Author: Kristen Finlay

Meet the Cast of THE TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE PROJECT – Dustin Berube is William Shepherd

Who are you and what is your role in this production? My name is Dustin Berube and I play the role of William Shepherd. My character was a United Press reporter who happened to be in Washington Square at the time of the fire. He called into his office and described the fire as it was happening. In the show, he is used as a narrator for the audience.
What is your background in theatre? With Walterdale? This is my second Walterdale show (Dustin appeared in Follies, in 2017), but I have been involved with theatre since I was a teenager.

Why do you think people should come see The Triangle Fire Factory Project? This show is an interesting piece of history that is told in a unique way. Much of the script is taken straight from the transcripts and testimonials of those people that were there, which adds to the impact that this show will have on an audience. This is a live theatre experience that doesn’t come along very often.

Since this show deals with workplace ‘issues’ – What is the funniest/most embarassing thing that ever happened to you in a workplace situation? I had a funny/embarrassing workplace experience when I was working in a retail card store. It was Boxing Day and I was the first to open the shop doors. My coworker was running late so I was working as fast as I could with a very long line of customers. In the middle of a transaction with a customer, I suddenly realized that I was going to become sick, so I calmly turned around and utilized the small trash bin at my feet. I wiped my mouth with a tissue, stood up and carried on. The customers seems unfazed by my germs and insisted that I continue to bag their items. As we all know, the customer is always right!

Meet the Cast of THE TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE PROJECT – Heather Morrow is Bertha Schwartz

Who are you and what is your role in this production? Heather Morrow, I play Bertha Schwartz in the show. She has two children who work at the sweatshop in the show, Margaret and Max.

What is your background in theatre? With Walterdale? Oh wow. One of my very first plays, Crushed, was produced at the Walterdale in 1997 — my dramaturge was Vern Thiessen. I’ve done shows for the ADFA One-Act Festival, and I was in Wyrd Sisters in 2011. Outside of the Walterdale, I’ve written and self-produced plays at the Edmonton and Calgary Fringe Festivals, I did a show at the Edinburgh Fringe when I lived in Scotland, and developing a BIG script with an amazing group of people, which I’m hoping to get funding to work on.

Why do you think people should come see The Triangle Fire Factory Project? Besides being a stunning show to watch, the subject is especially relevant now. Too many of the clothes we buy now are made in the same conditions that our characters work in, but in other countries…the problems moved because workers in North America got sick of working like that, and I fear we all forget that. As we hear on the news everyday HERE thought, we’re also seeing more incidents of new immigrants or people who simply LOOK like they’re from “somewhere else” being harassed or made to feel lesser, which is what happened to the many, many, new immigrants who were taken advantage of by shops like that in the show. It’s important for people to see a show like this and remember that treating others as less doesn’t simply hurt feelings, it’s dangerous.

Since this show deals with workplace ‘issues’…
– Worst job you ever had, and why? I worked a very strange temp job for a while, for a warehouse company that supplied big rolls of saran-wrap-like stuff to different industries. I had no real training on what I was meant to be doing there, and one day, that water was off in the building but they didn’t shut down until the middle of the day. I’m sure that’s how I caught my first full-blown flu in years — it took me six weeks to completely shake it.

– Funniest thing that ever happened to you in a workplace situation? When I lived in Scotland, I worked in admin at a law firm. Part of my job was to order office supplies for the executives. One day my BIG boss walked in and nonchalantly said, “Could you order me some rubbers?” It took everything I had to not shriek, and process what he’d said — he meant ERASERS. When he left, the other girls sitting with me asked why I was so red. After I explained we got nothing done for the rest of the morning because we were all laughing so hard.

– What was your first job? How old were you and what did it entail? Retail. I was a salesperson in a kitschy clothing store in a very dead mall in Calgary, the summer before I started university in Edmonton. I was 19.

Meet the Cast of THE TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE PROJECT – James Toupin is Chief Edward F. Croker

Who are you and what is your role in this production? My name is James Toupin and I play New York Fire Department Chief Edward F. Croker. Before I started doing research for this show, I had no idea that Chief Croker actually instituted the Fire Drill. A Fire Drill is actually called a Croker Drill.

What is your background in theatre? With Walterdale? I graduated from Grant MacEwan’s Theatre Arts program in 1984 and worked professionally as an actor/writer/director until 2004. After 20 years, I needed to take a break for a while. I have never appeared in a Walterdale Theatre production, but I have performed many times in this theatre, including getting married here in 1990.

