PRESENTS:

The Living End, or Madame Winifred’s Circus of Wonders 

created by Andy Massingham and The Summer Company

August 15th-26th, 2023

Scugog Shores Museum

About Theatre on the Ridge

Theatre on the Ridge is a not for profit registered charity and believes in the power of theatre as a universal language and medium of entertainment, self-expression and communication to broaden understanding and empathy between individuals and communities.

We commit to telling our individual and collective stories through high calibre productions, the creation of new plays and the development of new artists. We tell these stories in live and digital formats and are adaptive and attentive to the impact of heritage and change. We increase accessibility to theatre and, through our stories, contribute to our community’s sense of well-being and connection.

Land Acknowledgement

Scugog is situated on treaty land that is steeped in rich indigenous history. We acknowledge that we are gathering on the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, situated within the Williams Treaties. The Mississaugas of Scugog Island are a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, which includes the Algonquin, Ojibway, Mississauga, Chippewa, Odawa, Delaware and Potawatami peoples. We recognize and deeply appreciate the historic Indigenous connection to this land and recognize the contributions First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples have made, both in shaping and strengthening this community in particular, our province and country as a whole.

We also recognize that land acknowledgements are not enough. We must pursue truth, reconciliation, decolonization and allyship in an ongoing effort to make right with all our relations. In our work and actions as artists, residents and members of our community, we seek to honour the generations of Indigenous peoples, Elders and knowledge keepers who have gone before us, as well as those yet to come.

THE LIVING END, OR MADAME WINIFRED’S CIRCUS OF WONDERS

CAST

Madame Winifred                                             Emily Templeman

E la-la                                                                   Elyssia Giancola

Curdle                                                                  Sarah Kaufmann

Kolhardt                                                              Adrian Marchesano

CartoNancy                                                        Reid Martin

Cobblefib                                                            Briony Merritt

Giplaw                                                                 Liam Ryan

Eveam                                                                 Karly Friesen

Hoonta                                                               Austin White

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director                                                             Andy Massingham

Stage Manager                                                 Emma Church

Production Assistant/ASM                             Parker Drebit

Set Design                                                         Carey Nicholson

Set Decoration                                                 Carey Nicholson, Karen Corrigan, Tracy Church, Parker Drebit

Costume Design                                              Carey Nicholson

Costume Construction                                   Sarah Jewell, Reid Martin, Carey Nicholson, Sheila Nicholson

Costumes and Props Coordinator               Sarah Jewell

Tarot Card Design                                           The Company

Sound Design & Sound Operator                 Lyle Corrigan

Lighting Design                                                Lyle Corrigan

Lighting Operator                                           Andy Williamson

Digital Production Coordinator                    Jana Tolmie

Social Media Coordinator                             Melissa Rada

Venue Manager                                              Andy Williamson

Box Office and Audience Development     Michael Saunders

Patron Services Coordinator                        Natasha Miles

The running time of the show is approximately 105 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.

CAST

KARLY FRIESEN is a Toronto based actor
and avid mover originally from Sudbury Ontario. She is a 2021 graduate of the Theatre Performance program at George Brown College, where she was lucky to have the opportunity to work with such brilliant theatre artists and creatives. This past year, Karly has had the pleasure of becoming an Arts Educator for The Harbourfront Centre School Visits Program, where she teaches dance and theatre fundamentals to students from all over the GTA.
Selected past credits include: Punch Up (Carey Nicholson) & Something From Nothing (Andy Massingham) at Theatre on the Ridge. Boom Baby (Kimberley Radmacher) & Nested (Molly Thom) at Alumnae Theatre. Three Sisters & Co. (Rob Kempson) & The Corsican Complaint (Sue Miner) at George Brown Theatre School. Instagram @karlyfriesen.

ELYSSIA GIANCOLA (she/her) is multi-hyphenate artist whose most recent projects include playing Portia in The Merchant of Venice, assistant directing Per Gint: A Sort of Adaptation of Peer Gynt, stage managing, and working in various box offices. She is a graduate of George Brown Theatre School, and also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Professional Writing. Elyssia has continuously trained as a dancer and is a certified instructor in both jazz and tap dance. Elyssia aspires to someday be a contestant on Jeopardy! and risk it all on a Daily Double in a Shakespeare category. Performance highlights include Satan (Paradise Lost), Widow Banks (The Witch of Edmonton), Chorus Leader (Three Sisters), Goose (Planet Munsch), and Elizabeth (Richard III)

SARAH KAUFMANN Sarah Kaufmann (she/her) is a queer theatre artist based in Toronto. Recently she was a touring actor in Italy with Educo Italia performing shows for English-language learning. Selected projects: Director (Wake Up, Brother Bear, TYT), Sue (The Boy Who Loved Monsters and the Girl Who Loved Peas, TYT), Assistant Producer (1184, Phoenix Arts/Aga Khan), Collaborator/Performer (The Thoughts Between Our Heads, Paprika Festival), Soapy Smith/Ensemble (Belle Darling Klondike Queen, Alumnae Theatre). In the future, Sarah hopes to become a therapeutic clown!

