Jon and I met in the early 90’s at the University of Waterloo where he was among the students who, years later, performed in The Laramie Project, the play that launched Studio 180 Theatre.
Following his training at the National Theatre School of Canada, we worked together again on Our Class. Many seasons followed at the Stratford Festival, where he continues to perform. Among his many festival credits are Henry VIII, The Music Man, Orpheus Descending and Hamlet.
Elsewhere, Jon has worked at the Blyth Festival, Canadian Stage and Soulpepper.
Law and Order: Toronto, Republic of Doyle, Murdoch Mysteries and Nikita represent some of Jon’s tv and film work.
Paul juggles a career as playwright and actor with effortless dexterity. Having trained at the National Theatre School, Paul understands the value of being both on and offstage, although as a playwright it can be fairly argued that he is as present as anyone, maybe even more so.
Paul’s capacity to move between classical and new work is further proof of a natural affinity for stages of all kinds. Many seasons at Stratford have included roles such as Bottom, Lancelot Gobbo and Donalbain. Elsewhere, Paul has worked with Factory Theatre (Toronto), National Arts Centre, Centaur Theatre (Montreal), Tarragon Theatre and the Citadel Theatre (Edmonton).
Playwright credits include The Gay Heritage Project, High Gravel Blind and Offensive Shadows.
Among the country’s most versatile actors, Nora has performed in every style, just about everywhere in Canada.
Listing many of her theatre credits will illustrate her range: Measure for Measure (Arts Club, Vancouver), John (Company Theatre, Toronto), For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again (Persephone Theatre, Saskatoon), The Matchmaker (Stratford Festival), The Heiress (Shaw Festival), The Stone Angel (Canadian Stage), Hello, Dolly (Citadel Theatre, Edmonton).
Nora’s work in film and television has included Son of a Critch, Cardinal, Saving Hope, Orphan Black and The Associates.
Matthew has worked in both opera and theatre for the past 20 years. Born in Canada, Matthew has spent much of his professional life in Europe, where his theatrical work includes the French-language premieres of Dancing at Lughnasa, by Brian Friel, Nightingale and Our country’s Good, by Timberlake Wertenbaker. His translation of Fernando Krapp Wrote Me This Letter, by Tankred Dorst, was among his first projects as Artistic Director at Canadian Stage. (He continued as Artistic and General Director until June 2018.)
After spending 3 seasons as Resident Director at the opera studio of the Paris Opera-La Bastille, he was appointed Director of the Atelier du Chin, in Colmar, France. Numerous opera productions include Larmes de Couteau and Alexandre Bis by Bohuslav Martinu, Lucia di Lammermoor (Oper Frankfurt), and Die Trilogie dee Frauen (Staatsoper Hamburg).
Matthew was named Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture in July 2008.
Multi award-winning actor, Rosemary’s resume is its own mini-series. The range of her theatre, television and film credits is more than this brief snapshot can fairly provide.
I first saw Rosemary at the Centaur Theatre, in Montreal, where her performance in Wit stays with me still. Raw, uncompromising, visceral — all these words barely convey the power she brought to the stage. Additionally, she has performed in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Tartuffe, King Charles III, Fallen Angels and A Streetcar Named Desire.
Television performances include Fellow Travellers, Street Legal, Orphan Black, This is Wonderland and The Road to Avonlea. Total Recall, Twins and Dreamcatcher are but a few of the many films in which Rosemary has performed.
Ronnie is one of Canada’s foremost theatre artists, credited with creating some of the world’s most elaborate and provocative puppetry. Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes was formed in 1986, continuously playing to great critical and public acclaim on Canada’s major stages, and as a guest company on numerous international tours abroad.
Among Ronnie’s many awards as playwright, actor and designer, are the 2009 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre and The Herbert Whittaker Drama Bench Award for outstanding Contribution to Canadian Theatre.
