As You Like It
June 8 – September 30 · BMO Mainstage
The Beatles are back at Bard! It’s the 1960s all over again, and free spirits are escaping from Vancouver to get “back to the land”. This joyful tribute to love, laughter and music features two-dozen classic Beatles songs, from “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to “Here Comes the Sun”, performed live on stage. The original Bard production played to sold-out houses in 2018 and has triumphed across North America since then.
“One of the most joyous productions in Bard’s history… You’d have to be a real Nowhere Man not to be on your feet and singing along.” Vancouver Sun (2018)
“A total blast… and entirely in the spirit of the Bard.” Chicago Sun-Times (2021)
Developed by Bard on the Beach and Citadel Theatre Artistic Director Daryl Cloran. Directed by Daryl Cloran.
Content Advisory: cold spark fountain, mild innuendo, non-toxic haze
Season and production run dates subject to change.
Production run time: 2hrs 40mins, including intermission
Production Sponsor
Photo Credit: Chelsea Rose as Rosalind & Oscar Derkx as Orlando Photo & Image Design: Emily Cooper
The Story
WRESTLING FOR POWER
It’s the 1960s in Vancouver. Dame Frances, a powerful business owner, has taken control of the family firm and forced her sister, Dame Senior, to leave town. She permits her sister’s daughter, Rosalind, to stay because of Rosalind’s close friendship with her own daughter Celia.
The action begins at a wrestling match. Oliver de Boys, who manages a champion wrestler named Charles, argues with his younger brother Orlando. Orlando is angry that Oliver has mistreated him and held back his inheritance since their father died. Orlando decides to wrestle for his fortune. At the match, he meets Rosalind and they fall instantly in love.
THE GREAT ESCAPE
Dame Frances orders Rosalind to leave Vancouver, as she no longer trusts her. Rosalind and Celia decide to run away to the Okanagan forest. Rosalind disguises herself as a young man, Ganymede, and Celia becomes Aliena, his sister. Touchstone, a family employee, goes with them.
Meanwhile, Adam, a longtime de Boys employee, warns Orlando that Oliver plans to have him killed. They also escape to the Okanagan.
In the forest, Ganymede (Rosalind) and Aliena (Celia) meet Silvius and Corin, two local farmers, and arrange to buy a farm.
Nearby, Orlando and Adam stumble upon Dame Senior, the exiled sister of Dame Frances, and her companions, who take them in.
LOVE BLOOMS IN THE WOODS
Orlando leaves love notes about Rosalind throughout the forest. He meets Ganymede (Rosalind), who proposes that Orlando treat “him” as Rosalind, so he can practice his wooing. elsewhere, Silvius pines for another farmer, Phoebe, while Touchstone meets Audrey and they pair up.
In Vancouver, Dame Frances is furious that the girls and Orlando have disappeared. She demands that Oliver bring his brother back or else she will ruin him. But when Oliver shows up at the young women’s farm, he announces he has reconciled with his brother after Orlando saved him from a mountain lion. Oliver and Aliena fall in love.
HELP!
Orlando grows tired of Ganymede’s game and believes his love for Rosalind is hopeless. other relationships are also complicated: Silvius is still in love with Phoebe, but she’s smitten with Ganymede. Claiming “he” can work magic, Ganymede invites everyone to gather the next morning, when all will be resolved. Could it be true that “all you need is love”?
Trailer
Cinematography & Video Editing by Art Left Creative
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Director's Note
I have set this production of As You like It right here – in Bard’s own backyard. It’s the 1960s, in Kitsilano – home of Vancouver’s counterculture. We start at a wrestling match, much like Vancouver’s All-Star Wrestling of the 1960s. then our lovers escape to the vast Okanagan (which, for Shakespeare purists, scans the same as “For’st of Arden”!), just like many freethinkers of the ‘60s escaped Vancouver to get “back to the land” in the interior of BC.
