I had this nice idea of writing a blog post every season. But as I look outside my office window, the leaves are gently falling and the last time I wrote a blog, there was snow on the ground. That tells me I might've missed a few. Regardless, here are some highlights of the Spring and Summer Seasons: Lighthouse Festival Theatre mounted a great production of The New Canadian Curling Club. Directed by Jane Spence and starring a lot of actors who've done the play before, it was a real treat. In Québec, Hudson Village Theatre (along with producer and director Trevor Barrette) did Bed and Breakfast, which has recently received two Montreal English Theatre Awards nominations--one for Outstanding Independent Production and one for Jonathan Patterson in the Outstanding Lead Performance category. Congrats! Out East, Ship's Company Theatre and Charlottetown Festival presented a co-production of Chase the Ace. I wasn't able to make it this summer, but the photos look incredible. I'm going to try to catch this production at Neptune Theatre in Winter/Spring, 2026. Thousand Islands Playhouse produced a wonderful version of Stag and Doe. Led by director Cherissa Richards, with a great cast and creative team, it was worth the drive to Gananoque! I was also busy as an actor, performing in two shows with Drayton Entertainment. First up, I got to fulfill a dream of being in a tap musical, Crazy for You, directed and choreographed by the legendary Michael Lichtefeld. Do I tap dance? No. Did that stop me? No! After that, we had a hoot and a holler doing Liars at a Funeral by Sophia Fabiilli, directed by Dennis Garnhum in both St. Jacobs and Grand Bend. On the publication end of things, the good folks at Scirocco Drama published The Golden Anniversaries. I'm really grateful to have this play in print. If you'd like to give it a read, you can buy a copy here or order it elsewhere online, or better yet, get it from your local independent bookstore! Which brings us up to the present... Chase the Ace is in rehearsals at Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay. And there are some community theatre productions happening: The Birds and the Bees is currently running at Theatre Burlington and Stag and Doe is about to begin at the Firehall Theatre in Niagara Falls.
Not to bury the lead, but... My brand new play, Ruby and the Reindeer, will have its World Premiere at Here for Now Theatre in Stratford this holiday season. I can't wait for rehearsals to begin. It's being directed by the wonderful Irene Poole, with a creative team of absolute greats: set and costume designer Francesca Callow, lighting designer Louise Guinand, sound designer Verne Good, and stage manager Bona Duncan. And when I say "dream cast," I am talking some of Canada's finest stage actors up close and personal: Maev Beaty, Benedict Campbell, Ijeoma Emesowum, Gordon S. Miller, and a fantastic young actor, Tabitha Campbell. If you're in the area, I encourage you to book those tickets. Apparently, they're going fast! I'll endeavour to write a blog post this winter with the hopes that the next one is not quite this long. No promises. Enjoy the fall! - Mark
