Patrick Street Productions, with the support of Kearns & Company Real Estate Lawyers
is proud to present the Lower Mainland's first professional production of the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical
Into the Woods
Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by James Lapine
at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre March 7-29, 2008
photos by David Cooper |
| generously supported by... |
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"Once upon a time, there was a young, untested and very ambitious theatre company called Patrick Street Productions that formed in a village by the sea, far to the West...
"Into the Woods boasts a score by that greatest of magical maestros, Stephen Sondheim. Beautiful and strange, his music had been known to derail even the most trained and proficient voices on the grand stages of that musical capital known as the Great White Way. ... By all rights, Patrick Street’s foray should have failed. Luckily for everyone in the village by the sea, it was a triumph."
— the WestEnder |
Linda Quibell (rear), Megan Morrison |
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Melissa Young, Zena Driver, Jennifer Toulmin, Ryan Reid, Lisa Waines |
"...a slick, tight, exhilarating show."
— the Province
"In the face of such a dazzling, entertaining performance, it’s hard to single out any one player for special consideration."
— the WestEnder
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"Into the Woods’ book, by James Lapine, is undeniably magical, as is the score. But a special kind of magic sprang from the talents of everyone on the stage, so that what could have been an interminable and bum-numbing three hours in a dark room became a breathless gem of a moment that, like a bedtime story read to a child who isn’t yet sleepy, ended far too soon."
— the WestEnder
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"...consistently strong comic performances and excellent singing voices."
— The Province
"David Hurwitz and Patti Allan are near-perfect as sweet Jack and his shrewish mother"
— The Province
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Patti Allan, Robert Clarke; Simon Webb (background) |
Katey Wright |
"Katey Wright, as the Baker’s Wife, stole the show with a subtle and delicate performance that grounded this fantastical fairytale."
— the WestEnder
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"As philandering husbands, Ryan Reid and Jonathan Winsby give their Princes Charming just the right amount of noblesse and narcissism to make their duet, 'Agony' — and its reprise in Act II — two of the show’s highlights."
— the WestEnder
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Ryan Reid, Jonathan Winsby |
"Ingrid Nilson mugged and clowned her way beautifully through the transformation of Little Red Riding Hood from victim to vigilante."
— the WestEnder
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Robert Clarke, Ingrid Nilson (foreground); Katey Wright (background)
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"Woods casts a Magical Spell"
— the WestEnder
"The cast is fantastic, and the energy is high."
— beyondrobson.com |
Jennifer Toulmin as Cinderella |
"A pitch-perfect interpreter of Sondheim’s music with her clear soprano, [Jennifer] Toulmin also displayed a shiny optimism that recalled the charms of Broadway’s Kristin Chenoweth."
— the WestEnder
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"Linda Quibell stands out for both her acting and singing as the Witch"
— The Province
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Linda Quibell |
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Simon Webb as the Narrator |
Ryan Reid as Cinderella's Prince |
"One of the best productions of the year so far."
