Football fever might be winding down in Vancouver, but there’s more soccer shenanigans in store for you this summer in The Merry Wives of Windsor! 

At the heart of the Windsor Park Recreation Centre is Ms. Quickly, who works at the community centre’s front desk and keeps everything running smoothly (or not, depending on who you ask). Between being enlisted to help humiliate Falstaff, making sure that Anne Page ends up with the right person, and maybe even finding love of her own, Ms. Quickly is at the heart of all the chaos—and that’s exactly where she wants to be. 

Lending her wit and charm to Ms. Quickly this summer is Steffanie Davis, who returns for her second Season at Bard on the Beach after a scene-stealing turn as Lucetta in The Gentlemen of Verona last year. We had the chance to sit down with her recently to chat about her start in theatre, the musicals and artists that shaped her, and how her roles as Ms. Quickly and the Porter mean that she gets to take audiences along for the ride every night.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in theatre?
In elementary school, I was taking a lot of dance classes but then I signed up for a musical theatre class, which I really enjoyed. I grew up watching a lot of musicals on film, but it wasn’t until high school that I started taking drama classes regularly. By the time I was in Grade 12, I was in choir, script writing, drama, and I did every school play I was allowed to do. Then I took a gap year where I thought I was going to become a social worker, but I clocked that I was not feeling like myself. I then realized, “Oh, you’re not doing anything artistic, Steffanie! That’s what’s wrong with you!” So I auditioned for post-secondary theatre school, and here we are.

What was that formative musical for you in your younger years?
Weird, weird one, but Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was a VHS that my grandparents had, and I must have watched it a thousand times. In high school, I skipped class (sorry mom) and saw a version of Into the Woods at The Cultch that stayed with me. I also remember seeing Joan of Arc at the Arts Club with Meg Roe playing Joan, and Dean Paul Gibson and Scott Bellis were in it too. I saw that play and I thought, “Oh, I want to do this for real.”

Because you’re such an incredible singer, I have to ask: Did music and theatre come at the same time for you?
There was a world where I once thought I was going to pursue becoming a jazz vocalist… but I just loved acting too much. That’s why I was initially drawn to musicals because I thought, “Oh good, I get to do both!” But singing is definitely something that’s always been part of me—I used to make my mother put on Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” on repeat so I could belt it out in the living room. I love getting to use that skill in the context of telling a story on stage, but I also make sure I do it for fun and for me in my spare time.

Steffanie Davis as Ms. Quickly and Rachel Angco as Simple in The Merry Wives of Windsor | Photo by Emily Cooper

You get to sing in The Merry Wives of Windsor with Jacob Leonard. Tell us about that!
Music is a beautiful tool in storytelling. And it rings very true in The Merry Wives of Windsor, with all of the sung moments in the show! From Falstaff’s karaoke to Craig [Erickson]’s sauna song to this wonderfully unexpected love story between Pistol and Ms. Quickly—which is absolutely not in the original text. Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak carved out a really special love arc for these characters, and it’s so much fun to get to sing with my friend on stage every night.

In both your roles as Ms. Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor and as the Porter in Macbeth, there’s some audience interaction required. How do you approach that?
In Shakespeare’s catalogue, many of the fools and servant characters use the audience as their scene partner. I love inviting the audience into the story: it’s truly a real conversation with them, and at the end of the day if they don’t understand what I’m sharing with them, then I’m not doing my job correctly! Getting them to play with me during the Porter’s speech is particularly special. Creating that role was quite the journey for me and Stephen Drover; there was lots of talking back and forth about that role and its function within the play and within this specific world he was building. Some of that text wasn’t even finalized until days before Opening Night! And then Ms. Quickly is a treasure to play because she’s handling so much chaos on stage, so she sort of needs the audience to be on the rollercoaster with her! Sometimes I’m really looking into the crowd like “You see what I’m dealing with here?”

