Ash Rizin
By Michael P. Northey and Kyprios
In association with Green Thumb Theatre


Toby Berner - DJ

Toby Berner is so happy to be back with Green Thumb Theatre for Ash Rizin.  Toby's first professional gig out of theater school was a US/Canada tour of Peacemaker and New Kid with Patrick MacDonald and Green Thumb. Since graduating from Studio 58, Toby has done everything from improv and sketch comedy to musical theatre and drama. Highlights include the Canadian premiere of Morris Panych's The Dishwashers at the Arts Club Theatre and most recently Hard Core Logo LIVE! with Theatre Network in Edmonton where he played the drummer Pipefitter. This is Toby's first production with ATP.



Johanne Deleeuw - Production Stage Manager

Johanne is a free-lance stage manager, director and dramaturge who is proud to make her home in Calgary. In recent years, she has stage managed for One Yellow Rabbit, Vertigo Theatre, Ground Zero and Sage Theatre. Her directing work has been seen, among other places, at Vertigo, Lunchbox Theatre and here at ATP, where she directed the production of A Boy’s Own Jedi Handbook. Johanne also works as an administrator in the arts and other non-profit sectors. Currently, she works with Calgary’s Green Fools Theatre and The Asian Heritage Foundation, where she is coordinating programming for Asian Heritage Month in May 2012. This is Johanne’s first time as a stage manager with ATP and her first experience working on the Enbridge playRites Festival and she is having a blast! 


Corwin Ferguson - Video/Projection Design

Corwin, Vancouver based, is thrilled to be designing another show with Alberta Theatre Projects. Projection credits include such companies as: Studio 58, The Virtual Stage, The Vancouver Playhouse, The Arts Club, Chemanius Theatre, The Electric Company. Corwin’s a co-founding director of Awkward Stage Productions, and works as a youth instructor in theatre, digital and visual arts for The Arts Umbrella. Professional theatre experience includes acting, projection design, stage management, graphic and props design. Recent projection credits: Anything Goes and Bye Bye Birdie (Theatre Under the Stars), 1984 (Studio 58/Virtual Stage). Corwin is a Studio 58 acting graduate.



David Fraser - Lighting Design

The 2012 Enbridge playRites Festival will mark David’s eight year as the festival’s lighting designer at the Martha Cohen Theatre. Other previous designs with the company include the set and lighting for The Goat, and The Syringa Tree, the lighting for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Unity (1918) and twenty-five other world premieres tucked into seven years of festivals here at Alberta Theatre Projects. As an Edmonton-based artist, David works extensively in theatre, dance and opera. His theatrical work has been seen across the country from The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, to The Belfry Theatre in Victoria, and his designs in dance have been seen both nationally and internationally with Edmonton based Choreographer Tania Alvarado. He has been nominated for a Betty Mitchell and a Jessie Richardson award for his lighting designs. In Edmonton, David has also been nominated for nine Sterling Hanes awards for both set and lighting, and he has been the recipient once for his lighting design with Theatre Network. David is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.


Laurel Green - Assistant Dramaturg

Laurel Green (Assistant Dramaturg, Production Dramaturg for Ash Rizin) joins the Alberta Theatre Project’s team from Toronto where she lent her energy to many arts organizations, most recently as the Producer & Dramaturg for Playground Studios, Artistic Associate - Rhubarb Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and as an Associate Producer for the SummerWorks Festival.  Some of her favourite projects include helping to build the interactive media installation The ToyBox with Playground Studios, writing and directing Arm’s Lenght (SummerWorks Festival) and Fish And For Dessert (Toronto Fringe Festival), dramaturging the cross-country Fringe favourite Balls! (Ten Foot Pole Productions), and filing theatre reviews while traveling in Australia and New Zealand.