— The Province |
ARTISTIC TEAM |
 PETER JORGENSEN (Direction & Musical Staging)
Recent directing/ choreography credits include Orpheus: Gone to Hell (an adaptation of Offenbach's Orphee Aux Enfers that he wrote himself) and Die Fledermaus for North Shore Light Opera Society; You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Ovation nomination for outstanding direction); Bye, Bye Birdie (Ovation Award for outstanding direction and a CTC award for Best Choreography); and The Baker's Wife for Applause Musicals in Concert. This season prior to Into the Woods Peter will be directing Marry Me a Little, a review of Sondheim songs cut from their intended productions (Havana Theatre, Nov 8-25th), and appearing as Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast at the Stanley Theatre. Other favourite roles include Harold Hill in The Music Man, and Julian Marsh in 42nd Street for Royal City Musical Theatre as well as Dick in Dames at Sea, Frankie in Forever Plaid and Georg Nowack in She Loves Me (where he met his wife Katey Wright) for the Arts Club Theatre. www.peterjorgensen.com |
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 SCOTT KNIGHT (Musical Direction)
Scott has studied music at both U Vic and UBC as well as the NUOVA school for advanced studies in opera and Tapestry New Opera in Toronto. He has had the pleasure of working with the Playhouse Theatre Company, TUTS, Firehall Theatre, and the Gateway Theatre as well as UBC Opera, Burnaby Lyric Opera and Vancouver Opera, where he toured The Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola for over 250 performances. He has also toured extensively with the Canadian Tenors and Romanza. Some of Scott’s favourite credits include Annie (Footlight Theatre), Into the Woods (Vancouver Sondheim Society), West Side Story (Chilliwack Academy), Fiddler on the Roof (Footlight Theatre), Grease (TUTS), The Fantasticks and Assassins (Quintessence Theatre Society), and On the Town (APPLAUSE). He also received a Jessie Nomination for Best Musical Direction for his work on Falsettos (Skycorner). He has spent the last 10 years teaching musical theatre at a variety of venues including Capilano College, the Gateway Theatre, Arts Umbrella and CYMC. Scott is excited to be venturing Into the Woods with this amazing cast. |
 CHRIS ALLAN (Assistant Director)
Christopher Allan began his theatre career in 1960 in London, England where he lived for over 25 years and where he worked with many eminent directors including Laurence Olivier, Trevor Nunn, Peter Hall, Noel Coward and Harold Prince. As a singer/dancer, Allan appeared (selected credits) in Cabaret (Theatre Royal, Liverpool), Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Salisbury Playhouse, Glasgow Opera House), Stars on Sunday (Granada Television Series), and several shows at the London Palladium including two Royal Command Performances. Selected stage management credits include Amadeus and The Crucible (National Theatre of Great Britain), Chicago (Cambridge Theatre), A Little Night Music and Irene (Adelphi Theatre), and Cats (New London Theatre). Returning to Vancouver in 1986, Allan has worked in stage management for all the city’s major theatre companies including the Vancouver Opera. He is a member of British and Canadian Actors’ Equity and the Songwriters Guild of Great Britain. In addition to his work on The Dream Healer, Allan has written two musicals and is currently completing a play spanning the entire 20th Century about a Downtown Eastside house and the people who live in it. |
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CAST BIOS |
 PATTI ALLAN (Jack's Mother)
Patti is a graduate of the SFU School for the Contemporary Arts. A four-time Jessie Award winner with numerous additional nominations, Patti has appeared in film, TV, theatre productions, cartoon voice-over projects, and many radio dramas for CBC Radio. Theatre credits include: Cabaret, Waiting for the Parade (Showcase Festival); 42nd Street (Royal City Musical Theatre); The Soldier's Tale (Turning Point Ensemble/SFU); Crime and Punishment, Asylum of the Universe (NeWorld Theatre); Arsenic and Old Lace, Hamlet, The Imaginary Invalid (Arts Club), Cymbeline (Bard on the Beach), A Christmas Carol, The Music Man, Three Tall Women, The Heiress (Playhouse Theatre Co). Film and TV credits include: Love Money, Just A Girl, Godiva's, The L Word, Reefer Madness, The 4400, Huff, Romeo, Dead Like Me, Da Vinci's Inquest, The Dead Zone, Goodboy, and Stargate. Patti teaches first-year acting at SFU, and is a Drama Artist in Residence for the Vancouver School Board, directing projects with elementary and high school students throughout the Lower Mainland. Patti is a proud member of the Turning Point Ensemble Chamber Orchestra, and sings 40s tunes with her singing group The Swing Sisters. |
 ROBERT CLARKE (The Baker)
