Arts Club); Mama in Rishi & d Douen (Rumble Theatre and Carousel Theatre). Training: York University. Awards: Peter Donaldson Award recipient, Michael Mawson Award recipient, and B.C. Arts Council Pivot recipient.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2024
2025: Amiens in As You Like It, Coop in Forgiveness and understudy in Dangerous Liaisons. 12th season. Stratford: Peter in Something Rotten!, Gord in The Diviners, Romeo in Play On!, Al in A Chorus Line, Henrik Egerman in A Little Night Music, Rolf Gruber in The Sound of Music, Pinball Lad in Tommy, and appeared in Chicago, King Lear, Rent, Billy Elliot the Musical, The Rocky Horror Show, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls, HMS Pinafore, Fiddler on the Roof and Carousel. Elsewhere: Johnny alternate in Green Day's American Idiot (first US tour); Hank Majewski in Jersey Boys (Dancap); Gilbert in Anne of Green Gables (Charlottetown). Film/TV: Captain von Trapp in The Pacifier. Training: Birmingham Conservatory, Etobicoke School of the Arts. Online: Twitter/Instagram: @GabrielNacci. Et cetera: Huge thanks to Stratford and Colin McMurray. This season is dedicated to Gabe's Beautiful Wife Robin.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2003
2025: Colonel Brandon, Thomas in Sense and Sensibility and appears in As You Like It. 12th season. Stratford (selected): The Sound of Music, Crazy for You, Man of La Mancha, Love's Labour's Lost, Much Ado About Nothing, The Duchess of Malfi, The Brothers Karamazov, Richard III, Peter Pan, Present Laughter, Measure for Measure, The Threepenny Opera, The Swanne. Elsewhere: Three seasons at the Shaw Festival, including Damn Yankees, Mother Daughter, My Fair Lady, Kabarett, Prince Caspian; Assassins (MTC/TIFT); Onegin (Musical Stage); This Is How It Goes, Frog and Toad, Sweeney Todd (Neptune); Wizard of Oz, Gatsby, Einstein's Gift, Elf (Grand); Christmas Story, Les Misérables (WCT); Treasure Island (TNB); Othello (SLSF); Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad, Hay Fever, The Red Priest (Thousand Islands); Sticks and Stones, The Mikado (NAC); Beauty and the Beast (Citadel/Theatre Calgary); Romeo and Juliet (Resurgence). TV: Anne With An E, Suits, Murdoch, Reign. Training: Queen's University, Birmingham Conservatory.
2025: Oliver in As You Like It and John Willoughby, John Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Hedda Gabler (Coal Mine Theatre), Bad Roads (Crow's Theatre), Spaciousness (Fort York), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Crow's Theatre/Modern Times), Mary Stuart (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), Shakespeare in Love (MTC/Citadel), Vimy (Soulpepper), Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Bard on the Beach), The Circle (NTS). Film/TV: Her Friend Adam (Sundance), Burden of Truth (CW/CBC), Nine Films About Technology (FX/Hulu), Ghost Writer (Apple TV+), The Desperate Hour (Netflix), Hudson and Rex (Citytv), Slasher (Shaftesbury), Tales from The Void (Screambox), Murdoch Mysteries (CBC). Training: National Theatre School of Canada.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2025/20262025: Hysperia in As You Like It, Cécile Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons and understudy in Sense and Sensibility. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Hedda in Hedda Gabler, May in Bedlam, Des-Neiges in Les Belles Soeurs, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex (Theatre at Grenfell); Silvia in Two Gentlemen of Verona (New Brood); Titania in Midsummer Night's Dream (Dartmouth Players); Melissa in Out of It, Marie-Louise in No Man's Land (Rising Tide Theatre). Film/TV: Son of a Critch (CBC); This Hour Has 22 Minutes (CBC); Sugar Highs (OUTTV); Surreal Estate (SYFY); Hudson & Rex (CityTV); Sullivan's Crossing (CTV); Astrid and Lilly Save the World (SYFY); Diggstown (CBC); Alaska Triangle (Discovery). Training: Memorial University of Newfoundland, Grenfell Campus, 2023 (BFA); Power of Connection Intensive with Perchance Theatre. Online: @ashleyjdingwell. Et cetera: To Mom, Dad, Grammy, Karen - I love you, so I keep going.
