Our March Break Tour: Boys, Girls and Other Mythological Creatures
Boys, Girls and Other Mythological Creatures by: Mark Crawford
Boys, Girls, and Other Mythological Creatures is a thoughtful and hilarious play about our ability to transform as told through the eyes of Simon, Abby and Zach. Deep in Simon’s basement, there is a secret world of imagination and adventure. When his new friend Abby comes over after school to work on a class assignment, Simon steers their work toward creating a play. However, Simon’s older brother, Zach, is uneasy with their play-acting and dressing up.
As the three characters struggle through their conflicts, they improvise a fairy tale about a magic prince, an evil king, a brave young girl, and a fire-breathing dragon who’s getting more real by the minute. Can Abigail save Princess Simone from the Tower of Light? Will Zach succeed in turning his brother back into being a boy once and for all? And will Simon overcome fear and finally become their true self?
Directed by Carey Nicholson and performed by an exuberant and talented cast – Boys, Girls and Other Mythological Creatures will travel across Durham to libraries in Ajax, Oshawa, Scugog, Sunderland and Whitby.
All performances between March 16th – 21st
are general Pay What You May admission at the door.
(Pay What You May means there is no fixed price. If money is tight, you can come in for free, if you’d like to support the hardworking artists, you can pay an amount that’s comfortable for you.)
Suggested donation: $5 – $10/person, $20 for “family” groups of 4 – 6 persons.
The production runs approximately one hour,is suitable for elementary school age and older
audiences and contains themes of fantasy and gender identity. Please check individual libraries for hours of operation.
Pay What You May Library Performances
March 16th
Audley Branch of the Ajax Public Library
Doors Open: 10:15am
March 17th
Scugog Library
Doors Open: 12:45pm
March 18th
Oshawa McLaughlin Library Branch
Doors Open: 2:45pm
March 19th
Sunderland Township Public Library
Doors Open: 2:45pm
March 20th
Whitby Public Library
Doors Open: 2:45pm
March 21st
Scugog Library
Doors Open: 12:45pm
March 12th
Benefit Preview Performance
Scugog Memorial Public Library
Doors Open: 6:00pm, Curtain: 7:00pm
The evening will start at 6 pm, with refreshments, door and draw prizes before a performance of the full production at 7 pm, followed by an opportunity to meet the cast and company. Tickets for this special benefit event are $45 and all proceeds support tour production costs to ensure we uphold our mandate to keep the public library performances financially accessible to all.
Theatre on the Ridge Theatre is a not-for-profit registered charity.
Meet the Cast
Cooper Bilton as Zach
Bio
Cooper Bilton is a Dora nominated actor and graduate of the George Brown Theatre School based in Toronto. Cooper is also one half of the comedy duo Cooped Up With Tom who are currently devising and producing a Commedia Dell’Arte inspired show. You can find him on instagram @cooperbilton to keep updated on what’s next!
Selected Credits
Women Beware Women (Shakespeare Bash’d), The Ensemble (The Second City), Maggie’s Getting Married (Upper Canada Playhouse), The Velveteen Rabbit (Rule of Three/VideoCabaret), Romeo & Juliet (YES Theatre), Bone Cage (One For One Collective). Some other companies Cooper has worked with include the Capitol Theatre, Pea Green Theatre, & Carousel Players. Most recently, he had the chance to workshop a new play Radio Radio with Theatre Orangeville.
Michael Williamson as Simon
Bio
Michael Williamson is a Dora nominated performing artist from Port Perry, Ontario and graduate of George Brown College’s theatre program.
Selected Credits
Michael loves working in theatre for young audiences, having done a number of tours playing Seek (Pop Pop!) with Carousel Players. Recently, he has come back from Saskatchewan where he played Galileo (We Will Rock You), Freddie (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Clopin (Hunchback of Notre Dame) for SaskExpress. Previously, he has spent time with the Guild Festival Theatre (Alice in Wonderland), and several seasons with Theatre on the Ridge where some of his roles included: Peter Pan (Peter Pan), Connor (The Valley), Jacob (Salt-Water Moon), and Jim (The Glass Menagerie). Michael was writer, composer and director for Monsters & Milfoil (Theatre on the Ridge) after previously directing Girls Night Cabin Fever at the Toronto Fringe. In addition to writing the music for Monsters, Michael also writes music for himself and other stage productions; credits include: Cyrano De Bergerac (Theatre on the Ridge) Wind in the Willows (Theatre on the Ridge) Munsch on the Moon (George Brown Theatre).
Hannah Forest Briand as Abby
Bio
Hannah Forest Briand is a queer, bilingual actress and scriptwriter who graduated from George Brown Theatre School in Toronto.
Selected Credits
Some of her credits include starring in Les Liaisons Dangereuses (TFO), recurring alongside Gillian Anderson in The Abandons (NETFLIX), and her lead role in the feature film Camping Trip (Fuica Productions). On stage, Hannah has appeared in productions such as Les Filles du Roi, Les Zinspiré.e.s, Flush (Théâtre Français de Toronto), and Darkest Dark (YPT).
Carey Nicholson, Director
Bio
Carey is a co-founder and the artistic director of Theatre on the Ridge, Durham’s regional professional theatre company.
A graduate and former faculty member of George Brown College and the School of the Toronto Dance Theatre professional dance programs, Carey moved to the Region of Durham in 1997. She has been involved with theatre companies in Durham, York region and elsewhere as board member, producer, director, choreographer, performer, instructor, set and costume designer.
Carey has received ACT-CO THEA awards for set design, and a Durham Art of Transition Creative Award in 2014 for her contribution to theatre in Durham as an independent theatre artist and adjudicator, arts educator and arts management consultant. She is also currently a regular contributor to Sideroads Magazine.
Selected Credits
Past performance studies include courses with George Brown College, Toronto Dance Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, the Stratford Festival, Off The Wall Theatre Alliance, and as an auditing director with Obsidian Theatre in 2018.
