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That’s What They Said!

by BreezeMaxWeb | Sep 19, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a washing machine.
~Whoopi Goldberg

Melody Anderson

Melody Anderson

Melody’s career as a theatre artist includes the creation of more than 3,000 masks for over fifty productions.
She was a member of the collective that created The Number 14, which toured internationally for 20 years for Axis/Touchstone Theatre Companies.
Melody is the recipient of six Jessie awards and five nominations for both design and collective creation. Her masks are used for actor training across North America.
Seamus Fera

Seamus Fera

Literary Manager

Seamus Fera (He/Him/His) is an emerging director, playwright and actor who holds a BFA in Acting from UBC. He is currently the Literary Manager of Western Gold Theatre and Assistant Directed Escaped Alone. He has worked for companies including The Arts Club, Bard on the Beach, Carousel Theatre for Young People, The Only Animal, Promethean Theatre, Eternal Theatre Collective and United Players. During the pandemic, he has written three commissions- Curiouser, Persy’s Phone and Shakespeare in Translation. He is currently working on his original play The Wives. Seamus also works as an arts educator. He is on faculty at Arts Umbrella, The Anvil Centre and is the director of The Coquitlam Youth Theatre. He is excited to continue to create meaningful and important performances through this unprecedented period of our history.
Bernard Cuffling

Bernard Cuffling

Bernard has been a professional Actor/ Director in Vancouver for 45 years. He was born in London, UK but is now [since 1974] a Canadian citizen.
Bernard has appeared or directed in major theatres in Western Canada. As an actor he has worked on productions at National Theatre in Ottawa and has been seen in more productions at the Vancouver Arts Club than any other actor. Bernard works in TV and movies as well.
In the year 2000, he was the recipient of the Sam Payne award, presented by UBCP@ACTRA. He received a Jessie award for a lifelong commitment in theatre and is also proud that he is a member of the BC Walk of Fame.
Marilyn Norry

Marilyn Norry

Marilyn is a professional actor who has lived in the Vancouver area for 30 years. Favourite stage roles include Heidi Holland in The Heidi Chronicles (Vancouver Playhouse), Hagar Shipley in The Stone Angel (Firehall Theatre), Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter (United Players). On screen she has worked with directors Steven Spielberg (The BFG), Gillian Armstrong (Little Women), Brian De Palma (Mission to Mars), and with actors Johnny Depp, Sam Shepherd, Leonardo di Caprio and the many, many great actors who live and work right here. She is also the creator and producer of My Mother’s Story, a multimedia campaign encouraging people to write the story of their mothers’ lives so women’s history is valued, saved, and shared. www.mymothersstory.org

Tom Pickett

Tom Pickett

Tom Pickett, a Jessie Award-winning actor, has toured the US and debuted in London’s West End with the Hal Prince production of Show Boat. He has lent his voice to many Arts Club productions, most recently The Matchmaker. Tom portrayed Gerald in Elephant and Piggie: We are in a Play and puppeted Winnie the Pooh in House at Pooh Corner (Carousel Theatre for Young People), and has appeared in several Vancouver Moving Theatre productions, including East End Blues/All That Jazz, Bah Humbug (co-production Simon Fraser University) and We Are the People. Tom’s most recent TV projects were Hallmark’s The Angel Tree and Five Star Christmas, as well as an episode of the Turner and Hooch remake. Tom is a powerful vocal artist who can soothe the heart and arouse an audience with an eclectic repertoire of jazz, blues, R&B, funk, soul and gospel and is transitioning into spoken word artistry. He dipped his “Big Hairy” toe into an audio teaser for Carousel Theatre for Young People with an adapted reading of The Thing at the End of the Bed.
Wild Blue Herons

