Tickets are going fast for Jekyll and Hyde, and soon there will be only two weeks left of the run, so get those tickets if you’d like to come!

Well, this is going to be fun! I’ve been cast in this the above production, a North American premiere of an adaptation by Nick Lane (a script that I love). I’m looking forward to treading the boards once again in my hometown of Calgary, it’s been awhile. Hope you can make it, tickets are available at Vertigo Theatre.

Jillian Rees-Brown, Michelle Nash, Allison Crowe, and Brandon Lee Carabin. Photo by Mandy Keeping

The summer has wrapped up for Bingo Ladies at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival in Cow Head NL! I was lucky enough to make it out for opening night, and the talent there was incredible. Thanks to the actors, artists, and all involved at Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador who made this production such a success and brought so much joy and laughter to the local audiences and tourists.

Meet Thor, the Bingo Troll! He’s very excited (and so am I) that he’s heading out for his fifth production of Bingo Ladies, this summer at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival in Cow Head NL!

Will Thor hike the Tablelands? Take the boat tour of Western Brook Pond? Perhaps a dip in the ocean at Shallow Bay? My feelings are honestly mixed on Screech Ins (I finally gave in at my cousin’s wedding) but I’m thinking a kiss from a capelin would be suit Thor. I hope to get a picture.

As part of my MFA in playwrighting at the University of Calgary, I needed to write a pre-thesis play. In consultation with my supervisor we thought, “why not a musical?” On April 4th and 5th I was given the opportunity to workshop a truncated version of this new musical with a 45 minute staged reading at the University Theatre at the U of C. Our incredibly cast was made up of Robyn Ord (Susan), Elinor Holt (Dr. Pepper), and Steven Conde (Rex) with Konrad Pluta as music director, led by Christine Brubaker as director. I was so happy with what these imaginative artists were able to bring to this piece, they were a dream to work with! Thank you to them and the School of Creative and Performing Arts at the University of Calgary for making it possible. I look forward to completing the piece!

It feels great to be back at school. After two years of the pandemic and living in Calgary, it felt like it was time to re-invest in some learning. In September I started my MFA in Playwrighting at the University of Calgary. They do keep you busy as a Grad student! But so far I’m having a great time getting to dedicate myself to studying plays, writing plays, oh, and musicals. Drop by the office and say hello!

 It’s hard not to love this place, and after ten years of coming back, it has started to feel like home. I’m lucky to be working back with Rising Tide Theatre in Trinity NL, where I’m acting, as well as arranging music, writing comedy sketches, and music directing the Dinner Theatre and Shenanigan shows. I keep on telling folks to visit, and hopefully these photos might get you interested…

Had the greatest time working on this show at the Citadel Theatre this Spring.  At a time when there wasn’t much theatre going on, getting the chance to act, sing, and dance with such a  talented creative team, cast, and crew was a gift!

I am so honoured to have been included in this project with my long time collaborator Richard Ouzounian. It has been a long pandemic, so when Eclipse approached us and asked us to write a song inspired by this time there was certainly a lot of inspiration to draw from. I’m really proud what Richard and I came up with for this song, and to try something different, I wrote the music for the song first and then handed it over to Richard to write the lyrics.
The project should be hitting the boards sometime later in the year, and I’ll share the details here as they come up!

Had a wonderful time workshopping the new Opera “February” with Opera on the Avalon while out here in Trinity. As someone who has worked in Musical Theatre as a performer and writer it was absolutely fascinating to look at the similarities and differences in the craft. For example: as a librettist you have even less text to work with than musicals! It requires such succinctness. It’s a new world but it was so great to be a part of and to explore the part of Cal for the workshop. Thank you Opera on the Avalon, and novelist/librettist Lisa Moore and Composer/librettist Laura Kaminsky for having us!