THE TEAM
BRAD COOK | Co-Founder | Co-Artistic Director
Brad Cook is an actor, puppeteer, movement coach and movement director. He has spent 7 seasons at the Stratford Festival as a movement coach and has taught movement at the National Theatre School of Canada, University of Waterloo, Randolph College for the Performing Arts, and The Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. As an actor and puppeteer selected credits include; War Horse (National Theatre of Great Britain/Mirvish), Maaanomaa, My Brother (BBTC), Body 13 (MT Space), Frankenstein’s Ghosts (Inter Arts Matrix), Charles Dickens Writes a Christmas Carol, Pearl Gidley (Lost & Found Theatre). Selected Movement Direction and Puppetry Direction credits include; The Neverending Story (Stratford Festival/NAC), The Breathing Hole, Treasure Island, Breath of Kings: Rebellion and Redemption (Stratford Festival), The Other Side of the River (Backyard Theatre), Lord Sword (Inter Arts Matrix), King Lear (Cosmic Fishing Theatre), and recently was the Intimacy Coordinator on Transplant (CTV/NBCU).
Photo by: Alejandro Santiago
TAWIAH BEN-EBEN M’CARTHY | Co-Founder | Co-Artistic Director
Tawiah M’Carthy is a Ghanaian born, Toronto based theatre practitioner, notable as a performer, director and playwright. Tawiah’s playwright/performer credits include Maanomaa, My Brother (Blue Bird Theatre Collective), Black Boys (Saga Collectif), Obaaberima (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre), and Yɛn Ara Asaase Ni as part of 21 Black Futures (Obsidian Theatre / CBC Gem). Tawiah directed Rihannaboi95 (Young People’s Theatre) and will be directing the 2022 production of Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman (Stratford Festival). Tawiah is a founding member of Saga Collectif and currently the artist outreach and development coordinator at Canadian Stage as well as co-director of the Emerging Creators Unit at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Tawiah is a Dora nominated playwright and performer.
Photo by: David Cooper
BETH WONG | Producer
Beth Wong is an arts, culture, and events worker in Toronto. She grew up in Coquitlam, B.C. and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and had a background in music before discovering theatre and production as a youth. She was a participant in several Soulpepper Youth programs before attending Ryerson’s theatre production program. Since graduating, Beth has worked primarily as a stage manager, front of house manager, and event coordinator, before transitioning into administration. Beth has worked with Buddies in Bad Times, Obsidian Theatre, bcurrent performing arts, Cahoots Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, and Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. She is currently the Company Manager at Canadian Stage.
Photo by: Veronica Ho
ASSOCIATE ARTISTS
KOBENA AQUAA-HARRISON
Kobèna Aquaa-Harrison is an internationally respected composer, eclectic multi-instrumentalist and performer from Ghana/Bermuda. His awards span music, film, television, media, dance and theatre, including several Dora Mavor Moore, Chalmers Foundation, TAMA awards and JUNO contributions with diverse artists from spoken word to children’s music. Kobè’s trademark, “Afrosonic jollof” is “the sound of jazz, rock, R&B and dance music coming face to face with its roots,”and delivered with engaging humour. His all-start, Djungle Bouti Orchestra: Kwanza Msingwana, Kofi Ackah, Marito Marques, Andrew Craig, Alex St. Kitts, and others performs for Presidents, Prime Ministers and preschoolers at festivals and special events featuring electric and acoustic instruments built by Kobè, such as 17th century Akan “seperewa”. You’ve likely heard his vocal and instrumental work for FIFA, Nissan, Shaw & Stratford Festivals, CBC, Kellogg’s, CanStage, DanceImmersion etc. Kobèna is founder aof Michèzo! a former AfroFest President/Artistic Director and CKLN host, currently Cultural Development Director at Abandze Embassy - the multimedia creative oasis at the heart of Vogue mag’s “2nd coolest neighbourhood in the world” W Queen W, Toronto.
ALDRIN BUNDOC
Aldrin Bundoc was born in Manila, Philippines and immigrated to Canada with his family when he was 5 years old. He trained at the George Brown Theatre Conservatory focusing on classical theatre and currently lives in Toronto, Canada. He is an actor, physical-theatre creator, and producer. Aldrin is also part of OMNI's Filipino Sketch Series "Abroad". Selected Credits: Hilot Means Healer (Cahoots); Million Billion Pieces, Antigone (Young People’s Theatre); Towards Youth (Project Humanity/Crow’s Theatre); Meet Cute (Roseneath Theatre); Body Politic (Buddies in Bad Times/lemonTree Creations); Twelfth Night, Alls Well that Ends Well (St. Lawrence Shakespeare); Schitt’s Creek (CBC); Coroner (CBC); Star Trek: Discovery (CBS); Killjoys (Space). Aldrin received a Dora Nomination for Outstanding Ensemble for Million Billion Pieces, Antigone and Meet Cute; as well as a Broadway World Toronto Nomination for Best Leading Actor for Body Politic.