Wild Blue Herons

Wild Blue Herons (WBH) are Bill Sample, Darlene Cooper and a group of stellar Vancouver based musicians who play mostly groove-oriented jazz. It’s a little bit hip, a bit cool, a bit smoky, a bit bluesy. But very much ACCESSIBLE. They perform original songs and select standards, ranging from funk to blues to R & B but with a jazz twist and a definite gospel influence. Their songs are filled with themes of love and social consciousness.
Wild Blue Herons have played in numerous festivals (the Filberg Festival, Ft. Langley Jazz and Arts Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival) as well as various Jazz Clubs (Frankies Jazz Club; Pat’s Pub – Jazz at the Pat series, Vernon Jazz club, to name a few). They have been featured with such artists as Eric Bibb, Marcus Mosely and the Marcus Mosely Chorale (MMC), Shari Ulrich and debuted their show “The Great Ladies of Jazz” at the historic Columbia Theatre in 2019. Bill and Darlene began working together in 2011 as music directors for the Vancouver based MMC. In writing songs and arrangements for the choir, they discovered they had a unique affinity for song writing, and so began their musical partnership which gave birth to the ensemble known as WBH. In 2018, they released their first album, “On the Outside”, which they feel describes themselves – “in music and life, the ‘outside’ is where you are when you are different. Good things can happen there”. They have started preproduction for their 2nd album, which will be released to the world in 2021.
Here’s what David Foster had to say when he came to hear WBH at Frankies: “I had the great pleasure of getting to hear my dear friend and colleague, Bill Sample, and the band WBH a couple of months back. It was a treat from beginning to end – great vocals from Darlene – incredible musicianship from everyone on stage and unique but very musical and thoughtful arrangements on every song!! The album doesn’t disappoint at all and a perfect reflection of who they are live. If you get a chance – please give them a listen – you will thank me” – David Foster (Grammy award winning producer)
www.wildblueherons.com
www.wildblueherons@gmail.com

Jenn Griffin

Jenn Griffin

Jenn is grateful to live, work, and play on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples. As a playwright, Jenn was awarded the Sydney Risk award for best emerging playwright with her first play Drinking with Persephone. While an Associate at Playwrights Theatre Centre, Jenn created a multi-disciplinary play, The Long Call. In 2017, Jenn received an Arts Club Silver Commission for a new comedy entitled House and Home which premiered at The Firehall Arts Centre in 2020. Amongst her many roles as an actor, Jenn played “Vi” in Western Gold’s acclaimed production of Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone in 2019.
Liesl Lafferty

Liesl Lafferty

Liesl recently graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing and Theatre. She is a scriptwriter, dramaturg, and Jessie award-winning director focusing mainly on creating new works. Liesl is the facilitator for scriptwriting workshops for Wet Ink Collective, empowering women writers, and Realwheels Theatre, creating opportunities for people with disability. At Realwheels, she was the dramaturg for their inaugural Playwright in Residence in the fall of 2020. With enhancement of the online world due to the pandemic, Liesl has mentored more than sixty writers from Alaska to LA, Nova Scotia to Vancouver Island, and Paris to Nigeria.
Anna Hagan

Anna Hagan

Director

Anna’s long and accomplished career was honoured with the 2013 Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Outstanding Career Achievement. In 2014 she was honoured to be Woman of the Year by UBCP/ACTRA. She was an associate director of the Arena Theatre Company, a professional repertory company, where she directed and acted – among other plays: Waiting for Godot, The Merry Wives of Windsor, She Stoops to Conquer, and Hay Fever. She served as assistant director of the Stratford Festival’s Young Company and was mentored by the internationally renowned director Robin Phillips, Anna then went on to be one of three Canadians invited to participate in the International Directors Seminar in London, England.Her extensive acting credits include The Music Man, Our Town, A Man for All Seasons, – the acclaimed World Theatre 2000 production of The Mill on the Floss (Soulpepper Theatre, Toronto). Vancouver audiences will have seen her in A Delicate Balance, Old Goriot, Half Life, Home Child, Three Tall Women, The Dining Room, Homeward Bound, Red Birds & Escaped Alone. Anna was the Artistic Director of Western Gold Theatre, for a total of 12 years. She now serves on the Board of Directors.

