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Avon Theatre
April 29 – October 16 |
Opens June 4
North American Première

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

Based on the screenplay by Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard
Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall
 North American Première
by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions & Sonia Friedman Productions 
Director Declan Donnellan

A young playwright named Will Shakespeare comes down with writer’s block – until he finds a muse. Art mirrors life in a hilarious and passionate tale of romance and backstage fun.

Audience Advisory »

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Production support is generously provided by Martie & Bob Sachs.

Support for the 2016 season of the Avon Theatre is generously provided by the Birmingham family.

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CAST & CREATIVE

    Luke Humphrey
    Will Shakespeare
     2016: Will Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love and Cleante in The Hypochondriac. Fourth season. Stratford: D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, Murph in Taking Shakespeare, Williams in Henry V, appeared in Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Elsewhere: Ivan in Wormwood (Tarragon Theatre), Spike in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (MTC, Mirvish), Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (Segal Centre), Friar in The Last of Romeo and Juliet (Talk Is Free Theatre). Film/TV: Motive, Saving Hope (CTV), Murdoch Mysteries (CBC), Ronny & i, Cruel But Necessary. Training: BFA from NYU; Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Awards: Anne Selby Guthrie Award (2012). Online: lukehumphrey.com; Twitter: @humphrey_luke.
    Shannon Taylor
    Viola de Lesseps

    2016: Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love and Angelique/Armand Bejart in The Hypochondriac. Third season. Stratford: The Diary of Anne Frank, Oedipus Rex, She Stoops to Conquer, The Sound of Music, Inherit the Wind. Elsewhere: The Road to Mecca (Soulpepper); Pride and Prejudice (National Arts Centre/Theatre Calgary); True (Criminal Theatre/Aluna Theatre); When the World Was Green, The Jones Boy (Surface/Underground); Salt-Water Moon (Thousand Islands Playhouse); A Midsummer Night's Dream, Little Women: The Musical (Citadel Theatre); The Madonna Painter (Factory Theatre); Johnny Belinda, Pygmalion (Montgomery Theatre, P.E.I.); Scenes from the Bathhouse, Emily (Talk Is Free Theatre). Recordings: Première CD recording of Cyrano featuring Brent Carver and David Rogers. Training: Birmingham Conservatory; Ryerson Theatre School (BFA). Awards: Mary Savidge Award; Dora nomination for The Jones Boy (Outstanding Performance). Et cetera: "Deepest gratitude to my Taylor and Pasyk families, Angela and Peter for their love and support."

    Tom McCamus
    Fennyman
     2016: Professor, Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Fennyman in Shakespeare in Love. 15th season. Stratford (selected): King John; Antonio, The Merchant of Venice; Iachimo, Cymbeline; Jim Casey, The Grapes of Wrath; Captain Hook, Peter Pan; Valmont, Dangerous Liaisons; Vershinin, Three Sisters; Apemantus, Timon of Athens; Richard III; MacHeath, The Threepenny Opera; Vladimir, Waiting for Godot; Coriolanus; King Arthur, Camelot; Edmund, Long Day's Journey. Elsewhere: Winter's Tale (Groundling); Seminar (MTC/Mirvish); Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind (MTC); Hamlet, Divisadero (Necessary Angel); Thom Pain (Tarragon). Film/TV: Room (Lenny Abrahamson), Cairo Time (Ruba Nada), The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan), Long Day's Journey Into Night (David Wellington), Possible Worlds (Robert Lepage). Awards: Dora, Best Actor: Abundance (Theatre Plus); Genie, Best Actor: I Love a Man in Uniform (David Wellington); Gemini, ACTRA Award, Best Actor: The Walter Gretzky Story (Dean Bennett). Et cetera: Tom lives on a farm in Warkworth with his wife, actress Chick Reid, and their four dogs.
    Stephen Ouimette
    Henslowe
    2016: Henslowe in Shakespeare in Love and Argan/Molière in The Hypochondriac. Director: Birmingham Conservatory. 22nd season. Stratford: The Alchemist, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Waiting for Godot, Twelfth Night, The Homecoming, The Importance of Being Earnest, All's Well That Ends Well, The Tempest, King John, No Exit, Hamlet, Richard III, Amadeus,Julius Caesar. Director of Timon of Athens. Elsewhere: The Iceman Cometh, directed by Robert Falls (Goodman Theatre, 2012; BAM, 2015); The Alchemist (Yale Rep); Endgame (NAC); Troilus and Cressida, The Taming of the Shrew (Chicago Shakespeare); La Bête, directed by Matthew Warchus (Broadway/West End); leading roles across Canada. Film/TV: Mentors, I Was a Rat, After Alice, Conspiracy of Silence, The Adjuster, Firing Squad. Awards: Gemini (Slings and Arrows), Blizzard (Heater), Doras (Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Seven Stories, B Movie: The Play), Ottawa Critics Circle (I Am My Own Wife), Sterling (La Bête).
    Karen Robinson
    Nurse
    2016: Nurse in Shakespeare in Love and Beroe, Allecto, Immigration Officer, The Sybil in The Aeneid. Sixth season. Stratford: The Physicists, Harlem Duet, The Duchess of Malfi, Shakespeare's Universe, Agamemnon, Electra, The Flies, The Swanne, Eternal Hydra, Shadows. Elsewhere: Lady Bracknell (The Importance of Being Earnest), Red Queen (Alice Through the Looking-Glass), Condoleezza Rice (Stuff Happens), Nurse (Romeo and Juliet) (NAC); The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble (Obsidian); Esther in Intimate Apparel (ATP); Prospera (The Tempest) (Canadian Stage); Doubt - A Parable (Citadel); 'da Kink in My Hair (U.K., U.S.); The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God (Mirvish). Film/TV: Schitt's Creek, Shoot the Messenger (CBC); King, Slings and Arrows (Showcase); Corner Gas: The Movie, Ghett'A Life, Lars and the Real Girl, Saving Hope, Soul Food. Awards: Salento International Film Fest Award for Ghett'A Life; Sterling Award for Doubt - A Parable; NAACP Award for 'da Kink in My Hair; Dora Award for Riot.
    Saamer Usmani
    Kit Marlowe
    2016: Kit Marlowe in Shakespeare in Love and Achates in The Aeneid. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Louis the Dauphin in King John, Suffolk in Henry VI: Parts I and II, Cardinal in The Duchess of Malfi (LAMDA); Buckingham in Richard III (Birmingham Conservatory). Film/TV: Reign, Nikita, Covert Affairs. Voice: Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Training: London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Et cetera:  Et cetera: Love and thanks to my family, Tedra and Angela.
    Thomas Mitchell Barnet
    Sam
     2016: Kingfisher, Ensemble in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Sam in Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Lelio in The Liar, Nihad in Scorched, Leontes in The Winter's Tale (National Theatre School); Royce in True Love Lies (Citadel Theatre); writer and star of one-man show The Colour of Life. Film/TV: Principal in It's Not You… (short film by Don McKellar); guest star on Saving Hope (CTV). Awards: Freestanding Room Award at the Montreal Fringe for The Colour of Life; nominated for a Sterling Award for True Love Lies.
    Brad Hodder
    Ned Alleyn