Why do you think people should come see The Triangle Fire Factory Project? First and foremost, because it is an excellent drama. Of course the play deals with the formative years of the labour union movement and explains what they were up against and that is an interesting moment in history.

Since this show deals with workplace ‘issues’ – what is the funniest thing that ever happened to you in a workplace situation? I have to say it was during a children’s theatre performance. I was playing the bad guy and before the show I would always talk to the younger children to let them know I was only acting like the bad guy for the play. The play began with a monologue by my character explain who everyone was and right towards the end of the monologue my character asks, “And do you know who I am?”. Without missing a beat, a little voice from the audience responded, “You’re the bad actor!”.

Meet the Cast of THE TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE PROJECT – Kingsley Leung is Eddie Markowitz

What is your role in The Triangle Factory Fire Project? I am an immigrant. I am a Jew. I helped to make this country strong and diverse. They call me Eddie Markowitz – the head shipping clerk at the Triangle Shirt Waist Factory – played by Kingsley Leung.

What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? This is my 3rd Walterdale production. When they need Asians or funny looking guys, I get the call. My willingness to shave my body and wear high heels on stage make my talents very unique.

Why do you think audiences should see this show? This will be the best Rom-Com you will see this century! Fiery relationships that go up in smoke, burning desires and trailblazing women.

This is a show about terrible working conditions… to lighten the mood, do you have any funny work stories?  As a hospital porter, I was bringing body parts and limbs down to the morgue. I was in the elevator trying to keep everything from falling off my cart, when the doors open with a bunch of doctors standing there and I ask them, “Do you mind if I get a hand?”. That was exquisite fooling!

Meet the Cast of THE TRIANGLE FACTORY FIRE PROJECT – Kent Sutherland plays Max Blanck!

Who are you and what is your role in this production? My name is Kent Sutherland, and I play Max Blanck one of the co-owners of the Triangle Waist Factory. Blanck is not a very nice person and along with his fellow co-owner, Isaac Harris, the duo was named as one of the Top 10 Worst Bosses in America by TIME Magazine. I also helped build the set and some of the props.

What is your background in theatre? I was involved with theatre throughout elementary and junior high, and then got back into as an adult with my first production being at Walterdale – The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. I have since done musicals with Festival Players, Two ONE-WAY Tickets to Broadway, Foote in the Door, and, of course, Walterdale. This is my first non-musical role in a very long time.

Why do you think people should come see The Triangle Fire Factory Project? The story is a significant part of history. It was this fire that was the catalyst for changes in building codes, the implementation of fire drills, and better working conditions for women and immigrants. The play explores the historical, political and social ramifications that resulted from this seminal event, and examines the continuing modern day concerns of corporate greed and responsibility, and the moral and ethical issues surrounding the question, “what is the value of a human life?” Also, the way our director has decided to stage the show is sure to have an effect on the audience and have their feelings run the gamut.

Worst job you ever had, and why? Probably the worst job I ever had was working the graveyard shift at the 7-11 that used to be on 99 St. and 90 Ave. one summer. There was supposed to be two people working the shift, but my co-worker often/always called in sick leaving me to work alone. There were several “interesting” incidents at that location during the graveyard shift while I was employed, and there were several times I did not feel all that safe. During one shift, a customer came in asking where the bathroom was, and I looked up to see his face covered in blood — all I could do was point in the direction of the bathroom.

The Triangle Factory Fire Project runs October 10-20, 2018.
Click here for tickets.

Introducing the Cast and Creative Team of THE GREAT GATSBY

Welcome new and returning Walterdale Members to the Cast and Creative Team of The Great Gatsby. We’re looking forward to heading to the Roaring 20’s with all of you!

CAST:

Gatsby- Patrick Maloney
Daisy- Melenie Reid
Nick Carraway- Simon Pawlowski
Jordan Baker- Kendra Humphrey
Tom- Ed Medeiros
Myrtle- Samantha VandenBrink
George Wilson- Phillip Haverkamp
Mrs. Mckee/ Mrs. Michaels- Rosie Sargent

Ensemble
Goran Simonji
Graham Schmitz
Jericho Cabinas
Kosta Max Lemermeyer
Samuel Bronson
Ricardo Espinoza
Veronica Masik
Jeannine Naboye
Anika Plitt
Julianna Hunt
Juhi Gupta
Dara Michelle Downey

CREATIVE TEAM:

Production Manager: TBD
Director: Bethany Hughes
Assistant Director: Rachel Love Haverkamp
Musical Director/Composer/Coordinator: Matt Graham
Stage Manager: Jordan Campion
Choreographer: Jennifer Bilyk
Fight Choreographer: Adara Broyles
Costume Designer: Julieanna Salisbury Lazowski
Lighting Designer: TBD
Sound Designer: Rachel Love Haverkamp/ Matt Graham
Set Designer/Master Painter: Joan Hawkins
Master Builder: Pierre Valios
Props Master: Alyssa Paterson
Sound Op: TBD
Lighting OP: TBD

What’s in Our Venue? WELCOME to Walterdale Theatre!