As You like It is a love story. Love in its many forms. From youthful romantic love, to the love of a mother and
a daughter, to the belief that to get what we want in life, truly, all we need to do is love and respect each other – a belief that resonated as much in Shakespeare’s time as it did in the sixties – and does today.
We are telling this story with “a little help from our friends”, the Beatles. the Fab Four’s songs integrate perfectly into this story. I have cut A LOT of Shakespeare’s text to make room for them. The Bard’s story comes alive through song, particularly as the characters find themselves in the woods where emotions can no longer be contained by words alone.
Orlando’s love letters become love songs. Amiens and the lords sing as they refine their philosophy about life and love. Even the evolution of the Beatles’ songwriting is perfect for the story arc of the play. the early Beatles songs are naïve and youthful, which is where the young lovers start. But as we meet the thinkers in the forest and life becomes more complicated, we are able to transition into the Beatles’ later, more spiritual and philosophical songwriting.
This production premiered at Bard in 2018. Since then, we have shared it with audiences in Chicago, Milwaukee, Edmonton and Winnipeg. We are thrilled to be back where it all started. And this coming season, it will play at the
Shakespeare theater in Washington, DC and at theatre Calgary. it is such a joy to share this As You like it with so many more audiences!
Shakespeare, Vancouver, the 1960s and the Beatles are a perfect combination. I’m so glad you have joined us for this adventure into the forest. I hope by the end of the play we will send you out of the tent with a song in your heart and a belief in our shared humanity.
Daryl Cloran
Cast & Creative Team
Carmen Alatorre
Costume Designer
Originally from Mexico, Carmen has a BFA in Art History from Centro de Cultura Casa Lamm in Mexico City and an MFA in Theatre Design from UBC. She is currently based in lək ʷ̓ əŋən and WSÁNEC Territories (Victoria, BC). With over 87 design credits, some of her recent costume designs were seen in companies such as Arts Club, Bard, Globe Theatre Regina, Royal MTC, Citadel Theatre, Electric Company, Milwaukee Rep, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Carmen is Assistant Professor in Performance Design at UVic. She is the recipient of four Jessie Awards. www.carmenalatorre.com
Rick Boyton
Creative Consultant
Rick is the Creative Producer at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Previous credits include at CST — world premiere The Notebook, North American premiere SIX (Broadway, A.R.T., Citadel, Ordway), It Came From Outer Space (TheatreSquared), The Book of Joseph (Everyman Theatre, Off Broadway as The Lucky Star), Ride the Cyclone (MCC, 5th Avenue/ACT, Alliance Theatre), Othello: The Remix (London, Germany, Edinburgh, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Off Broadway), Funk It Up About Nothin’ (Edinburgh, Australia, London), Sense and Sensibility (Old Globe), Cadre (co-director) (Johannesburg, Grahamstown, Edinburgh, Vancouver), and Murder for Two (New York).
Henry Beasley (he/him)
William / Jacques de Boys / Assassin / Musician
Henry is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist originally from New Westminster, traditional territory of the Qayqayt Nation. He has worked with Gateway Theatre, Chemainus Theatre Festival, Infinithéâtre, Rising Tide, and most recently, The Undercurrents Festival, where his original music and sound design was heard in Three Plays for the End of the World. Training: National Theatre School, Capilano University. He dedicates this performance to his family, and his bass playing to Tony. www.henrybeasley.ca
Scott Bellis (he/him)
Jaques / Le Beau
Scott is an actor, director, and acting instructor who has worked across Canada in over 180 theatrical productions since 1987. He was a founding member of Bard in 1990, and over the years has played roles such as Hamlet, Touchstone, King John, Bottom, and Lear’s Fool. Last summer he directed their successful production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He is the recipient of five Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards and currently serves as Council President for the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.