    2016: Maugrim in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Ned Alleyn in Shakespeare in Love. Fifth season. Stratford: Marlow in She Stoops to Conquer, Edmund in King Lear, Starveling in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cassio in Othello, O'Kelly in Mary Stuart and appeared in The Diary of Anne Frank, Oedipus Rex, The Beaux' Stratagem, Measure for Measure, Cymbeline, Elektra. Elsewhere: Hohenzollern in Prince of Homburg (TIFT); Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (Neptune); Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (Grand); Paul in Hail (RCAT); Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (c2c); Sin in Fear of Flight (Artistic Fraud); Clarke in No Man's Land (Rising Tide). Directing: Henry IV, Part 1, Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Perchance); The Leisure Society, Autobahn, The Stendhal Syndrome (c2c). Assistant directing: The Winter's Tale (Groundling). Film/TV: Reign (CW); Republic of Doyle, Diverted, Above and Beyond (CBC). Training: BFA (Acting), University of Alberta; Birmingham Conservatory.

    Josh Johnston
    Peter, Valentine
     2016: Reindeer, Ensemble in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Peter, Valentine in Shakespeare in Love. Second season. Stratford: Hamlet, Love's Labour's Lost. Richmond in Richard III, Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Young Shepherd in The Winter's Tale (Birmingham Conservatory). Elsewhere: Sebastian in Who's Under Where? (Lighthouse Festival Theatre); Louis Martin in In His Name (Canadian History Project); Giri in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (red light district); Thespis in Something Is Wrong (Naught, A Theatre Company); Troilus in Troilus and Cressida (York University). Film/TV: Joey in Chickens (Moir Movies); Stephen in The Silver Chevy (Sheridan College). Radio: Collaborator and speaker in The Other Families Radio Show. Training: BFA in Acting, York University; Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Et cetera: "A little spirit of the bird began to stir in the ash."
    Ruby Joy
    Kate, Mistress Quickly
    2016: Susan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Kate, Mistress Quickly in Shakespeare in Love. Fifth season. Stratford: Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost, Sorel Bliss in Hay Fever, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Measure for Measure, Othello, Mary Stuart, The Matchmaker, Cymbeline. Elsewhere: A Christmas Carol (Theatre North West), The Mousetrap (Chemainus Festival), Intimate Apparel (The Grand), The Tempest (Theatre by the Bay), Hamlet and The Winter's Tale (Theatre80 St. Marks), Evolutionism (The Schapiro Theatre), Look Back in Anger (The Old Stone House), Sex and the Holy Land (The Players Theatre), The Libertine (Robert Moss Theater). Film/TV: Chantel in Republic of Doyle (CBC), Audrey in Oddly Flowers (CFC). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre, New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Online: www.rubyjoy.net.
    George Meanwell
    Guitar, Cello, Violin, Recorders, Melodeon, Hurdy-Gurdy (onstage)

