BIRDS OF A KIND

2019: Playwright of Birds of a Kind. Wajdi Mouawad (Incendies/Scorched, Littoral/Tideline, Forêts/Forests, Ciels/Heavens among others) has established himself as a uniquely original player on the contemporary theatre scene. His plays have been translated in more than 20 languages and presented all over the world. In all his work, from his own plays and adaptations, from the productions he has directed to novels he wrote, Wajdi Mouawad expresses the conviction that "art bears witness to human existence through the prism of beauty."  He is the recipient of numerous awards and honours for his work. He is currently Director of La Colline - théâtre national in Paris.

2019: Translator of Birds of a Kind. Linda Gaboriau has translated over 125 plays and novels from the French, including the works of Québec's most prominent playwrights. Her translations of plays by Michel Marc Bouchard, Normand Chaurette, Daniel Danis, Wajdi Mouawad and Michel Tremblay have been published and widely produced in Canada and abroad. Her long collaboration with Michel Marc Bouchard has included the film adaptations of Lilies (1996 Genie Award, Best Motion Picture), The Tale of Teeka and The Girl King, directed by Mika Kaurismaki. Her theatre translations have garnered many awards across Canada. She has been a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Translation six times and she won this award in 1996 for Stone and Ashes (Daniel Danis) and in 2010 for Forests (Wajdi Mouawad). She was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2015.

2019: Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival. Director of The Merry Wives of Windsor and Birds of a Kind. 32nd season. Stratford: Directing credits include The Tempest; Napoli Milionaria!; The School for Scandal; Macbeth; The Hypochondriac; Hamlet; The Alchemist; King Lear; The Beaux' Stratagem; Mary Stuart; The Merchant of Venice; Cymbeline; The Grapes of Wrath; Bartholomew Fair; Coriolanus, with Colm Feore and Martha Henry; As You Like It, featuring original music by Barenaked Ladies; King John; Love's Labour's Lost, with Brian Bedford; Twelfth Night, with William Hutt; The Night of the Iguana; and Filumena, with Richard Monette. Among his other accomplishments, Mr. Cimolino was instrumental in establishing the Festival's Endowment Foundation, which now stands at $81 million, as well as in the renovation of its Avon Theatre and the creation of its Studio Theatre. In January 2018, Mr. Cimolino and Executive Director Anita Gaffney launched a $100-million campaign to build a glorious new Tom Patterson Theatre, a campaign that had already achieved 70% of its target at the time of its public launch. Elsewhere: The Canadian première of ENRON (Theatre Calgary); Twelfth Night (Attic Theatre, Detroit); A Woman of No Importance (Hilberry Theater, Detroit). A champion of the arts and culture, Mr. Cimolino served as the Founding Chair of Culture Days, a nation-wide celebration of arts and culture in Canada. He has initiated collaborations with several prestigious theatre companies, including Montreal's Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Ottawa's National Arts Centre, New York's Lincoln Center and City Center, San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He also spearheaded the Festival's involvement in a joint project with CUSO International, Canada's international volunteer co-operation agency, to establish a performing arts and educational centre in the city of Suchitoto, El Salvador.

2019: Designer of Henry VIII and Birds of a Kind. 12th season. Stratford: Francesca has spent over 10 years working as a design assistant and designer at the Stratford Festival. Elsewhere: Francesca has worked as a designer and design assistant in Canada, the U.S. and U.K. While working in England as an art director for film and television (BBC and Channel 4), she also studied Architectural History at Oxford University and Historic Conservation at Oxford Brookes University, and has worked for English Heritage, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, founded by William Morris, and for Condé Nast at The World of Interiors magazine.

2019: Lighting designer of Billy Elliot the Musical, Little Shop of Horrors and Birds of a Kind. 15th season. Stratford (selected): The Rocky Horror Show, The Music Man, The Tempest, Napoli Milionaria!, Guys and Dolls, The School for Scandal, Tartuffe, Macbeth, A Chorus Line, The Hypochondriac, Hamlet, The Sound of Music, Oedipus Rex, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, Fiddler on the Roof, The Matchmaker, Twelfth Night, As You Like It. Elsewhere: A Doll's House Part 2 (RMTC/Mirvish); The Full Light of Day (Electric Company); Tartuffe (Canadian Stage/Stratford); The Humans (Citadel/Canadian Stage); A Christmas Carol, Enron (NAC); Jenufa, Maria Stuarda, Albert Herring (Pacific Opera Victoria); Così Fan Tutte (Canadian Opera Company); A Word or Two with Christopher Plummer (CTG/Stratford, Los Angeles); Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Sideways (La Jolla Playhouse); Julie, The Other Place, Harper Regan, Venus in Fur (Canadian Stage); Chimerica (RMTC/Canadian Stage).

