BRONTË: THE WORLD WITHOUT

by Jordi Mand
Director Vanessa Porteous
World première commissioned by the Stratford Festival

A SISTERHOOD OF SECRECY.

Three sisters live in poverty with their ailing father and dissolute, dying brother, jealously guarding the secrets of their disappointed hearts. But desperation drives them to a life-changing choice, as they reveal the literary talents that will win them world-wide fame.

This production draws on creative learning and development fostered in the Stratford Festivalʼs Laboratory.

House Program - Brontë: The World Without

CAST & CREATIVE

CAST

2018: Dromio of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors, Charlotte Brontë in Brontë: The World Without and Mammon, Uriel in Paradise Lost. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Five Alarm (Lighthouse Theatre), How Black Mothers Say I Love You (Factory Theatre/Girls In Bow Ties), The Mountaintop (Grand Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Theatre Northwest), The Living by Colleen Wagner (SummerWorks 2015), Complex (SummerWorks 2014), The Mountaintop (Theatre Calgary - Betty Mitchell Award nomination, Calgary Critics Award nomination 2014), Dirty Butterfly (Bound to Create/Obsidian Theatre - Critic's Pick, NOW Magazine), Awake (Expect Theatre), Race (Theatre Yes), The Women, Born Yesterday, The Stepmother, After the Dance (Shaw Festival), The Little Prince (Grand Theatre). Film/TV: Suits, Awake (Best Actress nomination, Miami Urban Film Festival), Rogue, The Firm, Warehouse 13, Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft). Training: BFA York University. Instagram: @berylbain. Et cetera: Beryl dedicates this exciting debut season to her mother and to the memory of her talented and beautiful grandmothers.

2018: Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors, Emily Brontë in Brontë: The World Without and Beelzebub, Gabriel in Paradise Lost. Fourth season. Stratford: Isabella (The Changeling), Lucullus's Friend (Timon of Athens), Lydia Lubey (All My Sons), Lola (Bunny), Dame Pliant (The Alchemist). Birmingham Conservatory: Duchess of York/Richard (Richard III), Paulina (The Winter's Tale). Elsewhere: Ilona in The Play's the Thing, Petra in An Enemy of the People (Segal Centre); Lena Horne in Joe Louis: An American Romance (Infinithéâtre); Holly in The Lady Smith (Black Theatre Workshop); Scapin, Much Ado About Nothing (Repercussion Theatre); Tamora in Titus Andronicus (Montreal Shakespeare Theatre Company). Film/TV: Assassin's Creed: Origins (Ubisoft), 30 vies (Radio-Canada), The Battle of Wills (Informaction). Training: Birmingham Conservatory; McGill University; Dawson College. Awards: Mary Savidge Award (2016); Elsa Bolam Award (2006); Brian Cloutte Award (2005). Online: jessicabhill.com. Et cetera: "Love. Love and Gratitude."

2018: Officer 2 in The Comedy of Errors, Anne Brontë in Brontë: The World Without and Astoreth, Urania in Paradise Lost. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Molly Aster in Peter and the Starcatcher, Fanny in A Christmas Carol, Ginger Rogers in Make Mine Love (Citadel); Cordelia in King Lear (Bard on the Beach/Theatre Calgary); Sarah in Shakespeare's Rebel (Bard on the Beach); Desdemona in Othello (Shakespeare Company); Crissy in Hair (Mayfield); Thea in Spring Awakening (Strathcona Theatre); Macbeth, Hansel & Gretel (Edmonton Opera); Mary Magdalene in Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Moth in Love's Labour's Lost, Marie in Pains of Youth, Wife in Blood Wedding (Studio Theatre). Voiceover: Mass Effect 3 (EA Games). Film/TV: Lead in L.o.S.T., Algorithms, The True Meaning of Girls. Training: BFA in Acting, University of Alberta. Awards: Dasha Goody Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre. Online: andrea-rankin.com. Et cetera: Andrea would like to thank her family, friends, love and the power of female friendship.

