guest artists

Gabriel Golin | Playwright, Beneath the Bed
Gabe is an actor and playwright who graduated with an Acting Diploma from Sheridan College, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree specializing in Theatre and Drama Studies from the University of Toronto Mississauga. Gabe’s passion for playwriting sparked in grade 11 after completing his fist full length play “Till Death do us Part”, for the Durham Drama Festival. Gabe’s love for playwriting continued to flourish throughout university as his workshop production of “Beneath the Bed” was admitted into Theatre Erindale’s Beck Festival, under the direction of Bryn Kennedy. Under the guidance of Djanet Sears in his fourth year, Gabe expanded his knowledge of playwriting, leading towards a staged reading of his play “Now You Don’t.” Gabe wants to use his plays to explore difficult subject matter through fantastical new worlds, existing through a realm of imagination, familiar enough to relate to regardless of age, gender, or journey.

Blessing Adedijo | Actor, off my chest.
Blessing has appeared in several productions while attending the Ryerson School of Performance BFA acting program. Those of which include Julius Caesar, The Seventh Seal, and The Women. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Blessing will be finishing up her fourth and final year of theatre school in 2019. She is an avid reader and enjoys writing for theatre. After directing The Most Massive Woman Wins and The Love of Nightingale she looks forward to mounting her own piece in the near future.

Lauren Wolanski | Actor, Selections from Rosamund Smalls' Vitals
Lauren is an actor and theatre creator from Richmond Hill, Ontario. After cultivating her skills performing at the Richmond Hill Performing Arts Centre and attending Alexander Mackenzie's Dramatic Art's Program, Lauren chose to continue her training in university. She is a recent graduate of the joint Theatre and Drama Studies Program at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, where she received an Honours Bachelor or Arts in Theatre, graduating with High Distinction, and professional training from Sheridan with a Diploma in Acting (High Honours). Lauren's recent credits include Michelle in White Wedding (Toronto Fringe Festival) Katrina in Fermata (OPIA Theatre Collective), Thea in Hedda Gabler and Dionyza in Pericles, Prince of Tyre (Theatre Erindale).
Lauren is proud to be a part of the Young Innovators Unit at Nightwood Theatre. She is currently developing her own material in the Writing and Dramaturgy program with Brian Quirt at Tarragon Theatre.
Check out www.laurenwolanski.com for more!

Courtney Keir | Actor, off my chest.
Courtney Keir is a queer Toronto based actor, writer, director, and choreographer. She recently completed her MA in Classical and Contemporary Text (Acting Performance) at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Selected theatre credits include: Bubble (Playwrights Studio Scotland), Real: Live!, In The Bones (Citizens Theatre), Henry IV (Bard in the Botanics), and Troilus and Cressida, The Changeling (Shakespeare’s Globe/RCS). She is currently represented by Lindsay Scrivener at The Bella Agency.

Rachel VanDuzer | Actor, off my chest.
Born-and-raised in Hamilton, Ontario Rachel is an actor and theatre creator with an avid passion for travel and writing in the Toronto area. She is a recent graduate of the Theatre and Drama Studies joint program between Sheridan College and the University of Toronto where she graduated with High Distinction and was awarded the Silver Medal for academic excellence. Some of her recent credits include The Ties that Bind and Gag (Toronto Fringe Festival) Girls Like That (Tarragon Theatre), Hedda Gabler, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Comedy of Errors, How to Make Love in a Canoe (Theatre Erindale), The Second Self (Edmonton Fringe Festival), With/Out the Lens (Re:Current Theatre). Film/TV: Marine Disasters (Investigation Discovery), Three Identical Strangers (Saloon Media), and upcoming horror feature, Lifechanger.
Check out www.rachelvanduzer.com for upcoming projects!

Ty Sloane| Actor, off my chest.
Ty (Tyler J) Sloane is a mixed race (Ojibwa/East-Asian/Irish/Iberian) and Queer (Two-Spirit/Non-Binary) multidisciplinary artist. Ty has a focus in performance art as well as theatre having previous participated in: Pride Toronto festival stages for political public performances with the Switch Residency and the Burlesque stage, in the Paprika Festival as a director (Witness of Obsession and Desire), as an actor at Factory Theatre (Scanner), and is presently working with the Switch Project Residency through Buddies In Bad Times which focuses on political performance for the fall. As an artist Ty continues to unpack many intersectionalities within their community and identity, and further develop their own understanding and journey on how identity and live performance intersect and marry. Ty's grateful for the various supports from the community, friends, their partner, and most importantly their mum. Miigwetch.

Aidan Shepherd | Stage Manager, Vitals
Aidan Shepherd is a Toronto based technician that is now breaking into the world of stage managing. He debuted with TPM backspace Patrons Pick, Everyone Wants A T-Shirt! in the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival. He has been a technician for Toronto Fringe since 2011 and is looking forward to the next adventure. A big thanks to everyone at Theatre Born Between and Vitals for a great show!