    2016: Guitar, Cello, Violin, Recorders, Melodeon and Hurdy-Gurdy (onstage) in Shakespeare in Love. Sixth season. Stratford: The Taming of the Shrew, The Pirates of Penzance, The Grapes of Wrath, As You Like It, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (all as onstage musician). Elsewhere: Composer, musician, Time (chorus), The Winter's Tale (Groundling); ensemble, musician, Boblo (KitchenBand); Lane, Merriman, The Importance of Being Earnest (Guild Festival Players); composer, musician, The Notorious Right Robert... (Festival Players PEC). Recordings: With Short Turn: Short Turn, Don't Get Around Much Anymore; with Quartetto Gelato: Quartetto Gelato, Rustic Chivalry, Aria Fresca, Neapolitan Café; as himself: Another Street, Late, The Easy Straight (available in the Theatre Store). Awards: 1996 NPR Performance Today Debut Artist of the Year (Quartetto Gelato), Tyrone Guthrie Awards. Online: gmeanwell.ca; @gmeanwell. Et cetera: "The next best time to plant a tree is now."

    Mike Nadajewski
    Adam, Boatman
    2016: Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Adam, Boatman in Shakespeare in Love and Hector, Robert in The Aeneid. Seventh season. Stratford: Einstein in The Physicists, Hamlet, Peter Sellars's A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Chamber Play, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Romeo and Juliet, Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, Jesus Christ Superstar (also Broadway), Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, As You Like It, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (also Mirvish), West Side Story. Elsewhere: George in Sunday in the Park with George (Talk Is Free Theatre), Emcee in Cabaret (Manitoba Theatre Centre) and the Canadian première of Peter and the Starcatcher (Western Canada Theatre). Other credits include productions with Canadian Stage, National Arts Centre, Drayton Entertainment, Charlottetown Festival, Talk Is Free Theatre (co-founder), and three seasons with the Shaw Festival. Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Online: @mikenadajewski.


    Sarah Orenstein
    Queen Elizabeth, Molly

    2016: Queen Elizabeth, Molly in Shakespeare in Love and Patient, La Troupe de Molière in The Hypochondriac. Fourth season. Stratford: Penfield (Possible Worlds), Widow (The Taming of the Shrew), White Queen (Alice Through the Looking-Glass), Matilda (Zastrozzi). Elsewhere: Sarah has appeared on stages across Canada for over 40 years. Originally from Halifax, she stepped on the boards at the age of five for the Neptune Theatre. A regular on Toronto stages: Hope Slide, The Optimists, The Retreat, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, Mrs. Klein - Tarragon; The Normal Heart, Stuff Happens, God of Carnage - Studio 180 and Mirvish; Apple, Beyond Mozambique - Factory; The Stillborn Lover - TPM. She worked 13 seasons with Shaw Festival: Heartbreak House, The Millionairess, The Playboy of the Western World, Detective Story, Blithe Spirit, Councillor at Law. Film/TV: Fugitive Pieces, The Calling, Reign, Rookie Blue. Awards: Dora Mavor Moore, Patience; Capital Critics' Circle, Doll's House. 

    Trevor Patt
    Lute-Guitar, Recorders, Tin Whistle, Trombone, Percussion (onstage)

    2016: Lute-Guitar, Recorders, Tin Whistle, Trombone and Percussion (onstage) in Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Billy Elliot (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Evangeline (Charlottetown Festival/Citadel); Shrek: The Musical, Barfee in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Grand Theatre); Les Misérables, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins (Rainbow Stage); The Sound of Music, 9 to 5: The Musical (Drayton Entertainment); Robin Hood, High School Musical (Theatre Aquarius); Made in Canada (Smile Theatre); Broadway: Andrew Lloyd Webber (Port Hope); An Evening with Jason Robert Brown (Glenn Gould Studio); Come From Away (CMTP/Sheridan). Training: Proud graduate of Sheridan's Music Theatre Performance Program and George Brown's Dance Program. Et cetera: Love and thanks to Jeff, Kerry, Graham, Jade and the Talent House for their constant love and support.

     
    Gareth Potter
    Ralph

    2016: Peter in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Ralph in Shakespeare in Love and Aeneas in The Aeneid. 13th season. Stratford: Roger (She Stoops to Conquer), Thom (The Last Wife), Unicorn/Carpenter (Alice Through the Looking-Glass), Sandy Tyrell (Hay Fever), Lodovico (Othello), Don John (Much Ado About Nothing), Louis the Dauphin (Henry V), Richmond (Richard III), Hosanna (Hosanna), Ferdinand (The Tempest), Proteus (The Two Gentlemen of Verona), Malcolm (Macbeth) (twice), Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Nathaniel (Love's Labour's Lost), Edgar (King Lear), Gratiano (The Merchant of Venice), Pierrot (Don Juan), Cromwell (Henry VIII). Elsewhere: Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet) (MTC); Clown (The 39 Steps) (Globe); Simon/Wahab (Scorched) (Citadel/Tarragon); Pierrot (Don Juan) (Théâtre du Nouveau Monde); Narrator (The Rape of Lucrece) (Theatre Ste. Catherine); Henry V (Henry V) (Gravy Bath). Training: National Theatre School, John Abbott College, Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Awards: Michael Mawson Award, Chalmers Training Award. Et cetera: "Much love to Sarah and my girls."