2025: Edward Ferrars, Robert Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility, Azolan in Dangerous Liaisons and appears in As You Like It. Third season. Stratford: Peter in Romeo and Juliet, Martin in London Assurance, Benicio in Twelfth Night, Harry Percy in Richard II, Waiter in Grand Magic and understudy in Love's Labour's Lost. Elsewhere: A Few Good Men, Twelve Angry Men, The Miracle Worker, The Birds and the Bees, Death of a Salesman, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Drayton); The Cider House Rules reading (Talk is Free); Suitcases/Provenance workshop (Canadian Stage). Film/TV: Jump, Darling (opposite Cloris Leachman), Deadbolt, In the Dark, Murdoch Mysteries, Man Seeking Woman, Heroes Reborn, Bitten, Reign. Radio/Recordings: Strange Loops (audiobook). Training: The Randolph College for the Performing Arts. Online: Instagram: @tomsdup.
2025: Phyllis, Ralph's Mother in Forgiveness, appears in As You Like It and understudy in Dangerous Liaisons. Ninth season. Stratford: Rosemary (Hamlet-911), Madge Macbeth (1939), Patience Maria (Henry VIII), Stephanie Crawford (To Kill a Mockingbird), Calpurnia (Julius Caesar), Celia (As You Like It) and Caroline Bingley (Pride and Prejudice). Elsewhere: Thousand Islands Playhouse, Citadel Theatre, Blyth Festival, Shakespeare in the Ruff, Canadian Stage, Young People's Theatre, Theatre Northwest, Sudbury Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre, Resurgence Theatre, Theatre by the Bay, Brookstone Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times, Thought for Food, Equity Showcase, Toronto Fringe and SummerWorks. Film/TV: Welcome to Derry, Ruby and The Well, The Christmas Spirit (feature film), Re: Possessed Homes (short film), Murdoch Mysteries, Rookie Blue, Flashpoint, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Missing, Train 48, Our Hero, The City, F/X: The Series, Falling Fire. Awards: 2018 Tanya Award in recognition of excellence, and the Jean A. Chalmers Award.
Métis Nation of Alberta
2025: Priest in As You Like It, Gossip #4 in Sense and Sensibility and Le Vicomte de Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons. Second season. Stratford: The Diviners. Elsewhere: Clue (MTC/Grand Theatre); The Breathing Hole (NAC); Christmas Carol, Jane Eyre, Silver Arrow, Crazy For You, Alice Through the Looking Glass, One Man Two Guvnors (Citadel Theatre); Romeo and Juliet, Love's Labour's Lost, Hamlet, As You Like It, Comedy of Errors, Coriolanus, King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew (Free Will Players); 6.0, 4th Graders (NLT); 10 out of 12, Passion Play, Realistic Joneses (Wild Side Productions); Joy Ride, Black Horse (Caravan Farm Theatre). Film and TV: Tiny Plastic Men Seasons 1-4 (Super Channel); Caution May Contain Nuts Seasons 2-4 (APTN); Blind Ambition, Joe Pickett. Voiceover: Mass Effect 1, 2, 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Anthem, Neverwinter Nights (BIOWARE). Training: BFA University of Alberta. Online: @jesse.gervais, jessegervais.com.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2014/2015
2025: Phoebe in As You Like It, Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility and La Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons. Eighth season. Stratford: Viola (Twelfth Night), Lady Capulet (Romeo and Juliet), Helen (All's Well That Ends Well), Lady Anne (Richard III), Emily Brontë (Brontë: The World Without), Bess (Mother's Daughter). Playwright: The Dark Lady (SIR-SotS/Lunchbox-TSC), Pandora (PTE). Both plays are available online and at the Stratford Festival Theatre Store. The Dark Lady is part of Bard on the Beach's 2025 season, and recently had a staged reading at Red Bull Theatre in New York City. Film/TV: Five Days at Memorial, The Boys, Kings of Napa. Voice/Mocap: Star Wars Outlaws. Training: Birmingham Conservatory, McGill University, Dawson College. Awards: SATA for Artistic Excellence - The Dark Lady, Bernard Amyot Teaching Award - NTS, Mary Savidge Award - Stratford Festival. The Dark Lady has won six awards across three provinces, including three Betty Mitchell awards. Online: Instagram: @jessicabhill.
