Emerging Artist Roundtable

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The first Roundtable program is complete, and we couldn’t be more excited to introduce the 9 members of the first table:

Andrew Cromwell
Andrew is a recent graduate of the University of Guelph’s Theatre Studies Program (BAH). Some of his credits include Actor: Hamlet (University of Guelph), A Lesson in Beauty (Guelph Drama Student’s Federation), and in The Shakespeare Experiment II (Buddies in Bad Times), Director: Square Dance (Guelph Drama Students Federation) and This is a Play (University of Guelph). He has an interest in movement and image based theatre and is very excited to be a part of Theatre Gargantua’s RoundTable Discussion for Emerging Artists.  When he’s not bussing to and from Toronto, Montreal, or Quebec City, Andrew makes his home in Guelph, ON.

Heather Dennis
Heather is excited and very thankful to be a part of Theatre Gargantua’s first Emerging Artist’s Round Table! Heather is currently completing her third year in the Theatre & Drama Studies program at the University of Toronto Mississauga/Sheridan Institute of Technology (BAH/Diploma in Acting). For Theatre Erindale, her credits include: 1st Lady/Dorcas (The Winter’s Tale, upcoming), Bernice (A Child of Survivors), Laura Secord (The Man with the Leek in his Cap). Her experience in directing includes: Thursday’s Child (Erindale Fringe), and What Was I Thinking? (South Simcoe Theatre). Heather also has experience working as a stage manager in Something Stumbled Upon (Erindale Fringe), and as assistant stage manager for Ice (Moving Art), Don’t Drink the Water (Theatre Erindale), and Rumors (Kempenfelt Community Players). She has extensive experience in roles both on and off the stage and owes her passion for performance to the many years spent in dance training.

Christopher Douglas
Christopher Douglas is a man of many theatrical hats.  His writing credits include “Scene for Two Friends in a Crisis” which he directed twice (Pride Cab and playGround 2006), “Growing Up” which he starred in (playGround 2009), “Tu Dai” (playGround 2010), “Speechless” (What Are You Doing Down There 2010), “Stop Spadina, Save Our City” (Protestival), “Superheroes” (UpStart CrowS), “Tyler” (playGround 2011) and “Regrets” (What Are You Doing Back There 2011).  His other theatre highlights include stage managing “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” and “Arcadia” (Amicus) and “Home and Away” (PuppUTopiate), performing with Burlesquesque, playing John in “The Lion in Winter” (Amicus) and his repeat gig with Pink Shirt Productions’ “Six Degrees of Separation”.  Next up is graduating from York University’s Theatre Studies Program, B.A. in hand.

Linn Oyen Farley
Linn is a theatre production and design student at the UC Drama Program at UofT, specialising in lighting & set design, with a side of extracurricular web design & development.

Favourite credits: set & costume design for Alkestis (UC Drama 2010); lighting design for Mahmoud (Pandemic Theatre 2011 – upcoming), Monkey Sci-Fi Horror Theatre II (Monkeyman Productions 2010), My Gaza, ‘Tis of Thee (Pandemic Theatre 2010),WOYZECK (the red light district 2010), As Five Years Pass (with Peter Freund, UC Drama 2010), The (Abridged) Adventures of Ali & Ali and the aXes of Evil (UC Drama 2009).

Matthew Henry
Matt Henry is a second year York University who is currently enrolled in the unique and inspiring Devised Theatre Program. A program that specializes in creating new and innovated works of art through learning and developing all aspects of Theatre, encompassing acting, directing, play writing & dramaturgy, and production. Upon graduating York University Matt Henry wants to continue his fine arts educational journey by enrolling in an acting conservatory in order to fine-tune his acting chops. In his spare time Matt has founded a production company called Art junkie Productions, which specializes in forming theatrical works that utilize all areas of fine arts. His company is currently working on there debut production titled The Accusation, Prosecution, and Execution of our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ; A-choose-your-adventure piece of Theatre in 3 Acts (Working title) His previous theatre credits include acting in SSS”S Rent School Edition (Roger Davis) A Christmas Carol The Musical (Jacob Marley) Matt has also has experience in set design, lighting design, directing and acting. He has even written a play called Hockey Affair which won several awards in a mini play festival at his high school, as well as received both the 2009 award for outstanding direction and outstanding Production for his direction of George Rideout’s play Texas Boy at the 2009 Sears Drama Festival. He thanks Theatre Gargantua for allowing him this amazing opportunity.

