Stageworthy

Stageworthy

@stageworthy.ca

Stageworthy is Canada’s theatre podcast, bringing you in-depth interviews with theatre artists, panel discussions, and more. Each week, @philrickaby.com sits down with the people who make theatre happen—from household names to artists you should know.

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Steffi DiDomenicantonio (Steffi D) joins Stageworthy host Phil Rickaby to talk Come From Away, manifesting Spring Awakening with a vision board, and why Canadian musical theatre needs to get its act together. Hot takes included. 🎤

stageworthy.caSteffi DiDomenicantonio Has Some Hot Takes on Musical Theatre in CanadaThis week on Stageworthy, Phil talks with Steffi DiDomenicantonio: actor, musical theatre artist, and Canadian Idol alumna better known as Steffi D. From the very first question, the conversation takes off into a frank and energetic discussion about the state of musical theatre in Canada: the shortage of venues, the lack of homegrown stars, the price of tickets, and more.

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Actor Ron Kennell joins Stageworthy to talk performing Macbeth in Tehran, getting emotional when he was cast on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and why Canadian theatre needs to stop being afraid of comedy.

stageworthy.caRon Kennell on Clown Noses, Dark Places, and Why Comedy Is Harder Than DramaThis week, Phil sits down with Ron Kennell, Canadian actor, emerging playwright, and former George Brown College classmate, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans decades of theatre-making, international adventure, and the stubborn will it takes to keep going in this industry. Ron has spent nearly a decade at the Stratford Festival, made his Shaw Festival debut, appeared on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and voiced characters in video games. He's also a writer, with a commissioned play about local Ontario psychic Vera McNicol and several screenplays on the go.

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The creators of Monks, the clown show leaving lentils in every theatre it visits, join Stageworthy host Phil Rickaby ahead of their Tarragon run. Annie Luján & Veronica Hortigüela on chaos, clown, and why failure is the whole point

stageworthy.caAnnie Luján & Veronica Hortigüela are Bringing Chaos to the Monastery with MonksAnnie Luján and Veronica Hortigüela are the creators and performers behind Monks, a two-person clown show about a pair of medieval Spanish monks who invite a wagon full of strangers to spend a day at their monastery; and chaos ensues. What started as a self-funded, unscripted experiment at the Toronto Fringe in 2024 became one of the hottest tickets in the city, spawning multiple remounts and a triumphant run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before returning home to Toronto for a full production at Tarragon Theatre.

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Kelly Taylor doesn't wait for the phone to ring — she writes the show herself. 🎭 New episode of Stageworthy: Kelly & director Hools Kay on Un (Capital F) Famous at the Red Sandcastle, Oct 8–11.

stageworthy.caKelly Taylor and Hools Kay are Un (Capital F) Famous in TorontoKelly Taylor is the kind of artist who doesn't wait for permission. When the roles aren't coming, she writes them. When she doesn't get into fringe, she books her own theatre. When she needs a director, she calls a friend she trusts, Hools Kay. That spirit is exactly what Un (Capital F) Famous is built on: a show about an actress who loses everything and has to find her way back to the art that made her fall in love with performing in the first place. In this conversation, Kelly and Hools talk about how the show came together, what it was like growing up in a clown family, Fringe touring and much more!

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Jay Northcott is directing Bootycandy at Buddies in Bad Times. We talked comedy, Black Canadian identity, WWE, and what it means to decolonize a rehearsal room.

stageworthy.caJay Northcott is Bringing Joy, Blackness, and Bootycandy to Buddies in Bad TimesJay Northcott is a director, educator, and multidisciplinary artist whose work is rooted in joy, specificity, and a deep commitment to centring the full humanity of Black and queer artists. In this conversation, Jay joins Stageworthy host, Phil Rickaby to talk about Bootycandy, Robert O'Hara's wildly funny and emotionally complex play running at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in association with Obsidian Theatre; and why a play written by an American offers a powerful opportunity to interrogate what it means to make distinctly Canadian art.

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Playwright Erin Shields joins host Phil Rickaby to talk about To a Flame, a 15-years-in-the-making adaptation of Poe performed in both English and ASL. A conversation about deaf culture, Gothic horror, and taking the big swing.

stageworthy.caErin Shields is Bringing Deaf and Hearing Worlds Together in To A FlamePlaywright Erin Shields joins Phil for a wide-ranging conversation about To a Flame, her loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, a production fifteen years in the making that features both deaf and hearing performers and is performed in spoken English and American Sign Language.

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This week on Stageworthy, Jacklyn Francis: a Canadian actor with 30+ years on stage, nine Stratford seasons, and stories for days. She talks about Sexy Laundry, the art of understudying, the politics of getting asked back to a festival, intimacy direction, the fringe, and much more!

stageworthy.caJacklyn Francis on Why Theatre Matters More Than Ever Right NowJacklyn Francis has been making theatre in Canada for more than three decades, and in this conversation she brings the kind of hard-won perspective that only comes from years of navigating the industry's rhythms, disappointments, and genuine joys. In this episode, they talk about what it really feels like to work at a major festival like Stratford, the art of understudying, the strange grief that follows closing night, and much more!

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AI is everywhere right now, finding its way into every industry, including the theatre. When indie artists turn to AI to create posters for their shows, what does that mean, and what should the response be? In this episode, Curtis Campbell takes on this topic.

stageworthy.caCurtis Campbell has something to say about AI in the artsIn this episode Curtis Campbell joins host Phil Rickaby to talk about AI in the theatre. In the lead up to this summer's Toronto Fringe, it was noticed that a number of shows were using AI generated posters, which sparked a discourse on social media about whether Generative AI should be used in the Fringe and beyond. This conversation spread to the Edinburgh Fringe, where AI generated posters were also seen.