     

     

    Andrew Robinson
    Wabash
    2016: Fox, Ensemble in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Wabash in Shakespeare in Love  and Coroebus, Graffiti Artist in The Aeneid. Fourth season. Fourth season. Stratford: Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, Love's Labour's Lost, The Merchant of Venice, King John, Romeo and Juliet, The Three Musketeers, Antony and Cleopatra, Mother Courage and Her Children. Birmingham Conservatory: Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Love's Labour's Lost, Tons of Money. He recently had the pleasure of working in the Incubator on The Aeneid and Cue for Treason. Elsewhere: Andrew recently premièred his second solo show, He Crucified Me (Buddies/Rhubarb - playwright/performer); Our Ajax, Intuition of Iphigenia, Elektra in Bosnia (Women and War Project - Canada/Greece tour); Machina Nuptialis (Corpus Dance Projects); Bent (Theatre Engine); Russian Dolls (Buddies/Rhubarb - playwright/performer). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre, Ryerson Theatre School. Awards: Tyrone Guthrie Award. Et cetera: "Thank you to my mother, Anita, Martha Henry and the Birmingham family."
    Steve Ross
    Burbage
    2016: Beaver in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Burbage in Shakespeare in Love. 13th season. Stratford: Hamlet, The Alchemist, Man of La Mancha, Crazy for You, Tommy, Fiddler on the Roof, 42nd Street, The Grapes of Wrath, The Misanthrope, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Kiss Me, Kate, Evita, Cyrano de Bergerac, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Odyssey, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Coriolanus. Elsewhere: London Road, Indian Ink, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Into the Woods, Dream (Canadian Stage); Assassins (TIFT/Birdland); Orson's Shadow (Pilot Group); A New Brain (Acting Up Stage); Shrek, A Christmas Story (The Grand Theatre); One for the Pot, Forum (Drayton); The Producers (Neptune); Seussical, Sylvia (Aquarius); The Three Musketeers (Chicago Shakespeare); Guys and Dolls (MTC/Citadel/TC); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Citadel); The Foursome, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again (New Stages); Three Sisters (ATF). Training: National Theatre School.
    Tal Shulman
    John Webster
     2016: Father Tumnus, Ensemble in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and John Webster in Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird (YPT) (Dora nomination, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble), Malvolio in Twelfth Night (Toronto Fringe/Ale House Theatre), How to Succeed…, Summerfolk, Romeo and Juliet, Welcome to Thebes, Dreaming and Dueling, High Life (Ryerson Theatre School). Film/TV: Man Seeking Woman (FXX), Dayclubbing (Multiname Productions). Training: Ryerson Theatre School. Et cetera: Tal would like to thank his family, friends and Jess Rapp for their ongoing support.
    Colin Simmons
    Henry Condell, Lady Capulet and Catling
     2016: Aslan Puppet, Ensemble in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Henry Condell, Lady Capulet, Catling in Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: UnCovered: Simon & Garfunkel (Acting Up Stage); Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Outside the March); Caretaker in Brantwood: 1920-2020, Alfie Byrne in A Man of No Importance, Leo Frank in Parade (Theatre Sheridan). Workshops: Valentine in Faust (Theatre by the Bay); Jimmy Valentine in The Gift of the Magi, Max in A Snow White Christmas (Theatre Orangeville); Lonnie Wynn in Prom Queen! The Musical (Canadian Music Theatre Project). Training: Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance, Sheridan College. Awards: Acting Up Stage Company's 2015/2016 The Syd and Shirley Banks Prize for Emerging Musical Theatre Artists. Online: @ColinCSimmons; colinsimmons.ca. Et cetera: "Thank you to my wonderful family, R., extended family at Theatre Orangeville, and dear friends for their love and support."
    Michael Spencer-Davis
    Tilney, Sir Robert de Lesseps
    2016: Warden, Father Christmas in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Tilney, Sir Robert de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love and Anchises in The Aeneid. Sixth season. Stratford: The Taming of the Shrew, Possible Worlds, The Beaux' Stratagem, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, Richard III, Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Bartholomew Fair, Shakespeare's Universe. Elsewhere: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Robin Hood (Globe Theatre); The Castle (Storefront Theatre); Boeing Boeing (Theatre Aquarius); Vigil, Lawrence and Holloman (Prairie Theatre Exchange); Having Hope at Home (Neptune Theatre); Twelfth Night, The Tempest (Hartford Stage); Innocence Lost (Centaur/NAC); Pride and Prejudice (Theatre Calgary/NAC); The Lonely Diner: Al Capone in Euphemia Township (Blyth Festival); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Romeo and Juliet, Nativity, Twelfth Night (NAC); Medea (Manitoba Theatre Centre/Mirvish); Macbeth, Othello (NAC/Citadel); The Elephant Man, Heaven, Beard of Avon (Canadian Stage); The Real Thing, Humble Boy (MTC); As You Like It, Blithe Spirit, Einstein's Gift (Citadel). Online: www.michaelspencerdavis.com.
    Rylan Wilkie
    Wessex
    2016: Wessex in Shakespeare in Love and Monsieur Fleurant, Second Doctor in The Hypochondriac. Third season. Stratford: Pericles, The Alchemist, The Physicists, Christina, The Girl King, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, King John. Elsewhere: Enron, A Christmas Carol (Theatre Calgary); Beyond the Farm Show, Having Hope at Home, The Lonely Diner (Blyth Festival); The Story (Theatre Columbus); Blue Planet (YPT); Macbeth, Mother Courage, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Caravan Farm); A Doll's House (Globe); East of Berlin, The December Man, Around the World in 80 Days, Shakespeare's Dog, The Blue Light, NiX, Oliver Twist, The Shape of Things, Proof, Moliere (ATP); Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Three Tall Women (MTC); Othello, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare by the Bow). Film/TV: Homefront, Blue Smoke, The Secret of the Nutcracker, See This Movie. Training: National Theatre School. Awards: Stratford's 2014 John Hirsch Award; Betty Mitchell Award, Vincent in Brixton. Et cetera: "Much love to Jim, Linda, Jared and Raegan."
    Bean
    Spot
    2016: Spot in Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Bean (full registered name: Stoney Creek's MacBean) is a three-year-old purebred English Shepherd. He was bred in the small town of Romeo, Michigan, and now resides just outside of London, Ontario. He lives with his family, which includes handler Julia and her husband, Matt, their kids and his four-legged brother (from another mother), Cole. Bean competes in Agility and Dock Diving. His most notable jump was an astounding 20.8 feet! He is still in training for Disc Dog, hopefully to compete in 2017. This is not his first foray onto the stage: he played Candy's Old Sheep Dog in By the Book's production of Of Mice and Men at The Grand in 2015. Bean has determined his favourite treat is steak. He loves to go on hikes, play with the frisbee and get as dirty as physically possible!
    Dora
    Understudy
     2016: Spot (understudy) in Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Dora is eight years old. She started her life in poor rural conditions where she, along with her seven siblings and both her parents, were rescued by the Stratford- Perth Humane Society. Once adopted, she easily adapted to life indoors and from early on, her natural talent towards performance shone. She has developed a repertoire of tricks. Her favourites include bowing and shaking both paws. In her free time, she likes to play with her cat, Dave, and go for long walks in the woods. Dora would like to thank her parents Mark and Arlene for believing in her as well as her trainer, Julia, for teaching her how much fun it is to jump.
    Marc Norman
    Original screenplay co-writer

