EMILY POHL-WEARY

(Writer)

Emily Pohl-Weary is an award-winning Canadian novelist, biographer, poet, creative writing professor, magazine editor, and (now!) audio drama scriptwriter.  Her latest book, Ghost Sick, a poetry collection exploring tragedy and resilience in the Toronto neighbourhood where she grew up, won the 2016 Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry. Her previous books include Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl, Strange Times at Western High, Girls Who Bite Back, A Girl Like Sugar, Iron-on Constellations, and the Hugo Award-winning Better to Have Loved: The Life of Judith Merril, a memoir co-authored with her grandmother, Merril.

Emily lives in Vancouver, where she teaches at the University of British Columbia’s School of Creative Writing. She founded Toronto Street Writers, a free writing group for inner-city youth, and led workshops for adults living with severe mental illnesses and residents of Sagatay, a long-term transition home for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit men. She researched the benefits of community-based writing groups for her doctoral dissertation at the University of Toronto.

Emily has a long history of editing indie publications. At UBC, she started Young Adulting Review, which publishes thoughtful reviews of books for young readers. She’s the former editor/publisher of Kiss Machine: A Conga Line of Art and Culture, and a former editor of Broken Pencil.

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.

ANNA BURKHOLDER

(Manda)

Anna Burkholder (she/they) is a neurodiverse theatre creator who trained at East 15 Acting School in England.  Originally from Northern British Columbia, Anna now lives in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal). She is currently developing her first play that explores the fight for legalized abortion in Canada. Anna is active in the Montreal theatre community, working for Quebec Drama Federation and sitting on ACTRA’s 2SLGBTQIA+ and YEAA committee, with a special interest in anti-harassment and safer space policies. Select acting credits include: Timon of Athens (The National Theatre, London, England), The Bold Type (NBC Universal) and My Salinger Year (Memento Films International).

ANURAG CHOUDHURY

(Dean)

Anurag Choudhury is a multidisciplinary performer residing in Toronto. His stage credits include Leandro in The Bonds of Interest (Odyssey Theatre), Jidu in Blissful State of Surrender (Great Canadian Theatre Company), Dancer/Chorus in Otello (Canadian Opera Company), Will/Banksy in Becoming Banksy (Redwood Theatre), Borachio/Friar in Much Ado About Nothing (Repercussion Theatre), and Calchas/Menelaus in Troilus and Cressida (Théâtre Sans Argent). He was a nominee for the 2017 Montreal English Theatre Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist. He has also appeared in films, such as The Fall of the American Empire, directed by Denys Arcand. He completed his theatre training at McGill University.

MARYSE FERNANDES

(Lisa)

Maryse Fernandes is an Ottawa actor and theatre creator, working and performing on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe land. She is a core member of the award-winning physical theatre company, Aplombusrhombus., She has also worked with companies including NAC English Theatre, A Company of Fools, Dauntless City Theatre, STO Union, and Odyssey Theatre. For Odyssey she has performed in The Bonds of Interest and The Servant of Two Masters. She also mentors young theatre artists in playwriting and directing. Maryse trained as an actor at the National Theatre School of Canada, in Montreal.

SOO GARAY

(Narrator and Baba Yaga)

Soo Garay’s accomplished career has taken her across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, touring onstage and shooting in some unforgettable locations. She has been called “mesmerizing” by John Kaplin, “magical” by Chris Dupuis, “magnetic” by Richard Ouzounian, and “graceful” by H.J. Kirchhoff.

Soo’s previous theatre credits include Dona Sirena in The Bonds of Interest (Odyssey Theatre), Tiresia in Antigone (Dora-nominated ensemble, Young People’s Theatre), Luce/Officer in The Comedy of Errors, Sally McCammon in A Singularity of Being, and Hector in Troilus and Cressida (Secret Shakespeare). Soo is proud to be part of this production.

Her film and TV credits include roles in The Handmaid’s Tale, The Umbrella Academy, La Femme Nikita, Queer As Folk, Adoration, Blues Brothers 2000, and Jakob the Liar.  Recent work includes: Wildfire (Factory Theatre), Hoba (Modern Times).  Upcoming: Hudson & Rex (Shaftesbury Films). www.soogaray.net.

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 Create 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.