Keith Martin Gordey

Keith Martin Gordey

Director

Keith Martin Gordey has appeared in over 60 film and television productions to date including such shows as Watchmen, Center Stage, Supernatural, Alcatraz, Men in Trees, Smallville, The Dead Zone, Flight 93, The 4400, Da Vinci’s Inquest, Cold Squad, Stargate SG-1, A Storm in Summer and many Hallmark movies. Having performed in eight Western Gold shows so far, he looks forward to being in a ninth, Funny Money. He trained in acting at UBC and at the National Theatre School of Canada. He is a Past President of Western Gold Theatre, President Emeritus and Treasurer Emeritus of PAL Vancouver, and currently serves on the board of The Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of British Columbia (which hosts the Leo Awards), President of the Union of BC Performers (UBCP/ACTRA), and Vice President of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA).
Alen Dominguez

Alen Dominguez

Director

Alen is a Latinx theatre artist who trained as an actor at the University of British Columbia. He has since expanded his work into producing and directing with several companies across Metro Vancouver. He is the Executive Producer for award-winning companies like Royal City Musical Theatre in New Westminster and Tara Cheyenne Performance in East Vancouver. He is also a cofounding member of the Canadian Latinx Theatre Artist Coalition (caltac.ca) and a proud alumnus of Western Gold, where he performed in The Dining Room (2015) and Quills Don’t Tweet (2019).
Other Credits: Anywhere But Here (Electric Company), Berlin: The Last Cabaret (City Opera Vancouver), Coriolanus (Bard on the Beach), Marine Life (Ruby Slippers), Sweat (Arts Club, Citadel), The Audience (Arts Club), Cornwall’s All Inclusive Cancun Christmas (Chemainus), Rent (URP), West Side Story (TUTS), The Idiot (Neworld).
Russell Roberts

Russell Roberts

Russell was born and raised in Wales and emigrated to Canada in 1973 with his parents. He graduated from the Old Vic Theatre School, Bristol, England in 1978. Russell has been a working actor since that time throughout Canada as well as in New York and Los Angeles. He settled in Vancouver in 1986 and married fellow actor Colleen Winton 1990. Their two sons, Sayer and Gower, are also in the business. He has performed in over 300 plays, musicals, films, TV and radio shows to date, and will continue to do so until the stage hook comes out.
Local theatre audiences may have seen him with Western Gold, Vancouver Playhouse, Rumble Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, The Arts Club, Bard on the Beach, and TUTS. He has performed A Child’s Christmas in Wales many times with The Vancouver Chamber Choir, and they produced a CD A Dylan Thomas Christmas in 2014. Russell, Colleen and pianist/composer Brian Tate have presented CCIW in The Red Dragon, Cambrian Hall, for the Vancouver Welsh Society for over a dozen Christmases, which are “round the sea town corner now and out of all sound except the . . . “
Wishing all ‘Nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda’. Russell
Joy-Anna Leggasee

Joy-Anna Leggasee

Head Hog of Fundraising!

Joy-Anna is over 65 years old and hails from New Westminster. Recently retired from her long career working with young people, teaching fiscal management and the importance of saving (every penny counts!) she has a long history of successful fundraising in support young people’s passions – be it Beanie Baby / Cabbage Patch Doll acquisitions , and /or post-secondary education. She has created investment portfolios from car washing, paper routes, baby sitting, pocket money, weekend chores, part time jobs and Christmas cheques from the grand folks. As a financial advisor – she is focused on the realization of dreams.
She now steps away from her usual perch atop a chest of drawers to join Western Gold as the new Head Hog of Fundraising. You will see her at every show! A foodie at heart, her favourite meal is loose change.
Donnie MacDonald

Donnie MacDonald

President

Donnie MacDonald is a designated Chartered Professional Accountant and a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (FCA, FCMA). She was the Vice-President of Finance with Westminster Savings Credit Union until retiring in July 2015. Currently she is a member of the AGLG Audit Council. Active in the community, she is currently Chair of the North Shore Crisis Services Society and is as a board member and Chair of Western Gold Theatre. In addition to her community work Donnie also enjoys travelling and hiking which has taken her to many interesting parts of the world. When at home she can be found enjoying live theatre (has been a loyal fan for over 30 years) and having fun with her friends and fellow book club and hiking group enthusiasts.