2019: Projection designer of Billy Elliot the Musical, Little Shop of Horrors and Birds of a Kind. Second season. Stratford: The Rocky Horror Show. Elsewhere: Jamie designs across North America and Europe. His résumé includes Shaw Festival, Canadian Stage, NAC, Soulpepper, Vancouver Playhouse, Citadel, Theatre Calgary, Palazzo Circus (Berlin), Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show, Bard on the Beach, Arts Club, Charlottetown Festival, Electric Company, Kidd Pivot (Germany/Canada), Pacific Opera, Opéra de Québec, Company 14 (New York), Vancouver Opera, Why Not, Neptune, The Belfry, Old Trouts, ARC, Cahoots, PTE, Touchstone, Vertigo, Pi Theatre, Theatre Network, Birdland, Rumble Productions, Gateway, Green Thumb, Yukon Arts Centre, and many more. Graduate of Studio 58. Awards: Eight Jessie nominations, one Jessie Award, three Critter nominations, two Critter Awards, two Sterling nominations, five Betty nominations, two Betty Mitchell Awards, one Capital Critics Award, 2008 Mayor Arts Award (Vancouver), 2007 Sam Payne Award, 2006 Earl Klein Memorial Scholarship. Online: jamienesbitt.com.

2019: Composer for Birds of a Kind. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: 40 plus years performing, composing and production; Beijing Olympics, Men's World Handball Games (Qatar), Montreal Jazz Festival, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Adiss, Zakir Hussain, Loreena McKennitt, A.R. Rahman, Marvin Hamlisch, Elton John, Brian Wilson, Rufus Wainwright, Peter Murphy, Daniel Lanois, Barbra Streisand, Gustavo Santaolalla and Atom Egoyan. Film/TV: Robbing the Cradle of Civilization (winner - Silver Medal New York Festival); A Jake and a Tom (winner - Hollywood Family Film Festival); Season of Song: Canadian Tenors and Friends (winner - Gemini Award). Training: PhD candidate, Ethnomusicology, York University. Online: levonmusic.com. Et cetera: Rich musical family history: Father, Edouard - Musical Director; uncle Joseph - Founder, Classical Guitar Program, Beirut Conservatory of Music; uncle Jacques - Flamenco guitarist; cousin Hovannes Darbinian - Armenian Tar leading scholar/performer, Choir master, Etchmiadzin, Armenia (oldest cathedral in the world). Life is complete with Sevan, Taline, Edouard and Caterina.

2019: Sound designer of Birds of a Kind. Second season. Stratford: Assistant sound design for Fiddler on the Roof. Elsewhere: Alligator Pie, The Cherry Orchard (Soulpepper); Beauty and the Beast, Sweeney Todd, Elf: The Musical, La Cage aux Folles, The Jungle Book (Neptune Theatre); Under the Stairs, Beauty and the Beast, James and the Giant Peach (Young People's Theatre); Hedwig (TIFT); Cannibal! The Musical (Starvox); Pirates of Penzance, Dear Johnny Deere, Closer Than Ever, Educating Rita, Driving Miss Daisy, Third Floor (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Lost in Yonkers, Visiting Mr. Green (HGJT). Film/TV: Tin Canyon, Ted-Ed, Typesetter Blues (TOGETHER: Words + Pictures). Training: Music Industry Arts at Fanshawe College. Awards: Merritt Award nomination for Outstanding Sound Design. Online:  14blue.com. Et cetera: Adam dedicates this show to his two sons, Avery and Reid.

2019:  Director of The Foerster Bernstein New Play Development Program. Dramaturge of Mother's Daughter, Birds of a Kind and The Front Page. 11th season. Stratford: Dramaturgy credits include Paradise Lost, Brontë: The World Without, The Breathing Hole, The Virgin Trial, Bunny, The Last Wife, Christina, The Girl King, Taking Shakespeare and Hirsch. Elsewhere: Artistic Director, Alberta Theatre Projects, Calgary (1999 to 2009); Co-Director, Banff Playwrights Colony (1997 to 2009); Artistic Director, Factory Theatre, Toronto (1979 to 1987). Director of over 75 productions from Cow Head, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia, and places in between, but mostly in Calgary and Toronto. Training: Loyola College, Montreal, and University of Alberta. Awards: Member, Order of Canada; Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD), University of Calgary; eight Betty Mitchell Award nominations and three wins: "Outstanding Direction" (Calgary). In 2018, Bob was awarded the GE Lessing Award for Career Achievement by the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.

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

2019: Assistant director of Birds of a Kind. Third season. Stratford: Assistant director: The School for Scandal, Breath of Kings. Elsewhere: Peter directed the Dora-nominated productions Killer Joe, Dying City, When the World Was Green and The Jones Boy; the world premières of Jordan Tannahill's Late Company (Theatre Centre), Rosamund Small's Sisters (Soulpepper), and Rosa Laborde's Like Wolves (GCTC); the Toronto premières of The Nether, Poison and Killer Joe (Coal Mine Theatre), and The Circle (Tarragon Theatre); and the Winnipeg première of Outside Mullingar (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). Peter was the Artistic Director Intern at Crow's Theatre, a director-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre and Shaw Festival, and a participant in Stratford's Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction. Awards: Best Production, NOW Audience Choice Award (Late Company). Two-time Dora Award nominee for Outstanding Direction; Winnipeg Theatre Award nominee for Outstanding Direction.

