#yegTheatre

[yegarts]

I Am YEG Arts: Andrew Ritchie

Photo by Mat Simpson

Andrew Ritchie is seemingly everywhere all at once in Edmonton's theatre scene. His versatility as a theatre artist, whether he is directing or performing onstage, has taken Andrew across the country, but it is his ability to “build it yourself” here in Edmonton that has always brought him back. As Artistic Director of Thou Art Here Theatre and co-founder of the Found Festival (under Common Ground Arts), that DIY mentality has allowed Andrew to tell relevant and exciting stories in unexpected places while focusing on how space and the role of the audience can be explored in any theatre show. Director, theatre maker, improviser, program coordinator, teacher, producer – this week’s I Am YEG Arts feature focuses on Andrew Ritchie. 

Tell us about your connection to Edmonton and what keeps you living and working here. 

I was born and raised in Edmonton or amiskwacîwâskahikan on Treaty 6, and I am a third-generation settler of Scottish, Irish, Welsh and Polish heritage. My family originally immigrated to Winnipeg and rural Alberta, but we've kind of been in Edmonton since the 1980s or the 1950s, depending on what side of the family. And I've had the privilege to work across the whole country, including spending many years in Toronto, ON, but also in Regina, SK. But I've always been pulled back to Edmonton because this is where my community is. A lot of my personal family actually doesn't live here anymore, so it definitely is a place where my chosen family is. It's where my closest friends are, it’s where I've just found community among the people that practice theatre here, and I think -- especially after living in Toronto, which is a much larger city than Edmonton, then also in Regina, which is a much smaller city than Edmonton -- Edmonton feels kind of like the perfect size in between, and I feel like I can have a large impact in the city with my art. And there's also an ability to be DIY and to build it yourself here, which is kind of why I want to keep living and working here. Currently I work as the Program Coordinator with Theatre Alberta, I am the Artistic Director of Thou Art Here Theatre, I'm an ensemble member with Rapid Fire Theatre, and I'm also a freelance theatre artist. 

How did you get started in theatre? Was it always plan A? 

No, it was definitely not plan A, or B, or C, or D. My parents loved attending theatre. They were always patrons of the arts, so I think I was very lucky as someone growing up in Edmonton that I got the opportunity to see shows at the Citadel or at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre, or at the University of Alberta. And we'd go to the Fringe sometimes, or to the Street Performers Festival. But I was never really an artsy kid. It wasn't really until high school where I came across a lunchtime improv club, and through that I heard about improv that happened at 11:00 o'clock at night off Whyte Ave, which was Rapid Fire Theatre. I'd never heard of something like that before, and it was the coolest thing. This was in 2003 and I just fell in love with theatre. From that I did the Bachelor of Arts in Drama at the U of A, which eventually led me to graduate with my degree in theatre, kind of focusing on directing but kind of getting a handle on a little bit of everything from the BA program. And right after graduating, in 2011 I was part of a group that founded Thou Art Here Theatre, and also, I was part of a group of individuals that created the Found Festival under Common Ground Arts, and those two things happened roughly around the same time. And I think those kind of solidified my ongoing career in theatre. 

What was one of the biggest professional risks that you've taken and how did it influence where you are today? 

This was a tough one to think about. I think the biggest show risk I've ever taken was that in 2019 I directed and produced a production of Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play by Anne Washburn, who's an American playwright. And at the time, I wasn't living in Edmonton and that show was just so large in scale. I think the artistic risks we took to transform the Westbury Theatre into three different theatre spaces for that three-act play, and the design elements, and the original music we wrote for the show, and just all those different parts that came together for the piece were just such a huge risk and I think paid off in the art. It was definitely a very challenging process, and I can look back on that and it makes me think of the grandiose vision of that and the aesthetic of that show that is something that I'm interested in continuing to try to find. And I think for me as a director, I think scale or spectacle with people, just having a lot of artists involved, is kind of something that I'm always interested in working on large scale shows, even when I have small scale budget. So that was a very big risk that I think I took that continues to influence me. 

Top: Mr. Burns, a post-electric play by Anne Washburn. 2019. Directed by Andrew Ritchie, photography by BB Collective. Bottom: MINE by Ash Hicks. 2023. Directed by Andrew Ritchie, photography by Mat Simpson.

Tell us a bit about your role with Thou Art Here Theatre and what makes it special to you and the city. 