Robert is thrilled to be venturing “Into the Woods” with such a talented ensemble. Past theatre credits include Not Enough Rope (Compass Theatre); The Masque Affect (The Center); The Melville Boys (Thousand Islands Playhouse); the premiere production of The Foursome (Theatre New Brunswick); three seasons with the Shaw Festival where he appeared in Busman’s Honeymoon, The Front Page, Cavalcade, Petrified Forest, The Hollow and Shall We Join the Ladies; One For the Pot (Royal Alex); and The Cradle Will Rock (Equity Showcase). Television and film credits include The Murdoch Mysteries; Martian Child; The 4400; Eureka; Chasing Christmas; Code Name: The Cleaner; Alienated and Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical. “If you go out in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise!” Enjoy the show! |
 DAVID HURWITZ - (Jack)
Most recently seen on stage in The Goat or Who is Sylvia? at Presentation House, David has had the pleasure of performing with the Arts Club Theatre, neworldtheatre, the Playhouse Theatre Co., Vancouver Opera, Livent (in Vancouver), Richmond’s Gateway Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Royal City Musical Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg’s Rainbow Stage, Studio 58 (of which he is a graduate) and in Toronto with Mirvish Productions in the Canadian company of Hairspray. Recent television credits include USA Network’s Psych! and CTV’s Whistler. A big thanks to the Into the Woods team for inviting him to be a part of this exciting production! |
 JENNIFER TOULMIN
(Cinderella)
Jennifer is delighted to join the cast of Into The Woods, and to be making her Vancouver debut! Most recently, Jennifer portrayed the title role in Anne of Green Gables for the Grand Theatre. Favourite credits: Sophie in Mamma Mia (Original Cast and U.S. National Tour); Liesl in The Sound of Music (Neptune Theatre); Juliet in The Capulets' Ball (Shakespeare in Action); Mary in The Secret Garden (Theatre New Brunswick); Wendy in Peter Pan (Stirling Festival); Lucy in Dracula (Charlottetown Festival); Carolyn in Having Hope at Home (Magnus Theatre); originating the role of Cissy in A Blue Castle; and four years as Anne in Anne of Green Gables for the Charlottetown Festival, for the Atlantic Scene Festival, and in the Broadway Series at The Shubert Theatre, Connecticut. Upcoming, Jennifer plays Emily Middle in the workshop production of The Wonder of It All (Equity Showcase Theatre, Toronto). Jennifer represented Canada at EXPO 2005 in Japan. She filmed a documentary on her life as an artist for the project. For my Lola. www.jennifertoulmin.com.
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 INGRID NILSON (Little Red Riding Hood)
Ingrid can’t wait to venture Into the Woods with this brilliant ensemble cast! Favourite credits include Irma in Irma La Douce, Eve in The Apple Tree, Crissy in Hair (Do It With Class, SK) as well as Stella in the award-winning feature film Falling Angels (T.O. Film Festival). Currently, she is filming the fifth season of renegadepress.com, a four-time Gemini Award-winning TV series that addresses issues facing teens today. Check her out as Patti on the show, which is presently airing on Global and APTN and at www.renegadepress.com (the show’s interactive web-site). Interested in creating her own work, Ingrid recently created and performed in two successful Broadway revues. Back in hometown Regina, her acclaimed fringe show Not A Pretty Girl, based on the work of Ani DiFranco, was performed in 2006. Watch for her around town performing in the Broadway Jazz dance company Candy which was recently featured on the TV series Flash Gordon. An avid theatre goer, Ingrid sees as many shows as possible including over 20 performances on Broadway to date. |
 LINDA QUIBELL (Witch)
Linda is an actor, singer, writer, dogsbody. Most commonly, she is co-Artistic Director (with David Bloom) of Felix Culpa, and recently produced and performed as the evil Duchess in Revenge for the company. This past summer she was seen at Bard on the Beach, where she played a multitude of roles in Julius Caesar and Timon of Athens. Next up is the eponymous role in Blackbird Theatre’s production of Hecuba at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, as well as HIVE at Magnetic North and FUSE at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Nominated for several Jessies, Linda won the Outstanding Leading Actress award for her performance as Jenny in the Ruby Slippers/Public Dreams production of The Threepenny Opera. |
 RYAN REID (Cinderella's Prince)
Ryan feels honoured to be a part of Patrick Street's first production. Into the Woods was the first musical Ryan ever saw and he has always wanted to be in a production. Recently Ryan was a Wickersham monkey in Seussical at the Waterfront Theatre. Other credits include: My Fair Lady, Singin' in the Rain, Cabaret, Miss Saigon, Funny Girl (Arts Club Theatre), Fiddler on the Roof, No Great Mischief (Playhouse Theatre Company), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Whistler Theatre Project), The Sound of Music (Citadel), Urinetown (Firehall Arts Centre), Oliver!, The Fantasticks, and Cyrano De Bergerac, as well as film and TV credits including Battlestar Galactica, Intelligence, License to Wed, and One Week. Thank you to my friends and family, without their support I would be lost. Enjoy the show and thank you for your support of live theatre in Vancouver.