International acclaim has included the Village Voice Obie Award, the GLAAD Award for Outstanding Theater, four Citations of Excellence in the Arts of Puppetry from the American Center of the Union Internationale de la Marionette.
In 2019 Ronnie was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2024 he received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre. He is the recipient of the Emmy Award for Excellence in Puppetry.
To learn more and to discover Ronnie’s full professional biography, check him out at johnlambert.ca.
Currently Co-Artistic Director of Harold Green Jewish Theatre, Avery has an extensive resume as an actor both in Canada and beyond.
In Canada, Avery’s performed in Guys & Dolls, Annie Get Your Gun, Hairspray, Sunset Boulevard and Little Shop of Horrors.
Internationally, Avery was seen in Man of La Mancha, Candide, Pirates of Penzance and The Pajama Game among many others.
Thanks to Zieglerwealth.com -- and continued thanks to all those who help, and have helped, to keep Life in Stages moving forward since our launch exactly one year ago, I'm thrilled to introduce you to this season's sponsor -- and Life in Stage's first season sponsor, in fact: http://Zieglerwealth.com, owned by Tim Zeigler, contacted me during Season 2 with his generous offer to support the podcast. That he found me without my having to figure out how/where sponsors hide out, is all the more delightful.
Introducing each of my guests is one of the challenges coordinating the roster for Life in Stages. The artists who accept my invitation to sit down and talk about their professional and personal stories represent the finest artists in the country. Each background is rich, varied, intriguing.
Jimmy Mezon is no exception — in fact, his depth and range are nothing short of intimidating. And I’ve had the good fortune to see him play in as wide a range of theatrical styles as one can imagine. There’s nothing he cannot do and, in fact, has not done.
A foundational presence at the Shaw Festival has included roles in St. Joan, The Madness of King George, The Intellectual Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism, Faith Healer, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Pygmalion, Nothing Sacred, The Seagull and Translations.
His performance in Picnic remains a standout for me - a role that played against so many strong, powerful characters that have dominated his stage career.
Film and television credits include Workin’ Moms, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries, Passchendaele, Road to Avonlea and Dieppe.
Joel Greenberg has an announcement to make regarding a third season of Life in Stages.
Welcome to the final episode in Series 2 – but please note that Series 3 is on its way.
This week, our guest host is Jody Howze. I met Jody in the mid-80’s when she was a student in the Theatre Programme at Humber College and I was the Programme Director. After graduating from Humber, Jody performed in several professional productions that I directed.
Our friendship has continued as we’ve followed different paths, and since launching Life in Stages, Jody has provided many insights about the project. At the same time, she has asked many questions that attest to her careful attention to all my guests’ conversations.
Rather than restricting Jody’s comments and questions to our one-on-one chats, I invited her to step into the Host chair for this episode. I can’t think of a more fitting way to conclude Series 2.
Robert Thomson may be among the busiest and most sought-after actors in the country. “May”? Change that to ‘Is”.
His list of accomplishments is as long as it is varied, which is to say that it’s mighty long. Theatre, film, television – he has mastered them all, and his commitment has taken him behind the scenes of projects that are fueled by a passion with no restraint.
In our conversation, you’ll also learn that Robert’s career extends well beyond performing and engages with timely social and political causes. It’s no back-handed compliment to add that Robert is among the most Canadian of personalities that I’ve had the very good fortune to have met and to have worked with. Listen to all that he has to say in Episode 26 – this is time very well spent.
Seana is yet one more guest whose professional resume approaches the magnitude of an anthology. It’s entirely accurate to say that she has done just about everything that one can imagine an actor accomplishing. Trained at the National Theatre School, Seana has played every major theatre in the country, has added film and television to her credits, and has achieved star status in a country that too often prides itself as a country with no start system at all. I think that Seana puts a lie to that tiresome boast.
