the red light district is composed of a core group of artists who have been working together long enough to know:
- exactly what’s involved in the construction of a cardboard-and-tinfoil-based robot that also dispenses panties
- the mouthwatering taste of cold fish sticks and whipped cream mixed together all nice-like
- how important it is to rake up the condoms and syringes before being violently killed on them
- how to dance wearing anything and everything but active and/or dance wear
over the years, we of the red light district have been committed to involving other artists in our creative processes – fresh minds and new ideas keep our work vital, energetic and challenging. though the following are the nucleus of our company, our guest artists have helped shape who we are, what we do, and why we do it.
leadership
ted witzel.
catherine dunn.
cat owen.
kerry freek.
collective
eve wylden.
reid linforth.
lauren gillis.
marcel dragonieri.
erin telegdi.
sj thiessen.
zachary gray.
linn øyen farley.
guest artist
ted witzel: artistic director (co-founder).
taedon witztl doesn’t live here anymore.
ted witzel is co-founder and artistic director of the red light district, an undertaking which has required his very small car to transport bundles of sticks, roast chickens, bales of straw (numbering 38), circus equipment, baroque waistcoats, all manner of lighting equipment, gas cans, robot costumes, gowns made from hula hoops, dead fish, and stolen construction materials.
for the red light district, ted directs, acts, writes, lights, organizes, dramaturgs, cajoles, coerces, and generally orchestrates. director / dog (the WITCH of edmonton, summerworks 2010), director / translator (WOYZECK, 2010), alceste (THE MISANTHROPE, 2009), director (METHUSALEM or the eternal bourgeois, 2009), director / simon (IVONA princess of burgundia, 2008), director (titus andronicus! 2007).
a graduate of the university college drama program, ted’s interest in theatre bridges a variety of disciplines but is focused largely on directing and acting. for the last two years, ted has divided his time between canada and germany, where he has received grants from the goethe institut and the province of baden-württemberg to work as a director’s assistant at theatres throughout the country, including the bad hersfelder festspielen, staatstheater stuttgart, theater ingolstadt, and the maxim gorki theater berlin, with directors such as sebastian baumgarten, armin petras, and longtime friend and mentor johanna schall.
ted is currently located in toronto.
catherine dunn. artistic director and educational co-ordinator.
catherine dunn is a graduate of the university college drama program, a drop-out of clown skool, and a founding member of the red light district. since its inception, catherine has contributed to the red
light district on as many levels as there are in existence; this includes acting, directing, producing, stage managing, and a side of everything else. outside the red light district, catherine is pursuing her degree in education at the university of toronto and teaching english to newly immigrated canadians who are considered “high-risk”, easing their transition from one society to another.
for the red light district: director (the WITCH of edmonton), producer (WOYZECK), duboise / assistant director (THE MISANTHROPE), assistant director (IVONA princess of burgundia), the clown (titus andronicus!).
cat owen. technical director.
a graduate in theatre production and english from the university of toronto, catherine owen is thrilled to be continuing her work with the red light district.
selected past credits: stage manager for ghost light projects’ debbie does dallas the musical, and hedwig and the angry inch. stage manager for the pheasant plucker’s mates’ politically correct bedtime stories (best of fringe 2009), the anger in ernest and ernestine, and the king stag. stage manager for theatre recap’s the last lighthouse and witch hazel.
for the red light district: technical director, stage manager for titus andronicus! and IVONA princess of burgundia, production co-ordinator for METHUSALEM or the eternal bourgeois, stage manager for THE MISANTHROPE and stage manger for WOYZECK.
kerry freek. producer.
kerry freek has a formal education in cultural management and in past years has worked for not-for-profit arts organizations and arts-focused consulting firms.
by day, kerry edits magazines and writes in toronto. she is not an actor, but has a tendency to be melodramatic.
eve wylden.
after previously studying in england, eve graduated from u of t’s acting program and has since been trying unsuccessfully to pay off student loans. most recently, eve created, produced, and starred in a one-(and a half)woman show called miss toronto gets a life in parkdale at the theatre centre. past credits include: save us!!! (hamletown) (harbourfront HATCH), the lion that roared meow (solar stage), conscientia (new ideas festival), brecht: 50 years after (UCDP/piccolo teatro di milano), a servant of two masters (nuit blanche 2006), doctor barnardo’s children (4th line theatre), the mousetrap (toronto truck), and beautiful city (alumnae). notable facts: eve is a holistic nutritionist and an ardent pit bull advocate.
for the red light district: tamora in titus andronicus!, menina/beggar/aunt/slut/lady-in-waiting in IVONA princess of burgundia, célimène in THE MISANTHROPE, doctor in woyzeck, carter in the WITCH of edmonton.
reid linforth.
reid is a graduate of the university college drama program at the university of toronto, and of the faculty of education at york university. reid’s previous credits include lelio in sganarelle (the elephant band theatre), guildenstern in hamlet and claudio in much ado about nothing (barndoor productions). in film, reid was the lead in no tomato film’s “pretentious student art film.”