Laura Jabalee Johnston | Executive Producer, Vitals
Laura is an independent producer whose recent theatrical productions include Liars at a Funeral (Truth'n'Lies Theatre), Still (Binocular Theatre), The Clean House (Alumnae Theatre), and Circle Mirror Transformation (Play Practice Collective). As the business affairs manager at Secret Location, she works full time in the Canadian digital content industry, with past business affairs work (at Bizable Media) included on multiple seasons of Canadian television (Saving Hope, Burden of Truth, The Detail, Future History, Hard Rock Medical, Alias Grace.)
Whether for the stage or for screen, Laura's focus is always in support of creators. Thrilled to be EPing with the team on Vitals, she is also currently producing Sophia Fabiilli's next short film Shut Up, John Cusack. A graduate of the Theatre and Drama Studies Program, UofT Mississauga / Sheridan College, and a repeat jury member of the T.O. WebFest, Laura is also the proud co-organizer of the Feminist Debaters fundraising event, a live night of laughter and debate in support of emerging female playwrights and comediennes.

Graham Conway | Actor, Beneath the Bed
Graham Conway is a Toronto based theatre artist, teacher, and proud graduate of the George Brown Theatre School. Recent stage credits include Oberon in Ill Met By Moonlight (Pointed Cap Playhouse), Captain Hook in Peter Pan (Bad Hats/Soulpepper, Dora Awards for Outstanding Production and Best Ensemble), and Miles in The Drawer Boy (Passe Muraille). This is Graham's second year at the Toronto Fringe, after winning Patron's Pick last summer in Tony Award Winner Lisa Lambert's brand new drag musical The Ding Dong Girls!

Erin Humphry | Actor, Beneath the Bed
Erin Humphry has been living, creating, and recreationally protesting in Toronto for 5 years. This is her first ever Fringe show! Theatre credits include the Toronto premiere of Laura Wade’s Breathing Corpses (Coal Mine Theatre), Bombers: Reaping the Whirlwind(4th Line Theatre), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Hart House Theatre), and A Wake for Lost Time([elephants] Collective). Erin is always excited to be a part of new and inclusive theatre, and cannot wait to share this piece.

Keaton Kwok | Actor, Beneath the Bed
Keaton Kwok is a Toronto based artist who has been living and working in the city for the past year since graduating from the University of Windsor. Previously he has worked with House + Body on their 2018 workshop production of "Marry Me Marry Me Marry Me Marry Me."

Elizabeth Staples | Actor, Beneath the Bed
Elizabeth Staples is performance artist and theatre creator who was born and raised in Toronto. She graduated from Humber College’s Theatre Performance Program. Recent credits include Follow Me (Toronto Fringe/SURGE Theatre), Witness of Obsession and Desire (Paprika Festival), Trash Sanctuary (xLq), White Girls in Moccasins (Rhubarb Festival), Surplus Party Guest (Elephants Collective/VSVSVS), Terra Incognita (Doc Now), and The Stranger (Summerworks/DopoLavoroTeatrale). Elizabeth is interested in devised, physical theatre that is queer centered, has social conscious and is covered in glitter.

Lindsay Wu | Actor, Beneath the Bed
Lindsay Wu is a performer graduated from Theatre and Drama Studies at University of Toronto and Sheridan college. Her recent theatre credits include: Elvira in Blithe Spirit; Eurydice and Midas' Daughter in Metamorphoses; Lady Nijo in Top Girls.

Lucas Penner | Composer, Beneath the Bed
Lucas Penner is an actor-writer-musician-producer and is the Artistic Director of the Dead and Lovely Collective, a group that seeks to bring together the indie music and theatre scenes. With the Dead and Lovely Collective: A Cabaret (The Central), Circles (The Cameron House and Commons Theatre), and Circles: In Concert (Lula Lounge). Lucas is currently developing Circles with plans for a 2020 remount. Other highlights include: Flying Hearts (Theatre Direct), A Night to Forget (Musical Stage Company Workshop), Meant (Under Pressure Productions), The Miserable Worm (Let Me In Theatre) and Oksana G. (Tapestry Opera). Lucas is proficient at guitar, bass, mandolin, ukulele, piano, accordion and glockenspiel.

Caitlin Brenneman | Stage Manager, Beneath the Bed
Caitlin Brenneman is a third year student in the Ryerson Performance Production program specializing in stage management and technical direction. Selected stage management credits include: The Doll Play (Witchboy Theatre and Blood Pact Theatre); The Scarborough Project (Tarragon Theatre); Reasons to Be Pretty (RTBP Co); and Nasty (Maelstrom Art Collective).