2010 COMPANY

August 10 - 29, 2010
by William Shakespeare

Directed by Lee Wilson
 

LEE WILSON

Lee Wilson is the founding Artistic Director (1998) and Resident Director of Resurgence Theatre Company. Recently, Lee was the assistant director on The Tempest directed by Des McAnuff and starring Christopher Plummer at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. He is also one of eleven participants in the Inaugural Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction at Stratford. Lee was the Apprentice Artistic Director/Artistic Associate at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario during the 2008/09 season. In 2008, Lee was invited to The Old Vic in London, England to take part in a directing workshop with the Peter Hall Company. He was an Intern Director at the Shaw Festival during its 2005/06 season and the Resident Director in the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 2004/05. In 2003/04, he was awarded the Urjo Kareda Residency Grant to study directing/artistic direction with director Richard Rose at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. Lee started off his professional career as a member of the Inaugural Soulpepper Training Company studying directing, acting, and design with Robin Phillips.

Selected directing credits include: Picnic University of Windsor - School of Dramatic Art; The Sicilian by Moliere, adapted by Nicolas Billon for the Toronto Fringe Festival; Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night for Resurgence Theatre. Other: Lee is a guest professor at both the University of Waterloo and the University of Windsor. He has a BFA in acting from Ryerson Theatre School.

[ Director's Notes ]

GRAHAM ABBEY - Hamlet

Graham Abbey spent eleven seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Memorable roles include Macbeth, Henry V, Romeo, Petruchio, Henry VIII and Berowne. Selected theatre credits also include Assassins (Birdland/Talk is Free), The School for Scandal and The Moliere Comedies (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), The Pessimist (Tarragon), Proposals (Royal Alex) and Long Days Journey into Night (Manitoba Theatre Centre). For his theatre work he has been nominated twice for a Dora Award and was a recipient in 2003 for Featured Performance in a musical.

For the past three seasons Graham starred on CBC’s hit television series The Border as Detective Sergeant Gray Jackson and guest starred on several Canadian and U.S. series including Warehouse 13, Billable Hours, Heartland, The Jane Show and Till Death Do Us Part. He can be seen in recurring roles in the upcoming season of the Murdoch Mysteries and the NBC/Universal series Covert Affairs coming this fall on the USA Network. Selected film credits include Defendor, Kill Brass and The Good Witch’s Wedding. Graham is also in Casino Jack starring Kevin Spacey, a film that was recently selected for the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. He is currently shooting Sarah Polley’s latest project, Take This Waltz.

Graham would like to dedicate this performance to his late father. I shall not look upon his like again. (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2)

BRENDA BAZINET - Gertrude

Brenda Bazinet is an actor, director and acting instructor. She has performed on stages across the country. Some of her recent acting credits include: Ring Round the Moon, The Wild Duck (Soulpepper): Old Love (Lighthouse Festival Theatre, Thousand Island Playhouse, Theatre Orangeville); The Goat, Equus (Citadel Theatre); The Price (Sudbury Theatre Centre); Death of a Salesman (Neptune Theatre); End of Civilization (Factory Theatre); Leaving Home (Blyth Festival). She has over 100 film and TV credits, winning a Gemini Award for TVO’s drama, A Grief Shared. Her recent directing credits include: Featuring Loretta, Problem Child, Adult Entertainment, Unity 1918, Splendor in the Grass (Fanshawe College Theatre Program); The Love List (Iguana Productions, Mexico), Blown Sideways Through Life (Toronto Fringe Festival - Best of the Fringe); Of the Fields Lately (Sudbury Theatre Centre); The Sea (Actors Repertory Company).

MICHAEL DE ROSE - Barnardo, Reynaldo, First Player, Player King

This is Michael De Rose's first production with Resurgence Theatre. Sample past credits nclude: Seven of Us (Goldenberg Productions); Fred Mertz in Lucy: A New Musical; The Laramie Project, Angels in America (Column 13); A Christmas Carol (ACT); The Taming of the Dude (ACT); Mimi: A Poisoner's Comedy Wkshp (Tarragon Theatre); Jimmy in The Miracle Man; Bill/Ben in Lion in the Streets; Anton Antonovich in The Government Inspector; Jacob Mercer in Salt-Water Moon, and Edmund in King Lear. Michael recently graduated from the Ryerson Theatre School and was the recipient of the Gladys Shibley Mitchell Award.

