The Shortwave Theatre Festival logo is designed by Benjamin Nelson. Check out his other work HERE.
Playwrights.
|
Shannon Kingston (playwright of Garden of Edith) is an emerging artist from Kingston, Ontario. Shannon graduated from the University of Toronto in 2018, where she co-directed a physical theatre piece comedically addressing mental illness, Overminded. Shannon was the Producer for WRING THE ROSES by Madonnanera Productions at Why Not Theatre's RISER Project 2019, for which the cast was nominated in the category Outstanding Performance of an Ensemble at the 2019 Dora Awards in the Independent Theatre division. In 2020, Shannon wrote her first audio play, Through the Fairy Circle, which premiered at the Storefront Fringe Festival. Like Edith, Shannon spent much of her childhood exploring on her bike. Garden of Edith is inspired by the landscape of Shannon’s childhood growing up in Kingscourt and the small garden in her own granddad’s backyard.
|
|
Haley Sarfeld (playwright of Half Past Lunchtime) is a singer, songwriter, poet, and playwright who loves puns and tongue twisters. She’s been described as having “a melodic and pleasurable way of saying things that are actually really sad,” which she applies to music and text messages in equal measure. You may have caught her pre-pandemic performances in local music groups (Sapph Decaf, Anthea & the Feaver Dreams) or heard her song “Red and Winsome” in Rysia Andrade’s radio play A Strong Girl (Shortwave 2020). Haley’s playwriting debut, Half Past Lunchtime, draws from her experiences growing food, foraging, petting cats, and making music in the Inner Harbour over the past few summers. She hopes you enjoy this giddy exploration of love, friendship, grief, gardening, and feline mischief!
|
|
Sarah Emtage (playwright of Jabberwocky & the Listener's) lives in Kingston and works as a library technician at St. Lawrence College. Besides writing Sound Castle she's written two poetry books, Paperscape and The Second Rate Poetry of S. M. Emtage. She's very good at killing house plants and forgetting to take out the trash, and she's pretty good at whistling. She likes to tell stories and loves to grow in knowing Jesus. She has written The Soundcastle for the Shortwave Theatre Festival. |
|
Mark Cassidy (playwright/performer Late Nights with Mark the C) is a writer, performer, director who has a reputation for creating adventurous, thought-provoking theatre. He grew up in a hotel and motel in two small towns in Ontario. As a teenager, he became addicted to theatre. He loved the immediacy of it, the rawness, ritual, sense of secrets being shared. After university, he co-founded a company along with Suzanne Hersh in Kingston called Threshold (since relocated to Toronto) in order to dedicate himself to the kind of plays he felt were important and exciting. As co-artistic director of Threshold Theatre, he has devised and directed a number of innovative projects including, As I Lay Dying, In The Language of Love, White Buildings, Beautiful Losers, That Time, Howl, The Hairy Ape, Forms of Devotion, Terror and Kafka and Son. Mark has been nominated for two Dora Awards for Outstanding Direction, the John Hirsch Award in Directing and the Siminovitch Prize for Excellence in Theatre Directing.
Upcoming shows include a live version of his autobiographical piece, Allistonian Brockvillian Dionysian as well as a couple new scripts which have been waiting for the pandemic to be over to be workshopped: I Make the Weather and Jet Black Blood Red. |
Directors.
|
Kemi King (she/her) (director of Garden of Edith) is a writer, director, performance artist and divisor. Some of her work has been produced by Obsidian, and Canadian Stage. She has created and performed works with Soulpepper Theatre and as a part of the Paprika Festival. She is one of the co-founders and artistic director of YIKES a Theatre Company founded in her second year of undergrad. In making Theatre of critical Care - Kemi sees it as an exploration of self and relation. Kemi is passionate about the arts and the way it can be used to help shape social consciousness. |
|
Becky Bridger (director of Jabberwocky & the Listener's) is a Kingston based theatre artist and educator. She is excited to be returning to the sound waves for the 2022 Shortwave Theatre Festival. Her past directing credits include: The Soundcastle (Shortwave Theatre Festival), The Pigeon (Storefront Fringe Festival), The Crucible (Brockville Theatre Guild), My Darling Judith (Brockville Theatre Guild), Miracle on 34th Street (Brockville Theatre Guild), and The List (Toronto Fringe Festival). Becky has completed her Master of Arts in Drama from the University of Toronto, and Bachelor of Arts Honours in Drama from Queens University. |
|
Anthony D.P. Mann (director of Half Past Lunchtime) is a writer, director, and producer of internationally-acclaimed audio dramas for Bleak December Inc., a label specializing in the adaptation of classic tales of horror and mystery. His work has featured the creative talents of Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Sir Derek Jacobi and Brian Blessed among other legends of film & television. As a filmmaker, Anthony has helmed and appeared in five feature films, all currently enjoying worldwide distribution. Anthony can also be heard voiceing several beloved characters including The Count, The Librarian, and The Oracle on the album Return to Frightenstein, a new audio reboot of the cult Canadian TV series The Hilarious House of Frightenstein.