for the red light district reid met a new friend (named splinter) as the rat man in titus andronicus!, almost got married but had fish instead as prince philip in IVONA princess of burgundia, and may or may not have worn a dress and a unitard as aunt emmy and felix methusalem in METHUSALEM or the eternal bourgeois. reid also climbed on chairs in the audience as philinte in THE MISANTHROPE, hung for twenty minutes from a hoop as the title role in WOYZECK, and, most recently, ran about on a hobby horse and died for it as cuddy banks in the WITCH of edmonton.
lauren gillis.
lauren gillis is currently completing a double major in drama and neuroscience at the university of toronto. she studies performance, production and directing at the university college drama program while tinkering with mouse models of narcolepsy and epilepsy elsewhere on campus. she had the opportunity to combine these interests earlier this year working with the room on their harbourfront HATCH workshop red machine: under the knife. this fall at the UCDP she will be serving as assistant technical director and making her directorial debut with euripides’ alkestis. lauren enjoys repetition and horse-themed items.
for the red light district: the lord chamberlain in IVONA princess of burgundia, ida methusalem/mr. & mrs. katgut/the jokebot in METHUSALEM or the eternal bourgeois, marie in WOYZECK, somerton in the WITCH of edmonton.
marcel dragonieri.
marcel dragonieri is an actor, writer and performance graduate of the university college drama program where he worked with renowned director johanna schall on both frederich schiller’s the robbers (UCDP) and i <3 future, a collaborative piece that was performed at the piccolo di teatro in milan, italy. in 2009 he performed in the fringe play politically correct bedtime stories (the pheasant plucker’s mates). the show was awarded tarragon’s patron’s pick as well as a “best of the festival” performance spot at canstage’s berkeley street theatre.
within the last few years he has toured extensively across ontario with metaphysical theatre’s fool’s gold, a play that introduces high school audiences to the form and style of the commedia dell’arte. he is also a performer and teacher with the zanni arte company, which strives to create, teach and promote masked theatre in all its various forms.
marcel also plays for vanguard comedy theatre (an exciting new comedy company) as both an improviser for the sequels and a writer/performer for sketch troupe colonel. mustard. he has worked at numerous events and outdoor festivals including both luminato and nuit blanche over various years and also, more recently for the DARE arts program. in addition to his work in the theatre, marcel is also a visual artist with a secret passion for comics and poster design. he tries in vain to work on his various side projects in the small pockets of time between shows.
for the red light district: methusalem in METHUSALEM or the eternal bourgeois, oronte in THE MISANTHROPE, the captain in WOYZECK, and thorney in the WITCH of edmonton.
erin telegdi. education co-ordinator and production design.
one half of the red light district costume design and construction team.
graduate of the university of toronto , major in socio-cultural anthropology and minors in english literature and hungarian studies. makes a living as a professional medical education event coordinator. extensive volunteer experience with various toronto faith-based organizations (churches, if you will).
creative/artistic experience includes, but is not limited to: writing (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc), crochet, sewing, jewelry-making, stained glass, makeup design, collage, sculpture, weaving, hair styling, doll-making.
work with the red light district includes: various and sundry administrative support (copy editing, grant writing, dramaturgy, etc) as well as costume design and construction for titus andronicus!, IVONA, princess of burgudia, METHUSALEM or the eternal bourgeois, WOYZECK, and the WITCH of edmonton.
likes: making men wear belly tops, super gluing things to other things, kindness.
dislikes: loud talkers, safe art, pride.
long-term goals include: being a good person, keeping busy, becoming an ordained minister, working in faith-based international outreach program development.
sj thiessen. production design.
when she’s not reading or working a bookstore, sj enjoys creating/designing all manner of things. costumes for the red light district ranks high on her list of favorite endeavors primarily because of the collaborative and purposeful process involved. past costume projects include closer (VCDS), “old man” (an independent film by douglas linton naylor III), and costumes and set decor for anml haus (a multimedia dance project for george allister).
for the red light district: costumes for titus andronicus!, IVONA princess of burgundia, WOYZECK, the WITCH of edmonton and costumes, robots and puppets for METHUSALEM or the eternal bourgeois.
zachary gray. media design.
zachary gray is many things: twenty-three years old, canadian, male, bipedal… and these are merely descriptors of his person, never mind his music. based in montreal and a graduate of ryerson university, zachary studied film; despite his proficiency with a camera (video, still, or otherwise), zachary much preferred to score the short films of his friends and classmates. he proceeded to shape and sculpt the majority of his cinematic pieces into pop songs, forming his debut release, perfect day. after four years of furtive nighttime recording sessions, zachary achieved EP. beyond his solo work, zachary is also one half of cinéma verité, with montréal-based musician guillaume harvey, and washed hands, his collaboration with electronic artist aaron munson.
outside of his own music projects, zachary also continues to create scores and soundtracks for film and theatre. recently zachary created the soundtracks for johanna schall’s acclaimed production of THE MISANTHROPE (the red light district), and provided a track for a sook-yin lee cbc short entitled “orange.”