DAVID FERRY - Claudius, Ghost of Hamlet

David Ferry is the past Artistic Director of Resurgence Theatre Company. His productions with Resurgence: Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Talley's Folley, among others were critical and audience successes. David is delighted to be making his Resurgence acting debut in Hamlet. He is an award winning actor: most recently 2009 DORA Best Actor for Someone To Watch Over Me and the 2009 Victoria Critic's Choice Best Performance for his Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. He played Ahab in Moby Dick at Stratford in 2008. He has played a huge range of leading Shakespearean roles over the years, and has played in five Hamlet productions.

David can be seen on TV as a regular on CTV's Dan for Mayor (Fern) now going into its second season. He will be starring in Blasted at Buddies in Bad Times in Toronto this fall and reprising his DORA nominated role in Eternal Hydra at Factory Theatre in the winter.

JESSE GRIFFITHS - Rosencrantz, Marcellus, Guard, Player: Prologue/Lucianus, Second Gravedigger

Jesse Griffiths is delighted to be returning to Fairy Lake with Lee Wilson and the wonderful cast of Hamlet. Theatre credits include: Claudio Measure for Measure; Orlando As You Like It; Azdak The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Ryerson Theatre School) Oliver As You Like It; Turio Two Gentlemen of Verona (Flower City Theatre Festival) Macduff Macbeth (Classical Theatre Project); Cisco The Unseen Hand (Paved Productions); Jason Rabbit Hole (Gladstone Theatre); Montague, Peter and toured playing the Prince and Mercutio Romeo and Juliet (Resurgence Theatre Company); produced and acted in Escape from Grace (Toronto Fringe Festival). Jesse holds an Honours BFA in Theatre Performance-Acting from Ryerson University where he was the recipient of the Louis Taube Memorial Award. Jesse would like to thank his family and friends for their endless support; and to James, break a leg in Barrie!

JOHN JARVIS - Polonius, Grave Digger

John Jarvis has starred in THEATRE: Happy Days, All That Fall, And Up They Flew (Theatre Columbus); Half Life (Theatre Aquarius); Innocence Lost, by Beverley Cooper (Blyth Festival); The Way of the World, Ring Round the Moon, Our Town, The Time of Your Life, The Government Inspector, A Christmas Carol ( Soulpepper Theatre Company); The Drawer Boy (Theatre Passe Muraille, The Grand Theatre); The Goat, The Tempest (Prospero), Comedy of Errors (Canadian Stage); Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick) and Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost (Festival of Classics); The Goat (The Citadel); Fish Wrap, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl ( Tarragon); Death of a Salesman (Neptune). FILM and TELEVISION: Zombie Dearest (Screamclock Productions); 72 Hours, May Day (Discovery); Jeff Limited (CTV); This is Wonderland (CBC); Missing, Wildcard (Lifetime); Saintly Switch (Disney). OTHER: The Georgian Expedition (Sardapi Theatre); T'bilisi, Georgia. DIRECTOR: Leaving Home, Salt-Water Moon (Byth Festival). Dora nominations for Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, The Drawer Boy, 1492; Sterling nomination for Later Life (Citadel); graduate of the National Theatre School; Teaches at George Brown Theatre School.

ALEXANDRA JOHNSON - Guildenstern, Francisco, Voltimand,
Player Queen

Alexandra Johnsonis thrilled to be working with such an extraordinary company whose work she has witnessed and admired from afar for many years. Past roles include: Grace/Weatherman in Edge (written on Water Theatre, Ottawa Fringe Festival); Lysistrata in Lysistrata, Jenny in Jenny’s House of Joy, Jean Farrell in Emma’s Child, (University Players); Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (workshops production, directed by Brian Rintoul); Woman in Laughing Wild (co-produced with Caleb McMullen). Alexandra was a creator/educator with Balancing Points Production's inaugural high school tour, and is a proud co-founder of Written on Water Theatre. To Mom and Dad - you now owe me mention in your bios. To W.O.W. - we’ll do it live. Special thanks to Lee Wilson.

