The Passion of the Chris

Christopher Durang

Playwright

Plays include The Idiots Karamazov (coauthored with Albert Innaurato), A History of the American Film, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You (Obie Award), Beyond Therapy (off and on Broadway), Baby with the Bathwater, The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Obie & Dramatists Award), Laughing Wild, For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, Betty’s Summer Vacation (Obie winner), Miss Witherspoon, Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2013 Tony Best Play). Cabaret: Das Lusitania Songspiel, coauthored and performed by Sigourney Weaver and Durang (Drama Desk nominations for both performers); Chris Durang and Dawne (Bistro Award for Durang, John Augustine and Sherry Anderson). He won the Harvard Arts Medal, the PEN/Laura Pels Award for a Master American Dramatist; inducted in the Theatre Hall of Fame. He and Marsha Norman have been co-chairs of the Juilliard Playwriting Program. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild Council.

Joel Greenberg

Director

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project. 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.

Jessica Greenberg

Actor

For Studio 180: debut. 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, as the Director of Child Engagement for the Child-ish Collective, and is an NTS Drama Festival adjudicator and an instructor at Centennial College’s Theatre Performance program. Jessica 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.

Mark McGrinder

Actor

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project. 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.

Kimwun Perehinec

Actor

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project. 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

Actor

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project. 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.

Lesley Tumber

Stage Manager

Michael Kruse

Lighting Designer

For Studio 180: The Laramie Project. 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. 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.