DIRECTOR

Irene Poole has worked across the country in film and television and has spent 12 seasons at the Stratford Festival, playing leading roles in Ransacking Troy, The Diviners, Cymbeline, Les Belles Sœurs, Little Women, Henry Vlll, Julius Caesar, To Kill A Mockingbird, Mother’s Daughter, Breath of Kings, The Little Years, Three Sisters, and The Taming of the Shrew. Her time at the Festival has also led her to teaching, and moderating events for the Meighen Forum.

In Toronto she directed David Mamet’s Romance at CanStage for Brou Haha, and is the recipient of three Dora Mavor Moore awards for Outstanding Performance in The Little Years (Tarragon), The Leisure Society (Factory), and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Birdland Productions); as well as Dora nominations for How Do I Love Thee (Canadian Rep) and Happy Place (Soulpepper).

Irene has been dreaming of creating a Christmas show in Stratford for several years, and is beyond grateful to Here For Now and Mark Crawford for Ruby and the Reindeer.

PLAYWRIGHT

One of Canada’s most popular playwrights, Mark has had his work produced across the country and internationally. He is the author of Stag and Doe; Bed and Breakfast; The Birds and the Bees; Boys, Girls, and Other Mythological Creatures; The New Canadian Curling Club; Chase the Ace; The Gig; and The Golden Anniversaries. Several of these titles are published by Scirocco Drama. Also an actor, Mark has performed at theatres from coast to coast. Up next, The Golden Anniversaries runs at the Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver and on tour around BC. Mark grew up on his family’s farm near Glencoe, and now lives here in Stratford. www.markcrawfordplays.com (http://www.markcrawfordplays.com/)

as Adult Ruby

Maev is thrilled to join Here for Now’s illustrious list of actors, having played theatres across Turtle Island e.g. Soulpepper, Canadian Stage, Tarragon, LaMama in NYC, and nine seasons at the Stratford Festival - most recently with Irene in Ransacking Troy. She has starred in many classics and has originated roles in more than two dozen Canadian premieres: Hannah Moscovitch’s Bunny, Michael Healey's Proud, Kate Hennig’s The Last Wife, and her co-creation Secret Life of a Mother, and is a multiple Dora Award winner and 14-time nominee. Films: Mouthpiece (Patricia Rozema); Beau is Afraid (Ari Aster), Dream Scenario (Kristoffer Borgli) and Black Phone 2 (Scott Derrickson). 

as Ruby

Tabitha is very excited to be making her Here for Now debut. Previous theatre credits include Child Future in What If If Only (Stratford Festival DWP), Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables (Kiwanis), and  Lady Blanche in Robin Hood and the Queen’s Spy (Playmakers.) Tabitha lives in Stratford with her mom, dad, brother and dog. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everybody!

as Kathy

Based in Stratford since 2014, Ijeoma has appeared in over 30 productions between The Stratford Festival and The Shaw Festival. This summer she can be seen in the premier production of Ransacking Troy at the Stratford Festival. Other past productions include A Christmas Carol (Theatre New Brunswick), The Aftermath (Nightwood), Romeo & Juliet (Spontaneous Theatre), Host of Showstarters (STRATFEST@home). As always, love and gratitude to my love J and the ones who made me a mama, Z and S.

as Dave

Gordon is thrilled to be making his Here For Now debut in this beautiful new space with this incredible team of artists, especially for the holiday season.

A graduate of the National Theatre School, the Birmingham Conservatory (David Latham) and a member of the Stratford Festival’s acting company for 15 seasons, Gordon is grateful to be a part of this community.

Select credits: Grand Magic, Hedda Gabler, Othello, Merry Wives of Windsor, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Bakkhai, Timon of Athens, Fargo, and BOTS.