John Ciccone, Copyright Music and VisualsClearance & Music Consulting
John Ciccone, Copyright Music and Visuals
Clearance & Music Consulting
Daryl Cloran (he/him)
Director
Artistic Director of The Citadel Theatre (Edmonton). Daryl has directed across North America and internationally in countries such as South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina. For Bard on the Beach Daryl directed: Love’s Labour’s Lost, Shakespeare in Love and As You Like It, which, since premiering at Bard in 2018, has played at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Milwaukee Rep, RMTC (Winnipeg) and the Citadel. It’s great to be back where it all started!
Jennifer Copping (she/her)
Understudy for Corin / Dame Frances' Attendant / Audrey / Lady Danger
Jennifer is a multiple-time nominee and winner of awards as an actress. Theatre (select): Kinky Boots, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Day Before Christmas, Godspell, Les Misérables, Tommy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jersey Boys, Indian Arm, and Detroit. Film/TV (select): Devil In Ohio, Once Upon A Mattress, Slither, Becoming Redwood*, Fargo, Bates Motel, Debris, Alaska Daily, and The Cases Of Mystery Lane. *Leo Award for Lead Performance by a Female.
Ryan Cormack (he/him)
Assistant Set Designer
Ryan is returning for his third season at Bard. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University and studied set and costume design at NTS. Design credits include A Shakesperience (Bard); Yaga and Mamma Mia! (Touchstone); OZ (CTYP); Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play (DSDM); and If/Then and Bring It On (QMT). As assistant: Done/Undone and Romeo and Juliet (Bard); Forgiveness and Kinky Boots (Arts Club); The Birds (Pacific Opera Victoria); The Jungle Book (ATP); and Actually and The Great Divide (Harold Green/Obsidian).
Andrew Cownden (any)
Understudy for Touchstone / Jaques / Le Beau / Adam / Martex / Mustachio
This is Andrew’s fifth season with Bard. Recent credits include Wabash, Shakespeare in Love, and Launce, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Bard); Max Detweiler, The Sound of Music (Arts Club); The Cowardly Lion, The Wizard of Oz (Western Canada Theatre); Julian Marsh, 42nd Street (TUTS); and The Emcee, Cabaret (Royal City Musical Theatre). He is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts. www.andrewcownden.com
Sharon Crandall
Dance Captain / Dame Frances' Attendant/Corin
Sharon is grateful to be working on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Select theatre: As You Like It and Lysistrata (Bard); 9 to 5 (Citadel); As You Like It (RMTC/Citadel); and Matilda (RMTC/Citadel/Arts Club). Select film/ TV: The Last of Us, Pillow Talk, and The Kid Detective. Coming up: Holidazed (Hallmark). Much love to AW, LC, and SC. Huge thanks to KN, the Bard family, and YOU, the audience. www.sharoncrandallofficial.com
Oscar Derkx (he/him)
Orlando de Boys
Oscar is an actor and musician based in Edmonton. Selected credits: Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Citadel/Arts Club); As You Like It and Trouble In Mind (RMTC/Citadel); Peter and the Starcatcher, Once, and A Christmas Carol (Citadel); The Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Winter’s Tale (Freewill Shakespeare Festival); Evelyn Strange and Lost Lemoine (Teatro La Quindicina); The Suburban Motel Series (Punctuate! Theatre); and The Antyssey (Concrete Theatre).
Leslie Dos Remedios (she/they)
Directing Apprentice
Most recently, Leslie directed the premiere production of For Now by Scott Button with Green Thumb Theatre, and will be a dramaturge with Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre’s 2023 MSG Lab. Recent acting credits include Instantaneous Blue (Mitch and Murray Productions), Me Love Bingo: Best in Snow, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Thanks for Giving (Arts Club), Lights (Touchstone). Big love to Stephen and to our daughter Rosalind – you are the absolute lights of my life. Leslie is a graduate of York University (2008) and Studio 58 (2012).