ADRIAN MARCHESANO is a Toronto-Based actor hailing from Oakville, Ontario. For as long as he can remember, the arts have always been a part of his life; from his beginnings in community theatre to professional productions, Adrian continues to pursue his passion as an actor. He has studied Dramatic Arts at Brock University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts; and more recently, at George Brown Theatre school. Some of his favourite roles include Pantalone (Pantalone’s Palace), Nicholas (One for the Road) and God (Paradise Lost). Adrian extends heartfelt gratitude to his family and friends for their unwavering support, which has fueled his extraordinary journey.

REID MARTIN is a Sheridan College and UTM Theatre and Drama Studies graduate. She holds a diploma in Professional Actor Training and an HBA Specialist Degree in Theatre and Drama Studies.
Recent productions include: Le Bret in Cyrano (TOTR), Frank in The Ends of The Earth (TOTR), Shelley in The Huns (TOTR), Desdemona in Othello (Knockout Theatre Co.), Bombur in The Hobbit (Theatre Erindale), and Adella in The Little Mermaid (Silly Stages), amongst many others.
Reid is overjoyed to be returning to Theatre on The Ridge and Port Perry for another summer!

BRIONY MERRITT is a British-Canadian actor and writer who recently moved to Toronto from the East Coast. For the last few months, she has been busy exploring new cafes and bookstores, and getting to know the wonderful theatre community in and around the city! Selected theatre credits include: The Christie Pits Riot (Hogtown Collective, ASM), Shanty Show (The Lakeside Players), The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Speed Read (Surplus Production Unit), Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre (Young Company). Film & TV: Chapelwaite (MGM), The Colour of Spring (Winter Light Productions).

LIAM RYAN is an actor who was trained in the York University Conservatory program from 2020 to 2023. He was in two mainstage productions at York, Love in the Time of Werewolves written by David Yee and Directed by Diana Belshaw, and the Canadian premiere of Dance Nation, directed by Anita LaSelva. He’s excited to work for the first time in the professional theatre world.

EMILY TEMPLEMAN is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto, Ontario. Emily graduated from Randolph College for the Performing Arts in December of 2020. With a focus in vocal training, Emily has recently passed Level 8 RCM examinations as well as performed at Roy Thomson Hall as part of the VOCA Chorus’s Shining Night Concert. Emily loves learning, teaching, creating art, and every dog they see.

AUSTIN WHITE is a multidisciplinary performance artist and cultural worker from Edmonton, Alberta. Currently he is based in Toronto, where he is entering his fourth year at TMU’s School of Performance. He enjoys creating work that challenges the audience’s politics and perceptions.
Some of his recent production credits include The Dybbuk, & Enormity, Girl, and The Earthquake in her Lungs (TMU School of Performance), Insert Clown Here (Terra Firma Festival), For Better or Worse (Springworks Festival). You can catch him as part of the hip-hop music collective The Free Agents when he isn’t performing on stage or clowning

DIRECTOR

Andy Massingham is a Dora Award-winning actor, director, choreographer, educator and playwright. Over the past thirty-five years, he has performed across Canada at the Stratford Festival, Theatre New Brunswick, National Arts Centre, Banff Centre, Tarragon, Odyssey, Y.P.T. Centaur and many others. Andy’s wordless play Rough House (presented by Nightswimming Theatre) toured Canada and the U.S..
He is a four-time Dora and six-time Prix Rideau nominee.
Andy is a frequent director and actor with Odyssey theatre where he has adapted and directed award-winning productions of The Servant Of Two Masters and The Game Of Love And Chance.
Andy currently teaches acting, clown and movement at the Toronto Film School. He has also taught at Second City, Humber College and led physical theatre creation workshops at the Tarragon theatre, Stratford Festival, the National Arts Centre among others across Canada.

STAGE MANAGER

EMMA CHURCH is excited to join Theatre On The Ridge for the 2023 summer season. A recent graduate of the St. Clair College Music Theatre Performance program, she is heading west in September to start her BFA in Theatre Production at the University of Alberta. You may have seen Emma on stage in Durham Region, as she has performed at Oshawa Little Theatre, Durham Shoestring Performers, and Whitby Courthouse Theatre but she has happily transitioned to backstage. She hopes you enjoy your experience with TOTR!