BRENDAN MURRAY - Horatio

Most recently Brendan Murray played Richard Hannay in the Canadian premiere of The 39 Steps (Thousand Islands Playhouse). Other credits include: Peter Pan, Doubt, A Christmas Carol (Globe Theatre); The Glass Menagerie (Red Barn); The Woman in White (Theatre Aquarius); Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) for BeMe Theatre in Munich, Germany; Salt-Water Moon (Charlottetown Festival); Lucy, Twelfth Night (CanStage); Descent (Theatre Passe Muraille); Much Ado About Nothing, Comedy of Errors (Theatre By The Bay); Relatively Speaking, Proof, Macbeth (Grand Theatre); Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Centaur Theatre); Macbeth (Modern Times); Love’s Labour’s Lost (National Arts Centre); Measure for Measure, Blue/Orange (Citadel Theatre); Goodnight Disgrace (Postscript Productions); Two Noble Kinsmen, Henry VI, Henry V, Twelfth Night, Inherit the Wind (Stratford Festival). Brendan studied acting at George Brown Theatre School as well as the Stratford Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training.

JANE SPENCE - Ophelia, Fortinbras, Ghost Double

Jane Spence is thrilled to be returning for her second season with Resurgence Theatre. Last year she played Gregory and Lady Capulet in the production of Romeo & Juliet. Selected theatre credits include: Mrs. Montgomery in The Heiress (Drayton Entertainment); Gabriella in Boeing Boeing; Lady Percy in Henry IV (part 1 and 2); Duchess Of Gloucester in Henry VI; Hippolyta in Two Noble Kinsmen; Bonnie-Susan in Tempest Tost (Stratford Festival); the Mother in A Christmas Story (Theatre and Company); Desdemona in Goodnight Desdemona, Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Festival of Classics); Ben in Matt and Ben (MacIdeas); Phebe in As You Like It (Theatre By The Bay); Lady Anne in Richard III, Emilia in A Winter's Tale, Jaquenetta in Love's Labors Lost (Bard on the Beach); Curley's wife in Of Mice and Men (Vancouver Playhouse); Tess Goode in Sisters Rosensveig (Arts Clubs Theatre). Selected TV and Film credits include: Sue Thomas F.B.Eye, Cold Squad, Inspectors Two, Outerlimits, Stargate SG1, Great Canadian Ghost Stories and The Vigil.

JEFFREY WETSCH - Laertes, Captain, Ghost Double

Theater credits include: Laertes in Hamlet (Resurgence Theatre); Torvald in A Doll's House (The Globe); Morris in The Heiress (Drayton Festival); Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet (Resurgence Theatre); Robbie in the North American Premier of Dirty Dancing (Mirvish Productions); Crowne prince in Schippel the Plumber (The Grand); featured singer, dancer, writer & funny man for over seven seasons (New West Theater); Orpheus Descending (Mirvish Productions); at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival enjoying six seasons playing roles from Cassio in a fantastic production of Othello, Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Claudio in Measure for Measure, Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Jeremy and other roles in two parts of The Swanne by Peter Hinton, just to name a few . FILM AND TELEVISION credits include Sue Thomas F.B.Eye (CTV), and Abandon (Paramount). A graduate of the National Theater School of Canada and the Birmingham Conservatory.

ANDREW DOLLAR - Stage Manager

Some of Andrew's previous shows include: Them & Us Theartre Passe Muraille; A Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare in Action; The Glass Menagerie, The Dishwashers, Private Lives and Girl in the Goldfish Bowl Red Barn Theatre; The Great War, Laurier and Canadian Pacific Scandals with Video Cabaret; The Trials of John Demjamjuk A Holocaust Cabaret with Theatre Asylum; Macbeth Modern Times Stage Co. at the Fadjr International Theatre Festival in Iran; The Drowsy Chaperone Best Man Productions; The Passion of Narcisse Mondoux Blyth Festival. Before that he could be found at The Second City Toronto where he stage managed four mainstage shows.