Thou Art Here Theatre was co-founded in 2011 by myself and Neil Kuefler, who is a dear friend and a fellow graduate from the U of A. We both were emerging artists in the city and we, like many emerging artists, were very eager to work and we just weren't getting as many opportunities as we wanted. So, we decided to create our own opportunities and to produce shows in the spaces that we could get, which were free spaces, and I would say maybe sometimes “guerilla spaces” -- spaces that maybe you could ask for permission for, but we chose not to at that time. At that time, we were very interested in Shakespeare, being inspired by our professor David Barnett at the U of A. We were producing site specific, or “site sympathetic” Shakespeare shows that were engaging with the space.  

That theatre company is so special to me. I still work with them today. I've come and gone from the company a little bit over the years, but really it represents friendship to me, like camaraderie. It's really hard to run a theatre company, but I think one of the reasons that Thou Art Here continues to exist, and a lot of the people that originally started it are still involved, is because we've always centered friendship at the forefront of it, and through that we’ve been able to take huge risks with our shows. We were able to tour a show to Calgary. We were able to collaborate with Freewill for the past eight years. And since 2011, the company has changed a lot. We are now a non-profit, and we just became a charity, and we also dropped the Shakespeare mandate so we are now less focused on the work of Shakespeare and more focused on how space and the role of the audience can be explored in any theatre show. 

I think all theatre wants its audience to be engaged, of course, and I think when you break the rules that we understand about theatre, with how an audience may be is sitting, or they respond, or if they participate, I think it makes it much harder for the audience to disengage with the show. And I think it's more likely for it to be very memorable and hopefully an emotionally impactful experience. 

Of all of your “site sympathetic” productions that you have created over the years, are there any particular standouts? 

With Thou Art Here I think the one that we talked about the most in a certain nostalgic way is our production of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, which we did three times. It had such a success to it, so three years in a row, and each year we kind of built upon it with the design of the show. We did it in 2014 and 2015 at the Rutherford Provincial Historic Site on the U of A campus, and then in 2016 we toured it down to the Lougheed National Historic Site in Calgary. And though many of the artists that were involved in the shows became close friends and it was a group of 10 actors, I found all three productions of those had ensemble. We found a beautiful sense of ensemble and I'm always trying to find that again. 

Photo by BB Collective

As a long-standing member of Rapid Fire Theatre, how does improv inform your creative process as a theatre creator? 

I think it informs every part of it. I am constantly reminded of the rules of improv, or the tenants of improv. I am often working as a director or a leader in a space, and I think how I choose to have warmups in the space, how I approach rehearsal or teaching or directing, I want to embrace active listening, taking risks and that sense of play, which are all so important in improv. And I think continuing to act onstage and be in front of an audience can be super important for a director and makes them much more empathetic to the role of the actor and how an actor goes about the work that they do. So, I think it's all very tied together and I'm so very lucky to have performed as long as I have with Rapid Fire Theatre. 

Who's someone inspiring you right now and why? 

I recently had the fortune to travel to London, England and I saw a production of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, directed by Jamie Lloyd who wouldn't be a household name, but this production starred famous Emilia Clarke. It wasn't Emilia Clarke that made this production inspire me -- she was great still -- but the overall design of the show and how it was they staged it, it really embraced simplicity. It took away any props or costumes. It was so contemporary to London and to the context there. It really just used people and theatricality. It was not naturalistic; it was using just chairs and bodies in space to create all the different environments. And I thought that was so refreshing and it was clearly not possible to do in film and I think that's such an inspiring thing to see in theatre.  

And the other thing I just have to mention, are all my friends that are doing work in this city that inspire me. There's so many in the theatre community, but if I could rattle off a few, I am so inspired by my dear friends and their work: Geoffrey Simon Brown, Elena Eli Belyea, Gianna Vacirca, Oscar Derkx, Ainsley Hillyard, Lianna Makuch... there's so many. I'm inspired by my friends and community. 

Tell us a little bit about what you're currently working on and what you're hoping to explore next. 

So, I am currently developing a new solo show, my second show that I've ever created. It's called Cycle and it is all about urban biking and bike culture in Edmonton and in Canada. It's going to be exploring everyone's favourite two words: bike lanes. And I'd say it's hyper local, hyper political. It's also inspired by my time working as a bike food courier in Toronto and kind of talking about gig work culture and how biking can intersect with climate change and how we all have a right to move around our cities. So that's the show I’m currently working on.  

The other thing I'm working on is that I'm about to have a second baby with my amazing, inspiring partner and wife Marlee in August. So that's kind of the next big life project. 