2025: Playwright, and plays Yosuke, Kato in Forgiveness and Corin in As You Like It. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Sam Shikaze in Yellow Fever (Firehall Arts Centre), Boo-Seng in Durango (Theatre Smash/fu-GEN), Serge in Art (Gateway Theatre), Sender in Tear the Curtain! (Arts Club/Electric Company). Film/TV: Over 200 credits including: Shogun, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Orphan: First Kill, Star Trek: Discovery, Kim's Convenience, The Good Doctor, Altered Carbon, The X-Files, Best in Show. Training: MFA - Simon Fraser University, BA - Middlebury College. Writing Awards: Governor General's Literary Award and Jessie Richardson Award - Indian Arm; Betty Mitchell Award and Calgary Theatre Critics' Award - Forgiveness. Acting Awards: UBCP/ACTRA Award - Deeper I Go (Fedora Films); Jessie Richardson Award - A View From the Bridge (Pacific Theatre). Online: hirokanagawa.com. Instagram and X: @hirokanagawatv.
2025: Le Beau in As You Like It and Ralph MacLean in Forgiveness . Third season. Stratford: Shakespeare in Something Rotten!, Bertram in All's Well That Ends Well, Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew. Most Recently: Dr. Pomatter in Waitress, MTC; Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest, Citadel Theatre; Mack in Fairview, Canadian Stage/Obsidian; Charles Kean in Red Velvet, Crow's Theatre. Elsewhere: Soulpepper (23 productions, including Of Human Bondage and Spoon River at Signature Theatre, Off-Broadway); Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Shaw Festival (5 seasons). Film/TV: Coffey in Netflix's Locke & Key, Fitzpatrick in On the Basis of Sex, Carl Jung on Murdoch Mysteries, Designated Survivor, Hudson & Rex, Nurses, Flashpoint, Copper. Awards: Dora Award for The Light in the Piazza. Five other Dora nominations. Online: Instagram: @jefflillico. Et cetera: Love and gratitude to Kimwun, my family and my agent, Emma.
2025: Silvius in As You Like It and Hideo in Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere (selected): Four seasons at the Shaw Festival, including title characters in Everybody and Prince Caspian; Village Wooing, Doctor's Dilemma, Victory, Cyrano..., Sherlock...; Handsome Zhang in Snow in Midsummer (Shaw/National Arts Center); Edgar in Lear, Demetrius in Titus Andronicus, Twelfth Night, As You Like It (Canadian Stage/Shakespeare in High Park); Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing (St. Lawrence Shakespeare); Arcite in Two Noble Kinsmen, Lucio in Measure for Measure, Antonio in Duchess of Malfi (Shakespeare Bash'd); Mowgli in The Jungle Book (Magnus); Meet Chloe (Carousel); Christmas Carol (Grand); Hymn of the Weaverbird (找我劇場 ESP-I, Taiwan); Man in 彼岸 (Gateway). Writing: Translation and Adaptation: The Orphan of Chao (Shaw). Film/TV: What We Do in the Shadows (FX). Awards: Dora nominee; Saunderson Award (Shaw). Online: Instagram: @michaelman1n.
