The Laramie Project

Moisés Kaufman and members of 
the Tectonic Theater Project

Creators

Tectonic Theater Project is a nonprofit theatre dedicated to exploring theatrical language and form and was established in 1991. Its first production, Women in Beckett, was the collection of all of Samuel Beckett’s short plays for women performed by a cast aged 65-80. Tectonic has produced works by emerging playwrights such as Naomi Iizuka (Coxinga and Marlowe’s Eye); stage classics such as Beckett’s Endgame and Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal; and a highly-acclaimed production of Franz Xaver Kroetz’ The Nest. With its hyper-real diorama of a set and its imaginative use of puppetry (brought to life by acclaimed puppeteer Basil Twist), The Nest was named one of the ten best productions of the 1994/95 season by The Village Voice. Tectonic dedicated two years to the development of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, a new play written and directed by Artistic Director Moises Kaufman. The play caused a popular and critical sensation when it began in New York in the end of February, 1997. Gross Indecency transferred to Off-Broadway and ran there for over 18 months. Tectonic’s production was mounted by Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, enjoyed a six-month run at Theater on the Square in San Francisco, as well as successful productions in Toronto, Plymouth and the West End in London. The play has also been produced by over 40 regional theatres and internationally in Paris, Stockholm, Montreal, Mexico City, Budapest and Germany. Gross Indecency won the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Off-Broad- way Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play, the Garland Award for Best Play (Los Angeles), the Caldwell Award (Florida} and the GLAAD Media Award for New York Theater. Mr. Kaufman received the 1997 Joe A. Callaway Award for Excellence in Direction given by the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, as well as the Bay Area Critics Circle Award for directing. The Vintage publication of Gross Indecency won the Lambda Book Award. Tectonic Theater Project received an Outer Critics Circle Award as the original producers of the play. Tectonic Theater Project’s development of The Laramie Project was made possible in part by the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Sullivan Foundation, the Sundance Theatre Lab, New York Theatre Workshop, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Leon Levy, Anne Milliken and Gayle Francis. Tectonic Theater Project also receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Development of Cultural Affairs.

Joel Greenberg

Director

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). A co-founder of Studio 180, Joel is a Chalmers and Dora award–winning playwright and director who has directed productions across Canada. Elsewhere: Ain’t Misbevain‘, What the Butler Saw, Taking Sides, Vanities, Bells Are Ringing, Second City (Toronto and Chicago), Dames at Sea (too many times), Tonight at 8:00…8:30 in Newfoundland (all three editions), The Foreigner, Alice, Drink the Mercury and The Nuclear Power Play. Joel taught at Humber College Theatre School from 1984 to 1989 and the Drama Department at the University of Waterloo from 1991 to 2014, also serving as the Chair of each department.

Lesley Dowey

Ensemble Member

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Lesley is thoroughly enjoying and is honoured to be a part of The Laramie Project. She was last seen in Portia Coughlan (University of Toronto Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama). Others credits include Run, and Lie With Me (Urban Spine), and Shakespeare’s Rugby Wars (Upstart Crow). Her film and television work include Odyssey 5 and Silent Song. She would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the members of Studio 180 for this experience.

Deborah Drakeford

Ensemble Member

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Recent credits include: A Christmas Carol (Soulpepper Theatre Company, 2002 and 2001); Zaidie’s Shoes (Mirvish Productions); Sibs (Marquis Entertainment), Antigone (Red Red Rose). Other selected credits: Doubt (Theatre Columbus/Factory Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest, Great Expectations, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Christmas Carol (The Grand Theatre, London); The Secret Garden (Theatre New Brunswick); Mirror Game (Young People’s Theatre) plus two seasons at the Blyth Festival and a season at Stratford. Television and film work include several movies of the week and various episodics. Deb also provides voice work for TVO’s Polka Dot Shorts.

Marvin Hinz

Ensemble Member

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Marvin is a graduate of the University of Waterloo (BA) and also holds an MFA in Theatre from York University. He has worked in theatre and television over the past fifteen years, most recently in: DWARF (Equity Showcase, David Rotenberg); Joey in The Old Neighborhood (ARTWORD, East-West Theatre); Alden in Sparta (Summerworks 2001, Sarah Martyn); and Ted in The Foursome (Upper Canada Playhouse, Peter McGuire). Marvin adapted and performed the Toronto Fringe success Game, which was short-listed for the 1999 US Comedy Arts Festival. Recent film and television credits include: Street Time, Nero Wolfe, Witchblade and Brian’s Song, as well as several commercials.

Alison Lawrence

Ensemble Member

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Alison is a graduate of George Brown College. Most recently Alison performed in: the biggest Toronto Fringe hit ever, Top Gun! The Musical; and starred in the Grand Theatre London’s production of Nurse Jane Goes To Hawaii. She also performed her own play Going for Groceries at both the Summerworks Festival and the Between Stages Series. Alison just left the cast of bittergirl, for which she was both co-writer and co-star. It has played two sold-out runs at the Tim Sims Playhouse and has toured to London England and New York City. Alison will return to bittergirl, playing at the Stealth Lounge upstairs at the Pilot Tavern.

