Centre Stage Artists
Bonnie
Gratz - Founder and Artistic Director of Centre Stage
Theatre Bonnie Gratz is an award
winning teacher, author, playwright, actor, and director of over 50 plays
performed throughout Alberta and British Columbia. Bonnie has worked with many great companies
including: Workshop Theatre, Fringe Theatre Adventures, Walterdale Theatre,
Citadel Theatre, Rapid Fire Theatre, Loose Change Films, Principle
Theatre Players, Loose Moose, Storybook Theatre, and Peak Theatre Players.
Bonnie most recent directing credits include: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, A
Most Dangerous Game, Munschapalooza!, and she was jazzed to write and
perform in her original Fringe play The
Venus Of Milo, AB with co-author Mary-Jean Uszy at the 2006 Calgary Fringe.
Upcoming she is writer and director on two new shows being co-presented with
Stage West for Kids as well as directing the upcoming Charlotte's Web and
The
Glass Menagerie.
Randy
Burke
This
is Randy's premiere with the Centre Stage Theatre company. He is a recent
graduate from the 2009 Theatre Performance program at Mount Royal College. He
played parts in Spring Awakening and The Gift of the Coat, and has
also toured to elementary and junior high schools in Nobody's Children
and Prairie Boys Winter during the two years of his studies.
He
also co-wrote and acted in a play called I Heart Mount Royal for Mount
Royal College.
Randy is very excited to begin his career as an actor, and thanks Centre Stage
for the this wonderful opportunity.
Ellen Chorley
Ellen
Chorley is delighted to be returning to Calgary to work with Centre Stage after
performing in Tales a Fourth Grade Nothing and A
Most Dangerous Game and
writing/performing in Mixed Up last
year! An Alberta-based theatre artist, Ellen graduated from
Edmonton’s MacEwan Theatre Arts in April 2004 and has been working as a
playwright, producer, actor, singer and theatre instructor ever since.
Favorite acting credits include The Piper (Downstage),
I’m Sticking With Keifer (Mostly
Water Theatre/ Indie 5), Grease (Stage
West Calgary), Nunsense (Canadiana
Productions Canmore), Full of Hot
Air (Evergreen
Theatre), 297
performances of Cinderella (Alberta
Opera) and the Betty Mitchell Award nominated Bat
Boy: The Musical (Mob
Hit Productions). As a
playwright, favorite credits include Bohemia
Perso (NextFest
Mainstage), Bridezilla , Good Girls
Don’t and Emma
Burden (Mob
Hit Productions), The Too
Tall Princess and
Cinderella the Wizard (Promise
Productions), Big Winner (Hope
in Elle Productions), Suffragette
City (Calgary’s
Heritage Park Street Theatre 2009) and Emma
Burden (an
original adult fairy tale produced by Mob Hit Productions ). Ellen
is the Head of Story/ Playwright in Residence for Calgary’s Mob Hit
Productions and is the Artistic Producer behind Hope in Elle Productions and
Promise Productions (theatre for young people). Ellen was nominated for
the Emerging Artist Award at the Mayor’s Evening for the Arts in 2008.
Kevin
Currie - Film Promotion /
Production / Stage Manager Kevin has been involved with theatre in
Calgary for 17 years. Although he usually takes on the role of stage
manager, he has also produced, directed, and designed lights and sound for many
shows. He is proud to be a part of Centre Stage Theatre for so long,
having worked on such shows as Leaps & Bounds, Wrecked, Munchapalooza,
Bunnicula, A Most Dangerous Game, and Tales of a Fourth Grade
Nothing. Check out Kevin's trailer for Mixed Up at:
trailer for Mixed Up
Mallory
Gallant
Mallory
is a Calgary based actress, playwright, director, and artistic director. She is
thrilled to be on board for this exciting season of Centre Stage. You can catch
her as Fern in Charlottes Web
as well as one of the Stepsisters in A
1970's Cinderella
for Centre Stage / Stage West for Kids. Most recently Mallory was involved in
the IGNITE! Festival for Sage Theatre as writer and director of The
Ashlings.
Her next show for her company Sirens Theatre will premiere at the 2009 Calgary
Fringe Festival. Mallory is a graduate of the Mount Royal College Theatre
Performance Program. Selected acting credits include; The Laramie Project for
AIDS Calgary, Belles for Workshop Theatre, Ah! Wilderness, The Best Present of
All (TYA tour), Red Noses, and Oedipus Rex for Mount Royal Theatre.
Derek
Gratz - Production Design / Sets Derek
is an internationally recognized designer with 18 years experience in
stage, graphic, and product design. Holding a Masters in Environmental Design from
the U of C, as well as a undergrad degree from the Art Centre College of Design in
Pasadena California, he was worked with numerous theatre groups and has developed creative
stage solutions for more than 20 productions. Derek also designs and produces props
and promotional material for Centre Stage. Derek presents at conferences throughout North
America, and has worked as a sessional Professor at the University of Alberta and is an
Adjunct Professor of Design at the University of Calgary.
Andrea Halwas
Andrea
Halwas is a recent graduate from the University of Calgary M.F.A. Program in
Drama. After publishing her thesis and other non-fiction work, she is now trying
her hand at playwrighting. A Winnipeg native, Andrea gained acting
experience in the 'Peg while completing in B.A. Honours at the
University of Winnipeg. Now she acts and teaches drama with Centre Stage Theatre
Company, Pegasus Performances, and Pumphouse Theatre. She was also delighted to
act as the Dramaturg for the debut of Mixed-Up.
Kim Howard
Kim
is a graduate of Mount Royal and is new to Centre Stage in 2009.