(she/they) Birmingham Conservatory, 2025/2026
2025: Audrey in As You Like It, appears in Forgiveness and Dangerous Liaisons. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Quartet (Other Hearts/VideoCabaret); Mad Ones (Tangled Art + Disability); Johnny Belinda (Smile Theatre); Lil' Red, Jack and the Beanstalk, Treasure Island, Three Musketeers (Stirling Festival Theatre). Film/TV: Murdoch Mysteries, Good Witch, Call Me Fitz. Training: B.A. Honours English, Creative Writing and Interdisciplinary Sexuality Studies (Concordia University); Musical Theatre (American Musical and Dramatic Academy NYC); Theatre (Interlochen Arts Academy). Online: www.otherhearts.ca. Et cetera: Vae is a Mad performance artist, Dora-nominated designer and poet (Toronto International Festival of Authors New Embassy; The /t3mz/ Review Issue 22). Eternal gratitude to my community and especially to Cake, who constantly remind me that "the thing perhaps is / to eat flowers and not to be afraid."
2025: Jaques de Boys in As You Like It and appears in Forgiveness and Dangerous Liaisons. Second season. Stratford: Cymbeline, The Diviners. Elsewhere: Truffaldino in A Servant of Two Masters, The Flying Doctor, As You Like It, Our Eliza (Perchance); John Dodge in Middletown (NTS); Squawk (RCAT); Falling Trees (Poverty Cove); The Beauty Queen of Leenane (TNL); Salt-water Moon (Rising Tide); Almost Baymous (Half Handsome). Film/TV: Son of a Critch (CBC); Hudson and Rex (CityTV); Little Dog (CBC); Frontier (Discovery/Netflix); Riverhead (Riverhead Prod.); Body and Bones (Scattered and Small Inc.). Et cetera: I am grateful and delighted to be returning to the Stratford stage. Thanks to you, the audience, for making what we do possible.
2025: Adam in As You Like It and appears in Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Snow in Midsummer, The Orphan of Chao (Shaw Festival); The Chinese Lady (Studio 180); Kuroko (vACT); Antigone (YPT); The Full Light of Day (Electric Company Theatre); carried away on the crest of a wave (NAC/Tarragon); Nine Dragons(Vertigo/MTC/Gateway); Acquiesce (Factory); The Best Brothers, This is War(GCTC); Free as Injuns (Native Earth); Hallaj, Waiting for Godot, The Sheep and The Whale (Modern Times). Film/TV: Kim's Convenience (CBC); Dancing Through The Shadow, Rising Suns, Claws of the Red Dragon (New Realm Studios/NTDTV). Training: B.A. Honours in Theatre Directing (University of Ottawa). Awards: Dora Nomination: PU-ERH.
(he/him) Birmingham Conservatory, 2025/2026
2025: William in As You Like It, Le Chevalier Danceny in Dangerous Liaisons and appears in Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Jung (Kim's Convenience, Grand Theatre); Marcus (Fatal Charade); Han and others (The Late Wedding); Ferdinand (The Tempest); Malvolio (Twelfth Night); Oberon (A Midsummer Night's Dream); Edwards (Blue Stockings); Sir John Middleton (Sense & Sensibility). Film/TV: Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent; The Food That Built America. Training: NYU. Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Online: leonqin.com, @crimsonqin. Et cetera: To my Mom, Dad, Ryan, Katherine, 爷爷, 奶奶, 公公, 婆婆, my cousins, my entire family, my friends, my mentors, and Iroh. Thank you all for your unyielding support. I love you.
2025: Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, appears in As You Like It and understudy in Dangerous Liaisons. Third season. Stratford: Portia in Something Rotten!, The Diviners, Joanne in Rent, Richard II. Elsewhere: Vicky in Chris, Mrs. (Boldly Productions); Gloria in Damn Yankees, White Christmas, The Importance of Being Earnest, Shawground, 1922 in Concert, Charley's Aunt, Duke and the Two Irenes, Song for a Winter's Night (Shaw); Home For the Holidays (Theatre Aquarius); Emcee in Cabaret, Finding Black Joy (Grand Theatre); Mamma Mia! (Stage West); Dyanne in Million Dollar Quartet (Capitol Theatre); Sophie in Mamma Mia! (Rainbow Stage). Voiceover: We the Culture (Facebook). Training: Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance, Sheridan College; H.B. Beal Secondary and C.C.H. Online: @oliviasinclairbrisbane. Et cetera: Olivia dedicates this season to her amazing support system, her family both chosen and biological, her friends and mentors. To anyone moving through life with bravery, joy, kindness and deep love.