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 LISA WAINES (Cinderella's Stepmother/Granny)
Lisa is truly honoured to be joining this remarkable ensemble of talent for Into The Woods. Favourite past productions include: Miracle on 34th Street, Anything Goes (Chemainus Theatre Festival), Private Lives (Atlantic Theatre Festival), The Importance of Being Earnest (Grand Theatre, Citadel), Secret Life, Waste, Cavalcade (Shaw Festival), The Cherry Orchard (Playhouse Theatre Co.), Dancing at Lughnasa (Western Canada Theatre Company, New Bastion) and Cyberteens in Love (New Play Centre). |
 SIMON WEBB (Narrator/Mysterious Old Man)
Simon was the all-seeing Buttonmoulder in Blackbird Theatre's 2006 Jessie Award-winning adaptation of Ibsen's Peer Gynt, and this spring saw him as the heartsick philosopher Hermocrate in Marivaux's classic comedy, The Triumph of Love, another Blackbird Theatre production. In November/December he will appear as the philosopher/garbage collector Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady at the Gateway Theatre. This fall he guest-starred as Master Todd in the season premiere of Men In Trees - whatever happened to Master Todd? Did he fall out of his tree? Get lost in the blizzard? Simon is an accomplished visual artist (post-modernist-figurative), and a fledgling set designer. His $100 set for the 2006 Fringe hit The Diary of Adam and Eve was nominated for an Ovation Award; earlier this year he designed Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband for Presentation House and George F. Walker's Zastrozzi for the Waterfront Theatre. He is currently designing next February's production of Chekhov's Three Sisters at Presentation House. |
 JONATHAN WINSBY (Cinderella's Prince/Wolf)
From one Sondheim gem to another, Jonathan is delighted to be performing alongside a talented cast in Into The Woods. Audiences have seen him recently in the Arts Club Theatre's productions of Company ("Paul") and Beauty and the Beast ("Gaston"). Other favourite roles include "Buzz Adams/Stewpot" in the Stratford Festival's South Pacific, "Chris" and part of the Jessie nominated "Loverly Quartet" in the Arts Club's productions of Miss Saigon and My Fair Lady respectively, as well as "Frederic" (Chemainus Theatre Festival's Pirates of Penzance), "Jinx" (Magnus Theatre's Forever Plaid), and "Jacey Squires" (Royal City Musical Theatre's The Music Man). Thanks to you all for your support and especially to Peter and Katey for their vision and drive. |
 KATEY WRIGHT (Baker's Wife)
Katey is delighted to be part of this extraordinary cast for Into the Woods. A Vancouver-based performer who has played stages across Canada, some of Katey's favorite roles include Amalia Balash in She Loves Me (Arts Club Stanley Theatre; Jessie Award, Outstanding Production), Viola in Twelfth Night (Bard on the Beach), Lucy Brown in The Threepenny Opera (Belfry / Arts Club), Claire in Proof (Manitoba Theatre Centre/Citadel), Constance in She Stoops to Conquer (Grand Theatre / Vancouver Playhouse), and the title role in Little Mercy's First Murder (Touchstone Theatre). Katey is a busy voice-over actress in commercials, video games, and radio drama. She also has extensive film and TV credits, most recently principal roles in The 4400, Psych!, The Dead Zone and The L Word. After a hiatus occasioned by the birth of her son Lukas, Katey returned to the stage earlier this season as Susan in Stephen Sondheim's Company at the Stanley Theatre. www.kateywright.com |
 DAVID DIMAPILIS (The Steward)
Dave is an Honours graduate in Theatre at the University of British Columbia, and has spent the past year performing in The Sketch Laugh Lounge. He is happy to be returning to the stage as an actor in Into the Woods. Past productions include Andrew in This Venue is Being Held Hostage, Hank 2-6 in Do Clones, The Man… in Garry Plotter. |
 ZENA DRIVER (Florinda)