Owais Lightwala
Owais is a 3rd year Theatre Production and Design student at York University, with a keen interest not only in production design, but directing, producing and creation of new work. Currently, Owais is working as a Research Assistant to Peter McKinnon at York University, producing intern to Ravi Jain of Why Not Theatre, and freelances as a multimedia/lighting/sound and graphic designer, actor and technician. In the past he has worked on several Fringe shows, independent productions, and self produced Paprika Festival works. Owais’ primary interest these days is the finding and presenting work that is meaningful and important, art that goes beyond ‘entertainment’.

Julio Ospina
Julio is very excited with the opportunity that Gargantua has opened to the emerging artists in Toronto.  He began his career at a very young age. His first appereance on-stage was with the opera “Carmen” as part of the street kids’ choir. He started his studies formally in 2005 at the University del Valle in Cali, Colombia with Chinese Ma Zhengong, Canadian, Everett Dixon and Colombian Alejandro Gonzales Puche, all graduated from the Russian academy of arts GITIS. He has worked in different productions such as “Roberto Zucco” as Roberto and “Ashes to Ashes” from Pinter. In 2009 he debuted in Toronto with two plays from Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca: “Blood wedding” (as Leonardo) and “The house of Bernarda Alba” (as Magdalena). In 2010 he played Rivas in Spanish play Hamelin by Juan Mayorga and Ben Eisenstein in the collective adaptation of the award winner memoir by Bernice Eisenstein called “I am a Child of Holocaust survivors”.  Currently, he attends to the theatre and drama studies program at the University of Toronto where last year he wrote, developed and co-starred an acrobatic piece with no text as part of an investigation for an independent student production. He also takes in-camera acting classes and audition technique classes with award winner actor and director Walter Alza

Una Ruud Saxvik
Una is currently a drama specialist HBA student at the St. George campus at University of Toronto. She has studied both performance and the technical aspects of theatre, currently focusing on theatre design, playwriting and directing. Una enjoys working with power tools and young emerging artists. Some past credits include: Stage Manager for Alkestis (UC Drama, December 2010), The (abridged) Adventures of Ali & Ali (UC Drama, March 2009), Costume and Video Designer for The Possibilities (UC Drama, March 2011) & Performer & Co-Creator Afamefuna! (Theatre Revolve, March 2009). Una was also the Assistant Technical Director of the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse at UC Drama for 2009/2010. As she sets into the real world, she is looking to participate in creative endeavors in anyway she can.

Hallie Seline
Hallie is thrilled to be a part of the Theatre Gargantua Roundtable. She is in her graduating year of a Theatre and Drama Studies Specialist joint program with the University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College (Honours BA). Currently, she is finishing up the world premiere of Patrick Younge’s Witches & Bitches in the role of Tamora (Theatre Erindale). Other recent credits have included Zelda Fitzgerald: Sharon Pollock’s Angel’s Trumpet (Erindale Fringe), Lizbeth: Bryan Kowalsky’s short film Tinder, Ela: Michele Lowe’s String of Pearls (Theatre Erindale), and adapted Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis into a fifteen minute one-woman show. She has also completed her diploma in Cinema/Video/Communications at Dawson College in Montreal. Hallie has a deep passion for the arts in all forms and has taken specific interest in the creation of new theatre through collective work, sound editing and physical theatre.

Top photo: Ciara Adams in e-DENTITY