|
|
Suzanne Hersh (director of Late Nights with Mark the C) co-founded Threshold Theatre in the late 80's and went on to create shows in motel rooms and abandoned buildings, by a river and in a field, and in theatres too. As an actor, she devised roles in many of Threshold's original adaptations. Since returning to Toronto, Suzanne has worked with various companies such as Platform 9, Puppetmongers Theatre, Shadowland Theatre, Bread & Puppet Theatre, and YPT while also doing voice work for children’s television and acting in independent films. A graduate of Queen's Artist in the Community education program, Suzanne initiated workshops, festivals and series while Threshold was the resident company of Kingston's Baby Grand Theatre, and continues to develop community initiatives here in Toronto such as the Oakwood Village Arts Festival launched in 2011. She has written for and directed youth theatre and continues to devise projects for young people. Suzanne developed Change Room for theToronto Fringe Festival and How Can I Kill You If I Look Into Your Eyes for the LabCab Festival in Parkdale. Currently, she is focussed on redeveloping Threshold's community project, Lunation, and devising an original piece, Une Leçon de Français.
|
Sound Designers.
|
Jeremy Kerr (sound designer for Jabberwocky's & the Listener's) is a sound artist, composer and musician based in Kingston, Ontario. His works include the power-ambient tone poem Mother Drone and Other Ancient Spirits of Great Powerand the soundscape simulator Islands and the Woods presented at the Union Gallery at Queen's. He has also worked with various Kingston theatre collectives including Blue Canoe Productions, Theatre Kingston and Queen's Musical Theatre both as a sound designer and as a pit band guitarist and bassist. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Dan School of Drama and Music where he focused his studies on electronic music composition, classical guitar and local music scenes. He is heavily influenced by a DIY aesthetic and currently plays bass in The Meringues. |
|
Uri Livne-Bar (sound designer of Garden of Edith) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist from T’karonto, Ontario. A recent graduate of the Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto, Uri most recently did sound, music, and production for Through the Fairy Circle, an audio drama presented at the Theatre Kingston Storefront Fringe Festival in 2021. Other credits include sound design for Encounters at the Edge of the Woods(Hart House Theatre 2019) and projection design for Uncle Falling(CDTPS 2019). Uri also attended Expect Theatre’s 2019 Beats + Intentions Playwrights Unit taught by Anna Chatterton, culminating in his play Glimmerlake which was read publicly at the Chatter Writing Lab.
|
|
Sam Kaiser (sound designer of Late Nights with Mark the C) is a fourth-year Drama and Music student at Queen's University and will be continuing his studies at the University of Victoria with a Master's in Music Technology. He has a deep love for radio theatre and has spent much of the last few months researching practical applications of electroacoustic composition in radio/audio theatre for his Directed Special Studies project. He is also an independent musician, songwriter, and producer, and is very excited to be once again working with CFRC. |
& more
Actors.
|
Billie Kearns (aka Billie the Kid) (actor in Jabberwocky, the Listener's and Half Past Lunchtime) is a K’ai Taile Dené and Nehiyaw spoken word poet and storyteller. Originally from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, she currently resides in Kingston, Ontario, the traditional home of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Huron-Wendat. Her poetry breathes life into narratives as she explores relationships with family, friends, food, and the dynamic nature of dreams. Billie holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University, and has performed at events across Turtle Island from the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational to the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. In 2020 she took second place at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam, and later that year she released her second chapbook, ‘Caress me if I’m wrong’.