If people are interested in learning more about any of the things I've talked about, you can go to  https://thouartheretheatre.com/ or on all the socials, or I have a website andrewritchie.net and sometimes I post on Instagram, but not often. 

Promo for Cycle by Andrew Ritchie. Graphic Design by Tynan Boyd.

About Andrew Ritchie

Andrew Ritchie is a director, theatre maker, improviser, teacher, and producer born and raised on Treaty 6 territory in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton). He has performed and directed across Turtle Island (North America) and his work has ranged from new work, contemporary, classical, improvisational, movement, mask, clown, bouffon, and immersive theatre.

He has a Master of Fine Arts in Directing & Creation from York University, a Bachelor of Arts in Drama & English with Distinction from the University of Alberta, and is a graduate of the Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program. 

Andrew is a co-founder and artistic director of Thou Art Here Theatre. He has performed improv across North America including being an ensemble member with Rapid Fire Theatre. Currently he is Program Coordinator with Theatre Alberta, an arts-service organization dedicated to the growth and development of the Albertan theatre community.

Previously he was the Sandbox Series Coordinator & Theatre School Director at Globe Theatre in Regina, SK from 2018-20. He is a co-founder of the Common Ground Arts Society's Found Festival, Edmonton's multi-disciplinary found space arts festival and was festival director from 2014-2015. He has ran two other indie theatre companies: Rock Steady Productions (2010-2012) & You Are Here Theatre (2016-2020).

[angiesot]

Saw the Dress Rehearsal for Garneau Block last night and that might be it for this production depending on how long this virus business lasts for. There are a lot of artists, small businesses and entertainment industry folks that are about to fall on some hard times. There aren’t a ton of compensation options for many who make their living this way. Let’s all work together to try and get this thing under control as quick as we can so we can all go back to doing what we do best. Set and Lighting Design Narda McCarroll . #urbansketching #yegtheatre #yegarts #inksketch #globalartssketchbook #abartsmatter #yegartist #angiesot https://www.instagram.com/p/B9u9nouA8rK/?igshid=i9pfwwbjbzk9

[heyemilychu]

Another @citadeltheatreyeg 2020/21 production that I’m looking forward to is A Brimful of Asha - Simple, hilarious (and true!) storytelling by mother (Asha) and son (Ravi) about failed attempts at arranging Ravi’s marriage. 😂👌 . . . . . #illustration #yegarts #yegillustrator #yegtheatre #yegmade #digitalillustration #yegevents #canadianillustrator #yeg #edmo #abrimfulofasha #heyemilychu (at Edmonton, Alberta) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8IW8c0gm4D/?igshid=jaz2obn3xayi

[gaycalgary]

THEATRE - “We Will Rock You” Arrives Home: A Look At Alberta Produced Touring Production of Queen Musical http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5794

[bobbysmale]

Picked up the guitar tech track this week, now that the design is up. Had a busy Instrument Maintenance Call today on Ring of Fire @citadeltheatreyeg 6 string swaps, some battery changes and quick once over. Cast of instruments includes 6 acoustic guitars (4@ Martin D28, 2@ Gibson J45), 4 fender telecasters, 2 upright bass, 2 fiddles, 1 banjo, 1 Dobro, a mandolin, an apartment sized Baldwin piano, and I vintage drum kit! I’m in my happy place. #guitartech #guitarporn #guitar #bass #mandolin #fiddle #banjo #uprightbass #dobro #telecaster #theatre #theatresound #theatresounddesign #music #livemusic #musicalinstrument #musicalinstruments #yegtheatre #stringchange (at Citadel Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0mx7fGgMTS/?igshid=ecyroafz6jt2

[kevinpennyfeather]

‘The Gooseberry’ headlines my NextFest theatre and dance reviews for Vue Weekly Vue Weekly gave me free reign of NextFest last weekend. Here are excerpts from my reviews of…

[paige-on-stage]

Get a mask on and GET OVER TO THE GRINDSTONE July 31 at 7! grindstonetheatre.ca/shows/clubhouse-jul-31 @grindstonetheatre #yegimprov #yegtheatre #yegcomedy #grindstonecomedyensemble #fridaynightclubhouse #arthivefundraiser (at Grindstone Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDS8zmCAeRP/?igshid=w2r5yk1afdpl

[sacredsocialjustice]