(she/her) Birmingham Conservatory, 2025/2026
2025: Madame de Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons, appears in As You Like It and Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Polonia in Hamlet (The Shakespeare Co, Hit & Myth), She in Lesson in Forgetting (Pleiades), Phoenix/Empress Dowager in The Forbidden Phoenix (Citadel, YPT), Mimi in Singkil (Fu-Gen), Karen in Gladstone Variations (Convergence). Nadine also co-wrote and performed as Jennifer in Miss Orient(ed) and Lorna/Geline in PEOPLE POWER (Carlos Bulosan Theatre/Teesri Duniya). Training: Birmingham Conservatory 25/26. Awards: Dora Nomination - The Forbidden Phoenix. Et cetera: Nadine is forever grateful to her first artistic home, Carlos Bulosan Theatre, and would like to give a shout out to all arts organizations for continuing to do the challenging work of keeping theatre, arts and culture alive. She dedicates this season to her loving mom Fely, her babycakes Maxine, and to the holder of her heart, Troy.
2025: Dennis in As You Like It, Major-Domo in Dangerous Liaisons and appears in Forgiveness. Third season. Stratford: Rosencrantz (Hamlet), Constable (Death and the King's Horseman). Elsewhere: Rosmersholm (Crow's); The New Canadian Curling Club (Theatre Orangeville/Drayton); Chimerica (Royal MTC/Canadian Stage); The Kite Runner (Theatre Calgary/Citadel); The Canadian (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Fugitives (Theatre Conspiracy); You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Gateway). Film/TV: Resident Evil: Afterlife, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries, Rookie Blue, King. Playwright: Aging Youth Gang (developed by Crow's and fu-GEN); Eunuch X Pirate (Playwright in Residence at Outside the March); Theory (Tarragon, Mosaic Theater Company of D.C., published by Playwrights Canada Press); Pu-Erh (k'Now Theatre). Training: BFA Acting, UBC; BFA (Honours) Film, TMU. Awards: Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize finalist; Theory: The Voaden Prize, Carol Bolt Award nomination; Pu-Erh: Dora Award nomination, The Voaden Prize finalist. Online: www.normanyeung.com, @NormanYeung.
2025: Director of As You Like It. 10th season. Stratford: Much Ado About Nothing, Tartuffe, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Matchmaker, The Little Years, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Elsewhere: One Man Two Guvnors, Cyrano de Bergerac (Shaw); Winners & Losers (Soho Rep); Rosmersholm, The Master Plan, Uncle Vanya, Julius Caesar, The Seagull (Crow's Theatre); I, Claudia (Tarragon); Antigone, The Lesson (Soulpepper). Training: National Theatre School of Canada. Awards: Dora Awards for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, The Little Years, Eternal Hydra; Sterling Award for Frozen (Citadel Theatre); Gemini Award for I, Claudia (CBC/Sienna Films); 2013 Elinor and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. Online: crowstheatre.com. Et cetera: Chris is Artistic Director of Crow's Theatre. He is past Co-Director of the National Theatre School of Canada Directing Program.
2025: Set and costume designer of As You Like It. 15th season. Stratford (selected): Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labour's Lost, The Miser, Merry Wives of Windsor, Napoli Milionaria!, Tartuffe, School for Scandal, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Little Years. Elsewhere: Great Comet, Fifteen Dogs, Uncle Vanya, Wedding Party, Seagull, Someone Else, Seeds (Crow's Theatre); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Public Enemy, Cosmonaut (Canadian Stage); One Man, Two Guvnors, Cyrano (Shaw Festival); Arigato, The Maids, Blasted (Buddies in Bad Times); Faust, The Designated Mourner, Cryptogram (Tarragon); Centaur, Electric Company, Why Not Theatre, Soulpepper, Necessary Angel, Theatre Passe Muraille, Segal Centre, MTC, Citadel. Opera: Volcano. Dance: adelheid, Susanna Hood, Chartier Danse. Training: National Theatre School. Awards: Five Dora Awards for set design; Virginia Cooper Award for costume design; META and Sterling Award nominations. Teaching: National Theatre School.