Every Fringe we have a wonderful assortment of new artists in our space. We’d like to take the time to welcome all of them, new and returning, to the building and hope that they enjoy having Walterdale Theatre as their home for the next 2 weeks!

Here are the shows joining us this year. We hope you can check some of them out and visit us!

AMAZE: A Comedy Magic Show

Do you hate laughter, witnessing the impossible, and just all around having a good time? If so you will hate this show. AMAZE is filled with gut busting comedy, mind boggling illusion, and jaw dropping physical and mental feats. “****” -Winnipeg Free Press

Click here for tickets.

Daddy’s Boy

Heroes and villains, birds of a feather, oil and water – father and son. Erik de Waal explores the rocky, sometimes exuberant relationship between two men who share the same blood and often very little else. ***** “The South African storytelling machine returns with his most affecting tale yet.” (CBC Manitoba)

Click here for tickets.

For Science!

The Professor and her Lab Assistants need YOU for their research. An absurd investigation of instant gratification and celebration of the scientific method. From the one of the minds behind Toy Guns Dance Theatre *****, Ask Aggie****, and official hold-over, Fools for Love *****. For Truth! For Glory! FOR SCIENCE!

Click here for tickets. 

Heroine

It’s 1722. Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two legendary women, await the gallows for crimes of piracy and crossdressing. One wishes repentance, the other refuses to give up without a fight. Heroine dives into rising through rank or reputation among men, love and what being a “real woman” means.

Click here for tickets.

Martin Dockery: Delirium

A ridiculous, true story of love, loss, and butterflies at The Top of the World. “**** Deliriously good.” -Winnipeg Free Press. “**** Master storyteller.” -CBC. “Best storyteller in the US.” -Orlando Sentinel. “Shout-it-from-the-rooftop acclaim!” -Fresno Bee. “***** Hilarious and harrowing… A verbal magician.” -NOW Magazine, Toronto.

Click here for tickets.

Jon Bennett: How I Learned to Hug

Multi award-winning Australian comedian and storyteller Jon Bennett is back! Not a love story but a story of love, loss, sex and hugging told to a lady lookalike of Jay-Z whilst detained as a suspected terrorist in the Montreal Airport… A true story. FIVE STARS – EDMONTON JOURNAL

Click here for tickets.

Nonna’s Story

An operatic & intergenerational yet bitter-sweet cross-section of an immigrant-Neapolitan-Italian-Canadian matriarch’s life, and that of her boisterous blue-collar working class family. Told through the lens of the formerly Edmontonian, queer, performing artist author of the story, it examines why it’s important to remember & honour who/where we came from…

Click here for tickets.

The Alien Baby Play

Bethany is pregnant–with an alien–and you’re invited to the birth! From the company that brought you the held-over fringe hit “Prophecy” (***** CBC) and the award-winning “The Fall of the House of Atreus,” comes an oddly heart-touching and hysterically funny chronicle of fate, family and extraterrestrial love

Click here for tickets.

Tragedy: A Tragedy

A local news team bravely stands in front of an unfolding catastrophe prepared to bring unflinching coverage. But as the night wears on and answers can’t be found… they flinch. From the Sterling Award-winning company behind “Never Swim Alone” (*****) and held-over hit, “Legoland.”

Click here for tickets.

iHuman’s Uncensored

Welcome to iHuman. Uncensored presents an inside look into the unique Edmonton arts organization: iHuman Studios. This multi-disciplinary variety show uses dance, spoken word, drama, visual art, hiphop, etc. to recreate a day-in-the-life of a place that engages and elevates marginalized youth through artistic expression.

Click here for tickets.

 

 

Even more 2018 Fringe Shows with Walterdale Members!

THE MANY LOVES OF IRENE SLOANE

The Description: The Varscona’s resident team of lawyer/actors, (instigators of last year’s The Charm Offensive ****) return with a brain-bending new comedy about competitive imaginations. Enthralled by a mysterious unfinished manuscript, members of a weekly book club find themselves increasingly implicated in its plot as they endeavor to envision its completion.