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

PARKER DREBIT has been involved in the performing arts for over a decade now, originally studying dance for 8 years before transitioning into theatre. Now Parker is mostly backstage but he occasionally performs.

COSTUME AND PROPS COORDINATOR

SARAH JEWELL has graduated from the Theatre Arts Production program at Laurentian University, after completing two years at Cambrian College. She has worked on Thorneloe Productions in the past, including the plays Memories of Water, The Dead Mess Project, Drag Queens on Trial, Blood Relations, and Turmspitze. Sarah did an internship in PEI at the Watermark theatre. She has also worked at Canada’s Wonderland on Halloween Haunt and Winterfest. Sarah has also worked at TOTR in the past on Something from Nothing and Cyrano. She is excited to be back in Port Perry for another summer.

VENUE MANAGER

Andy Williamson has managed theatre and corporate facilities in Toronto and Durham region since the late 1980’s. He has been with Theatre on the Ridge from the company’s start in 2013, maintaining order in the limited storage and backstage spaces of Theatre on the Ridge and taking the lead on carpentry for the company’s set builds. When time permits, Andy has also been seen onstage as Reuben Crandell for Pine Grove Plots with Theatre on the Ridge and in many productions in the Durham area – One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, The Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill A Mockingbird (Oshawa Little Theatre) among others.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Carey Nicholson has been engaged in performing arts for over 40 years. Originally from St. Catharines, Carey moved to Toronto to pursue professional dance studies with Lois Smith, O.C. at George Brown College, and the School of the Toronto Dance Theatre, graduating from both professional programs and becoming a faculty member at STDT for 15 years before moving to Durham region. She has been involved with community and professional theatre companies in Durham, York region and elsewhere as a board member, producer, director, choreographer, performer, instructor, set and costume designer. She has received several awards for her work in the performing arts, including a Durham Art of Transition Creative Award for her contribution to theatre in Durham. Her past, and ongoing, theatre studies include programs and courses at George Brown College, Toronto Dance Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, the Stratford Festival and Off The Wall Theatre Alliance, and was an auditing director with Obsidian Theatre (production: hang, directors: Philip Akin, Kimberley Rampersad).
Carey’s arts administration experience includes past Administrative Manager for the Toronto Centre for the Promotion of Fashion Design, past co-owner of META4 Contemporary Craft Gallery and past Executive Director of the Scugog Council for the Arts. Carey is also an independent theatre adjudicator and arts educator​. She also serves as the Chair of the Scugog Tourism Advisory Committee, a standing committee of the Township of Scugog.

________________________

 Please join us on Sunday, September 24th,
for A Premiere Public Staged Reading of

A THIRD OF RICHARD
By Grame Powell
Details coming soon.

Part of Culture Days in Scugog. For more info go to https://scugogarts.ca/culture-days/

___________________________

Community Education Programs Return To Theatre on the Ridge This Fall!

Theatre on the Ridge brings two theatre-based recreation and education programs for all ages to Scugog this fall: the TOTR Youth Collective (ages 10 – 12 & 13 – 18) and Connecting Through Theatre (adults and seniors).

Starting the week of September 16, The TOTR Youth Collective is an introduction to theatre skills and creative process for ages 10 – 17 and runs until December 12. The TOTR Youth Collective offers a one hour per week introduction to theatre and stagecraft for ages 10 – 12, and a more comprehensive program for youth aged 13 – 18, running twice weekly (Tuesdays & Saturdays) with unique creative training and performance experience. The emphasis is on building stagecraft, developing playwriting, and process skills over the duration of the program, with a public studio performance held on the final session. Both Playing on Stage and the Youth Collective are held in partnership with the Township of Scugog.

Full details, fees and registration information is available in the Fall 2023 Scugog Recreation and Leisure Guide at https://www.scugog.ca/leisureguide.

Also returning in October is the popular adults and seniors Connecting Through Theatre program, first offered last year. Through a variety of socially engaging and informative theatre related activities, workshops and outings, theatre lovers can share their interests and learn new skills. Funding allows Theatre on the Ridge to offer Connecting Through Theatre activities, including First Read Club, Audience 101 Field Trips and Moving Well at little to no cost to participants.

Sign up for the Connecting Through Theatre fall 2023 activity schedule and updates at lifeastheatre@gmail.com.

Information on all programming is also available on the Theatre on the Ridge website at www.theatreontheridge.ca