Gerald Lecovin

Gerald Lecovin

Director

Info coming soon

Kathryn Aberle

Kathryn Aberle

Director

Kathryn is a retired communications and public relations professional. Over a 25- year career she worked as a radio producer in Current Affairs for CBC Radio – Vancouver, as manager of employee communications for BC Tel (now Telus) and as director of media and public relation for Simon Fraser University.

She currently sits on the board of Green Thumb Theatre . She has also served on a number of other boards over the past 20 years including those of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver, the Universal Gospel Choir and the Canadian Public Relations Society.

Kathryn sings in a 50-voice auditioned choir. She acts as the choir’s producer for up to three concerts each year. She also manages the choir’s social media presence and runs the online ticketing and box office for concerts.

She has a life-long interest in theatre as student and performer in the distant past, producer for a couple of shows, and enthusiastic audience member. She also has family connections to the theatre through her husband Stephen (actor) and daughter Rachel (actor, playwright, associate artistic director at Green Thumb).

Kate Lancater

Kate Lancater

Creative Marketing Manager

Kate is a marketing and communications specialist with in-depth knowledge of British Columbia’s creative industries and over 15 years of experience working in arts administration. Kate began her career in the arts as a performer, working in theatre, film and television during the 80s and 90s. In the early 2000s, she returned to school to study professional writing and, upon graduation, worked as a marketing and editorial assistant with Anvil Press/SubTerrain Magazine.
For the past 12 years, Kate held the position of Communications Coordinator for Place des Arts arts centre in Coquitlam, where she was instrumental in developing and building the centre’s brand, increasing enrolment in its many and varied programs and spreading the word about its many events, gallery exhibitions and performances.
Kate is thrilled to be working with the extraordinary artists at Western Gold Theatre and looks forward to helping the company build a strong brand and a bright future.
Diana Sandberg

Diana Sandberg

Secretary

Diana has been a working singer and director in many years. She’s performed with United Players, Vagabond Players, The Metro, Dragon Diva Opera Company, Applause ! Musicals, North Shore Light Opera , The Shakespeare Center, PALS Chorus, and TUTS, as well as in numerous coffee houses and other dives. Back in the dawn of time, she worked with cuneiform and abacus as a computer programmer. Her proudest achievement was to usher two splendid young women into the world without messing it up too badly. She is very fond of dogs, cats, frogs, reading, swimming, single malt whisky, and travel, and persists against all odds in the attempt to learn French.
Diana firmly believes that the arts in general, and theatre in particular, are essential to humanity, noting that our most ancient ancestors, scraping a precarious existing from a harsh world, still made time for art – cave paintings, music, storytelling. They could not do otherwise. Without art, we have no hope of reaching out of our individual isolation to form community, and humans cannot survive long without community.

Louise DeVita

Louise DeVita

Treasurer

Louise has enjoyed a 38 year career in the Finance Department of a local Credit Union, retiring as the Vice President, Finance.
Volunteering has been a big part of Louise’s life, spending numerous hours volunteering with her children’s various sports teams and schools, church and a domestic abuse services organization. Served six years as a Board of Director for The North Shore Crisis Services Society, including holding the office of Treasurer.
Louise enjoys theatre from a seat in the audience and is thrilled to be on the Board of Western Gold Theatre and appreciates the love and dedication of all those attached to theatre.

Bonnie MacKenzie

Bonnie MacKenzie

Vice President

Bonnie is a retired executive from the Federal Public Service who is currently active on several Community Not For Profit Boards, including: the West End Community Centre; The Opera Club; and Western Gold Theatre (WGT). She participates as the Community Representative on three Medical Research Ethics Boards: Providence Health Care; Coastal Health; and Fraser Health.