Click here for tickets.

THE GREAT GROMBOOLIAN PLAIN

The Description: Institutionalized by her sister to coerce her into revealing the location of their father’s last poems, Dinah is protecting a deep secret. She uses time-travel to escape the confines of the institution. On the institution grounds, Dinah meets Magellan. But as the two become closer, they learn neither is as they seem.

Click here for tickets.

ROCKO AND NAKOTA: TALES FROM THE LAND

The Description: Meet Nakota. A young boy trying to write the greatest story. When his grandfather Rocko comes for a visit, Nakota is whisked away into a world of stories from right below his feet – within the land. Local playwright Josh Languedoc weaves an oral storytelling show of finding inner strength. Ottawa Tonight: Top 10 Picks of the Fringe 2018. APT613: Top Picks of the Fringe 2018. “Masterful storyteller…Languedoc fills the entire stage with his performance and characters…run, don’t walk, to get tickets.” – APT613

Click here for tickets.

THE SOLDIER’S TALE

The Description: Premiered in the dying days of the Great War, The Soldier’s Tale is a gripping universal story of greed, loss and redemption. This unique multi-disciplinary presentation features three actors, a dancer and Igor Stravinsky’s brilliant musical score played by seven professional musicians.

Click here for tickets.

CULT CYCLE

The Description: There is a new spin studio in town! Welcome to Cult Cycle where you will burn fat and arise a new you from the ashes. This original musical gives a new meaning to the statement “That spin class was torture”. Be prepared to “Get FIT or DIE trying!”

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More 2018 Fringe shows featuring Walterdale Members! We are everywhere!

BUYER AND CELLAR

Description: Barbra Streisand has a mall in her basement (TRUTH!). Meet Alex, the man who has to work there (… not true). Don’t miss the Edmonton premiere of the outrageous off-Broadway smash hit about the price of fame, the cost of things, and the oddest of odd jobs.

Click here for tickets.

AN ANTHOLOGY OF GHASTLY TALES

Description: In the tradition of “Twilight Zone” and “Tales from the Crypt” comes stories too horrifying to tell an elementary class, told by a teacher on his last day of teaching. A new play from the demented mind behind “An Evening with the Heaven’s Gate Singers” – **** – EdmontonFringe.ca

Click here for tickets.

[TITLE OF SHOW]

Description: Who says four chairs and a keyboard can’t make a musical? In this hilarious Tony nominated musical, we join Jeff and Hunter, two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical. Witness four artists craft a love letter to musical theatre!

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FOR WHOM THE SOUTHERN BELLE TOLLS and BED BUG BOSSA NOVA

Description: DOUBLE FEATURE: Take one fading southern belle, her overly-sensitive son, his collection of glass cocktail stirrers, toss in a loudmouth “feminine” caller then watch as pandemonium ensues courtesy of playwright Christopher Durang. ALSO catch two horny bedbugs seeking love’n’lust between the sheets in an award-winning production by Gerald Osborn.

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Stay tuned for more shows featuring Walterdale members past and present!

More 2018 Fringe Shows featuring Walterdale Members!

ESCAPED ALONE

Description: Three old friends and a neighbor. A summer of afternoons in the backyard. Tea and catastrophe. The future. Domestic and wild. [Ms. Churchill is] “the most dazzlingly inventive living dramatist in the English language.” She is the author of Cloud Nine and Top Girls.

Click here for tickets.

THE GREAT WHOREHOUSE FIRE OF 1921

Description: Big Valley, Alberta 1921. An enterprising madame establishes a brothel, leading to conflict and unexpected friendship with a town matron. Tension turns to crisis when the brothel is burned down. This true story is reimagined with wit, sarcasm, and very good wigs.

Click here for tickets.

NONNA’S STORY

Description: An operatic & intergenerational yet bitter-sweet cross-section of an immigrant-Neapolitan-Italian-Canadian matriarch’s life, and that of her boisterous blue-collar working class family. Told through the lens of the formerly Edmontonian, queer, performing artist author of the story, it examines why it’s important to remember & honour who/where we came from…

Click here for tickets.

XANADU

Description: XANADU follows Greek muse Kira, who descends from Mount Olympus to Venice Beach in 1980 to inspire a struggling artist to strive for his greatest creative achievement ever – a ROLLER DISCO! But when Kira falls into forbidden love, her jealous sisters take advantage of the situation, and chaos abounds.

Click here for tickets.

 

Stay posted for more!