WordPlay

The Project:

“Community” by Jessica Westhead, will be adapted into a radio play for broadcast during WordFest. “Community” is a selection from And Also Sharks, a short story collection from Jessica Westhead. The funny and charming short story takes us inside the mind of Gerald, a carpenter that builds the sets for an off-the-wall community theatre. He encounters dashing actors, intense directors, a violent cat and social awkwardness.

WordPlay, a radio play project presented by WordFest and Six Degrees, will be featured during the Festival week and online at wordfest.com.

The Cast:

Aadila Dosani – “Waitress/Cast member”Aadila Dosani was most recently Aadila was part of Castlereigh Theatre Project’s ensemble cast in CASTLE IN THE SKYE which premiered at Sage’s IGNITE Emerging Artist Festival 2011 and toured to Medicine Hat and the Interplay Festival in Fort McMurray.  Aadila has her HBA in Theatre Performance from theUniversity ofToronto.

Brieanna Blizzard – “Nedra”Brieanna Blizzard is a born and raisedCalgaryactor and creator. Her work has been seen on the stages of Theatre Calgary, Vertigo Theatre, ATP, Lunchbox Theatre, Stage West, and Ground Zero Theatre. Brieanna is also the co-founder of ANCHOR|RED theatre and a proud U of C grad.

Christian Goutsis – DirectorChristian has been an actor for 20 years. He has been fortunate to work at theatres all overCanada, as well as abroad.  He is also a voice director and writer with Six Degrees music and productions, and is grateful to the cast for such great work, and to Jessica Westhead for trusting him to adapt and direct this audio version of her fantastic short story.

Jamie Konchak – “The Director”Jamie Konchak is aCalgarybased actor and singer. She has worked with many theatre companies inCalgaryincluding Alberta Theatre Projects, Theatre Calgary, Lunchbox Theatre, Ghost River Theatre and Sage Theatre among others. She divides her time betweenCalgaryand Hall’s Harbour,Nova Scotiaand is a member of the Calgary-based band, Cutest Kitten Ever.

Jeremy Verkley – “Cast Member”Jeremy Verkley has just finished his BFA in Drama at the U of C and is excited to join the professional world of the arts. He is interested in voice acting, as well as TYA and the traditional theatre experience. He wants to thank everyone who worked with him. It was fun!

Juan Delgado – “Goodwill Guy”Juan Delgado has a passion for theatre and performance. For eight years he improvised with the Loose Moose Theatre Company inCalgaryAlberta. Along with improvisation experience Juan has also directed and taught theatre for young audiences. Currently Juan is collaborating with the award winning comedy troupe, Sciencebear.

Kyle Visvanathan – “Teenager”Kyle is 15 years old and is attending Central Memorial High School. He has been a part of such theatre as Alice in Wonderland, Daily Mischief: a Haunted Summer and Mischief in Fez, all with Calgary Young Peoples Theatre. Kyle also will be performing with Kidprov during the upcoming Calgary International Improv Festival.

Lara Schmitz – “Cast member”Lara Schmitz is completing her degrees in Business and Drama at the Universityof Calgary.  She was recently seen inPerfect Pie and King Lear (UofC) and The Adventures of Don Marcos Sebastian Guevara Fantastico (Wagonstage) and is the General Manager for ND Theatre for 2011-2012.

Mariette Sluyter – “Gerald’s mom”Mariette Sluyter is a theatre practitioner who uses her talents for community development.   Although a professional actor & writer, her primary focus in the last decade has been working with communities to tell their stories in order to reduce ignorance and error.   You can find examples of her work in Seniors A GOGO and her new venture The East Village Vaudeville Spectacular, as well as the soon to be released NFB digital documentary “With Bread”.

Michael Shepherd – “Gerald”Michael was nominated in 2010 for an AMPIA for his performance in the Zombie Western “Dead Walkers” (download for $1.99 on iTunes).He has appeared as “Donny Dolce” in “Tony & Tina’s Wedding”. His Santa Claus has delighted audiences for 16 years & his uncanny “Austin Powers” for 17.

Nathan Pronyshyn – “Sean”Nathan is the Y Stage Producer at Vertigo Theatre and works as an actor & director. He has worked with companies such as Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, Ground Zero Theatre,Montreal’s Side Mart Theatrical Grocery. Up next, he will be directing an original work for teens: “n00b” at Vertigo Theatre.

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