Singing seriously at Key of She during SkirtsAfire. Posted @withregram • @skirtsafire We want to thank @cjsr_fm for their support of SkirtsAfire as Media Sponsor! Music is such an important part of our festival and we're thrilled to partner with such an awesome #yeg radio station. What was your favorite musical performance of the festival? Photo by @april_mac_killins of our Key of She at the The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse event, featuring Paula E. Kirman, Dylan Ella and Jemma Hicken. #yegherstory #yegtheirstory #yegourstory #yeghistory #feeltheheat #internationalwomensday #edmontonart #exploreedmonton #yegfestival #yeg #womeninthearts #yegtheatre #cityoffestivals #yeggers #yegevent #yeg #yegdance #yegmusic #yegpoetry #yegdate #yegdesign #queertheatre #queerart (at The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9p6rPbgyjl/?igshid=1qqv596kh49vp

[alexismariechute]

Had a great time with my theatre girls at #thecolorpurple at the Citadel Theatre 🎭 @citadeltheatreyeg ⤵️⤵️ Looking for an unforgettably uplifting way to spend your holiday weekend? Join us for a bittersweet celebration as we say farewell to the magical team behind #ColorPurpleYEG. 💜 A few final tickets are available for the final performances tonight at 7:30 and tomorrow at 1:30 for the final bows before they're off to @MTCWinnipeg. . . Director KIMBERLEY RAMPERSAD Music Director FLOYDD RICKETTS Set Designer BRIAN PERCHALUK Lighting Designer HUGH CONACHER Costume Designer MING WONG Sound Designer PETER McBOYLE Photographer IAN JACKSON The Color Purple is a proud co-production with @mtcwinnipeg. Special thanks to #ColorPurpleYEG Production Sponsor Miller Thomson LLP. #musicaltheatre #theatrekid #yegtheatre #yegevents #canadianthanksgiving (at Citadel Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3iAOWUApV7/?igshid=rxc0l6iziqov

[keesdenhartigh]

Highly recommended by @paulatics #edmontonfringe #yegtheatre #yegevents (at Fringe Festival Whyte Avenue) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1XEFPRggzO/?igshid=621fybijo0xn

[yegfoodie]

REPOST • @wildflowercafe_yeg As many of you know we @wildflowercafe_yeg and @studio_bloom124 like to support people, charities, and artistic endeavours. And bringing back the Roxy to 124 St is no exception. So for the month of June we have decided to donate a $1 from every scoop of @pinocchioicecream we sell! We are just a couple of blocks north on 124th from the soon to be rebuilt Roxy, so stop by grab a cone to go or a cup to stay and help us help @theatre_network bring back the Roxy Theatre to 124 St. #yegcafe #yegtheatre #yegflowers #yegicecream #shop124street #yegfood #yegfathersday #yegroxytheatre #yegarts https://www.instagram.com/p/ByaU7yegZYV/?igshid=16gmcx6lwexeu

[yegarts]

“I Am YEG Arts” Series: Steve Pirot

Photo by Marc Chalifoux

Grow where you’re planted. Steve Pirot certainly did—and has never stopped. That desire to express his growth and curiosity is something he champions not only for himself but others. iHuman Studios is where he accomplishes both, serving the needs of young and emerging artists, while strengthening a community to which he belongs. But that’s not the only place Pirot’s mark can be found. As an actor, director, and writer, he’s worked with most of Edmonton’s theatre companies… in the city that made him an artist… and the only place he’d ever call home.

Artist, absurdist, and rhyme-loving dreamer—this week’s “I Am YEG Arts” story belongs to Steve Pirot.

Tell us about your connection to Edmonton and why you’ve made it your home.

Edmonton is my beat because Edmonton made me. If I had been raised in a different city I would be made differently, but I was born here. And then—after that—I grew up here, and then—after that—I kept on growing up here, and then—after that—my rhythms had become so tuned to this place that any time I’ve been presented with the idea of relocation, I rediscover that I don’t want to make my home anywhere else. So here I am. What I didn’t know when I was 20, but can see clearly now, is that Edmonton in the 80s was disproportionately fertile ground for a young person curious about artistic experiences. That is kind of how being born here made me into an artist. It could have made me into something else, but I don’t think another city would have made me into an artist.

When you were first starting out, what was it about the arts that made you feel like you might belong there?

I don’t think I ever asked “where do I belong?” but rather “where can I serve?” (Maybe those were the same thing?).