Ben Elliott (he/him)
Musical Director & Supervisor / Silvius / Forest Lord / Keyboards
Ben is excited to return for his ninth season at Bard. Favourite Bard credits: Autolycus, The Winter’s Tale; Benvolio, Romeo and Juliet; and the Bear, Elizabeth Rex. Ben is a multi-Jessie Award nominee and won a Jessie Award for Musical Direction for Bard’s The Merry Wives Of Windsor. Ben is a recipient of the Edmund Kean Sword Award, a graduate of Bishop’s University and Studio 58, and the proud husband to Kori.
Jonathan Hawley Purvis (he/him)
Choreographer / Fight Director
Jonathan is a fight director, actor, choreographer, and stunt performer. Select fight direction credits include Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, and Shakespeare in Love (Bard); As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare and Milwaukee Rep); Antony & Cleopatra, The Three Musketeers, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet (St. Lawrence Shakespeare); and The Silver Arrow, Shakespeare In Love, West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet, The Penelopiad, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Citadel).
Brooke Hogeweide
Apprentice Costume Designer
Brooke is a recent graduate of the Department of Theatre at the University of Victoria, specializing in costume and set design. Originally a performer, she began designing midway through her degree. While at UVic, she was the Costume Designer on Mojada and Assistant Costume Designer on Spring Awakening and The Waste Land, where she assisted Carmen Alatorre. Brooke is thrilled to participate in her first professional production in As You Like It.
Owen Hutchinson
Original Associate Sound Designer
Owen is a graduate of the Theatre Production program at Grant MacEwan University, and has been nominated for three Sterling Awards for his production and design work. Selected design credits include Arcadia, Make Mine Love, Million Dollar Quartet and 9-5 The Musical (Citadel Theatre, Edmonton); As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); and Drowsy Chaperone (Citadel and National Arts Centre, Ottawa). Operation credits include out of town tryouts of Broadway hits Hadestown and Six. When not creating theatre, Owen enjoys making feline furniture for the family-owned Douglas Cat Bed Company. Owen lives in Edmonton with his wife Christy and sons Theo and Amos.
Olivia Hutt (she/her)
Understudy for Rosalind / Phoebe / Celia
Olivia is a Canadian actor living in Vancouver. She is honoured to play and engage as a settler on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy ̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilw̓ ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations. Last seen at Bard on the Beach: Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Portia in The Merchant of Venice. As a theatre artist she has worked for other companies such as Mitch and Murray Productions, ITSAZOO Productions, ZeeZee Theatre, Green Thumb Theatre and YPT. A Jessie Richardson Award winner, a collaborator, dramaturg, teacher, and advocate of constructively decolonizing theatre today. Thank you for coming to see theatre.
Matthew Ip Shaw 葉 銘 康
Understudy for Oliver / Charles / Assassin
Matthew is a multi-hyphenate artist from Vancouver, BC. After training at Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York, Matt began performing fights with the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. As an Asian-Canadian, Matt strives for equality in the arts and has made it his mission to foster a collaborative environment for all creators. His most recent projects include Running Man and his role at The Improv Centre’s Mainstage Ensemble.
Sam Jeffery (she/her)
Assistant Fight Director
Sam is an award-nominated fight director, actor, certified intimacy director and coordinator, and educator born and raised in ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ/amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory. She’s delighted to now make the coast her home. Select fight credits: Flowers of the Rarest (Flowers Artists’ Collective); Dooja Ghar: The Other House (Monsoon Festival); Oil (UBC); Michael Mysterious (Pyretic Productions); Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play (Blarney/You Are Here); and Henry V, Twelfth Night, and Julius Caesar (The Malachites). www.samjeffery.com
Pam Johnson
Set Designer
Since 1998, Pam’s Bard credits include Romeo and Juliet, Done/Undone, Coriolanus, All’s Well that Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter’s Tale, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy of Errors, King Lear, Cymbeline, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, King John, Richard II, Titus Andronicus, Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, and Richard III. Pam has received several Jessie Awards, as well as a Career Achievement Award.