Mark McGrinder

Ensemble Member

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Mark is the Artistic Director of Studio 180 Theatre. His Studio 180 performing credits include Oslo, The Nether, You Will Remember Me, Clybourne Park and Stuff Happens. He has been a director and/or dramaturg(e) for many of Studio 180’s IN DEVELOPMENT projects and, as the program’s coordinator, has worked to connect creators with the appropriate collaborators required to bring their visions to the stage. He adapted and directed Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish for PANAMANIA, directed Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays and worked as Associate Director for Blackbird, God of Carnage and Studio 180’s 10th Anniversary reading of The Laramie Project. Mark was a member of the acting ensemble at the Shaw Festival for five seasons and he performed in several reviews with The Second City’s National touring company. He has been head or co-writer on several collective creations (Single and Sexy, That Artz Show and The Berlin Show) and his play MacHamlet was presented as part of the Alumnae Theatre’s New Ideas Festival. As an artist educator he has worked with high school, college and university students in and beyond the GTA and is continually inspired by the passion and vision of the young artists he has had the good fortune to connect with.

Jeff Miller

Ensemble Member

For Studio 180: debut. For Studio 180: Cock, The Normal Heart, The Arab-Israeli Cookbook, The Laramie Project . Other theatre includes Hana’s Suitcase, To Kill a Mockingbird, Reading the Signs, Liars (Young People’s Theatre); Same Time Next Year, Half-Life, Rabbit Hole, Leading Ladies (Sudbury Theatre Centre); Steven Gallagherʼs Craplicker (Toronto Fringe 2010); Mike McPhadenʼs Poochwater, Sean Reycraftʼs One Good Marriage (Theatre Passe Muraille); King Lear (Walking Shadow Theatre); Stones in His Pockets, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Rumors, The Petrified Forest, Moon Over Buffalo (Nipissing Stage); Communicating Doors (Magnus Theatre); The Othello Project (Florida Shakespeare Theater); Love! Valour! Compassion!, Twilight of the Golds (Boston Speakeasy Theater); and The Lisbon Traviata (Boston Triangle Theater). TV credits include roles on Good Witch, The Strain, Man Seeking Woman and Queer as Folk.

Kimwun Perehinec

Ensemble Member

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Kimwun is a co-founder, artist educator and member of the Core Artistic Team for Studio 180. Other selected credits include Frankenstein’s Boy, Madhouse Variations, Sideshow of the Damned (Eldritch Theatre); Chasing Margaret Flatwood (Theatre Awakening); Like Wolves (GCTC); Wrecked (Roseneath Theatre); This Is About the Push (Seventh Stage); Mourning Dove (Ark Collective); Vanities (Theatre in Port); Spain (Absit Omen); Phae (Collective Architecture); High-Gravel-Blind, Shadows, Walk Right Up (Stratford Festival). Film and TV credits include recurring roles on the TMN series The Line and the web series B.J. Fletcher: Private Eye; and Puppets Who Kill, Nikita and Thieves. Kimwun has been nominated for two Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Ensemble) and is a graduate of the actor training program at George Brown College.

Dylan Roberts

Ensemble Member

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Dylan’s recent credits include: Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest (Resurgence Theatre); Srgt. Pissani in Accidental Death of an Anarchist (The Globe Theatre); and Teddy in Science Fiction (Factory Studio Theatre). Dylan is very excited to be joining the ranks of Video Caberet for their next production. Thanks as always to wife Shari, who makes him laugh so.

Michael Haltrecht

Stage Manager

For Studio 180: debut. Michael’s recent theatre credits include Offensive Shadows (Summerworks/O7), Welcome to Eden: Population 2 (Toronto Fringe/06, SM); Hair (CanStageCanadian Stage Company, Apprentice SM); Storm Warning (Out of the Norm, SM); Gypsy, Journey’s End, and Pasque Flower (Shaw Festival, Apprentice SM); The Laramie Project (Studio 180, SM); Unbecoming (SummerWorks, SM); La Fille du Regiment, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Otello (Opera Ontario, Apprentice SM). Michael has worked for the Toronto, Dubai, Sundance, and HotDocs Film Festivals and develops Stage Management computer software. He is a graduate of the University of Waterloo Michael (Psychology and Drama).