In my early 20s, after a childhood obsessed with athletics, I kind of stumbled into theatre knowing almost nothing about it, and many people wondered what I was doing there. Mostly, “there” was the U of A Drama Department, and “when” was the late 80s when that department was producing lots of shows but was comparatively light on enrolment. So, there was always something for an undergrad to do, and I took advantage of that. I also took advantage of the non-profit arts organizations that needed volunteers, and I actually received more than I gave. For example: I was meeting professional artists, learning how organizations were structured, how to splice tape, how to coil cable, how to set up a box office, how to patch lights, how to print posters, how to distribute posters, how to get a keg, how to tap a keg, and who to talk to to get the real answers. I was peeking behind the curtain and building the beginning of my network. I didn’t know I was doing that, but that is what I was doing. Somewhere along that path came the sense that I belonged there because people stopped asking what I was doing there.

Tell us about someone who mentored you or helped set you on your path.

Just one? If I had to select one above all others it would be Tom Peacocke (leader, founder, major-general of the U of A’s BFA Acting program), but... that’s not unique only to my personal path. Tom trained a small army of theatre artists over the years, of which I was one of many beneficiaries. He was certainly the most important role model for me when it comes to the part of my path that is dedicated to serving the needs of young and emerging artists.

That said, I think I’d rather nominate one of the people who didn’t encourage me as my “someone who set me on my path.” I won’t name them. I won’t even say they were wrong, but having someone doubt my potential was even more motivating than confirming someone’s confidence. My path became more personalized and focused when I had something to prove.

Apocalypse Prairie, photo by Marc Chalifoux

What themes are you drawn to as a storyteller?

To Dream is my favourite theme is to Dream, because first of all, rhyming: and then (b) the things that happen in our Dreams are not limited by the laws of (i) Time, (ii) Space, and (iii) Gravity... or Grammar for that matter, and fifthly because the Wild Rumpus that happens in my Dreams puts my Waking Life shenanigans to shame, and lastly because Dreams are something I don’t need to have to explain to someone because Dreams are a Universal Machine and first of all Dreams are Dreams, and Associative Logic is my favourite kind of logic and have you ever heard of a Tangent before or even a RUN ON SENTENCE full of irrational Nonsense because as an Absurdist I just have to say that have you ever noticed that when we gather people into a theatre to be an audience how often we ask them to sit still and sit quietly in comfy chairs and then we turn out the lights and tell them stories kind of like we’re asking them to fall asleep together for a little while but for a little once upon a time watch a story, a Bedtime Story, together kind of like almost like sort of like a Dream a Collective Dream and like maybe that’s a working definition of what culture is, a Collective Dream, Maybe Culture Is Our Collective Dream? Dreams.

Tell us a little about your role with iHuman Youth Society and what makes it special to you and the city.

iHuman Studios is both an Edmonton-based multi-disciplinary studio system and the artist collective of 12-to-24-year-olds who inhabit those spaces. Our mission is to transform trauma-informed experiences into experiences of purpose, self-worth, identity, and belonging. The primary tool we use to accomplish that goal is the arts.

I’ve been associated indirectly with iHuman since 2001 and have been employed as Artistic Director since 2016. My primary roles are the day-to-day supervision of the studio system and to represent our artists’ interests when they have opportunities to express themselves in the broader community. Working at iHuman fulfills a personal need to believe I’m using my skills in service of something more important than myself. I think iHuman is something Edmontonians should value because it is evidence that as a city we are aware that the playing field is uneven, and that we care to do something about it.

Alyson Dicey and Steve Pirot, photo by Majka Czprynski.

What does community mean to you, and where do you find it?

Community is a... system... or a network... a web... a lattice... a matrix? An ecosystem! Community is an ecosystem of... interlaced and interdependent individual entities that are... that are. They just are. They are interlaced and interdependent and... probably have common interests, but not necessarily common agreement on how to pursue those interests. And I don’t think that’s the type of answer the question was hoping for, but... it’s kind of like asking what oxygen means to me. I don’t know what it means to me, but I know that it’s all around me, andthat I take it for granted, and that if I don’t have it I’ll die. And that if I try to access it and it’s not there... then something has catastrophically gone wrong.

Tell us about a lesson you’ve had to learn more than once.

Nobody can read my mind.

Who’s someone inspiring you right now?

In Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas In Wales, the narrator speaks of “the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep,” and that is what inspires me these days. Voices that are too far away from me to understand what they are saying, but clear enough that I can dig how they are saying it. I’m inspired more by the sounds of voices, rather than WHAT the voices have to say. I dig the music of the voices. I am inspired by the distant speaking of voices until those human voices wake me... and also by Kendrick Lamar.