CREATIVE

2018: Playwright of Brontë: The World Without. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Jordi Mand is a Toronto-based playwright who has worked with some of Canada's most prominent theatre companies. Her work has been produced nationally and internationally, and is published by Playwrights Canada Press. Her plays include: Between the Sheets (Nightwood Theatre), Caught (Theatre Passe Muraille), This Will Be Excellent (Carousel Players). Jordi was a Resident of the 2017 Bell Media Prime TV Program at the Canadian Film Centre, where she developed the original TV series Tetherwood. She has been a Playwright-in-Residence with Theatre Passe Muraille, Carousel Players and Nightswimming Theatre. She is a past member of the Stratford Festival's Playwrights Retreat and Tarragon Theatre's Playwrights Unit. Jordi is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.

2018: Director of Brontë: The World Without. Second season. Stratford: Christina, The Girl King (world première). Elsewhere: Gracie (world première, The Belfry, Alberta Theatre Projects); To the Light (world première, ATP); Cockroach (world première, ATP); Charlotte's Web (ATP); You Will Remember Me (world première, ATP); The Red Priest (ATP); The Penelopiad (ATP, Arts Club); world premières and revivals of The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan and Pinocchio by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop; The Syringa Tree (ATP twice, Thousand Islands Playhouse); Queen Lear (Urban Curvz Theatre); The Enchanted Child (Calgary Opera Emerging Artists Ensemble); When That I Was (The Shakespeare Company). Other: Artistic Director, ATP, 2009-2017. Awards (selected): Two Betty Mitchell Awards for Outstanding Direction. Online: Twitter @vanessaporteous, Instagram @vbporteous. Et cetera: All love and gratitude to Bruce and Sasha.

2018: Designer of Brontë: The World Without. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: To the Light, Gracie, Cockroach, The Circle, Red, Mary's Wedding (Alberta Theatre Projects); Blow Wind High Water (Theatre Calgary); The Turn of the Screw, Sweeney Todd, The 39 Steps (Vertigo Theatre); Vigilante (Catalyst Theatre); Peter and the Starcatcher, The Penelopiad, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Vimy, Einstein's Gift (Citadel Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Western Canada Theatre); The Trespassers (Belfry Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse); The Mikado (Calgary Opera); The Drowning Girls (national tour). Film: Costume design for Cut Bank. Training: University of Alberta, MFA. Awards: Four Sterling Awards, two Betty Mitchell Awards, SATA, Victoria Critic's Spotlight Award. Online: narda.ca. Et cetera: Narda was the costume designer for Edmonton's Shakespeare in the Park for 16 seasons. She also frequently works as a lighting designer.

2018: Lighting designer of Brontë: The World Without. 10th season. Stratford: Timon of Athens, The Virgin Trial, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Breath of Kings: Rebellion, Breath of Kings: Redemption, Bunny, The Taming of the Shrew, Possible Worlds, The Last Wife, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Man of La Mancha, Christina, The Girl King, Waiting for Godot, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Little Years, The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead. Elsewhere: Arena Stage, Shaw Festival, Canadian Stage, Mirvish Productions, Soulpepper, National Arts Centre, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Theatre Calgary, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Citadel Theatre, Pacific Opera Victoria, Opera Philadelphia, Edmonton Opera, Necessary Angel, Studio 180, Crow's Theatre, among many others. Awards: Pauline McGibbon Award, three Dora Mavor Moore Awards and a Montreal English Theatre Award.

2018: Sound designer of Brontë: The World Without. Second season. Stratford: Assistant lighting design for HMS Pinafore, Treasure Island. Elsewhere:The Circle, Charlotte's Web, Cockroach, Waiting for the Parade (Alberta Theatre Projects); The Shoplifters (Theatre Calgary); Nine Dragons, The Hollow, Travels With My Aunt (Vertigo); King Lear, Macbeth, All's Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare Company); Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), The Tall Building (Handsome Alice); In the Wake, Good Fences, Crime Does Not Pay, Sequence (Downstage); Nightingale Alley (One Yellow Rabbit). Recordings: Co-producer of The Deep Field Podcast. Training: MFA in Design and Technical Theatre (University of Calgary). Awards: Betty Mitchell Awards for Outstanding Set Design (Travels With My Aunt, Crime Does Not Pay), Outstanding Lighting Design (Macbeth, All's Well That Ends Well); named one of Alberta's "Top 40 Under 40" class of 2017 by Avenue Magazine. Online: @an_tonD, adegroot.ca.