I’ve known Allen for more than 20 years, but until we met recently, I had no idea that, in addition to being Artistic Director at both Young People’s Theatre, Toronto, and the Prairie Theatre Exchange, Winnipeg, his career as an actor was his principal focus.
As another guest who came up through the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre School, Allen reinforces the fact that this was a first-rate training ground. And as he discusses the path he followed, a path that is as geographical as it is developmental, we travel from the West right across the country with substantial stops along the way. Finally, it’s Toronto that has claimed Allen as one of its own, and I know that you’ll find our conversation both engaging and revealing.
Anyone fortunate enough to have seen “Blind Date” has already met Rebecca Northan, although speaking with her is an altogether calmer experience than watching her interact with an audience. Speaking with her from Edmonton, where she was on tour with “Goblin: Macbeth”, I learned that clown work is merely one of many skills that Rebecca has developed throughout her career.
Second City, in Toronto and on tour, was her opportunity to refine both her writing and her audience engagement chops. And as an actor, i.e., one who can actually learn others’ lines of dialogue and create a character without a red nose, Rebecca is as committed and focussed as she is when she is creating her own work and, by extension, her own world.
Tom has as varied a resume as any actor you are ever likely to encounter. In fact, when we first started our conversation, I said that I felt an urgency to cover enough ground to fairly represent him. Tom’s easy manner removed any concern I may have had.
We talked soon after he had returned from Ottawa, where he was performing in “Salesman in China”, the same production that premiered at the Stratford Festival this past season. Back home, where he is always happy to spend time, Tom discussed the early influences that helped to shape both his dreams and his approach to the work that would define his professional life. He pays special tribute to many of the people with whom he has worked and from whom he has continued to learn.
Maria began her career (and her life) in the United States. But once she had a taste of life in Canada, both personal and professional, Toronto soon became her home base. And I met Maria when we worked together on a production of “Lend Me a Tenor”, at Theatre Aquarius – and that was probably about 30 years ago. Maria has worked in every medium and she has criss-crossed the performing landscape with an enviable agility.
Our conversation ranges from early influences in Chicago and at the Stratford Festival. Maria discusses the perennial artist’s challenge with finding a balance between work and family – and the added challenge of career when the family is grown and no longer the daily focus. So, a chatty segment of today’s conversation might be titled Life After Active Parenting.
Nancy is originally from Winnipeg, studied at Queen’s University and then trained at The National Theatre School, in Montreal. She was among the first members of the Young Company at the Stratford Festival, which soon led to the creation of Soulpepper Theatre Company, of which Nancy is a founding member. (She continues to represent the Founding Members on the Soulpepper Board.)
Nancy has worked across the country, although her base continues to be in Toronto. Anyone who has attended theatre in the city has seen Nancy in many productions in many venues. Nancy has worked in film and television, although she is quick to point out that at almost 6-feet tall, casting directors have tended to overlook her.
Jonathan and I met at an audition. I didn’t cast him, but I knew that I wanted to work with him one day. Before I had that opportunity, I saw My Own Private Oshawa, his revelatory solo play about his escape to Toronto and his life as a young gay man finding his way.
The Normal Heart and My Night with Reg are recent plays that, finally, allowed us the shameless pleasure of working together. Jonathan has much more to fill in between arriving in Toronto and working with Studio 180 Theatre – tune into this episode and listen as Jonathan guides you through the path that he created for himself.
Morris’s recollection of how discovering theatre transformed him is both moving and chuckle-worthy. Like so many of my guests, he underlines that, for him, the work is a necessity. For survival, sure, but much, much more than that: Morris makes it clear, without having to say it literally, that he cannot be doing anything else with his professional life.
Playwright, director, actor – Morris works, and has worked, across the country and beyond. His more than 100 theatre and opera productions are balanced by an enviable body of plays, many of which have received national and international productions. Morris is the recipient of the Governor General’s Award for Drama – in 1994 for The Ends of the Earth and in 2004 for Girl in the Goldfish Bowl.