Zena was previously living in Toronto for five years, pursuing film and television. She is ecstatic to return to musical theatre with such a talented cast and crew, performing in this spirited and musically spectacular show. Since returning to her native city of Vancouver, Zena has been performing the role of Tina in Tony n' Tina's Wedding, performing with the Hudson Bay Company's Garden Fair and acting in various independent and feature films, many of which have been touring the festival circuits. She recently had a blast performing in her first ever Vancouver Fringe Festival in the hilariously fun Supermarket Scuffle - Jumbo Pack Edition. Zena is a graduate of Grant MacEwan College. Zena is incredibly grateful for her friends and family who fill her life with love and support every day. She would like thank Nokia and MTV Canada for their helpful contributions to her rent right when she needed it most, lol!! |
 MELISSA YOUNG (Lucinda)
Melissa is thrilled to be going into the woods! Recent acting credits include: Gypsy (Arts Club), three seasons of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Arts Club), Hot Flashes (Western Canada Theatre/Gateway), Gremlin (Carousel Theatre) and The Pirates of Penzance (Chemainus Theatre Festival). As a choreographer, she recently created the dance moves for Seussical at Carousel Theatre. Watch out for Melissa in Fairytopia IV where she provided the motion capture for a variety of fairies. Next up, she will be appearing in The Producers at the Arts Club. Melissa holds a BFA in Acting from UVIC and a Theatre Arts Diploma from Grant MacEwan College. Thanks to Martin. |
 MEGAN MORRISON (Rapunzel)
Megan Morrison is a Vancouver-based actor, writer and opera singer. She graduated as a voice major from the UBC School of Music and has been fortunate to study acting with some of Vancouver’s finest theatre teachers. Performance highlights include Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance (DragonDiva Operatic Productions), Zulma in The Italian Girl in Algiers (Burnaby Lyric Opera), Theresa in Boy Gets Girl (Wicked Awesome Theatre), Katisha in The Mikado (Fraser Valley G&S Society), Gertrude in Hamlet (Spectral Theatre), Larina in Eugene Onegin (UBC Opera), Cousin Hebe in HMS Pinafore (UBC G&S Society), and Antonia in Man of La Mancha (Pipedream Productions). As a children’s literature aficionado, Megan is thrilled that her 2007-2008 season includes more than one excursion into the woods. She is currently preparing the role of Hansel for Opera Appassionata's November 2007 production of Hansel and Gretel. |
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DESIGN TEAM BIOS |
MELODY ANDERSON - Mask Maker
Mask-maker and designer Melody Anderson has received Jessie Awards for her work on The Number 14 for Axis Theatre (collective creation and design), Cultural Metaphors for Pangaea Arts, The Beauty Machine and Peacemaker for Green Thumb Theatre, and The Emperor's New Threads for Axis Theatre. Other design and mask credits include Five Beans in the Wheel for Wishbone Theatre, Pericles and A Winter's Tale for Bard on the Beach, Birthday Boy and Ziggurat! for Leaky Heaven Circus, The Ballad of Weedy Peetstraw, Horseplay, Passion, Creation, and Law of the Land for Caravan Farm Theatre, Nativity for Western Canada Theatre, Arsenic and Old Lace, Hamlet, Alice and The Visit for the Arts Club Theatre, A Perfect Ganesh for the Belfry Theatre, Big Shoes for Yorick Theatre, Wind in the WIllows for Carousel Theatre, and Bones for Touchstone Theatre. Her masks are used as teaching tools in acting workshops throughout North America. |
 ALAN BRODIE - Lighting Design
Alan is very pleased to be collaborating with Patrick Street on Into the Woods. A Vancouver resident, Alan works for regional theatres across Canada, in addition to companies that include the Shaw and Stratford Festivals, Vancouver Opera and Pacific Opera. A graduate of theatre studies at UBC, he is presently engaged as an instructor at the National Theatre School of Canada. Alan has received Jessie Awards for lighting design for Diplomacy, Mary’s Wedding, Art and The Overcoat. Other recent credits include His Greatness (Arts Club), Vigil (Playhouse) and Little Mercy’s First Murder (Touchstone). Later this season he will be lighting The Amorous Adventures of Anatol for the Playhouse, A Little Night Music for the Shaw Festival and Moby Dick at the Stratford Festival. Alan is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada. He was a 2006 nominee for the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre.