    Original screenplay co-writer: Shakespeare in Love

    Films include Shakespeare in Love (Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture, two Golden Globes and Silver Bear for Outstanding Single Achievement at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival), Cutthroat Island, The Aviator, The Killer Elite, Breakout, Zandy's Bride and Oklahoma Crude. Marc Norman is also the author of two novels, Fool's Errand and Bike Riding in Los Angeles, and What Happens Next?: A History of American Screenwriting.

    Tom Stoppard
    Original screenplay co-writer

    Original screenplay co-writer: Shakespeare in Love. 

    Tom Stoppard was born in Zlin, Czechoslovakia in 1937 and moved to England, via Singapore and India, with his family in 1946. He began his working life in 1954 as a junior reporter on The Western Daily Press. In 1967 Tom Stoppard's first full-length play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, was staged by the National Theatre. This play was followed by other award-winning works, including Jumpers, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (with André Previn), Travesties, Night and Day, The Real Thing, Hapgood, Arcadia, Indian Ink, The Invention of Love, The Coast of Utopia (a trilogy) and Rock 'n' Roll. His many stage adaptations and translations include Undiscovered Country (Schnitzler), On the Razzle (Nestroy), Rough Crossing (Molnár), The Seagull (Chekhov), Henry IV (Pirandello), Heroes (Sibleyras), Ivanov (Chekhov) and The Cherry Orchard (Chekhov). Tom Stoppard has also written for radio, television and film. His screen credits, as writer and co-writer, include Brazil, Empire of the Sun, Enigma and Shakespeare in Love (Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay). His most recent work includes, for screen, Anna Karenina; for television, Parade's End (a five-part series); and for radio, Darkside. He also directed his own screenplay of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Tom Stoppard received a knighthood in 1997 and in 2000 was awarded the Order of Merit by Her Majesty the Queen.

     

    Lee Hall
    Adaptor

    Adaptor: Shakespeare in Love. 

    Lee Hall has worked as a writer across theatre, television, radio and film. His stage adaptation of Billy Elliot the Musical won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Book, as well as the Olivier Award for Best Musical in 2006. It was based on his screenplay for the film of the same name, which saw him nominated for an Academy Award. In 2008, Lee Hall won the London Evening Standard Award for Best Play for The Pitmen Painters. Lee Hall has been writer in residence at the RSC and Live Theatre, and his screenplay for War Horse was directed by Steven Spielberg in 2011. Other theatre credits include Cooking with Elvis (Live Theatre, Newcastle), Spoonface Steinberg (Ambassadors Theatre, West End, also adapted for television and radio) and Two's Company (Live Theatre and Bristol Old Vic).

