EVAN BULIUNG
Betty/Edward
Evan Buliung, an acclaimed actor in both classical and musical theatre, most recently starred for Mirvish Productions as Khashoggi in We Will Rock You. Evan spent three years at Shaw Festival, where he was highly praised for his work. Prior to that he was with the Stratford Festival for five years, performing in classical and modern plays, including playing Edgar in King Lear opposite Christopher Plummer. Evan is the recipient of the Jean Chalmers Award and Tyrone Guthrie Award. He is thrilled to return to the Mirvishes in Cloud 9. Since leaving We Will Rock You he has appeared at the Stratford Festival as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet; MacDuff in Macbeth at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Dick Dudgeon in The Devil’s Disciple at the Shaw Festival. He dedicates “Betty” to the great lady of the stage, Goldie Semple.
BEN CARLSON
Joshua/Gerry
Ben Carlson has working the theatres across Canada and in the United States. Most recently he played Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest and Brutus in Julius Caesar, Stratford; title role in Macbeth, Chicago Shakespeare Theater; and title role in Hamlet, Productions at Stratford and CST (Joseph Jefferson Award, Best Actor). He spent 12 seasons at the Shaw Festival; some favorites include John Tanner in Man And Superman, Cusins in Major Barbara, Eustace in The Return of the Prodigal, Chris in All My Sons and Kostya in The Seagull. He credits much of his development as an actor to a ten year association with the late director Neil Munro, including three of the above plays, three plays by Harley Granville Barker and Biff in Death of a Salesman, Neptune Theatre. Film/ TV includes Grey Gardens, Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning and Slings and Arrows. Upcoming: Leontes in The Winter’s Tale, Touchstone in As You Like It, Stratford.
MEGAN FOLLOWS
Ellen, Mrs. Saunders/Lin
THEATRE: ’Night Mother, Three Sisters, Top Girls (2007, 2008), The Real Thing, Fool for Love (Soulpepper), Blackout (MacCadden Theatre), Hay Fever (Gravenhurst Opera House), Uncle Vanya (Geffen Playhouse/ATF), The Seagull (Old Globe Theatre), Othello (NAC/Citadel), A Doll’s House (Guthrie Theater/ATF), She Stoops to Conquer (ATF), Amadeus, Romeo and Juliet (Stratford Festival). FILM AND TELEVISION: Lie to Me, Brothers and Sisters, Heartland, Raising the Bar, Booky and the Secret Santa, Booky Makes Her Mark, Open Heart, The Stork Derby, Shania, Major Crime (CBC), Robson Arms (CTV), Coldcase, CSI, CSI Miami, ER, Law and Order, Plainsong (CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame), Termini Station, Staking, Silver Bullet, Anne of Green Gables (1, 2, 3). OTHER: 2 Gemini Awards, 6 Gemini nominations, Genie nomination, ACTRA award nomination.
DAVID JANSEN
Clive/Cathy
David Jansen has appeared at the Shaw Festival for the past four seasons, appearing in A Moon for the Misbegotten, A Month in the Country, The Circle and Design for Living, among others. Recently in Toronto he co-wrote and performed in the Tarragon production Ubuntu. Other work includes: Three Squares A Day (Theatre Passe Muraille); the Scottish/Canadian tour of Necessary Angel’s The Long Valley (Dora Award nomonation: Soulpepper); A Whistle in the Dark (Company Theatre). He performed in the U.K. premiere of Risk Everything and The Peter Hall Company’s production of Design for Living. David also worked for five seasons at the Stratford Festival, performing in The Cherry Orchard, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and As You Like It among others. David is also proud of his work with his company Wild Pig in the 1990s, notably in The Conquest of the South Pole (Dora Award) and Greek.
ANN-MARIE MacDONALD
Edward/Betty
Ann-Marie MacDonald is an actor, playwright and novelist. She recently appeared on stage in Soulpepper’s Top Girls directed by Alisa Palmer. Her written works for theatre include Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (premiered by Nightwood Theatre), Belle Moral: A Natural History (premiered by The Shaw Festival), book and lyrics for the musical Anything That Moves, libretto for the chamber opera Nigredo Hotel (both premiered by The Tarragon Theatre). She is currently at work on a collectively created sequel to the play The Attic, the Pearls, and Three Fine Girls (Theatre Columbus and The Tarragon). She is the author of the novels Fall on Your Knees and The Way the Crow Flies which have been translated into numerous languages, and is host and narrator of CBC’s Doc Zone. MacDonald’s work has garnered awards, including The Governor General’s Award, The Chalmers Award, The Commonwealth Prize, The Canadian Authors’ Association Award, a Gemini Award, and several Dora Mavor Moore Awards. She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. Currently her novel Fall On Your Knees is part of CBC’s annual Canada Reads celebration, chosen and defended by Olympic hurdler Perdita Felicien.