|
|
James Hyett (actor in Garden of Edith) is a British-Canadian actor. He is a founding member of First Ditch, a collective making fantasy audio dramas for children, starting with Through the Fairy Circle in 2021. He is also a proud member of Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre's Expand the Canon reading committee, a group devoted to broadening the classical theatre canon to include works by women and non-binary people. Other credits include The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (BMO Lab & Canadian Stage), Lusty Juventus (Poculi Ludique Societas), and Goldilocks and the Three Canadian Bears (Little Red Theatre). |
|
Montreal-born, Ottawa-raised, Kingston resident (since 2015) Douglas Connors (actor in Jabberwocky & the Listeners) is keeping busy enjoying his recently attained triple-threat status. He trained as a contemporary dancer (admitted to BFA in Modern Dance at Concordia University) and has dabbled in choreography. An actor since the age of 10, among his many stage credits you'll find: Martin Yesterday (Matt), Sauna: The Musical (Maurice), And Then There Were None (Dr Armstrong), Bent (Greta) and, Matilda (Rudolpho). His baritone vocals have been featured in various musicals such as: Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Jimmy), Naked Boys Singing, Nunsense A-men! (Sister Mary Leo), and Chicago (The Judge). Kingstonians may recently have seen Douglas at Domino Theatre in To Kill a Mockingbird, and he'll soon be there again, in the male lead role of Patrick Flanagan in Kingstown Theatre's upcoming production of David French's side-splitting comedy Jitters. Douglas has done children’s theatre, once pitched and hosted a game show on public access, and has appeared in TV commercials, public service announcements, corporate videos, short films, and YouTube videos. Among his passions are cooking, travel, curling, tennis, and salty/saucy political commentary (check out his Twitter or True North Eager Beaver page on Facebook). Douglas is very much looking forward to adding radio theatre to his repertoire and is excited to join CFRC's talented Shortwave Theatre Company. A big, grateful shout out goes to his Sweetie, Alexandru, who graciously gives up time with him for theatre projects and, to you, the audience (here in Kingston and from wherever you may be listening) who are supporting this project with your valuable attention.
|
|
Becky Bridger (actor in Half Past Lunchtime) is a Kingston based theatre artist and educator. She is excited to be returning to the sound waves for the 2022 Shortwave Theatre Festival. Her past directing credits include: The Soundcastle (Shortwave Theatre Festival), The Pigeon (Storefront Fringe Festival), The Crucible (Brockville Theatre Guild), My Darling Judith (Brockville Theatre Guild), Miracle on 34th Street (Brockville Theatre Guild), and The List (Toronto Fringe Festival). Her favourite past roles include: Lynne in One Groom Wanted (Brockville Theatre Guild), Claire in IN: Therapy (Lower Ossington Theatre), Voice in Footfalls (Vogt Studio Series), Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas (Prima Noctae Theatre), and Paula in Grace (Outside the Box Theatre). She has completed her Master of Arts in Drama from the University of Toronto, and Bachelor of Arts Honours in Drama from Queens University.
|
|
Haley Sarfeld (composer/performer in Half Past Lunchtime) is a singer, songwriter, poet, and playwright who loves puns and tongue twisters. She’s been described as having “a melodic and pleasurable way of saying things that are actually really sad,” which she applies to music and text messages in equal measure. You may have caught her pre-pandemic performances in local music groups (Sapph Decaf, Anthea & the Feaver Dreams) or heard her song “Red and Winsome” in Rysia Andrade’s radio play A Strong Girl (Shortwave 2020).
|
|
Fiona Beech (actor in Garden of Edith) is a junior in high school and is thrilled to be taking part in her first radio drama! She first got into theatre in the first grade, and has been acting as much as she can ever since. Fiona has a big passion for musical theatre and has featured in a number of shows, her most recent one being Grease, in which she had a ton of fun playing Frenchy. When she’s not acting, Fiona can be found playing video games or painting something. She also loves creative writing, and hates science classes. She’s excited to gain some experience and have a blast trying out voice acting! |
|
Lynus Ethier (actor in Garden of Edith) is as Kingston born and raised as ya get. Lynus attended KCVI and was heavily involved with the drama program at the Earl Street Theatre and the radio program; 91.9 The Cave. Before that, he attended various summer camps and programs for acting and performing, as well as honing his skill in front of his friends and family (much to their annoyance). Aside from the few times Lynus is spotted out in the real world; he often likes to hang out at home playing video games or taking walks by himself around the neighbourhood. Garden of Edith is Lynus's first official project (in terms of acting/performing) that he will be taking part of and is very excited to bring his care to the show! |
& more
Festival Staff.
|
Dinah Jansen (Executive Director at CFRC, Shortwave Theatre Festival Executive Producer) oversees all operations at CFRC 101.9 FM, the world's longest running campus radio station, broadcasting from Queen's University since 1922. For the Shortwave Theatre Festival, she coordinates and oversees production, quality control, and distribution work for each performance including development and financing while executing administrative and promotional work for the project. |
|
Mo Horner (Cellar Door Project Artistic Director, Shortwave Theatre Festival Director) oversees the operations of independant site-specific theatre collective Cellar Door Project and co-founded the company in 2012. After producing shows in bars, parks, cemeteries, record stores, and the Diefenbunker, she's stoked to bring Cellar Door Project's work to the radio. Mariah was responsible for programming Shortwave, developing original works with the Shortwave Festival playwrights and promoting the heck out of this stellar festival. |