     

    Declan Donnellan
    Director
     2016: Director of Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Co-founder and joint Artistic Director with his partner Nick Ormerod of Cheek By Jowl which has performed across six continents with their English, French and Russian companies; performances include UBU ROI in French, Measure For Measure in Russian to be seen at the Edinburgh Festival and at Elsinore this summer and The Winter's Tale in English, to be seen later in 2016 in Chicago and at BAM; as Associate Director of  the National Theatre in London his performances include Fuenteovejuna, Sweeney Todd and Angels in America. Film: Bel-Ami with Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott-Thomas. Opera: Falstaff at the Salzburg Festival with Claudio Abbado and Bryn Terfel. Ballet: Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet both for the Bolshoi. He has won several awards in New York, Paris, Moscow and London, including the Olivier for Outstanding Achievement. He was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre Des Arts et Des Lettres in France. He shared the Charlemagne award with Craig Ventner and Desmond Tutu and his book The Actor  And The Target has been translated into fourteen languages.
    Nick Ormerod
    Designer
     2016: Designer of Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Cheek by Jowl: Co-founder and joint Artistic Director with director Declan Donnellan, taking work to nearly 400 cities. Royal National Theatre: Fuenteovejuna, Peer Gynt, Sweeney Todd, The Mandate, Angels in America. Royal Shakespeare Company: The School for Scandal, King Lear, Great Expectations. Other (selected): Shakespeare in Love (Noël Coward Theatre), The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (English National Opera), Martin Guerre (Prince Edward Theatre), Hay Fever (Savoy Theatre), Antigone (The Old Vic), Verdi's Falstaff (Salzburg Festival), Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet (Bolshoi Ballet). Film: Bel Ami, co-director. Education: Theatre Design, Wimbledon School of Art.
    Kevin Fraser
    Lighting Designer
    Paddy Cunneen
    Composer
     2016: Composer for Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Paddy Cunneen is a composer, theatre director and playwright, and associate director of Cheek by Jowl Theatre. He has written music for over 200 productions at London's National Theatre, RSC, Donmar Warehouse, Out of Joint and many others. He composes for radio, TV and film, and was BAFTA- nominated for his score for the film Boy A. He won the Christopher Whelen Award for Music in Theatre, two Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland, and a Music Industry Award for Best Cast Album for the Donmar Warehouse production of Company. He has written two radio plays for BBC Radio 4, and six theatre plays, of which Fleeto and Wee Andy won Edinburgh Festival awards and consequently toured to Australia and the Brighton Festival. Fleeto was also performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.
    Peter McBoyle
    Sound designer
     2016: Sound designer of A Chorus Line, Shakespeare in Love and A Little Night Music. 21st season. Stratford (selected): Over 60 productions including The Sound of Music, Carousel, Love's Labour's Lost, Crazy for You, Man of La Mancha, Antony and Cleopatra,Fiddler on the Roof, 42nd Street, A Word or Two, Jacques Brel, West Side Story. Elsewhere: Peter has been fortunate to work at most major Canadian theatres, including Shaw, NAC, Citadel, Theatre Calgary, RMTC, Charlottetown Festival and Canadian Stage. Recent and notable projects include Come Fly Away (Broadway, Vegas, tour); Arrabal (BASE/Mirvish); Sister Act, Catch Me If You Can, West Side Story,Legally Blonde (tours); Barrymore (Livent); The Little Prince (Theatre Calgary); Evangeline (Charlottetown/Citadel); Stagger Lee (Dallas Theater Center). Training: BA, MA in Music (McGill). Awards: Suzi (Atlanta), Come Fly Away; Dora nomination, Fire. Et cetera: "Thanks to Meghan, Ella and Beatrice for their unending support."
    Terry King
    Original fight choreography
    2016: Original fight choreography for Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Terry has worked as a fight arranger at all major theatre companies in Britain as well as operas, musicals, West End shows and TV. Royal Shakespeare Company: Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Henry VI, parts 1, 2 and 3, Henry IV, parts 1 and 2, Hamlet, Pericles, Cymbeline. National Theatre: His Dark Materials, The Murderers, Fool for Love, Edmond, The Duchess of Malfi, King Lear, Elmina's Kitchen. Other: Porgy and Bess (Glyndebourne), Othello (WNO), Carmen (ENO), Don Carlos (ROH), Billy Elliot the Musical, Oliver!, Jerry Springer: The Opera, The Lord of the Rings musical, Spend Spend Spend, Martin Guerre, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Zorro: The Musical, Shakespeare in Love. TV: The Bill, EastEnders, Casualty, Fell Tiger, A Kind of Innocence, Fatal Inversion, Broken Glass.
    Jane Gibson
    Choreographer
     2016: Choreographer of Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Movement consultant/choreographer on 26 stage productions directed by Declan Donnellan, including Shakespeare in Love (Noël Coward Theatre). Associate Director of Cheek by Jowl, recently Movement Director on its production of TheWinter's Tale. Head of Movement at National Theatre for 10 years; credits include Arcadia and Mother Clapp's Molly House. TV: Mr. Selfridge, Great Expectations, Daniel Deronda, Madame Bovary, Pride and Prejudice (Emmy nomination, Outstanding Choreography), Cranford, Tess. Film: A Little Chaos, My Week with Marilyn, Bel Ami, Oz: The Great and Powerful, The Amazing Spiderman, Becoming Jane, Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, Iris, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Sense and Sensibility, Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Opera: Gawain, La Traviata (Royal Opera House),La Clemenza di Tito (Glyndebourne), Force of Destiny and Mahagonny (ENO),The Rake's Progress (WNO), Falstaff (Salzburg).