Steffanie Davis as the Porter in Macbeth (2026) | Photo by Emily Cooper

In Macbeth, you play two very different characters in the Porter and Lady Macduff. How do you balance that mentally and take care of yourself during this process?
Ms. Quickly’s living in a much lighter and more mischievous, hopeful spirit and world compared to Macbeth. I’m running around for all of The Merry Wives of Windsor and it helps inform her energy on stage! Whereas on Macbeth days, I spend a lot of time alone backstage. After the opening battle I get changed into the Porter and then I usually sit in the garden and mutter to myself for about 20 minutes getting into the zone. I’m also the voice of the intercom, so throughout the show, it’s like I’m constantly on the clock as the Porter. Then for Lady Macduff, I shift gears to put myself into the emotional place where she’s just come from mid-conversation with Ross, while navigating the hurt from being abandoned and the ferocious love she has for her children. Choosing different vocal qualities for both characters really helps me differentiate the two. 

Last Season, we had two comedies on our BMO Mainstage, and now we have a comedy and a tragedy. How different has it been for you?
Even though in Much Ado About Nothing, there were still waves of tragedy within the comedy because of all the drama with the weddings, it was still at its core a comedy, as was The Two Gentlemen Of Verona. It’s been really cool to have two shows so very stylistically different from each other this year. The work is still the work: you show up, get into the zone for whichever show and character you’re getting into, and tell the story. But the contrast of our Company’s energy on Macbeth days (very collectively focused) and then on The Merry Wives of Windsor days (using the levity of being in that world and being ready to play with each other) is very fun as an actor. It makes savouring these two worlds very special.

Rachel Angco as Macduff’s Child and Steffanie Davis as Lady Macduff in Macbeth (2026) | Photo by Emily Cooper

Do you have a favourite memory or a moment that stands out to you from your time at Bard?
Last year, there was something magical about it being my first Season—the first time bowing at Bard will be a moment I never forget. This year, one of my favourite memories so far has to be the understudy run-throughs. Understudying is so important and we’ve come a long way in the theatre industry in terms of prioritizing coverage for productions for when folks need it. The understudy program takes so much work on Bard’s part—shout out to [Artistic Company Manager] Susan Miyagishima, who I know plays a huge role in that process! It is truly incredible seeing my colleagues, who have been watching, taking notes, and memorizing on their own time, throw themselves into new costumes and execute roles so different from their primary tracks with such precision, heart and gusto.

Is there anything that you’ve listening to lately that you’ve been inspired by?
I’ve been listening to a lot of Olivia Dean, Raye, Jungle, and Bad Bunny this year—Mr. Bunny’s actually made his way into The Merry Wives of Windsor for a brief moment, which I love. I sing at Guilt & Co, a live music venue here in town, fairly often and I love getting to play around with different genres when I perform there. I’m actually doing a similar style of show with the Arts Club called Summer Social Cabaret on Monday, July 20th from 7pm–10pm, featuring myself and fellow Bard alumni Praneet Akilla, Jacob Woike, and Sharon Crandall—tickets still available!

Is there an artist that had a particularly big influence on you?
Vocally, the three divas that I was obsessed with growing up were Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Peggy Lee. Then in terms of musical theatre, I have always been a Sondheim nerd. I’ll often cycle through his work, hitting play at the top of a cast album and going on the journey. As for acting, I love watching movies and reading really good plays. I can’t say I’ve ever had a “favourite” actor, but more of an admiration for many, many great performers in many mediums.

Do you have a dream role?
Listen, this is a tough question. For musical theatre I am totally in my Sondheim-era prime. I would love to do, you know, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Company, A Little Night Music, Merrily We Roll Along. In the world of Shakespeare, there are so many roles I’d love to take a crack at, including some traditionally played by men. But for now, I’m really enjoying learning more of his works, developing my textwork skills, and focusing on building my technique to perform this language to the best of my ability. Bard provides the best of the best when it comes to coaches to help us all prepare for these productions, so a huge thank you to our outstanding coaching staff Alana Hawley Purvis, Alison Matthews, Meg Roe, and Dean Paul Gibson.

Thanks so much for chatting with us, Steff! 

Be sure to catch her in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Macbeth, running until September 19 on our BMO Mainstage. Tickets start at $30! 

Plus, follow Steff on Instagram at @steffwithanff to stay in the loop about any upcoming performances she has at Guilt & Co and other venues around town.