Thank you for coming to the theatre and I wish you all of the very best this holiday season!

as Gerald

Ben returned to his native Stratford in 2018. Most of his professional life has been in theatre with the odd foray into film and television, this being his 50th year as a professional actor. Half of his acting life has been part of an ‘acting company’, playing leading roles at the Shaw Festival (14 seasons), Stratford Festival (11 seasons), National Arts Centre (4 seasons). There’s a long list of Toronto shows and many appearances right across the country in many varying roles including shows close to Stratford with Drayton Entertainment (Twelve Angry Men, A Few Good Men and On Golden Pond). 

STAGE MANAGER

Stratford: Dangerous Liaisons, The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, Casey and Diana, All’s Well That Ends Well, Little Shop of Horrors, The Rocky Horror Show, The Tempest starring Christopher Plummer, The Duchess of Malfi, The Swanne Trilogy. (29 seasons) Elsewhere: Casey and Diana (Theatre Aquarius/RMTC), A Christmas Story, the Musical (Theatre Aquarius), Casey and Diana (Soulpepper), Angels in America (That Theatre Co./Buddies), Fall On Your Knees (Canadian Stage, Neptune, NAC,Grand); Heisenberg, Liv Stein (Canadian Stage); Constellations (Centaur/Canadian Stage); Body Politic (Buddies); The Death of the King (Modern Times); The Winter’s Tale (Groundling); Bombay Black (Factory); Manon, Sandra and the Virgin Mary (Pleiades); Saint Carmen of The Main (NAC/Canadian Stage); Mother Courage and Her Children (NAC/MTC); Real Live Girl (RMTC); Fully Committed, Silence, EinsteinGift (Grand); Wit (Centaur); Hamlet (Neptune).  Michael is thrilled to be working for Here For Now on Ruby and the Reindeer in beautiful Stratford. 

LIGHTING DESIGN

Louise Guinand is a lighting designer who has designed lighting for over 600 shows. Her work has been seen on stages across Canada. She delights in the ever changing nature of the theatre and the discoveries every new space and production brings. Louise is pleased to be part of Here For Now’s first indoor season in a brand new theatre. 

SET & COSTUME DESIGN

Francesca has spent 18 years working as a design assistant and designer at the Stratford Festival, including her work as designer on London Assurance, Grand Magic, Twelfth Night (costume); Richard III, Three Tall Women, Birds of a Kind, Henry VIII, Oscar Remembered (set and costume); and Three Musketeers (set). Elsewhere:Francesca has worked as a designer and design assistant in Canada, the U.S. and U.K. While working in England as an art director for film and television (BBC/Channel 4), she also studied Architectural History at Oxford University and Historic Conservation at Oxford Brookes University. She has worked for English Heritage, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (founded by William Morris), and for Condé Nast at The World of Interiors magazine.

SOUND DESIGNER

This is Verne’s Here for Now debut. Other theatre: 12th Night, Othello, Pericles, Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, Julius Caesar, Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Stratford); Fully Committed, The Mountaintop, Art, Honour Beat (The Grand); Birds of a Feather, Ladies and Gentlemen Boys and Girls, In This World (Roseneath); New Canadian Curling Club, Pigeon King (Blyth); The Normal Heart (Studio 180); The Other Side of the Game (Cahoots); 39 Steps [Dora Nomination] (Soulpepper); Free as Injuns (Native Earth); The Virgin Trial (GCTC); Was Spring, Communion (Tarragon); Bingo, Bang Bang (Factory); Up The Garden Path (Obsidian). Film/TV: Stratford Festival’s 2019 production of Othello, broadcast on CBC-TV. Training: Bishop’s University, National Theatre School.

Ruby (Understudy)

Esmé is thrilled to be a part of the Ruby team. Previous theatre credits include Diana Barry in Anne of Green Gables (Kiwanis), Lady Lucile in Robin Hood (Playmakers), Red Queen in Alicein Wonderland and her directing debut Shrek the Musical (Perth School Drama Club). Esmé is a member of the Stratford Dance Company (SDC) Competitive Team and lives in Stratford with her parents and pet rats Bentley and Remy.