When you think YEG arts, what are the first three things, people, or places that come to mind?

I’d usually say the Edmonton Arts Council as my #1, but given that this is an EAC platform, I’ll shake it up.

I’m putting The Fringe Festival as my #1 because it speaks to Edmonton as a festival city, to Edmonton’s place in the international arts scene, to how we are looked at as a leader in a North American context, to how arts activity can transform the identity of a neighbourhood, and it’s been a place of nascence for so many of the artists, companies, and audiences that inform the rest of the performing arts scene in Edmonton.

My #2 is the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Extension because of the groundwork dating back to the 1920s for a province-wide program of arts-and-culture education, the creation of the CKUA network, The Banff Centre For The Arts, Studio Theatre, all of the fine arts programs at the University of Alberta, and more. Remove that history of activity, and Edmonton doesn’t have the foundation upon which so much has been built in the past century.

And my #3 is The Artery. Yes, its legacy continues with The Aviary, but The Artery is more important in my mind because it got torn down. It is, therefore, part of history now and needs to be remembered as one of those dirty and dark, low-tech spaces that we will always need for an independent scene to thrive. As my #3, it stands for scores of spaces in Edmonton that had their moment: The Haven, The Living Room Play House, the Dance Factory, Studio E, Chess House, The Multi-Purpose Rumpus Room, Spazio Performativo, The Ortona Armoury, Wunderbar, and all those other spaces that I have forgotten about or have never heard of.

Describe your perfect day in Edmonton. How do you spend it?

A typical satisfying day in Edmonton involves: dropping off my skates for sharpening at Totem Outfitters, then buying a sandwich at Farrow, a coffee at Transcend, a book (or five) at Glass, a pint of ice cream at Kind, then back to Totem to pick up my skates for a late-night skate.

Want more YEG Arts Stories? We’ll be sharing them here all year and on social media using the hashtag #IamYegArts. Follow along! Click here to learn more about iHuman Youth Society.

Steve on top of the old Roxy Theatre, photo by Jill Connell.

About Steve Pirot

Steve Pirot (a.k.a., Unkl Stiv) is an Edmonton-based artist and administrator who has been the Artistic Director of iHuman Studios since 2016. Prior to that he was the Festival Director of Nextfest for 16 years, an Artistic Producer with Azimuth Theatre, an Artistic Associate of The Edgewise Ensemble, and a cast-member/writer of The 11:02 Show. As an actor, director, and writer he has worked with most of Edmonton’s theatre companies and has also presented work in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and London, UK. He holds both a B.A. Drama and a B.F.A. Acting from the University of Alberta, has been nominated for a Sterling Award on six occasions, and regularly contributes to arts-based juries and forums. He’s written some plays, he’s acted in a few short films, and has a handful of credits for video game voice-overs. He has been participating in spoken-word open mics for over a decade and is currently working on a one-man show based on spoken-word forms, which will be presented at the 2023 Edmonton Fringe.

[angiesot]

Been awhile since I’ve posted anything prop like. Doing a little in door gardening this week. 🌾 . . #props #theatre #grassland #yegtheatre #inprogress https://www.instagram.com/p/B2M43A2gJQH/?igshid=1bqn3vjahcomf

[heyemilychu]

Next up for @citadeltheatreyeg is 9 to 5, the @dollyparton musical! I had a fun time working on this one 💖 . . . . . . #illustration #yegarts #yegillustrator #yegtheatre #yegmade #digitalillustration #9to5 #musical #dollyparton #yegevents #canadianillustrator #yeg #edmo #80s #retro #clock #working9to5 #heyemilychu (at Edmonton, Alberta) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8FqZ7IgIvF/?igshid=lmzmcpitmrrv

[gaycalgary]

THEATRE - Waitress Doesn’t Dish Deep Enough: New Musical Has Heart But Misses Some Important Issues http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5792

[bobbysmale]

First Preview of Ring of Fire last night. Really great to see the audience reactions. I know I’m biased (like a guitar amp) but we have a great high energy live music show. Can’t wait to get back to work on it today! @citadeltheatreyeg #theatre #musicaltheatre #music #livetheatre #livemusic #sounddesign #theatresounddesign #yegtheatre #livesound (at Citadel Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0L5I_UgkqX/?igshid=1h4fm0abfhk8