Meet the Cast of FOLLIES – Monica Roberts is Phyllis Stone!

monica robertsWhat is your role in this production? Phyllis Stone. She is a former Weismann girl who came to New York to be a star. She fell in love and married Ben but is now struggling with the confines of her 30-year marriage, who she is and what her future holds. Returning to the Weismann theatre provides her the physical and psychological space to expose her struggles.

What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? Dancing from a young age I’ve always found, nay, forced my way onto the stage. I went to Ontario to get my BFA in Musical Theatre and returned to Edmonton. My first Walterdale production returning from theatre school was Antony and Cleopatra as Cleopatra. This was one of the first times I’ve died on stage (but not the last).

What brought you out for this production? Why did you want to be involved in this show? I don’t think there is an actor out there who doesn’t relate to the characters in Follies. Aging through the business is a hard, sobering and slightly painful experience. Not only can I relate to the depths of life experience in the show but Sondheim gives mature actors roles, like Phyllis, to spotlight their time-earned talents and say that “yes – aged is beautiful”.

This show is about theatre and nostalgia – got any good theatre stories? So many great memories from shows. Costume malfunctions in my Cleo halter top. Opening night – The Queen of the Nile slipping on her hem and landing flat on her ass. Crimes of the Heart – being “in the moment” and pouring a bottle of “booze” down a non-functioning sink on set (much to the Director’s and Designer’s chagrin). Mail Order Bride – Sped up sound cues of a train arriving in the station that sounded like a toy train. And oh so many mole nights.

What has been the best thing about doing the show? The best thing about the Walterdale is the great people that you get to work with. Great relationships are built during a show and that is because of the type of people drawn to community theatre. Everybody shows up and gives their time, blood, sweat and tears to the process. There is a love and grace that we have for each other’s journey through rehearsal that isn’t found many other places. I think it is why we keep coming back.

Meet the Cast of FOLLIES! Kent Sutherland is Theodore Whitman!

Sutherland41_8x10Fe-cropped-low-resWhat is your role in this production? I play Theodore Whitman who is an ex-vaudeville performer, and owns an Arthur Murray dance studio with his wife Emily (also an ex-vaudeville performer) where they teach dance. I am also part of the men’s dance ensemble.

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 productions with Festival Players, Two ONE-WAY Tickets to Broadway, Foote in the Door, and of course Walterdale.

What brought you out for this production? Why did you want to be involved in this show? I love Sondheim, and I love working with Barb. Follies is also one of my bucket list musicals to do.

This show is about theatre and nostalgia – got any good theatre stories? The only good theatre story I have is having complete strangers come up to me and saying how much they enjoyed my performance in a particular show – sometimes months after the show.

What has been the most challenging part of doing the show? The choreography sessions in the “sauna” of a community hall.

What has been the best thing about doing the show? Singing (and hearing) the lovely Sondheim music, and being part of an amazing and talented team.

 

Follies runs July 5-15, 2017! Call 780.420.1757 or go to www.tixonthesquare.ca for tickets today!

Meet the Cast of FOLLIES – Joyanne Rudiak is Stella Deems!

joyanneWhat is your role in this production? I play Stella Deems, one of the former Weisman girls. She’s really excited to be back for the reunion and relive the best times of her life.

What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? I graduated with a BA (Hons.) Degree in Drama from the U of A and also have my ARCT Diploma in Speech Arts and Drama from the Royal Conservatory of Music. I’ve performed mostly musical theatre in Edmonton and Ottawa, but this is my first time performing at the Walterdale.

What brought you out for this production? I just moved back from Ottawa in September and have been itching to get reacquainted with the theatre community in Edmonton. The timing with Follies just worked out perfectly with work. Plus, it’s Sondheim.

This show is about theatre and nostalgia – got any good theatre stories? One of my best theatre stories is from the first show I ever did: Oliver! at Festival Place when I was 14. I missed the auditions but when my mom called, the lady told me to come to callbacks (I didn’t know what that meant at that time). I walked into the room with all the other children and youth, and was then told, “Alright, so everyone who’s here is in the show.” I was so confused. We did some group singing and dancing, I gave my info to the director and just like that I was part of Fagan’s Gang! Easiest audition process, ever!

What has been the most challenging part of doing the show? The most challenging part of the show is my feature song, which also happens to be a huge dance number. I’ve got to sing a solo line while everyone else is singing something else and dance while doing it!

