DANIEL PERETTI

(Writer)

Daniel Peretti is a writer and professor in the Folklore Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland. As a writer, he has an interest in contemporary fantasy, science fiction, and mysteries. His previous works include the feature film Own Worst Enemy (2012, directed by Michael Judd and Jessica Judd).

Daniel’s academic research covers subjects including ancient mythology, modern day legends, festivals, and holidays. His publications range from Superman in Myth and Folklore (2017) to articles on rock climbing walls, Halloween decorations, and Lex Luthor’s inferiority complex. His current work, combining interviews, archival and library research, focuses on the way parents, commercial enterprises, and various municipal authorities conspire to perpetuate belief in Santa Claus.

LAURIE STEVEN

Laurie is an award-winning director, writer, dramaturge, and the founding Artistic Director of Odyssey Theatre.

Laurie’s productions of over 30 original plays and adaptations of classics have incorporated masks, puppets, dance, bouffon, and Commedia dell’Arte. She has pioneered collaborations with artists practicing international forms of masked theatre including Peking Opera, Kathakali and Wayang Wong. These collaborations led to productions including The Wedding, for which she received a Capital Critics Best Director Award. Her original plays include the Commedia farce, Moonlight Mischief, the epic, Kamalay, and the social satire, A Guy Named Joe. She is currently writing The Blue Demon for a co-production with the Sri Lankan State Dance Company and an adaptation of the folktale The Handless Maiden.

In 2017, Laurie received a Chalmers Arts Fellowship to further explore folklore-inspired theatre. In 2020, she launched Odyssey’s Digital Theatre program.

PAUL AMATO

(Mr. Guidi)

Paul Amato is a Toronto actor who has worked in theatre from Timmins to Windsor, in NYC, and Akron, Ohio. He was nominated for a Dora award for co-directing Columbus, a school touring show, and played William Lyon Mackenzie King in a Dora-award-winning production of 1837 for Theatre on the Move. He directed The Importance of Being Ernest for the Scarborough Music Theatre, BTW at Bell Homestead, and Casa Loma. He has performed in over 100 plays, numerous TV and film projects, and TV commercials. Paul is excited to be a part of these audio dramas.

JESSE BUCK

(Angelo and the Ogre)

Jesse Buck hails from Ottawa, now lives in Toronto and works primarily in the world of physical comedy. He has created and performed in over a dozen original shows in the styles of Clown, Mask, and Commedia, including his one-man show Bubkus, which toured internationally. Jesse’s roles in Odyssey Theatre productions include The Financier, Scapin, Kamalay, and A Servant of Two Masters, for which he received Capital Critics Circle Award for his portrayal of Truffaldino. He is a graduate of Ecole Philippe Gaulier and spent five years on tour as a principal clown in Cirque du Soleil’s Alegria. His film and TV roles include Nightmare Alley, The Expanse, The Boys, The Umbrella Academy, Frankie Drake Mysteries, and Murdoch Mysteries.

CHANDEL GAMBLES

(Anna)

As a graduate of L’École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq, University of Guelph, and Queen’s University, Chandel has worked in Canada and abroad on various multidisciplinary shows, supporting projects both onstage and off. Ottawa region projects of note include acting in The Financier and Whether You Like It Or Not (Odyssey Theatre), Joseph and Amarise (Fresh Meat Festival), and Venus in Fur (Plosive Productions), for which she was nominated as 2015 Best Actress Prix Rideau Award. Her backstage credits include: Patria Cycle-Asterion (Murray Schaffer), and Divergent Dances (Anandam). Chandel is currently creating a new multidisciplinary play supported by PlaySmelter Festival & Odyssey Theatre.

CHERI MARACLE

(Lucy)

Cheri Maracle is a multiaward-nominated actress, singer/songwriter, and playwright of the Six Nations of the Grand River lands.

Cheri has numerous Stage, TV, and film credits to her name. Selected theatre credits include: Kisaageetin Cabaret (the National Arts Centre), Paddle Song, a one-person Musical (Firehall Theatre), The Unnatural And Accidental Women (The National Arts Centre), The Hours That Remain (Theatre Aquarius), The Rez Sisters (Belfry Theatre), The Road to Paradise (Crow’s Theatre), and Munschtime!  (Young Peoples Theatre), to name a few.

Some selected TV and film credits include: Unsettled (APTN, TVO), Coroner (CBC), The Parker Andersons (Marble Media), Tribal (APTN), Degrassi (Netflix, Epitome), and Murdoch Mysteries (CBC). Cheri was nominated for a Best Supporting actress at the CSAs for her role of Sara Bull in the series Blackstone (APTN, 2012-2015). Cheri recently wrote a children’s show, The Friendship Star, which debuted at the WEE Festival 2022. She fronts a jazz band, the Cheri Maracle Quintet, with whom she’s performed all over Turtle Island. Cheri’s music can be found on iTunes.

SCOTT McCULLOCH

(Ferryman, Fountaineer and Market Seller)

Scott has appeared in Odyssey’s productions of The Bonds of Interest, A Guy Named Joe and The Things We Do For Love. His most recent stage appearance was in George F. Walker’s And So It Goes, which was directed by Walker for Toronto’s Kyanite Theatre. Other favourite stage roles are Dad in The Dreamer Examines His Pillow (JR Theatre), Man in The Play About The Baby, Ralph in Frozen (both for Seven Siblings Theatre), Richard in Time Stands Still (Leroy Street Theatre), Dr. Black in The Belle of Winnipeg (Keystone Theatre), and Macbeth in Macbeth’s Kitchen (Toronto Fringe). On-camera experiences include the films Blood Empires, Phone Company Man, The Lady of Names, and episodes of My Babysitter’s a Vampire, Mayday, and Aaron Stone. Scott performs in the upcoming indie feature Incident Report as well as the shorts Heap and Stranding.

JANET IRWIN

(Co-dramaturge and Features Producer)

Janet Irwin is an award-winning theatre director, playwright, and dramaturge. She is a recipient of the prestigious Victor Tolgesy Award for her outstanding contribution to the arts in Ottawa. She has written plays for the Great Canadian Theatre Company, Upper Canada Playhouse and the National Arts Centre. Her connection with Odyssey goes back many years. She has been a playwright in residence, during which she wrote They All Do It, produced in 2010.  She has also directed The Barber of Seville and was dramaturge for Lysistrata and the Temple of Gaia and The Game of Love and Chance. In 2012, she was Acting Artistic Director.  Janet is a dramaturge in Odyssey’s New Play program.

CRAIG McCONNELL

(Music Supervisor and Editor)

Craig McConnell is a Canadian music producer, songwriter, and film and television composer. He has scored dozens of feature films, including Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy (for which he was nominated in the Best Music category at the 2012 British Independent Film Festival), Textuality, Animal 2, 5ive Girls, and countless Christmas movies for Hallmark, Lifetime, and the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Other recent credits include producing and co-writing “The Chase” for Celine Dion’s 2019 album Courage. You can hear his music worldwide in over 4,000 episodes of television.

DAMIAN KEARNS

(Supervising Sound Designer)

Damian Kearns is a sound recordist, editor, mixer, and designer with over 27 years of experience. A graduate of the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology (OIART), Damian spent his early years working for Canada’s top post-production facilities before landing a job as Post-Production Audio Engineer with CBC Toronto. After spending more than a decade and a half working for the national broadcaster, Damian left to build a successful home studio, specializing in post-production audio recording, editing, design, and mixing. For the past 9 years, his studio, 217 Audio, has serviced a wide variety of creative clients.