Kayvon KhoshkamPre-show Content and Comedic Contributions
Kayvon Khoshkam
Pre-show Content and Comedic Contributions
Gerald King
Lighting Designer
Gerald’s recent credits for Bard: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of The Shrew, and Shakespeare In Love. Other: As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare); Bad Parent and Kuroko (vAct); Matilda (Royal MTC/Citadel/Arts Club); Chariots of Fire (Grand Theatre); carried away on the crest of a wave (NAC); The Flying Dutchman, Faust, Dead Man Walking, and Evita (Vancouver Opera); No Child (Arts Club); Wabi-Sabi (Kokoro Dance); and Carmen (Pacific Opera Victoria).
Alexandra Lainfiesta (she/her)
Phoebe / Eleanor Rigby
Born and raised in Guatemala, Alexandra’s a graduate of Studio 58 and the Canadian College of Performing Arts. She has performed across Canada, including four seasons at the Stratford Festival. She is the recipient of two Dora Awards, two Jessie Richardson Awards and the 2022 BC Lieutenant Governor General Arts and Music Award. She’s currently developing her first full-length play, Bella Luz, through Arts Club’s Silver Commission Program and is a BC/Yukon councillor for Canadian Actor’s Equity. www.alexandralainfiesta.com
Jennifer Lines (she/her)
Dame Frances / Dame Senior
Jennifer is a Vancouver-based actor who has performed locally and internationally for over 25 years with theatre companies such as Bard on the Beach (over 35 productions), the Arts Club, the Belfry Theatre, the Vancouver Playhouse, Theatre Calgary, MTC, the Caravan Theatre, and Axis Theatre. Jennifer is a two-time Jessie Award winner and received her BFA in Acting from the University of Victoria. Recent film/TV credits include Yellowjackets, The Night Agent, and Resident Alien.
Matthew MacDonald-Bain
Oliver de Boys
Matthew is delighted to be making his Bard debut! He is a two-time Jessie Award winner for Acting and Sound Design. Select credits: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley and The Day Before Christmas (Arts Club); The Café, Wet, and The Competition Is Fierce (ITSAZOO); Love/Sick and The Wolves (Stone’s Throw); Not So Dumb (Green Thumb); The Out Vigil (Firepot); and Bright Blue Future, Bug, and Of Mice And Men (Hardline). Matthew is a graduate of Studio 58. Thank you to my wonderful wife Jalen for all the love and support.
Alison Matthews (she/her)
Head Voice & Text Coach
Alison has coached over forty productions for the festival since 2008. She is a voice specialist in the Drama Department at the University of Alberta, and she taught for five years with the Citadel Banff Professional Theatre Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts. As a speech trainer, she has worked with academics at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, and with immigrant and refugee women at the Vancouver Chapter of The Shoe Project. With three decades of professional acting experience, Alison has numerous film and television credits, and is a well-known voiceover artist. She holds a M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of British Columbia, and Associate Diploma in Drama & Speech from Trinity College London. Learn more at: www.alisonmatthews.com
Peter McBoyle
Original Sound Designer
Peter’s renowned sound design work has been a central feature in productions at most of the major regional and commercial theatres in Canada over the past 30+ years. In the US he worked with companies based in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and Dallas. He spent over 26 years at the Stratford Festival where he designed more than 80 productions. His Broadway credits include Come Fly Away and Barrymore and he designed the American national tours for Sister Act and Catch Me If You Can among others. As an instructor Peter taught at Toronto Metropolitan University (formally Ryerson University) and Humber College. As a mentor he inspired and guided a generation of sound designers in the performing arts in Canada and the US. He holds a Bachelor of Music, and Master’s of Music (Media and Technology) from McGill University. Home and anchor for McBoyle was Stratford, ON with his wife Meghan and daughters Ella and Beatrice – the value and importance of his work and legacy live on in this production which he was very grateful to have been involved in.