What has been the best thing about doing the show? It’s been great getting back into the musical theatre community in Edmonton. I definitely missed it while I was away and am glad I’m back and working with a bunch of wonderfully talented performers and production personnel!

Meet the Team of FOLLIES – Phil Kreisel is the Stage Manager!

Phil Kreisel Profile pictureWhat is your role on this production? I am the stage manager for this production. There are multiple tasks associated with this role, but there are 2 main ones that I’ll touch on here. The first is to call all the sound and light cues associated with helping to make the show the spectacle that it will be. The second is to ensure that everyone onstage (and backstage) is accounted for prior to the start of the show.

What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? I have been involved with theatre since 2000, when my son (who was acting regularly at the time) dared me to perform. Since then, I’ve primarily done sound design (almost 80 shows and counting so far), but I’ve also written plays, directed, stage managed, and occasionally acted as well. My involvement at Walterdale started in 2004, and is an ongoing adventure.

What brought you out for this production? Why did you want to be involved in this show? I was approached by both the director and production manager to stage manage this show. Barb and I go way back (12 years), and while I’d never stage-managed for her before, I do love musicals, so I thought it would be fun to do.

This show is about theatre and nostalgia – got any good theatre stories? I have tons of theatre stories, as each show has its own funny moments or quirks, which is one of the great joys I love about doing theatre. One of the great theatre stories I have is associated with Walterdale’s production of Sweet Charity back in 2005. I thought that it would be a good visual joke for Gerald Mason’s character (as a dirty old man) to open up a Playboy centerfold during the subway scene in the show, whereby one of the female actors would get offended and hit him over the head with her purse. I ended up changing the centerfold every night, so Gerald would always be surprised when he did the gag. The centerfolds were primarily weird pictures of cast members (usually the men in drag). We did 12 shows, hence a year’s worth of centerfolds, which I later turned into a souvenir calendar.

What has been the most challenging part of doing the show? It’s coming up, when I’ll be calling the show. It’s live theatre, so anything unexpected can happen, so I may have to get creative in a hurry. More importantly, a pleasurable challenge is to ensure that everyone involved is both being professional as well as having a good time being part of the show.

What has been the best thing about doing the show? Two things actually: First, having the privilege to watch the wonderful cast performing during every rehearsal (and of course, nightly once the show is officially mounted). Second: renewing old friendships as well as establishing new ones through the evolution of the show. If one can’t have a good time doing the show (including all the prep work), what’s the point of being there (but that’s just my opinion).

Meet the Cast of FOLLIES – Jackie Lotery is Solange!

10599614_10152929537822289_7448768436697641639_nWhat is your role in this production? I am playing Solange Lafitte, a chic French woman, who has been running a successful business since leaving the Follies.  I play one of the mature characters – possibly the most mature!
What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? I have been around Walterdale longer than I care to remember! In that time, I have stage managed, done lights, props, written the newsletter, production managed, done Front of House and acted. The last time I performed was in Black Hearts in the Green Room. (Jackie is the Jack Wilson Award Recipient for 2013-14)
Follies is all about nostalgia and the theatre… got any good theatre stories? My best theatre story was when I played the front end of Pedro the pony in the pantomime.  At the beginning of Act 2, when we were supposed to be going on, my “back end” was in the “loo” and I had to enter as half a horse!  My other end came running in just in time for us to do”Tea for Two” to the roars of the audience!
Growing up in England, my father took the family to see musicals at a very young age, which certainly led to my passion for musical theatre.  So to be in a show like this is like a dream come true!
What is the most challenging this about doing this show? The most challenging thing is  the dancing but I am certainly enjoying the ride!
What is the best thing about doing the show? The best thing about being in the show is working with such a large cast of very talented young and “old” people, the atmosphere, the buzz – you name it!!
Follies runs July 5- 15! Call 780.420.1757 or go to www.tixonthesquare.ca for tickets!

Meet the Cast of FOLLIES – Dustin Berube is Buddy Plummer!

Color DustinBWhat is your role in this production? I am playing the role of Buddy Plummer in the show. My character is a salesman and lives his life with that persona. He loves his wife dearly but the strain on their marriage is starting to show around the seams.

