BIOGRAPHIES
Nancy Kenny - Writer/Performer
A proud Acadian originally from Bathurst (NB), Nancy Kenny is a fluently bilingual actor, writer, producer, arts marketing & social media professional. She is the creator and solo performer of the award winning and critically acclaimed, Everybody Dies in December, as well as Roller Derby Saved My Soul. Both productions are still enjoying successful runs across the country. Her work has been recognized by the Canadian Comedy Awards, the Jessie Richardson Awards, and les Prix Rideau Awards, among others.
Other favourite theatre credits include the title role in Mary Magdalene and Adventures in Sobriety, Little Martyrs (Evolution Theatre), The Amorous Ambassador (Upper Canada Playhouse), Shakespeare’s Interactive Circus (a Company of Fools), and Rabbit Hole (The Gladstone). More recently she played the title character in The Little Prince, a Monster Theatre production that has been touring schools in British Columbia for the past two years.
She produced a documentary film about life on the Fringe Festival circuit called On the Fringe and looks forward to sharing it with all of you very soon – www.onthefringedoc.com for details.
In her spare time, Nancy can be found on the Internet, most likely at www.nancykenny.ca or on Twitter @nancykenny & Instagram @thenancykenny.
Tania Levy - Director
Tania has been living and working in Ottawa her whole life. Graduating from the University of Ottawa’s theatre program, she co-founded Gruppo Rubato in 2002. The company has produced numerous new creations, toured Canada several times, and received many awards and nominations for their work. Roller Derby Saved My Soul was her first professional directing credit. Her work on the show was recognized with a nomination in the 2011 Prix Rideau Award’s Emerging Artist category. Other directing credits include Ken Godmere’s critically acclaimed Vernus Says Surprise, Dolores, which teamed her up with Nancy Kenny once more, and Motion Passed with May Can Theatre.
Steven Lafond – Sound Designer
Steven is an award-winning composer, sound designer and producer currently residing in the greater Toronto area. He has had the pleasure of composing original music, designing sound, performing and producing for theatrical productions and films across Canada for the past eight years. Steven studied Music Theory at Carleton University and Technical Production for Theatre and Live Events at Sheridan College. He also owns and operates Magic Studio Productions, an entertainment production company based in Ottawa and Toronto with which he has produced over 20 productions to date. Some of his selected theatre credits include: Outside Mullingar, 17 Men, and Ed & Ed: Trapped (Gros Morne Theatre Festival), Up To Low, and Stuff Happens (National Arts Centre), Maggie & Pierre (Thousand Islands Playhouse and Tarragon Theatre), Agency (The Theatre Centre), The Servant of Two Masters (Odyssey Theatre), This is War, and Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (Great Canadian Theatre Company). You can hear more of Steven's work in the upcoming production of OUT at Buddies in Bad Times this coming 2018-19 season.
Sarah Mansikka – Lighting Designer
Sarah is from Toronto, Ontario and has been working as a professional lighting designer throughout Canada for over 15 years. She has worked with Political Movement and IFT Theatre in Toronto, Broken Turtle Productions and Norah Paton in Ottawa, as well as being the Lighting Director for Rimini Protokoll’s world tour of Best Before. She has also worked as an Assistant Lighting Designer with The Stratford Festival and Vancouver Opera. Sarah is thrilled to be based in Toronto after over a decade of traveling and is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.
Patricia Allison – Choreographer
Patricia Allison is a Toronto based choreographer, movement director, and performer. Patricia won a Dora Award in 2018 for Best Director in Independent Theatre for a physical theatre piece she co-created and co-won with Jill Harper (pool (no water) - Cue6 Theatre). Patricia completed her MFA in Dance at York University in 2019 and graduated from L’école de danse contemporaine de Montréal in 2007. Most recently she choreographed Consumption Patterns at the Next Stage Theatre Festival in January 2020 and The Black Drum at Soulpepper with the Deaf Culture Center. Patricia specializes in working on theatrical movement narrative based work, believing that movement and text provide the perfect balance to communicate story. Patricia was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2017 and advocates for accessibility and inclusion of all kinds within theatre. She produces dance-theatre and dance films under her company LastName FirstName Productions.