Andrew McNee (he/him)
Touchstone
Born and raised in Vancouver, Andrew has been working in theatre, film, and television for the past 22 years. Theatre has taken him across Canada, to Europe, and the UK. Recent theatre credits: Buffoon, Noises Off, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Boeing-Boeing, One Man, Two Guvnors, Misery, and Mustard. Select film and television credits include being murdered and blown up in locally filmed productions. Andrew is a graduate of Studio 58.
Naomi Ngebulana (she/they)
Celia
Naomi graduated with an MFA from the Guildford School of Acting in 2020. After patiently waiting for theatres to reopen, she’s excited to have begun working professionally. Recent credits: Fall on Your Knees (Canadian Stage); Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors (Segal Centre); and Educating Rita (Watermark Theatre). Outside of living the dream, she’s a certified yoga instructor and either on her mat or eating her favourite Haagen Dazs ice cream, the vanilla one with the chocolate covered almonds.
Hina Nishioka (she/her)
Assistant Lighting Designer
Hina is a lighting designer based in the Lower Mainland of BC. Originally from Japan, she enjoys exploring projects with a variety of cultural backgrounds. Her selected lighting design credits include Yaga (Touchstone); Blue Stockings (Studio 58); and Kwê (Jeanette Kotowich). Assistant lighting design credits: Harlem Duet (Bard on the Beach); Bad Parent (vAct); Wabi-Sabi (Kokoro Dance); and Othello (University of Victoria).
Shael O'Brien
Apprentice Costume Designer
Shael is a current theatrical design student at the University of Victoria. This is Shael’s first time working with Bard on the Beach and she is thrilled! Some of Shael’s other experiences include working with the Chemainus Theatre Festival as a wardrobe assistant and dresser on Classic Country Roads in 2022 and designing a few student productions at her university.
Evan Rein
Amiens / Hymen / Assassin / Forest Lord / Guitar
Evan is thrilled to be making his Bard debut. Select theatre credits: Pacific Theatre, Globe Theatre, and CTYP. Select film/TV credits: Under the Bridge (Hulu); Upload (Amazon); Valley of the Boom (National Geographic); Nancy Drew (CW); and Heartland (CBC). For his performance in Blue Hour, Evan was nominated for a Leo Award and a UBCP/ACTRA Award for Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Motion Picture. Evan is a graduate of Studio 58.
Chelsea Rose (she/her)
Rosalind
Chelsea is an award-winning recording artist, actor, and songwriter. She attended the University of Victoria and the Canadian College of Performing Arts. Chelsea is the vocalist and songwriter of Ophelia Falling. Credits include The Sound of Music, Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol, and REDPATCH (Arts Club/Citadel); The Café (Aphotic/ITSAZOO); Th’owxiya (Axis); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Gateway); Les Filles Du Roi (The Cultch/Urban Ink/Fugue/Raven); Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth (Firehall); and Broken Sex Doll (Virtual Stage).
Emma Slipp (she/her)
Audrey / Lady Danger
Career highlights: Sense and Sensibility, Noises Off, and Farewell, My Lovely (Arts Club); Stupid F*cking Bird, Bunny, and The Father (Search Party); As You Like It and Macbeth (Bard); Boeing-Boeing (Persephone); Silent Sky and Singin’ in the Rain (Chemainus); Elbow Room Cafe (Zee Zee); Moss Park (Green Thumb); Sleeping Beauty (Globe); Killer Joe (ITSAZOO); Three Sisters (Only Child Collective); King Lear (Honest Fishmongers); and The Violet Hour (Belfry). Studio 58 graduate and Jessie Award winner.
Joanne P.B. Smith
Production Stage Manager
Joanne hopes you enjoy the shows under the tents this year. Joanne has been a stage manager for many a year for many companies, in both theatre and dance.