    Oli Rose
    Associate director
     2016: Associate director of Shakespeare in Love. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Oli is the artistic director of Rogues' Gallery Theatre Company and a freelance director. Director: Run (Southwark Playhouse and VAULT Festival); Twelfth Night (Mountview); The Incredible One Man Pandemic (VAULT 2014); Sock Puppet (The Yard, Pleasance Edinburgh); The Folk Contraption (VAULT, 2012, Southbank Spiegeltent, Latitude); The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery, Dog in the Manger (Hoxton Hall); Pilgrim's Progress (St James' Church); Coffin (King's Head); Sheeps (Pleasance Edinburgh); The Taming of the Shrew (Powell Theatre). Associate director: Shakespeare in Love in London; Chariots of Fire (Edward Hall). Assistant director: Ecstasy (Mike Leigh); The Last of the Duchess (Richard Eyre); Beasts and Beauties (Melly Still); Medea (Annie Castledine); Loyalty (Edward Hall). Et cetera: Oli won the Old Vic New Voices Ignite 5 competition and completed OVNV's 24 Hour Plays and T.S. Eliot New York Exchange.
    Ted Witzel
    Assistant director
     2016: Assistant director of Shakespeare in Love. Second season. Stratford: Assistant director of Oedipus Rex. Elsewhere: Ted has worked in theatres in Vancouver, Montreal, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Stuttgart, Ingolstadt, Baden-Baden and Bad Hersfeld. He runs an independent theatre company in Toronto called the red light district, with which he is in residence at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, creating a performance series titled LULU // aspects of a femme fatale. This summer he will also be directing All's Well That Ends Well for Canadian Stage in High Park. Recent directing credits: the marquise of O- (the red light district/SummerWorks), YUKONSTYLE, The Taming of the Shrew (Canadian Stage). Training: Ted was in the inaugural cohort of the York University/Canadian Stage MFA in Directing. Online: theredlightdistrict.ca.
    Adrienne Gould
    Assistant choreographer
    2016: Assistant choreographer of Shakespeare in Love  and professional development program movement coach. 11th season. Stratford (selected): Ophelia in Hamlet ('08/'15), The Taming of the Shrew, Pentecost, Much Ado About Nothing, Ghosts, The Tempest, As You Like It, The Swanne (part 3), Love's Labour's Lost, The Merchant of Venice, Tempest-Tost, The Diary of Anne Frank. Elsewhere: The Matchmaker (director Nicholas Martin), The Rivals (director Roger Rees) (Williamstown Theater Festival); The Butter and Egg Man (American Stage Company); Love's Labour's Lost (NAC); Buried Child (NAC/Segal Centre); Einstein's Gift, Ed's Garage and Other Desert Cities (Grand Theatre). Film/TV: Hamlet, The Lady in Question and Nikita. Recordings: Timothy Goes to School. Training: North Carolina School of the Arts, Birmingham Conservatory. Awards: Mary Savidge Award. Online: Adrienne is the founder of ABCyogis.com, a children's/family yoga company. Et cetera: For my two little girls who love to "dance out loud."
    Mary-Jo Carter Dodd
    Assistant designer
     2016: Assistant designer of Shakespeare in Love. Second season. Elsewhere: Head of Wardrobe for Soulpepper (12 years), Canadian Stage (two years), Young People's Theatre (10 years), and costume coordinator for over 25 operas for the COC. She taught wardrobe courses and mentored students at Humber College in the Theatre Production Program. Training: Diploma, Honours BA in Theatre Production - Ryerson Polytechnical Institute; AutoCad certificate - George Brown College. She was chosen for the Theatre Ontario Professional Training Program and trained in model building for theatre, mentoring under Camellia Koo. She's also taken advanced model building in the U.K. She has built set models for several theatre productions across the country. Et cetera: Mary-Jo is excited to be working at the Festival, surrounded by so many wonderful and talented people, and also to assist in finding the next generation of costume and set designers.
    Jareth Li
    Assistant lighting designer
     2016: Assistant lighting designer of Shakespeare in Love  and A Little Night Music.  Sixth season. Stratford: As assistant lighting designer: five seasons, from The Little Years to, most recently, The Alchemist, Oedipus Rex, The Adventures of Pericles and The Physicists.Elsewhere: Recent lighting design credits include Casimir and Caroline (The Howland Company), The Trial of Judith K (Thought For Food Productions), Dusk Dances 2015 (Sylvie Bouchard), Mourning Dove (Sudbury Theatre Centre), Dangerous Liaisons (Red One Collective), The Widow (SummerWorks), Disco Pigs (A Lasting Dose Productions). Associate lighting designer of Just for Laughs (Canadian tour); Gita Govinda (Menaka Thakkar Dance Company). Assistant lighting designer with the Canadian Opera Company for five seasons. Training: York University - Theatre Design and Technical Production. Awards: Guthrie Award, Wally Russell Training Internship. Online: @jareth.li. Et cetera: Instructor at York University; training for his certification as a climbing guide.
    Geoff Scovell
    Associate fight director