YANNA McINTOSH
Maud/Victoria
Recent credits: Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Calphurnia in Julius Caesar, Helen of Troy in Trojan Women (Stratford Festival), Condoleeza Rice in Stuff Happens (Studio 180/CanStage), Karen in the TMN series The Line and Deepa Mehta’s film Heaven on Earth. Other credits: Mary Stuart, Phedre (Soulpepper Theatre); Michael Healey’s Generous; Kyra in the Toronto premiere of David Hare’s Skylight (Dora Award -Tarragon Theatre); The Syringa Tree (Dora nomination), Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew (CanStage); The Monument (Dora nomination), The Piano Lesson (Obsidian Theatre); Hedda Gabler (Dora nomination) (Volcano Theatre), Lambton Kent (Volcano/Edinburgh Festival); the title role in Florence Gibson’s Belle (Dora nomination) (Factory Theatre/NAC); Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Bear (NAC); Athol Fugard’s Valley Song (Dora Award – New Globe Theatre); Trace, which she co-wrote and performed; Tartuffe (ART), A Fertile Imagination (Theatre Passe Muraille), Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (Young People’s Theatre) and The Illusion, Antony and Cleopatra, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night (Stratford Festival). Yanna has taught at the National Theatre School and Humber College, directing students in productions of Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Richard III. Film and television credits include Doomstown (Gemini Award), Finn’s Girl, This is Wonderland, The Sentinel, A Raisin in the Sun and Riverdale. Upcoming: Yanna will play Hermione in A Winter’s Tale and Mme. Volange in Dangerous Liaisons in Stratford’s 2010 season.
BLAIR WILLIAMS
Harry/Martin
Most recently, Blair directed Ways of the Heart at the Shaw Festival, where he has appeared in more than thirty productions over sixteen seasons, including The Stepmother, St. Joan, Too True to be Good, Journey’s End, Candida, The Constant Wife, The Doctor’s Dilemma, John Bull’s Other Island and The Madras House, as well as directing The President. Other credits include: Antony in Julius Caesar (Citadel Theatre); It’s a Wonderful Life, Closer (Canstage); MacDuff in Macbeth (NAC, Citadel); Macbeth, Gaslight, Hay Fever, Sherlock Holmes (Theatre Calgary); The Mystery of Irma Vep (Theatre Aquarius); The Voysey Inheritance, Philadelphia Story (Walnut St. Theatre, Philadelphia); Love and Anger (Prarie Theatre Exhange); The Weir (Geva Theatre, Rochester, NY); He has also appeared on the stages of Theatre New Brunswick, Skylight Theatre, Arbour Festival, Perth Theatre Projects, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and The Everyman Theatre Company (Liverpool, England). Upcoming: Betrayal (Theatre Calgary); What the Butler Saw (Soulpepper); Blythe Spirit (Segal Centre, Montreal).
ALISA PALMER, Director
Alisa Palmer is an award-winning theatre director and play creator. Recent productions include the world premiere of Mimi, A Poisoner’s Comedy (Tarragon Theatre), Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George (Shaw Festival), The Blonde, The Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead (MTC), ‘Night Mother (Soulpepper) and The Clean House (Canadian Stage). Her acclaimed production of Top Girls (Soulpepper) also by Caryl Churchill, was revived last fall and garnered her a Dora Award for Outstanding Direction. East of Berlin (Tarragon Theatre) has been touring Canada for two years and will return to the Tarragon for a third time this winter. Now in her seventh season at the Shaw Festival, Palmer directed the premiere, revival and tour of Belle Moral: A Natural History by Ann-Marie MacDonald (also presented at the National Arts Centre.) Other productions at Shaw include: the Canadian premiere of Diana of Dobson’s, the musical Pal Joey, and G. B. Shaw’s The Philanderer. She has directed the creation of numerous landmark plays and musicals which have toured across the country, including Random Acts, Sibs, Smudge (the first professional play by a blind playwright), and the musical Anything That Moves, (recently revived at The Belfry Theatre). She directed the creation, premier and seven subsequent productions of The Attic, The Pearls & Three Fine Girls, (published by Scirocco Press), a collective creation to be revisited this year. Ms Palmer is the recipient of six Dora Awards, and two Chalmers Awards and was twice named Finalist for the Siminovitch Prize. She is the recipient of the New Brunswick Award of Excellence in the Arts and a Harold Award for her work in independent theatre. She teaches around the country and was Artistic Director of Nightwood Theatre, Canada’s foremost feminist theatre company, 1994-2001. In 2005 she was Resident Director for the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings with Mirvish Productions. Upcoming Ms. Palmer will direct a new production of The Women at The Shaw Festival.
Cast photos © George Whiteside
Alisa Palmer’s photo © David Cooper