SHAWN ROCHELEAU - Assistant Director

Shawn Rocheleau is thrilled to be making his debut with Resurgence Theatre. He has been a high school drama teacher in Aurora for six years, where he has directed Pygmalion, Once Upon a Mattress, and Twelfth Night, as well as scenes from Romeo and Juliet as part of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival's Student Player Festival. Other directing credits: Remember Me? (Theatre Aurora), Murder Most Stinky (Remote Planet/Ottawa Fringe), Waiting for Trudeau (Weiner Productions/Ottawa Fringe). Shawn is a graduate of the Drama in Education program at the University of Windsor, and has pursued further training at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and the University of Ottawa. He will be taking over as Head of Drama at Middlefield Collegiate in Markham in September 2010.

KATIE WHITE - Apprentice Stage Manager

Katie White is thrilled to be returning to Resurgence Theatre, where she proudly apprenticed on Twelfth Night and The Secret Garden in 2008. Since then, credits include The Taming of the Shrew and Measure for Measure (St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival); The Penelopiad (Nightwood Theatre); Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet (Classical Theatre Project). In the opera world, credits include La Bohčme, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, Otello, and The Flying Dutchman (at the COC) and the premiere of Dark Star Requiem (Tapestry New Opera Works).

STEVE WILSHER - Fight Choreographer

February 2011 will be Steve Wilsher's 40th year in the entertainment industry. He works primarily as a stunt coordinator/performer for television and film, a theatre fight director and teacher of film and stage combat. Prior to coming to Canada he taught at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff for sixteen years where he introduced stage and film combat as an integral part of the curriculum. He also instigated the combat courses at Friars Gate, Exeter and the Oxford Drama School. He has also taught guest lectures or examined at all of the major drama schools in the United Kingdom. Steve is a Master Instructor with the Academy of Dramatic Combat and Fight Master with the British Academy of Dramatic Combat, a member of the Canadian Actors Equity Fight Directors register, The Society of Canadian Fight Directors and ACTRA.

Some of the companies that Steve has worked for are The English Shakespeare Company, The Royal Ballet Company, The Canadian National Ballet, The Canadian Opera Company, The Welsh National Opera Company, Soulpepper Theatre, Mirvish Productions, BBC, S4C Television and Channel 4 Television, Discovery Channel, Space Channel, MTV and Disney. He continues to stunt perform and coordinate for film and television, as well as direct full productions and fight direct for the theatre alongside his teaching commitments. He also teaches fighting for film in the Acting for Film and Television course at Humber.

MING WONG - Costume Design

Resurgence Theatre - debut. Selected Credits: SoundStreams Canada/Luminato Festival: The Children's Crusade (2009-Dora Mavor Moore winner for outstanding new opera); Obsidian Theatre Company: Head of Wardrobe - Late/Black Medea (2008); Hart House Theatre: Jerry Springer The Opera (2008); King Lear (2009); GromKat Productions: Bluebeard (2008); Thistle Project: Gorey Story (2006-Dora Mavor Moore Nominee for outstanding costume design).

Ming is a Toronto based designer working both in costume and clothing. While her main focus is theatrical costume design, she has had the chance to work on a variety of projects in advertising and television. Last spring marked her first opportunity working in opera with British designer Leslie Travers. Ming is excited to return to the theatre after taking a brief hiatus following the birth of her baby boy last fall.

SPECIAL THANKS to

GRAHAM MAXWELL

Graham Maxwell is the current Technical Director / Production Manager for the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. He directed and/or designed over 70 productions including an award winning six country tour of The Who’s TOMMY, Suddenly Last Summer, Savage in Limbo, Troilus & Cressida, The Scottish Play, Steel Magnolias, Funny Thing Happened..., The Frantics - "Get off the Couch" - tour; Game Show Boygroove, Jewtopia, Pinkaliscious, Grand Hotel, Will Rogers Follies, How To Succeed... for Vital Theatre, Rubinoff productions, Marlene Smith Productions, Club Med Productions and the Theatre league of South Florida. Upcoming: Extraordinary - Vital Theatre, La Boheme; Opera York, Andrea Martin - Final Days - Everything Must Go - Tour.

• Lighting Design - Justin Simmons