2019: Stage manager of Birds of a Kind. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Production stage manager at the Shaw Festival for seven seasons. Credits include The Horse and his Boy, Mythos, Saint Joan, Sweeney Todd, Whisky Bar, You Never Can Tell, Arms and the Man, Guys and Dolls, Present Laughter (production stage manager, Shaw); The Fantasticks, Fronteras Americanas, What the Butler Saw, A Raisin in the Sun, Top Girls, Waiting for the Parade (production stage manager, Soulpepper); The Stepmother, A Little Night Music, Tristan, Mack and Mabel, Arms and the Man, Rosmersholm, Autumn Garden, The Constant Wife, Floyd Collins, Pal Joey, The Plough and the Stars (stage manager, Shaw Festival); Rice Boy, The Shape of Things, Adam Baum and the Jew Movie (stage manager, Canadian Stage); Cloud 9 (stage manager, Mirvish); Music for Contortionist, Liquor, Guns, Karate, Little Mercy's First Murder (stage manager, Tarragon).

2019: Assistant stage manager of Henry VIII and Birds of a Kind. Third season. Stratford: Apprentice stage manager of Bakkhai. Production assistant for the Avon Theatre. Elsewhere: Stage management credits include Maggie & Pierre (Grand Theatre); Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls (Roseneath Theatre); The Drowsy Chaperone, Footloose, The Addams Family, Spring Awakening, Spelling Bee, Curtains, If We Were Birds, Nine (Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts); Godspell (Theatre Sheridan); Seussical Jr. (Capitol Theatre); Anne of Green Gables, Evita, Shrek the Musical (Lower Ossington Theatre). Assistant stage manager: Tafelmusik; The Canadian (Thousand Islands Playhouse). Apprentice stage manager: Hamlet (Tarragon Theatre); The Magic Flute (Canadian Opera Company); City of Angels (Theatre By the Bay); The Story (Theatre Columbus); The Test (The Company Theatre). Et cetera: Adam, thank you for being my constant.

2019: Stage manager of Henry VIII and assistant stage manager of Birds of a Kind. 38th season. Stratford: Ann has worked in all four of the Festival's theatres on over 70 productions with Artistic Directors Michael Langham, Robin Phillips, John Neville, David William, Richard Monette and Antoni Cimolino. She also worked as personal assistant to Robin Phillips. From 2007 until 2016 she was coordinator of the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre under Director Martha Henry. This is her sixth production with Antoni Cimolino, her ninth with Martha Henry and her thirtieth play from Shakespeare's canon. She also stage-managed Directors' Workshop Projects for Kate Newby, Sarah Kitz and Andrew Kushnir. Ann has won two unsolicited Guthrie Awards, had an exhibition of her backstage photographs and is writing a history of Hart House Theatre (University of Toronto). Remembering Nel always.

2019: Production stage manager of the Studio Theatre. 13th season. Stratford: Stage manager: Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet (2017), Bunny, Possible Worlds, Hirsch. Assistant stage manager: Tartuffe, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Evita, Kiss Me, Kate, Macbeth, Rice Boy, Romeo and Juliet (2008), 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: 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. Et cetera: Much love to Emily and Michael.

2019: Production stage manager of the Studio Theatre. Stage manager of Mother's Daughter. 22nd season. Stratford: Stage manager credits (selected): The Matchmaker, Titus Andronicus, Evita, West Side Story. Assistant stage manager credits (selected): Treasure Island, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, South Pacific, The King and I, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing. Elsewhere: Stage manager credits (selected): Ring of Fire, Hana's Suitcase, Annie, Twist and Shout (Grand Theatre); My Fair Lady (Drayton Entertainment). Assistant stage manager credits (selected): The Spitfire Grill, Proof (Grand Theatre); Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Opera Ontario); The Who's Tommy (Elgin Theatre). Et cetera: Gratitude to my beautiful loved ones I am blessed to celebrate with every day and share energy, enthusiasm, breakfast, joy, laughter and unconditional love. Be well & shine.

2019: Production stage manager of the Studio Theatre and stage manager of Nathan the Wise. 21st season. Stratford (selected): An Ideal Husband, Treasure Island, The Breathing Hole, Breath of Kings: Rebellion, Carousel, Man of La Mancha, The Three Musketeers, Taking Shakespeare, Henry V, Hosanna, Peter Pan, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Cabaret, South Pacific, My One and Only, The Winter's Tale and Death of a Salesman. Elsewhere: Max's career spans over 30 years, including work with Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Edmonton Opera, Opera Atelier, the Canadian Opera Company, Canadian Stage, Young People's Theatre and Mirvish Productions. Training: BA, University of Lethbridge. Awards: 2012 and 2017 Guthrie Award. Et cetera: For a change, Max works with a leading purveyor of orchid-growing supplies at ravenvision.ca.