2025: Composer and sound designer of As You Like It and sound designer of Ransacking Troy. 15th season. Stratford: More than 25 productions since 2009. Elsewhere: Designs for Mirvish, BIBT, Soulpepper, Shaw, Canadian Stage, Tarragon, NAC, Blyth Festival, RMTC, Theatre Calgary, GCTC, Nightwood, Modern Times, Aluna, Crow's and many others. Film: Plain View, 7A, Blood Harvest, Hero.Traitor.Patriot, Alegra & Jim, Robert's Circle. Training: Studied composition with James Tenney, Honours BA, York University. Awards: Six Dora Awards for Sound Design and Composition. Et cetera: Started as a songwriter with a four-track tape machine and still endlessly fascinated with the storytelling possibilities of layered sound. Online: thomasryderpayne.bandcamp.com, xeno-canto.org/contributor/NWXCLJYBDK.
2025: Composer of As You Like It. Stratford debut. Ron Sexsmith is a three-time Juno Award and one-time Genie Award winning singer songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. His extensive 18-album catalog has garnered critical acclaim with a substantive international following. His songs have been covered by Rod Stewart, Michael Bublé, Emmy Lou Harris, Feist, Stevie Nicks, and k.d. lang, to name a few. Ron has performed as a headlining artist at some of the most prestigious venues in the world including Massey Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall and The London Palladium. He has penned a novel Deer Life: A Fairy Tale published worldwide by Dundurn. Ron continues to write, record, and tour in North America and internationally. He resides in Stratford, Ontario. More Info: www.ronsexsmith.com.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2002
2025: Choreographer of As You Like It and The Winter's Tale. 18th season. Adrienne Gould came to the Stratford Festival in 2000 as an actor. Over 10 seasons, some of her roles included Ophelia, Miranda (with William Hutt), Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew, Yasmin in Pentecost, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing, Regina in Ghosts (with Martha Henry), Phebe in As You Like It, Jaquenetta in Love's Labour's Lost and Jessica in The Merchant of Venice. Her choreography credits include last season's London Assurance and Romeo and Juliet; past seasons: Much Ado About Nothing, Grand Magic and The Miser; assistant choreographer for Shakespeare in Love; movement director for Timon of Athens and The Crucible; intimacy choreography for Love's Labours Lost and the Birmingham Conservatory's Three Sisters. Adrienne is a recipient of the Mary Savidge Award and is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts.
(he/him) Langham Directors' Workshop, 2025
(she/they)
2025: Assistant set designer of As You Like It, Annie and Sense and Sensibility. Third season. Stratford: Assistant set designer of Something Rotten!, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, London Assurance, Richard II, Wedding Band. Set designer of Phaedra's Love, Macbeth, Amphitryon (Langham Directors' Workshop, 2024); Macbeth, The Fall of the House of Atreus (A Cowboy Love Song) (Langham Directors' Workshop, 2023). Elsewhere: Designer: There are No Gays in Chechnya (Page 1 Theatre). Awards: Tom Patterson Award Recipient, 2024. Online: freddyvancamp.ca.
2025: Assistant costume designer of As You Like It. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Co-Costume Designer: Three Islands, Cendrillon, Il capello di paglia di Firenze (UofT Opera); Co-Set and Costume Designer: L'enfant etles sortilèges/The Prodigal Son (The Glenn Gould School); Costume Designer: Into the Woods, Million DollarQuartet (The Grove Theatre), Enemy Lines (Aeris Körper), Killing Time (Mixtape Projects); Costume Builder: Mad Madge (Nightwood Theatre). Training: Toronto Metropolitan University, Performance Production and Design (BFA). Online: alessiaurbani.com. Et cetera: Thank you to my mom, dad, family and Jake for their endless love and support and to Andrew for keeping things rolling at the opera school.