for the red light district: media design for titus andronicus!, IVONA princess of burgundia, METHUSALEM or the eternal bourgeois, THE MISANTHROPE, WOYZECK, and the WITCH of edmonton. also, innocent in IVONA princess of burgundia, lighting design for METHUSALEM or the eternal bourgeois, dj dubois / sound design for THE MISANTHROPE, and musical arrangements and harmonium for WOYZECK.
linn øyen farley. web design.
a recent graduate of the university college drama program, where she specialised in lighting & set design. moonlights as a website designer. favourite pasttimes include and/or involve IKEA, inappropriately coloured clothing and bacon.
selected credits: set & costume design for alkestis (uc drama 2010); lighting design for monkey sci-fi horror theatre II (monkeyman productions 2010), my gaza, ’tis of thee (pandemic theatre 2010), as five years pass (with peter freund, uc drama 2010), the (abridged) adventures of ali & ali and the axes of evil (uc drama 2009). upcoming: lighting design for mahmoud (pandemic theatre 2011).
for the red light district: website design & development; lighting technician for THE MISANTHROPE, lighting design for WOYZECK.
johanna schall. guest artist.
johanna schall, like many of the world’s most famous racehorses, greyhounds, and dead monarchs, has a fine pedigree. the granddaughter of bertolt brecht and helene weigel (who, by the way, was a lovely grandmother and did not walk around towing a cart and suffering all the time), schall did everything she could to avoid a career in the theatre. archeology, sponge-bathing old people, dancing with wolves—but eventually she answered the call of the stage and joined ranks with the degenerate scoundrels more commonly referred to as actors. she worked for fifteen years at the deutsches theater in berlin with famed directors such as alexander lang, thomas landhoff, frank castorf and heiner müller. she will tell you with pride that she did not walk into many immovable objects during that time.
eventually, sometime in the mid-nineties, johanna got tired of playing pretty blonde girls who end up all covered in blood, and tried her hand at directing. needless to say, it went well, and she has since directed numerous productions throughout germany, and served for five years as the artistic director of the volkstheater in rostock, germany. schall’s theatre is physical, dynamic, visual, and visceral; equal parts profound and trashy.
in 2007, schall came to toronto to teach as guest professor in acting and directing, where she directed an energetic and exciting production of schiller’s the robbers and i <3 future a devised piece on futurism which was presented at the piccolo teatro di milano. in april 2009, schall returned to toronto to direct a shrill and yet widely-acclaimed production of molière’s THE MISANTHROPE for the red light district at the drake hotel.
schall currently freelances out of berlin. she has recently directed acclaimed productions of orpheus in der unterwelt (staatstheater am gärtnerplatz), mutter courage und ihre kinder (theater vorpommern), and münschhausen (volkstheater rostock). this spring she will be directing her own adaptation of bulgakov’s der meister und margarita at theater ingolstadt.
for the red light district: artistic advisor, director (THE MISANTHROPE), translator and dramaturg (WOYZECK).
past collaborators:
paul bansal (the WITCH of edmonton)
devon bhim (WOYZECK)
michael-david blostein (the WITCH of edmonton)
alex champlin (titus andronicus!)
martha chomyn (WOYZECK)
val cina (titus andronicus!, IVONA, the WITCH of edmonton)
hilary connell (IVONA)
thomas davis (titus andronicus!)
cam davis (THE MISANTHROPE)
julian dezotti (WOYZECK)
spencer evoy (IVONA, THE MISANTHROPE)
conor hall (WOYZECK)
jonah hundert (the WITCH of edmonton)
alaine hutton (IVONA)
mina james (IVONA, THE MISANTHROPE, the WITCH of edmonton)
tristan johnston (titus andronicus!, METHUSALEM, WOYZECK)
ron kelly (the WITCH of edmonton)
kevin kline (titus andronicus!)
janina kowalski (METHUSALEM, WOYZECK)
samya kullab (WOYZECK)
andrea kwan (the WITCH of edmonton)
kat letwin (titus andronicus!, IVONA, METHUSALEM, THE MISANTHROPE, WOYZECK, the WITCH of edmonton)
sonia lindner (titus andronicus!)
alexi marchel (METHUSALEM)
mariana medellin-meinke (WOYZECK)
jessica moss (the WITCH of edmonton)
anj mulligan (THE MISANTHROPE, WOYZECK)
jiv parasram (METHUSALEM, THE MISANTHROPE, WOYZECK)
sophie paterson (titus andronicus!)
di pfeffer (WOYZECK)
maarika pinkney (IVONA, METHUSALEM)
simon rainville (THE MISANTHROPE)
ben ross (titus andronicus!)
christopher ross (WOYZECK, the WITCH of edmonton)
whitney ross-barris (WOYZECK)
teague russell (IVONA)
una ruud saxvik (THE MISANTHROPE)
steve savage (WOYZECK)
mairin smit (THE MISANTHROPE)
grace smith (the WITCH of edmonton)
brian solomon (WOYZECK, the WITCH of edmonton)
tina sterling (titus andronicus!)
briana templeton (titus andronicus, IVONA, METHUSALEM)
daina valiulis (IVONA)
mike vitorovich (titus andronicus!)
james wallis (titus andronicus!)
sarah warren (titus andronicus!)