    2016: Associate fight director of Macbeth, All My Sons, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, As You Like It, Shakespeare in Love, A Little Night Music, Breath of Kings: Rebellion and Breath of Kings: Redemption. Sixth season. Stratford: Associate fight director (selected): Hamlet, The Physicists, Pericles, The Taming of the Shrew, Oedipus Rex, King Lear, Crazy for You, King John, Man of La Mancha, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, The Three Musketeers, Othello. Assistant fight director: Fiddler on the Roof, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Count of Monte Cristo. Elsewhere: Fight director: Peter and the Starcatcher, Sweet Charity (Shaw); Don Giovanni, War and Peace (COC); The Godot Cycle (Yes Let's Go); Mirandolina (Soulpepper); Romeo and Juliet (ShakespeareWorks). Film/TV: Stunt performer (selected): Suicide Squad, Dark Matter, Killjoys, 12 Monkeys, Bitten, The Strain, Covert Affairs, Pompeii, Robocop, Reign, Orphan Black, Assassins Creed: Unity, Carrie, Total Recall, Lost Girl. Training: BFA, Ryerson University. Awards: Paddy Crean: excellence in stage combat. Online: @GeoffScovell. Et cetera: This season is dedicated to the memory of Joel Harris.
    Brian Scott
    Stage manager
    2016: Stage manager of Shakespeare in Love. 22nd season. Stratford: Brian has stage-managed 24 productions at the Stratford Festival, including The Who's Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar (Stratford, La Jolla, N.Y.C.), Into the Woods and Noises Off here at the Avon Theatre; the Miller-Plummer King Lear (Stratford, N.Y.C.) at the Festival Theatre; Waiting for Godot and Medea at the Tom Patterson Theatre; and The Odyssey at the Studio Theatre.
    Elizabeth McDermott
    Assistant stage manager
    2016: Assistant stage manager of Shakespeare in Love and The Hypochondriac. Fourth season. Stratford: The Sound of Music, The Taming of the Shrew, Love's Labour's Lost, As You Like It, King of Thieves, Three Sisters, Bartholomew Fair, Phèdre, Ever Yours, Oscar. Elsewhere: The Road to Paradise, Night (Human Cargo); Miracle on 34th Street (STC); Bella: The Colour of Love (HGJTC); Anne of Green Gables: The Musical, Canada Rocks! (Charlottetown Festival); Falling: A Wake (Blyth); The Barber of Seville (Soulpepper); Binti's Journey, Head à Tête, Old Man and the River, Red Kite Brown Box (Theatre Direct); Night of the Living Dead Live! (Nictophobia); Divisadero: A Performance (Necessary Angel); Danny, King of the Basement (Roseneath); Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, All's Well That Ends Well (SLSF); Yellowman (Nightwood/Obsidian); Late, Black Medea (Obsidian Theatre).
    Melissa Rood
    Assistant stage manager
    2016: Stage manager of The Aeneid and assistant stage manager of Shakespeare in Love. 16th season. Stratford: More than 30 productions: favourites include The Last Wife, Christina, the Girl King, Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Christopher Plummer's A Word or Two, and Henry V.  Elsewhere: Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Nightwood Theatre, Belfry Theatre, The Grand Theatre, Canadian Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, stadium spectacles in Doha, Qatar, and national tours to the Arctic, among others. Rood has supported the development of several new translations and world premières, most recently HER2, The Carousel and the opera Stickboy, based on the book by spoken-word artist Shane Koyczan. Training: Sheridan College (Technical Production) and University of Waterloo (Social Development Studies). Awards: Proud recipient of the KP Hay Award. Et cetera: "Happiness isn't good enough for me. I demand euphoria!" #renegabe
    Meghan Callan
    Production stage manager
    2016: Production stage manager of the Avon Theatre and stage manager of A Little Night Music. 16th season. Stratford: Meghan has worked on many productions at the Stratford Festival, including The Physicists, A Midsummer Night's Dream (2014), Tommy, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Tempest (2010). Elsewhere: Meghan enjoyed working across Canada for the Shaw Festival, Atlantic Theatre Festival, Theatre New Brunswick, NAC, Citadel Theatre, Globe Theatre and Lighthouse Festival Theatre. She has also worked in stage management for corporate clients such as General Motors, Toyota Canada, the Retail Council of Canada and the Canadian International Auto Show. Training: BFA, York University. Et cetera: Many thanks to Beatrice, Ella and Peter for always making her proud.
    Bona Duncan
    Production stage manager
     2016: Production stage manager of the Avon Theatre and stage manager of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 16th season. Stratford: Stage manager: The Taming of the Shrew, King John, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Dangerous Liaisons, Cyrano de Bergerac, Zastrozzi, All's Well That Ends Well, Fanny Kemble, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Electra, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Hamlet. Production stage manager: Studio and Avon theatres. Assistant stage manager: Antony and Cleopatra, The Matchmaker, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, As You Like It. Elsewhere: Bona is grateful to have worked in many theatres across our country, including TIFT, Canadian Stage, Soulpepper, The Grand, NAC, MTC, Banff Centre, Citadel, Tarragon, Centaur. Training: Graduate of the technical production section of the National Theatre School of Canada; BA from Bishop's University. Et cetera: Bona lives in Stratford with her husband, Dan, and daughter, Georgia.

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