Aaron Hursh - Ash

Aaron is very grateful for the opportunity to work with the ATP and Green Thumb gang on this exciting new script.  Recent theatre credits include Buffalos (Tant per Tant), Dying City (Fire in the Hole Productions), The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Persephone Theatre),  A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare on the SK) and Bad Jazz (Theatre Ecstasis) in Saskatoon and The Pillowman (Wild Geese Co-op) in Vancouver.  Aaron earned his BFA in acting from the University of Saskatchewan in 2007 and received the Saskatoon and Area Theatre Award for Outstanding Performance in 2011 for Dying City.  Upcoming work includes The December Man (Fire in the Hole Productions), a webseries called Mila's Fountain (Homeside Productions) and series development for a project called Zombie! (Hulo Films)


Marcie Januska - Stage Manager

Marcie has been a Calgary-based Stage Manager for over 10 years.  Previously at playRites: Heartbreaker, The Romeo Initiative, Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre, The Clockmaker, The Good Egg, The Gift of the Coat, that elusive spark, Hippies and Bolsheviks, Picking up Chekhov.  Also at ATP: The Last Dog of War, Communion, East of Berlin, Rabbit Hole, Peter Pan.  Most recently, Marcie stage-managed This is What Happens Next for Necessary Angel Theatre, on tour at The Citadel in Edmonton.  Marcie has also worked at Vertigo Theatre, Lunchbox Theatre, Crow's Theatre at Theatre Junction, Theatre Calgary and Ground Zero Theatre.  She has also worked at The Banff Centre, as a stage manager of a number of new works and as Company Manager for the Opera as Theatre Program.  Next for Marcie is Vertigo Theatre's Rope.  Marcie is grateful to Scott and David for all the laughs over the years.


Kyle Jespersen - Gat

Kyle is a native Calgarian but is now based in Vancouver, where he graduated from the Studio 58 conservatory. He most recently appeared on an Alberta stage in 2011, playing Rick in The Rick Hansen Story at the Citadel. Also, his play Manley Dunn was produced at Sage Theatre's 2011 Ignite! Festival. Kyle is happy to be working in assocation with Green Thumb again, as he received a 2008 Jessie award for their Vancouver production of Steel Kiss (also directed by Patrick McDonald). Having worked as far as Victoria (Belfry) to the west and Winnipeg (MTYP) to the east, he is excited to be getting back to his Calgary roots for ATP's production of Ash Rizin. www.kylejespersen.com



Kyprios - Sound/Composition/Playwright

$100,500 was recently awarded to the influential MC hailing from Vancouver for the Peak Performance radio competition. He was awarded the prize even though he was the only MC in an alternative rock radio competition. Kyprios studied theatre at UVIC and Gastown Actors studio before dropping out and pursuing a career as a working artist in NYC. There he studied theatre at HB Studios whilst cutting his teeth in rap battles and slam poetry competitions. His controversial spoken word piece Hate caught the attention of Sony Music who signed the multi-faceted artist to a recording contract. Kyprios has received four Juno nominations as a solo artist and with Sweatshop Union. He has toured North America with the likes of The Black Eyed Peas, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, and The Roots to name a few. He has made numerous appearances in television and film and is one of the voices for Michael Jordan’s website jumpman23.com. Ash Rizin has been an exhilarating experience for him and he is anticipating the release of his next major project The Midnight Sun.


Allison Lynch - Dosha

Allison is a Calgary-based composer and actor. She is beyond excited to be performing once again at ATP with such a fantastic cast and crew! You may have seen her in December flying around Theatre Calgary as the Spirit of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol. Favourite acting credits include: Twisted (Forte/BitterSuite, Betty Mitchell Award, actress in a musical or comedy), Essay (Urban Curvz), The Piper (Downstage), But, this IS my Day Job! (Forte), and Transit Unromantic (ATP). Favourite sound design/ composition credits include: The Penelopiad (ATP, Betty Mitchell nominations for Composition and Musical Direction. Score also used by John Abbot College Montreal, Arts Club Vancouver), Bone Cage (Downstage), Thy Neighbor’s Wife, It Is Solved by Walking, The Russian Play (Urban Curvz). Allison performs around town with her jazz quartet and with Cutest Kitten Ever, rapture-pop band extraordinaire. Thank-you to her parents, Shane, moms and pops, Pottsy, Deborah the cat, and her ridiculously talented husband Braden for their endless love and support!