Brad Goddard

Assistant Stage Manager

Michael Gianfrancesco

Set Designer

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Michael’s set & costume design credits for theatre, opera and dance include A Few Good Men (Citadel/MTC); Trouble in Tahiti, In Good King Charles’s Golden Days (costumes), One Touch of Venus (costumes) (Shaw Festival); Caroline or Change (set, Acting Up Stage/Obsidian); Jack and the Giant Beanstalk, The Wizard of Oz, Seussical (set) (YPT); Romeo and Juliet, The 39 Steps, White Christmas (set), Fiddler on the Roof (costumes) (MTC); The Drowsy Chaperone (set, MTC/Theatre Calgary); Rodin/Claudel, Kaleidoscope (set) (Les Grands Ballets Canadiens); Svadba, Beauty Dissolves in a Brief Hour, The Midnight Court – presented at the Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden (Queen of Puddings Music Theatre); In Colour (National Ballet of Canada); A View from the Bridge (set, Segal Theatre); Rock ‘n’ Roll, It’s a Wonderful Life, Little Shop of Horrors (set) (Canadian Stage). Michael has spent nine seasons at the Stratford Festival and most recently designed the scenery for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He was the 2008 recipient of the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design from the Ontario Arts Foundation, and received the Brian Jackson Award from the Stratford Festival.

Kelsey Hart

Costume Designer

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Since graduating from CalArts Kelsey has been designing and assisting on a variety of productions. Kelsey’s most recent credits include: The Crypt Club, Two Words, Year of the Lion and Twist.

Michael Kruse

Lighting Designer

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Michael’s most recent credits include: Alphonse for Theatre Direct Canada; Flamenco Picasso for the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company; and William and James for Theatre Passe Murraille. Past design credits include: The Gwednolyn Poems for the Factory Theatre; The Millionairess, A Woman of No Importance and Waterloo for the Shaw Festival; the Buncha’ Festival in 2001 and 2002 for Theatre Direct Canada; The Awakening and The Pains of Youth for which he received a Dora Nomination, for Theatre Voce, Peep Show and Henry and Pierre for Buddies in Bad Times Theatre; The Orphan Muses for the Great Canadian Theatre Company; Wit for the Globe Theatre; The Melville Boys and When the Reaper Calls for the Blyth Festival; and Jason Sherman’s Patience for the Tarragon Theatre. Michael is currently under contract with the Cast Group in Toronto and is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada. Michael has a strong commitment to mentoring and has done a number of seminars for both high school and university students.

Joey Morin

Sound Designer

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Recent design credits include: Spring Awakening (Randolf Academy, 2002), Life Out Loud (Adrenaline Productions, 2001), Cinema Inferno (ICASTICO, 2000), The Recurring Dream (Hard Time [T.O. Fringe], 2000) and Doris Does Damage (Toronto Fringe, 1999). Other credits include Sound Recordist on This Beggar’s Description (Tetrault Productions, 2002) and Doris Does Damage [Live at Second City] (…and you’re not that pretty productions, 2001). Joey is also a photographer, computer consultant and technician both in theatre and other areas. Although not seen in a while, he hopes to appear on stage again soon. He is thrilled to be involved with such a densely talented group of people.

Jessica Greenberg

Associate Producer

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). Jessica (she/her) is Studio 180’s Director of Youth and Community Engagement, a co-creator of the IN CLASS program, and a core member of the company since 2004. She is a Dora-nominated actor and a leader in drama education with a passion for promoting youth empowerment and building community through theatre. As an actor she has performed on stages across Canada and the US, including Studio 180, Canadian Stage, Crow’s Theatre, Mirvish Productions, Project: Humanity, Magnus Theatre, YPT, The Citadel, MTYP, Passe Muraille, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Theatre New Brunswick, Willow Cabin Theatre and Theatreworks/USA. She has appeared on The Handmaid’s Tale, Murdoch Mysteries and Being Erica as well as the animated series Fish ‘n Chips. At Studio 180 Jessica oversees all education and Beyond the Stage programming including the creation of study guide resources and the curation of lobby exhibits, chats, panels, talkbacks and other special events. She worked as Education Coordinator for ARCfest: Toronto’s Human Rights Arts Festival, and is the Director of Child Engagement for the Child-ish Collective. She holds an Honours BA in political science and women’s studies from McGill University and completed her classical acting training at Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York and as an apprentice at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in Kentucky.

Derrick Chua

Producer

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project (2003). A co-founder of Studio 180, Derrick is an entertainment lawyer and award-winning theatre producer. Recent productions include I’m Doing This For You (Edinburgh, Amsterdam, London, Tampere, Piotrowice Nyskie, Halifax, Toronto), Counting Sheep (Edinburgh), Confessions and Adventures of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl (Edinburgh, Brighton), Dance Animal (Toronto Fringe), Obeah Opera (PANAMANIA), The God That Comes & When It Rains (Edinburgh Fringe), Oh My Irma (International Tour: Edinburgh Fringe, Berlin, London, Kosovo, Ulaanbaatar, Brighton, Amsterdam, Kiel, New York, Victoria), Fortune and Men’s Eyes (Dancemakers), Gruesome Playground Injuries (The Theatre Centre). Derrick is past-President of the Toronto Fringe Festival, and sits on the boards of The AFC, Theatre Museum Canada, fu-Gen Asian Canadian Theatre Company and Groundling Theatre. He is the recipient of a Dora Award, a Harold Award, a NOW Magazine Award as Toronto’s Best Indie Producer, and a Canadian Actors’ Equity Association Honorary Membership for Outstanding Contribution to the Performing Arts.