What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? 
I have been doing musical theatre since I was 12 years old in a musical theatre youth troupe based out of Stony Plain. As an adult I re-entered this world back in 2013 through a Citadel class  at the Foote Theatre School which inevitably led to doing more shows.

What brought you out for this production?
I recently took a small hiatus from musical theatre in Edmonton to clear my head. I have worked with Barb and Michael almost exclusively so I was comfortable with how I would work with them and I’ve never done a Walterdale Theatre production. (Although I have performed in the venue during the fringe festival)

This show is about theatre and nostalgia… What do you love about doing theatre? 
I love the whole process of putting a show together. I like getting to meet and work with a lot of diverse people and the rush of adrenaline when you are on stage.

What has been the most challenging part of doing the show?
This is my first principle role, so managing my own expectations as well as the production teams expectations would be my biggest struggle so far.

What has been the best thing about doing the show? 
Working with a few familiar faces but then being surrounded an enormous amount of talent is the absolute best part about our show!

Follies runs July 5-15, 2017! For tickets call 780.420.1757 or go to www.tixonthesquare.ca!

Meet the Team of FOLLIES – Barb Mah is the Director/Co-choreographer

14292308_10153965500905829_7246918061394677836_nWhat is your role on this production? I am the director/co-choreographer. 

What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? I have directed, acted and choreographed for a number of community theatres in Edmonton. For Walterdale, I have directed Sweet Charity and Anything Goes. I have choreographed numbers for Blood Brothers, A Day In Hollywood, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The Boyfriend (and I can’t think of anymore). I’ve had a play produced for the play development program (as it was then called) where I was mentored by Vern Thiessen. 

Why did you choose this play to direct? I love Sondheim’s work. I’m drawn to complex characters and situations. There’s nothing like middle aged angst to provide a backdrop for drama. The show is also funny in many place. Also: tap dance. I cannot resist tap dance.

This show is about theatre and nostalgia – got any good theatre stories? Talk about nostalgia – I was involved in a workshop production of this show almost 30 years ago. Talk about full circle. As for good theatre stories, catch me for a coffee sometime – I have many that are unprintable.

What has been the most challenging part of doing the show? Although the show is quite firmly grounded in “reality”, there is a large fantasy element. It is a challenge to tie the two together so that it makes sense to an audience.

What has been the best thing about doing the show? Meeting new people. The sense of camaraderie that is created when a cast works together

Follies runs from July 5-15th, 2017. Call 780.420.1757 or go to www.tixonthesquare.ca for tickets today!

Introducing the Cast and Creative Team of FOLLIES!

CAST:6Follies
SALLY DURANT PLUMMER -Leslie Caffaro
PHYLLIS ROGERS STONE – Monica Roberts
BUDDY PLUMMER – Dustin Berube
BENJAMIN STONE – Gavin Belik
YOUNG SALLY – Tia Yakubowich
YOUNG PHYLLIS – Veronica Masik
YOUNG BUDDY – Allan Cabral de Sa
YOUNG BEN – Aidan Spila
CARLOTTA CAMPION – Kristen M. Finlay
STELLA DEEMS – Joyanne Rudiak
HATTIE WALKER – Karin Thomas
SOLANGE LAFITTE – Jackie Lotery
EMILY WHITMAN – Stacey Grubb
THEODORE WHITMAN – Kent Sutherland
HEIDI SCHILLER – Erin Foster-O’Riordan
DIMITRI WEISMANN/ROSCOE – Morgan Smith
KEVIN (waiter) – Aaron Schaan
Ensemble: Austin Kumar. Michael Watt, Aaron Schaan, Carol Chu, Alyssa Paterson, Stephanie Swensrude, Kayleigh Teatrault, Nadia Small, Christine Maydew

PRODUCTION TEAM
Director/Choreographer – Barbara Mah
Music Director – Michael Clark
Stage Manager – Phil Kreisel
Production Manager – MJ Kreisel
Assistant Choreographer – Christine Maydew
Costume Designer – Karin Lauderdale
Set Designer – David Folk
Lighting Designer – Brad Melrose
Properties Manager – Debbie Tyson
ASM – Danielle Szeponski
Set Builder – Richard Hatfield
ASM – Steven Sobolewski
Sound Designer – Marika Friesen
Live sound (mics) – Tim Friesen
Light Operator – John Anderson
Sound Operator – Christina O’Dell
Set Painter – Karlie Christie