Patrick McDonald - Director

Patrick McDonald has been the Artistic Director ofVancouver¹s Green Thumb Theatre since 1988. From 1981 to ¹88 he was theArtistic Director of the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa. He has directed over 75 new plays and has won numerous Jessie Richardson Awards including a Career Achievement Award. He has directed the premieres Tough! (George F. Walker), Shape of a Girl (Joan MacLeod), and Girl in a Goldfish Bowl (Morris Panych).



Michael P. Northey - Playwright

Michael P. Northey has acted in many theatre productions, including: Glengarry Glen Ross (Main Street Theatre Company), Mojo (Western Theatre Conspiracy), The Overcoat (The Vancouver Playhouse), Problem Child (Greenthumb Theatre), The Odd Couple (The Arts Club), The Crucible (The Vancouver Playhouse), and the one-man-show Samaritan (Solo Collective). Michael has also written many stage productions, which include: Reservations for Four, Rocket’s Red Glare, A Dog Called Bitch, Reservations For Two, Stuck!, This Fringe Venue Is Now Being Held Hostage, and This Fringe Venue Is Now Being Held Hostage… Again. His play Cranked!, which was commissioned and produced by Greenthumb Theatre, won the 2007 Jessie Award for Best Original Script, played on 42nd Street at The New Victory Theatre in NYC, and toured Canada and the U.S. Michael also works in film, television and radio, as an actor, writer and voice over artist. He is a graduate of Studio 58 and is “amped” to premiere Ash Rizin at ATP… Word.


Ashley Rees - Assistant Stage Manager

Ashley is thrilled to be a part of ATP's 2011/12 season. Past credits include Role Call (Green Thumb Theatre, Vancouver), The Queens, Richard III, Macbeth (The Shakespeare Company, Calgary), Offensive Fouls, Bird Brain (Quest Theatre, Calgary) Special thanks to all my family, friends and dear, dear Stage West family, who have been such a huge support over the last years!





Scott Reid - Set Design

Selected Alberta Theatre Projects credits include: East of Berlin, Half Life, Oliver Twist, Sitting on Paradise, Peter Pan, The Clean House (set and lights), numerous Enbridge playRites Festivals, Treasure Island, Amadeus, Marion Bridge (set and lights), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. Selected design credits include:  The Cunning Little Vixen, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dido & Aeneas (The Banff Centre – Opera Program); Losing Ground (The Banff Centre – Dance Program); Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, Seven Deadly Sins and Songs of a Wayfarer, Requiem (Alberta Ballet/Edmonton Opera); Mom's The Word, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Theatre Calgary), A Raisin In The Sun (Theatre Calgary/Soulpepper Theatre Company), Crimes of the Heart (Theatre Calgary/MTC), And Then There Were None, Rebecca, Evelyn Strange, Blood Relations, Noirville (Vertigo Theatre), The Inventors [projection design], Little Women, Dead Man Walking and Faust (Calgary Opera).


Luc Roderique - Dee Skillz

Originally hailing from Ottawa, Ontario, Luc moved to the west coast to pursue his acting career and now calls Vancouver his home. While working in Vancity, Luc has appeared in such productions as: The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Henry V, Falstaff, Othello, and The Comedy of Errors (Bard on the Beach); Skydive (Realwheels); Are We There Yet? (Neworld); The Hobbit (Carousel); as well as The Ash Girl, The Boy Friend and Richard III (Studio 58). Luc’s film and television credits include: Caprica, Fairly Legal, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Luc is the recipient of one Jessie Richardson Award and is a graduate of Studio 58. Hip-Hop ain’t dead. One love.