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 ALEXANDER BRENDAN FERGUSON - Sound Design
Alexander graduated from UVic, then apprenticed at the Chemainus Theatre Festival. There, he acted in and/or scored The Rats, The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe, See How They Run, and Queen Milli of Galt. Other acting credits include Somewhere in the World… (Charlottetown Festival), Inanna (Theatre SKAM), Charlotte’s Web (Kaleidoscope), The Chemainus Revue (Chemainus Theatre Festival), and Disney’s Aladdin Jr. (Kaleidoscope Theatre). Recent sound designs include Werewolves (Pi Theatre), Charlotte’s Web (Kaleidoscope Theatre), Bangs & Buddha (The Only Animal), The Triumph of Love (Blackbird Theatre), and Disney’s Aladdin Jr. (Kaleidoscope Theatre). www.abferguson.ca
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BARBARA CLAYDEN - Costume Design
Barbara Clayden has designed, created and/or co-ordinated costumes for many Vancouver companies including the Arts Club, Green Thumb, Pi, Theatre Replacement and Wild Excursions. She has been nominated for 8 Jessie Richardson Awards and won four. Most recent shows: Dogeaters for Studio 58 and Stupidity for Theatre Conspiracy. Selected others: Hedda Gabler for Rumble Productions, Urinetown for the Firehall, Peer Gynt for Blackbird and Wind in the Willows for Carousel. |
 MEAGHAN GOUGH - Assistant Stage Manager
Meaghan is very happy to once again have the opportunity to work on one of her favorite musicals. Having worked on Capilano College's production of Into The Woods, her love for fairytales certainly grew as she watched how the fascinating tale unraveled. Meaghan recently had the chance to work on another Sondheim musical, Marry Me A Little, also with Peter Jorgensen as director. She is very excited to once again be working with him, as well as the wonderful and talented cast of this show. Meaghan would like to thank her Mother for all her support. |
 ANNE TAYLOR - Stage Manager
Anne is very grateful to have the opportunity to work with Katey and Peter again on what is sure to be an amazing project. Most recently Anne has been working as a stage manager with the Firehall Arts Centre on The Ecstasy of Rita Joe and Urinetown – The Musical. Anne has also had the opportunity to work with Neworld Theatre's Adrift on the Nile and Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil both times as their stage manager. Other recent projects include production manager for the Vancouver Fringe Festival and script supervisor for Love Money. Past projects worked on with Katey and/or Peter are Dames at Sea, Dial M for Murder and Forever Plaid with the Arts Club, and in cooperative ventures: Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill, To Broadway and Back and The Pintauro Cafe. Anne lives in Vancouver with Jim Preston, her partner of ten years.
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 TERENCE VAN DER WOUDE - Production Manager
Terence is happy to be part of such a great project. The last theatre show he lent his talents to was the summer of 2006 as the Director of Operations (aka General & Production Manager) for A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Whistler Theatre Project in Rebagliati Park. In between these projects, Terence has produced and managed more than a dozen corporate events in Vancouver and Whistler. Before that he spent 8 years in Vancouver's theatre scene, working with almost every professional company in town. Terence would like to dedicate his offstage performance to his loving wife Galia, his adorable son Sébastien and his unborn child, Surprise! |
 MARTI WRIGHT - Set Design |
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| "a triumph... a dazzling, entertaining performance"
—The WestEnder
"One of the best
productions of the year..."
—The Province
Tickets on sale now:
604 280 3311 |
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