She assists WGT with Volunteer Co-ordination and Donor Participation/p>

Stephanie Hargreaves

Stephanie Hargreaves

Casting

Stephanie was the Artist Liaison at the Arts Club Theatre Company for 25 years and facilitated the casting of hundreds of artists since 1998. Previous positions at the Arts Club include Campaign Administrator for the restoration and re-opening of the Stanley Theatre, and Tour Coordinator for the Arts Club Theatre for whom she sent out over 30 shows to 25 venues across BC and Ontario. Stephanie was also the Festival Manager for CIAO! (Children’s International Arts Organization), an international children’s theatre festival, in Bracknell and Oxford, Southwest England from 2004 – 2010. An active community member and volunteer, Stephanie has served on the Boards of the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance, Jesssie Richardson Theatre Awards Society, British Columbia Touring Council, Rumble Productions and the Rachel Davis Foundation. Stephanie is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Master of Arts in English Literature. Stephanie is frequently asked to adjudicate auditions and to give workshops on audition techniques.

Ellie O’Day

Ellie O’Day

Publicist

Ellie O’Day has worked in music, performing arts and cultural industries for nearly 40 years. She was one of North America’s first female DJs in the 70s, a columnist for the Georgia Straight in the 80s, and Executive Director of Pacific Music Industry Assn in the 90s. For 17 years, her O’Day Productions provided media relations to The Cultch, festivals (PuSh Festival, Children’s Festival, VIFF, VIBC, Sonic Boom, KickstArt, Sound of Dragon), theatre companies, special events, CD launches and more. She has served on numerous boards, including twice as a Director of PAL Vancouver.

Glenn Macdonald

Glenn Macdonald

General & Production Manager

Glenn trained in all aspects of the theatre at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg during the magnificent tenure of the legendary John Hirsch. He has worked as an actor, Stage Manager, Production Manager and Designer for theatres across Canada and in the US including The Vancouver Playhouse, Arts Club Theatre, Stratford Festival, Charlottetown Festival and Studio Arena Theatre (Buffalo, NY). In Vancouver, he produced You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown at Metro Theatre, and co-produced T-Shirts at City Stage and Torch Song Trilogy at the Cultch. In addition he worked in Production Management for Expo ’86 Entertainment Department where he managed a $12M budget. He Stage Managed the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Calgary Winter Olympics and was Operations Director for BC’s MUSIC ’91 province wide music festival. He also works in television and film in set decoration and has over 100 projects to his credit. He is the President of the PAL Studio Theatre Society and sits on the Board of Trustees of PAL Vancouver. Glenn has designed over 200 stage productions including 20 in the last seven years at the PAL Studio Theatre. He is the recipient of the 2016 Jesse Richardson Award for Outstanding Set Design for the production of Annapurna. He has managed Western Gold Theatre since 2012.

Tanja Dixon-Warren

Tanja Dixon-Warren

Artistic Director

Tanja Dixon–Warren has been working as a theatre artist / producer for over 35 + years. Previously she was the Artistic Producer / Co-Founder of Hoarse Raven Theatre and from 2009 – 2017 she was Managing Producer of Full Circle: First Nations Performance. She continues to work with them on a consulting basis, mentoring young theatre practitioners As an actor, proudly based in Vancouver, she has been seen in a number of WGT productions as well as on numerous stages throughout the city. Film/TV includes a bunch of blink & you’ll miss ‘em plus the occasional role with an actual name! An active member of the community, Tanja has served on numerous boards and committees including 15 years with the Greater Vancouver Theatre Alliance, where she speared headed and launched World Theatre Days and the annual Making a Scene Theatre conference. She currently sits on the board of Vocal Eye and the Granville Island Theatre District (GID).Nominated twice for YWCA’s Woman of Distinction Award as well as a number of Jessie Richardson Award (for both performance and producing), she is recipient of the Mary Phillips Award, the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Business and the Arts Award and the 40 Under 40 ‘Business in Vancouver’ Award.