John
Knight John has been working in
Calgary as an actor, playwright and
sometimes director since graduating from the University of Lethbridge
and moving here in 2004. Selected stage credits include The
Subject of My Affections, Leaps and Bounds (Centre Stage), Two
Gentlemen of Verona, Goodnight Desdemona (The Shakespeare
Company), and Titus Andronicus, The Duchess of Malif (Mobhit
Productions). John also co-wrote Centre Stage's Mixed Up in 2009.
Jordan
Koop Jordan is a graduate of
Play House North and started with Centre Stage in 2009.
Briana
Lowe Briana's
recent credits include The Bacchae (Mob Hit Productions), A Most
Dangerous Game, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Centre Stage), CSI:
Little Murder on the Prairie, and Frazier: The
College Years (Jubilations). After receiving her Diploma of Theatre Arts
from Mount Royal College, she appeared in "Moo" for Murder
(Pegasus Performances), Honk! (Storybook Theatre), Red Noses, Blood
Relations, and Shakespeare on Wheels (MRC). Recent film credits
include: Passchendaele, Snow Globe and Dawn Anna. Before that, you
may have seen her around Calgary performing with the Young Canadians of the
Calgary Stampede or at Calaway Park.
Trevor Matheson Trevor is a
graduate of the Mount Royal Theatre Arts Program. Trevor has performed in
several Centre Stage shows including Tales of Fourth Grade Nothing, Mixed
Up, A Most Dangerous Game, and Wrecked. Other Selected theatre credits include, Fabian in
Twelfth Night,
Messenger from King Henry VI Part III, Claudio/Verges in Much Ado About
Nothing,
and Romeo in Romeo & Juliet with The Shakespeare Company, and Japeth in
Not Wanted on the Voyage with Mob
Hit Productions. Trevor’s day job is playing the Artistic Liaison at
Heritage Park. He is a native Calgarian and a big Flames fan at heart.
Jill
Oberg
Jill
is a recent graduate of the University of Lethbridge and is newly emerging
herself in the rich theatre community Calgary has to offer. Her first love is
performing and in her last years at school she discovered her desire to become
more and more involved in all aspects of children’s theatre. Some of her
acting credits include Red
Cross, Dr. Faustus, Fiddler on the Roof, Finding Regina, and
Education is Our Right.
She
has also been lucky enough to write, direct, and design some wonderful
children’s theatre as well as direct her peers in Who’s
Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and
Seven
Stories. Here
in Calgary she is having a blast watching and working behind the scenes at
Storybook Theatre.
Rick Saretsky - Musician, Composer
Rick
Saretsky has been a part of the Calgary
music scene for over 25 years. He is a member of “The Livin’ Daylights”
and can been seen playing at many venues around town. He created his own guitar
school 14 years ago and has many students who are rockin’ around Calgary. He is part of a song writing duo called “Bwana and the Wanna’s” and has
enjoyed working with Center Stage artists on “Mixed Up”. See more at The
Livin' Daylights
Adrienne
Smook Adrienne is a Calgary
based theatre artist. She joined the Centre Stage team to Direct Mixed Up
in 2009. Adrienne has appeared as an actor, most recently, in The
Mousetrap (Vertigo Theatre), Enchanted April (Theatre Calgary), My
Name is Rachel Corrie (Sage Theatre), Sitting on Paradise, (Alberta
Theatre Projects), and the Alan Parkinson Project (Ghost River Theatre).
Adrienne is an artistic associate at Sage Theatre and has been nominated for
four Dr. Betty Mitchell Awards.
Anastasia
St.Amand
Anastasia
is excited to be working as an actor for Centre Stage. She is a theatre arts
graduate from Mount Royal College. She spends her summers as a character
actor at Heritage Park. The rest of her year is spending teaching and directing
kids for Centre Stage and DramaWorks Scenic Acres. Her recent Theatre
credits include: Tiny Replicas – IGNITE ’09 and Seasons In the West – Scorpio
Theatre. She also acted in and choreographed fights for a 48 Hour Film festival
entry. Up next you can see her in Charlottes Web and A 70’s Cinderella for
Centre
Stagel.
Brandon
Trotter
Brandon is excited to start his second season with Centre Stage, after
performing and instructing with the company for the past year. A graduate
of Mt Royal College, Brandon has enjoyed working to bring theatre to children
all over Alberta. Selected credits include Tales of a Fourth Grade
Nothing (Centre Stage) Munschapalooza (Centre Stage/Stage West) Emma
Burden, Duchess of Malfi (Mob Hit Productions) Spring Awakening, Diary of
Anne Frank, Ah Wilderness (Theatre MRC). He will be working with
Centre Stage and Stage West again next spring for their production of A 70's
Cinderella.
Mary-Jean
Uszy Mary-Jean
is an accomplished actress, musician, and singer who has performed in numerous
theatre and musical productions throughout Alberta, including Calgary Opera,
Alberta Theatre Projects, Maenad Theatre, Principle Theatre Players, Green
Fools, Hidden Insanity Theatre and Centre Stage Theatre. Mary-Jean has
performed in numerous Centre Stage shows and also co-wrote the The Venus of Milo, AB which
debuted at the 2006 Calgary Fringe Festival. She has also served as
musical director, composer, and theatre school instructor for the company.
Michelle Warkentin Michelle
has been acting for over twenty years and has appeared on stages as far as
Yorktown Heights New York and Jakarta Indonesia. She is a professional puppeteer
and voice-over artist and currently the Educational Manager for the Calgary
Block Parents program presenting programs to the
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