2025: Assistant lighting designer of As You Like It, Annie and Ransacking Troy. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Lighting Designer: Killing Time: A Game Show Musical (Mixtape Projects), Cymatix (Citadel + Compagnie), TEASE (Crow's Theatre), Ursa: A Folk Musical (The Uncommon Folk Collective), Insert Clown Here (Parlous Theatre), ECHO (a front company). Assistant/associate lighting designer: Fall For Dance North 2024, PUS (Road Trip Collective), Trayf (Harold Green Theatre), The Ballad of Stompin' Tom (Capitol Theatre), Spring Mix 2024 (Citadel + Compagnie). Training: Toronto Metropolitan University, Performance Production and Design (BFA). Canadian Green Alliance 2024 Green Mentorship Recipient. Online: mathildakane.com.
2025: Stage manager of As You Like It and assistant stage manager of Sense and Sensibility. 10th season. Stratford: Assistant stage manager of The Diviners (2024), Wendy and Peter Pan (2024), Monty Python's Spamalot (2023); Production stage manager of the Festival Theatre (2023); Stage manager of Guys and Dolls (2017), As You Like It (2016), Twelfth Night (2011). Elsewhere: Titanique (Montreal and Toronto), & Juliet (Toronto), Come From Away (Winnipeg and Toronto), Kinky Boots (Toronto), The Heart of Robin Hood (Winnipeg and Toronto), Les Misérables (Toronto and Melbourne), The Wizard of Oz (Toronto), War Horse (Toronto). John has worked in many theatres across Canada and on U.S. tours of Chicago and The King and I.
2025: Assistant stage manager of As You Like It and Annie. 19th season. Stratford: Stage manager - Romeo and Juliet; Wedding Band; Freedom 2.0: Black Music That Shaped the Dream of America; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Julius Caesar; Bunny; Possible Worlds; Hirsch. Assistant stage manager - Tartuffe; As You Like It; Twelfth Night; Evita; Kiss Me, Kate; Macbeth; Rice Boy; Romeo and Juliet; Caesar and Cleopatra; My One and Only; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Duchess of Malfi; The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead. Apprentice stage manager - Noises Off. Elsewhere: University of Waterloo, Inter Arts Matrix, Theatre Sheridan, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Erindale, Theatre Direct Canada/Eldritch Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille/Obsidian Theatre Company, Bluewater Summer Playhouse, Charlottetown Festival. Training: Sheridan College.
2025: Assistant stage manager of As You Like It and Sense and Sensibility. 38th season. Stratford: 24 Shakespearean plays plus Serving Elizabeth, The Front Page, Napoli Milionaria!, The School for Scandal, All My Sons, The Physicists, The Beaux' Stratagem, The Thrill, Wanderlust, The Grapes of Wrath, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, Home, Memoir, Les Belles-Soeurs, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Amadeus, Little Women, The Country Wife, Pride and Prejudice, An Ideal Husband, Ghosts, The Lark and a 1998 transfer to New York City of Much Ado About Nothing and The Miser. Elsewhere: Corinne has worked for the Grand Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, National Arts Centre, Red Barn Theatre, etc. Training: University of Waterloo. Et cetera: It is satisfying to be able to add As You Like It to my personal Shakespeare canon and to work on Sense and Sensibility after doing Pride and Prejudice at the Festival 26 seasons ago.
2025: Production stage manager of the Festival Theatre. 11th season. Stratford: Production stage manager of the Festival Theatre ('23, '24). Assistant stage manager of Chicago, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls, Romeo and Juliet, A Chorus Line, As You Like It, Hamlet, The Sound of Music, Crazy for You and Fiddler on the Roof. Elsewhere: Come From Away (Rubinoff/ACC); Tell Tale Harbour, Anne of Green Gables - The Musical (Charlottetown Festival); The Hockey Sweater (Segal Centre/NAC); The Candidate (Citadel Theatre); Hamlet (Perchance Theatre); Into the Woods (Opera on the Avalon); Glenn (Soulpepper); The Mill, parts 1 to 4 (Theatrefront); Peter and the Starcatcher, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Western Canada Theatre); It's a Wonderful Life, The Rocky Horror Show (Theatre New Brunswick); Shakespeare in Love, Happy Days (Neptune Theatre); Generous (Tarragon Theatre).
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