Jennifer Stewart (she/her)
Assistant Stage Manager
Jenn lives on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy ̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She has had the pleasure of working in a range of backstage roles, including multiple seasons in various capacities with Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto, Caravan Farm Theatre, and tours with vAct and Electric Company Theatre. She has designed shows for ITSAZOO, Théâtre la Seizième, Zee Zee, Delinquent, and frank theatre. This is Jenn’s ninth season with Bard. She graduated from Studio 58 and completed her Master’s Degree at UBC. She is a member of CAEA and ADC659.
Isaiah Terrell-Dobbs (he/him)
Musician
Isaiah Terrell-Dobbs is a multidisciplinary artist who grew up in East “Vancouver” on MST territories, playing in bands like Schwey and Winona Forever through his younger years. Isaiah is currently producing for artists around the city including Lilex & the Apocalips, Adewolf, and Turunesh, while playing an active role in the local “Vancouver” DIY music scene. He enjoys analog recording in his home studio, stop-motion animating, and drawing in his spare time. Art is his way of life as long as he can afford it!
Marco Walker-Ng
Charles the Wrestler / Forest Lord
In 2015 Marco needed to take some classes to remain eligible for the rugby team at the University of Ottawa. He chose theatre because he thought it would be fun. He was right. Oddly enough, his favourite project was a scene from Julius Caesar. WWE wrestling was also one of his favourite pastimes to perform on his brothers and sister. It’s time to layeth the smackdown. Enjoy the show!
Alistair Wallace (he/him)
Associate Sound Designer
Alistair is an actor, producer, comedian, and sound designer. He is very excited to return to Bard for a second year. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Alistair’s sound design credits include Ominous Sounds at a River Crossing; or, Another Fucking Dinner Party Play (Touchstone); The Enemy and Opening Doors (Firehall); So How Should I Be? (Presentation House); No End of Blame (Sport for Jove); Punk Rock* (pantsguys/ATYP); and Jerusalem** (New Theatre). *Winner, Best Independent Production, Sydney Theatre Awards **Nominee, Best Independent Sound Design, Sydney Theatre Awards.
Andrew Wheeler (he/him)
Adam / Martext / Mustachio
12 seasons for Bard. Recent theatre: Kinky Boots, Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol, and Onegin (Arts Club); Glory (WCTC/Drayton); House and Home, Proud, and Urinetown (Firehall); HIR (Pi); and Les Misérables and Footloose (Chemainus). Other credits: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Playhouse Theatre); Studies In Motion (Electric Company); Mamma Mia! (Mirvish/Littlestar); and Translations (Stratford). Recent film and TV: Fargo, Legends of Tomorrow, Lucifer, Riverdale, and two seasons of Pillow Talk. Upcoming: Elf (Arts Club).
Melanie Yeats (she/they)
Intimacy Director
Melanie has worked for more than 25 years in the performing arts as a performer, dramaturg, director, playwright, and intimacy director with companies such as Carousel Theatre, Tara Cheyenne Performance, re:Naissance Opera, Universal Limited, Music on Main, Upintheair, Neworld, Joe Ink, Boca del Lupo, Pi Theatre, and more, collaborating on many new works, including interdisciplinary projects with theatre, dance, and music artists. Melanie is also proud to serve as Creative Managing Director at Playwrights Theatre Centre.
Yuting Yue
Apprentice Stage Manager
Yuting is thrilled to be joining Bard this season! Recent credits include Apprentice Stage Manager for My Little Tomato (vAct/Zee Zee); Production Assistant for TED2022: A New Era; and Stage Manager for What the Buddha Never Taught (WTBNT Productions) and Cauldron (Vital Spark).
Sally Zori (they/them)
Forest Lord / Drums
A transgender Iraqi raised in the UAE and different parts of “Canada”. Sally is a session musician, percussionist, and content creator. They have played stages and theatres in North America, Europe, and Australia with different bands, orchestras, musicals, and theatre shows, and was the percussionist for Aretha Franklin (NYE 2008). Today, Sally is in the early stages of exploring different mediums of art practices including video art, sound design, and projection design.