Passe Muraille Backspace, October 24 – November 16, 2014

Directed by Kate Lynch

Starring Caitlin Driscoll and Gemma James-Smith

Produced by Johnson Girls

With the generous support of Theatre Passe Muraille

Adapted by Karen Woolridge from Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine (Copyright © 2012 by Sara Levine)

 

Kate Lynch (Director)  Star Chamber by Noel Coward, The Shaw Festival; French Without Tears by Terrance Rattigan, The Shaw Festival; Age of Arousal by Linda Griffiths, UC Drama Program; The Killing Snow by Paul Ciufo, The Blyth Festival; The Nuttalls by Michael Healey, The Blyth Festival; Courting Johanna by Marcia Johnson, The Blyth Festival;  Speak Low…Speak Love, Shaw Festival Touring Presentation; Mad About the Boy,  Shaw Festival Touring Presentation; Descent by Tom Walmsley, Theatre Passe Muraille; Three Squares a Day by Tom Walmsley, Theatre Passe Muraille;  Blood by Tom Walmsley, Theatre Passe Muraille; A Midsummer Night’s Dream Shakespeare, Theatre Passe Muraille; The Dispute by Marivaux, Summerworks; Health Class, by David Craig, Roseneath Theatre.

Caitlin Driscoll  (Our Girl)

Caitlin Driscoll is a Dora award nominated, Toronto based actor who has worked in many theatres across Canada. Some recent acting credits include: Brenda in the award-winning fringe festival hit Punch Up (Theatre Brouhaha); Guy in Caryl Churchill’s Drunk Enough to Say I Love You (Circlesnake Productions); Anna/Lonnie in Laws of Motion (small elephant co-op); April White in Savage in Limbo (Bob Kills theatre); Dylan Vanstone in The Foursome (Sterling Studio Theatre). Film/TV credits: Maggie in Play: the film (www.playthefilm.com), Amber Brosetti in Global’s Working the Engels. Critics Lynn Slotkin and Paula Citron recently named Caitlin “an actor they would watch in anything.” Caitlin is a graduate of George Brown Theatre School.

Gemma James Smith (Puppeteer)

Gemma has been a studio assistant for the internationally acclaimed Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes since 2001. She has helped create puppets for Street of Blood,  Provenance,  Ten Days on Earth, Billy Twinkle:  Requiem for a Golden Boy,  Penny Plain. Most recently, Gemma assisted with the build of  The Daisy Theatre which had its world première at Toronto’s Luminato Festival in June of 2013.

With Montreal’s award-winning SideMart Theatrical  Grocery, she co-wrote and performed Whiteman’s Whiskey Comedy Revue (Just For Laughs Festival) ,  The Mark of All Genius, and Trying for the Kingdom (Segal Centre). Gemma was involved in the development  and performance of their adaptation of Derek McCormack’s novella Haunted Hillbilly.

Her latest collaboration with Gil Garratt brings another work of Derek McCormack’s to life through puppetry, music, and stage fright. The Show That Smells (The Last Temptation of Jimmie Rodgers) had its first workshop presentation in March of 2014 in association with Canadian Stage’s RBC Bash Program. The project is now in the midst of touring plans and was supported by the TAC and OAC. And so begins the launch of their Gemma and Gil’s company, Clawhammer.

Selected acting work includes: Sean Dixon’s The Notorious Right Robert and His Robber Bride (Festival Players of Prince Edward County),  Greg Kramer’s adaptation of Sherlock Holmes (Segal Centre, Montreal), Janet Munsil’s adaptation of Pride And Prejudice (National Arts Centre / Theatre Calgary) , Metamorphoses (NAC), The Game of Love and Chance (Canadian Stage / Centaur), The Glass Menagerie (Soulpepper), Michael Mackenzie’s Instructions to Any Future Socialist Government Wishing to Abolish Christmas (Crow’s Theatre / Centaur), and Linda Griffith’s Age of Arousal (Alberta Theatre Projects / Nightwood / Centaur).

Gemma is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada (2004).

Sara Levine (Author)

Sara Levine is the chair of the graduate writing program at the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago and the author of a collection of stories, Short Dark Oracles (Caketrain Press, 2011). Her writing has appeared in The Iowa Review, Nerve, Conjunctions, Necessary Fiction, Sonora Review, and other magazines. She won a 2008 Bridport Prize for Fiction, a special mention in The Pushcart Anthology, and three citations in The Best American Essays. Her writing has been anthologized in Best of Fence: The First Nine Years and The Touchstone Anthology of Creative Nonfiction: 1970 to the Present. Treasure Island!!! is her first novel. It was chosen as one of the Globe and Mail’s best books of 2012. Link to Sara Levine’s site: Treasure Island!!!

Jody McLennan (Costume Design)

Jody McLennan (Costume Design) Jody is a fashion and costume designer based out of Toronto. Her line is called Monday’s Child (mondayschild.ca).  Her recent work has included custom competitive dance wear and costumes for travelling dance & circus groups.  When not working full time making costumes for others, you can find Jody usually in her cozy Brockton studio creating leather teddy bears and other nonsense curios. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, she attended college at the University College of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford and George Brown College in Toronto.

Christopher Douglas (Stage Manager)

Stage Management highlights include Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Arcadia (Amicus), Home and Away (PuppUTopiate), Field Guide (bluemouth inc.), Sucker (Theatre Brouhaha) and The Comedy of Errors (Urban Bard). A York University graduate, Christopher has written numerous short pieces for festivals around Toronto and is Artistic Producer of EN(LIVE)N Productions (Dying City and Frozen).  Coming in January: producing the world première of DINK at the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

Mike Fowler (Sound Design)

At 26 years old, Mike Fowler is a self-taught guitar player and musician with over a decade of experience in live playing and recording sessions.  While attending Western University for music, he played in the pit band for a number of student-run musical productions including Chicago and Little Shop of Horrors.  He has also gigged with several rock bands, and has contributed both his guitar playing and compositional skills to many professional recording sessions.

Bonnie Anderson (Promotional Videographer)

Bonnie is an actor, writer, director, producer and filmmaker. She recently co-produced the new Canadian play by Alison Lawrence: ‘The Thing Between Us’ (mcguffin company) directed by Aaron Willis. She was also co-producer on ‘Tragedy: a tragedy’ directed by Stewart Arnott (SummerWorks). Her most recent stage direction credits include: ‘Asylum by the Lake’ (Edmonton Fringe Festival). This summer Bonnie completed her newest short film ‘GPS Love’. She is currently in production on a documentary about breasts! Bonnie’s next film project is a short film called ‘The Unscarry Vampire’ by Steve Bruins shooting in November. Upcoming theatre projects include: Catherine McNally’s production of David Mamet’s ‘Boston Marriage’ at the Campbell House April 2015.