Photo by: Mark Binks
ANNE-MARIE DONOVAN | Co-Founder
Native of Montreal, Anne-Marie’s creative work includes BBTC’s Maanomaa, My Brother, and also Frankenstein’s Ghosts (2011, Inter Arts Matrix), The Last 15 Seconds (2009, MT Space) and Sounding Rituals (2007 Open Ears Festival). Anne-Marie is co-creating a trilogy of works based on Phaedra called, Phaedra Echoes: Phaedra 101, Les racines de la rage and Dear Euripides (IAM), and is for très loin, led by choreographer Sylvie Bouchard (BoucharDanse). Directing credits include Lord Sword by DW Campbell (IAM), the opera Ghost Tango, by Tim Brady and Douglas Burnett (Vocalypse), Giiwedin, a First Nations opera by Spy Dénommé-Welch and Catherine Magowan (Opera Laurier) and Barbara Croall’s Manidoog (Music Toronto). In 2007, Anne-Marie founded Inter Arts Matrix and served as its artistic director until 2014. She is co-artistic director of Long Reach Opera Workshop, former artistic director of NUMUS Concerts and a recipient of the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award at University of Waterloo where she taught in the Theatre and Performance Program from 1993-2014. www.annemariedonovan.ca
ANDRÉ DU TOIT
André du Toit is a lighting designer for live performance based in Toronto, although his designs have been seen across Canada and beyond. He has received three Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding Lighting Design and has been nominated for twelve. He has also received a Toronto Theatre Critics Award and a My Theatre Award for best design and been nominated for a Capital Critic’s Circle Award. His recent designs include Prince Hamlet (Why Not Theatre); R+J (Stratford Festival of Canada) Getting Married, The Orchard (Shaw Festival); Now You See Her, Mouthpiece (Quote Unquote Collective); The Cave, Le Grand Continental (Luminato); Jerusalem (Outside the March/Company Theatre); Animal Farm, A Delicate Balance, Vimy, The 39 Steps, (Soulpepper); This Was the World,Guarded Girls, Harlem Duet (Tarragon Theatre); Italian Mime Suicide, Paolozzapedia, The Double (Bad New Days);Oraltorio (Obsidian/Soulpepper); Love and Information (Canadian Stage).
Photo by: Ulises Regalado
ALICE FERREYRA GALLIANI
Alice is originally from Lima, Peru and has worked as a Stage Manager across Ontario since 2011. Favorite credits include: R+J, Henry VIII, Birds of a Kind, Bakkhai (Stratford Festival); Blue Bird (Blue Bird Theatre Collective); Every Silver Lining (Next Stage Festival); Maggie & Pierre (Grand Theatre); Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls (Roseneath Theatre); The Drowsy Chaperone, Footloose, The Addams Family, Spring Awakening, Spelling Bee, Nine (Randolph Academy); Godspell (Theatre Sheridan); Seussical Jr. (Capitol Theatre); Anne of Green Gables, Evita, Shrek the Musical (Lower Ossington Theatre); The Canadian (Thousand Islands Playhouse); 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).
Photo by: Sam Gaetz
WOLE OGUNTOKUN
Wole was the Dramaturge, cultural consultant and dialect coach to Death and the King’s Horseman at the Stratford Festival, was the Dramaturge and played Elesin Oba in Stratford/Soulpepper Theatre’s radio/online version (June 2021) and was a consultant on the National Theatre’s production in England. He was the Global Fellow of the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) in 2015, 2016, 2018. He has written and directed plays for the Cross Currents Festival (Washington, DC); Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Shakespeare Olympiad (The Globe, London); Ubumuntu Arts Festival, Rwanda; Lagos Black Heritage Festival. Moderator at the awarding of the Europe Theatre Special Prize to Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, in Rome. Artistic consultant to the Director’s Projects at the Shaw Festival (2018), assistant director to Wole Soyinka in the production of Beautification of Area Boy, resident International Guest Artiste at the Svalegangen Theatre, Arthus, Denmark.