Amy Lynn Strilchuk - Assistant Director

Amy comes from theatre, works with words and plays with clothes. After getting her MA in Theatre from UBC, she was the Assistant Dramaturg at ATP from 2006 - 2011, where she read a ton of scripts, developed a bunch of plays, did some assistant directing and project-managed the inaugural Emerging Artists Assembly. She’s developed scripts through Ghost River Theatre, Alberta Playwrights Network, Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre and Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre. As a freelance writer, she’s regularly contributed to calgaryfashion.ca and Conglomerate Magazine (where she was also the Fashion Director from 2010-2011). These days she’s also writing an advice column (www.ladysunday.com), running her personal styling business (prepinyourstep.com) and managing Mealan; a women’s boutique here in Calgary (www.mealan.com). Patrick and Mikey, you are the best - never stop hustlin’. xo  


Ksenia ThurgoodKsenia Thurgood - Clean

During her last year of study at theatre school, Ksenia Thurgood ventured to Calgary to watch the Enbridge playRites Festival for the first time and that inspiring experience was like theatre crack. Needless to say, Ksenia is thrilled to finally be joining the acting ensemble of the Enbridge playRites Festival at ATP. The cherry with sprinkles on top is playing the wicked role of Clean and working alongside an amazing group of artists such as the Green Thumb Theatre trifecta - Patrick, Northey & Kyprios (merci, gents). Ksenia has performed all across Canada, USA and Bosnia/Herzegovina. Select theatre: Seussical™ the Musical & Toad of Toad Hall (ATP), The Drowsy Chaperone, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee & Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Theatre Calgary), John & Beatrice (Verb Theatre), Pageant (Last Exit Theatre), Evita (Persephone Theatre), Anne of Green Gables (Globe Theatre), [title of show] (Forte Musical Theatre Guild), Late Late Breakfast Mustache Ride (The Late Late Breakfast Show) and was seen most recently as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (ATP). Upcoming: Rumpleteazer in CATS (Theatre Calgary). (La mia famiglia: grazie tanto. amore.) www.kseniathurgood.com


April Viczko - Costume Design

Selected credits: production design for Backwater (Windrow Performance), Hello… Hello (Kill Your Television), set and costume design for Bea’s Niece (Tarragon), As You Like It (Citadel Theatre) and Stray (Workshop West), costumes for The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Birdland Theatre – Dora Nomination), costume design for This Castle with Moonhorse Dance Theatre, Blackbird and True Love Lies (Citadel Theatre). Recently for the University of Calgary Drama Department: King Lear and Perfect Pie. In 2006, April shared the Siminovitch Protégé Prize awarded by Dany Lyne. Currently, April is a Vice-President of the Associated Designers of Canada. She is also a faculty member in the Department of Drama at the University of Calgary.


Mike Wasko - Angel

Mike is a native of Vancouver and was most recently seen in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Caravan Farm Theatre. Other credits include The Pillowman (Wild Geese Equity Co-Op); Don Quixote (Arts Club/Centaur Theatre); The Winter's Tale (Studio 58); Life Savers (Ruby Slippers) and The Constant Wife (Arts Club); Steel Kiss (Green Thumb Theatre); A Moon For The Misbegotten (United Players); The Dunsmuirs (Sea Theatre); A Midsummer Nights Dream and Measure For Measure at Bard On The Beach; Titus Andronicus (Mad Duck Equity Co-Op); A Christmas Carol and Treasure Island (Carousel Theatre); Rough Magic (Belfry Theatre); The Philadelphia Story (MTC); Detective Story, Caesar & Cleopatra, Peter Pan, Picnic, A Woman Of No Importance, Six Characters In Search Of An Author (Shaw Festival); The School For Wives (MTC/Vancouver Playhouse); She Stoops To Conquer (Grand Theatre/Vancouver Playhouse) and Hamlet (Arts Club Theatre). Mike is a graduate of Studio 58.