2018: Director of New Plays. Dramaturge of Brontë: The World Without, Paradise Lost and An Undiscovered Shakespeare. 10th season. Stratford: Dramaturgy credits include 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). Bob is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.

2018: Head of Stage Combat. Fight director of The Tempest, The Music Man, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Comedy of Errors, Brontë: The World Without, Coriolanus and Paradise Lost. 25th season. Stratford: Fight director, 200+ productions. Elsewhere: 600+ productions, including 20 seasons with Shaw Festival. Film Director: Cyborg Soldier, Troubled Waters, Good Morning Tomorrow, The Waking, The Hot Flash, End Game, Charon's Obal. TV Director: Designated Survivor, Dark Matter, Bitten, The Bobby Buck Show, XIII, Lost Girl, Earth: Final Conflict, Tracker, Mutant X, The Dresden Files, The Adventures of Sinbad. 500+ film/TV credits as stunt coordinator/action director. Awards: Award of Excellence (Canadian International Film Festival); Genre Award for Best Suspense (BNFF); Derek F. Mitchell Artistic Director's Award, Tyrone Guthrie Award (Stratford); Judges' Choice Award (15 Minutes of Fame International Film Festival); Best Short Award nominee (Directors' Guild of Canada). Online:johnstead.com; IMDB: imdb.com/name/nm0824093/.

2018: Associate fight director of The Tempest, The Music Man, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Comedy of Errors, Brontë: The World Without, Coriolanus and Paradise Lost. Third season. Stratford: 2013: assistant fight director; 2017: associate fight director. Elsewhere: Outside the March/The Company Theatre, 2018: Jerusalem. Centaur Theatre, 2018: Successions; 2017: The 39 Steps. Film/TV: Lead stunt double in Dark Matter, stunt actor in KIN; other stunt credits include Teen Titans, 12 Monkeys, Murdoch Mysteries. Elsewhere: Fight director and stage combat instructor at the National Theatre School in Montreal.

2018: Stage manager of Brontë: The World Without and assistant stage manager of The Comedy of Errors. 21st 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: To my many beautiful loved ones, being present with me celebrating life's journey: thank you for sharing your joy, laughter and unconditional love. Be well and let's keep soaring.

2018: Assistant stage manager of Brontë: The World Without and Paradise Lost. Third season. Stratford: Apprentice stage manager of Macbeth and The Hypochondriac. Recent Credits Include: Di & Viv & Rose, Outside Mullingar, The Audience (with Mirvish) (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Wilde Tales (Shaw); 1979 (Shaw/GCTC); Twelfth Night (Shakespeare BASH'd); Anne & Gilbert: The Musical, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, The Sound of Music (NAC); Tosca, Madama Butterfly (Opera Lyra, Ottawa); This is War (GCTC); A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Hal & Falstaff, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry V (A Company of Fools); Pacino One Night Only (NAC). Et cetera: In 2016 Katherine was awarded the Jean A. Chalmers Apprentice Achievement Award by the Stratford Festival.

2018: Production stage manager of the Studio Theatre and stage manager of Julius Caesar. 12th season. Stratford: Stage manager: 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.

2018: Production stage manager of the Studio Theatre and assistant stage manager of An Ideal Husband. 18th season. Stratford: Highlights include Guys and Dolls, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Carousel, Man of La Mancha, Taking Shakespeare, Henry V, Jacques Brel, Forum, The Trojan Women, Palmer Park, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Odyssey, The Liar, Orpheus Descending, Measure for Measure, Macbeth, King Henry VIII, The King and I, Private Lives and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Elsewhere: Favourites: Einstein's Gift (The Grand Theatre); Trying (Manitoba Theatre Centre); Sylvia (Globe Theatre); Dear Santa (Theatre New Brunswick); The All Night Strut! (Stirling Festival Theatre); Flying on Her Own (Neptune Theatre); Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun (Theatre Orangeville); Mamma Mia! (Mirvish Productions); Godspell (Waterloo Stage). Et cetera: Angela thanks her family and friends for all of their love and support.