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Sara Farb has been playing Fanny Brice in the Shaw Festival's Funny Girl since April. Now in the final stretch of the season, she reflects on the role - and much more - on the latest episode of Stageworthy!

stageworthy.caSara Farb is Bringing one of Musical Theatre’s Great Roles to LifeSara Farb is a veteran of the Canadian theatre stage, having made her debut at the age of 9. Now she's bringing the role of Fanny Brice to life in Shaw Festival's Funny Girl. In this conversation, Sara joins host Phil Rickaby to reflect on the show, writing for the theatre, and what keeps her going.

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Woah.

aisling murphy@aislingmurph.bsky.social

Scoop: Randolph College for the Performing Arts has closed after failing to renew its accreditation with the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. Story @theglobeandmail.com: www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/stag...

theglobeandmail.comRandolph College for the Performing Arts closes after failing to renew its accreditationOn Tuesday, 86 enrolled students received an e-mail from MCURES stating that the theatre school can no longer operate as a career college

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Madelaine Rose brings her horror play, Passed Down to the Halifax Fringe, shares how she manages the challenge of producing, writing and acting in the show, and much more! New episode of Stageworthy is out now!

stageworthy.caMadelaine Rose is Scaring Audiences One Kitchen at a TimeWhat happens when a self-described field mouse - someone who jumps at a cat's sneeze - decides to write a horror play? You get Passed Down, a one-person horror show about a woman who inherits her great aunt's house and discovers she may have inherited a little more than just the property. Performer, producer, director, and grant writer Madelaine Rose joins Phil to talk about bringing this solo horror play to the Halifax Fringe Festival, and why choosing the kitchen as the setting for a haunted house story was a deliberate and unsettling choice.

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Sharry Flett has spent 34 seasons at the Shaw Festival - and this year she's playing Rat in Wind in the Willows alongside three artists she once coached. A wonderful conversation about theatre, teaching, and joy.

stageworthy.caSharry Flett Is Reflecting on 34 Seasons at the Shaw FestivalSharry Flett has spent 34 seasons at the Shaw Festival - long enough to have watched the company evolve through three artistic directors, raise a daughter who appeared on its stages, and welcome back former students she once coached as the people now directing her. In this conversation with host Phil Rickaby, Sharry reflects on what keeps drawing her back to Niagara-on-the-Lake, and what it felt like to walk into rehearsals for Wind in the Willows and find Fiona Sauder, André Morin, and fight director Jack Davidson Rennie - all artists she had mentored at George Brown College, now in positions of leadership.

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Theatre companies: do you have an AI policy? If you don't, why not? I'm talking about a policy to guide how and when AI is used. If its used in the office, where is it used? Under what circumstances? What are the limitations of its use?

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Christopher Gaze built Bard on the Beach from a $35K co-op into one of Canada's biggest theatre companies; and he's sharing the whole story. New episode of Stageworthy is out now.

stageworthy.caChristopher Gaze is Sharing What It Takes to Build a Theatre Festival That LastsChristopher Gaze is the founder and artistic director of Bard on the Beach, Vancouver's beloved outdoor Shakespeare festival now in its 37th season. In this conversation, Christopher talks with Phil about how a $35,000 co-op startup in 1990 grew into one of Canada's largest theatre companies, drawing 80,000 people a season to a pair of tented stages in Vanier Park overlooking English Bay and the mountains beyond.

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Director Ming Hudson talks Antigone at Bard on the Beach - 7 years in the making, a minimal stage, and a story about doing the right thing even when it costs everything. New episode of Stageworthy is out now.

stageworthy.caMing Hudson is Directing Antigone at Bard on the BeachDirector Ming Hudson joins Phil Rickaby to talk about bringing Antigone to Bard on the Beach in Vancouver — a production seven years in the making, created collaboratively with playwright Kate Besworth. It's a minimalist, intimate reimagining of a 2,500-year-old story about a woman who does the right thing even when told not to, and Ming shares how it came together from a literal bonfire in rural Nova Scotia to the thrust stage at Bard.

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Tim Carroll has led the Shaw Festival for 10 years — and he's still figuring out how to fall off the horse with grace. A fantastic conversation about directing, company culture, and why he threw out the mandate.

stageworthy.caTim Carroll is making the Shaw Festival into a two-way conversation with its audienceTim Carroll has been the artistic director of the Shaw Festival for a decade, and in that time he's reshaped the festival's mandate, expanded its reach into the community, and built a company culture grounded in playfulness, humility, and genuine artistic ambition.

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Ryan McCollom of Plates and Playbills joins Stageworthy to talk indie theatre, Canadian cultural cringe, and why younger audiences are the future — if we can get them through the door. 🎭

stageworthy.caRyan McCollom is Making Canadian Theatre Impossible to IgnoreRyan McCollom is a Toronto-based theatre content creator behind the popular TikTok and Instagram account Plates and Playbills, and he's on a mission to get more people through the doors of indie and smaller professional theatres across the city. What started as personal documentation of his own growing love of theatre has evolved into a platform dedicated to closing the gap between the big Mirvish productions most people know and the rich, underserved world of indie and community theatre that most audiences don't even know exists.

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Actor, director & magic designer Peter Fernandes joins Stageworthy to talk directing his debut show Sleuth at the Shaw Festival, why comedy demands rigour, and how magic taught him everything about staging a mystery.

stageworthy.caPeter Fernandes is Making His Directing Debut at the Shaw Festival with SleuthPeter Fernandes is many things at once: an award-winning actor, a magic and illusions designer, and now a first-time director at one of Canada's most celebrated theatre festivals. In this conversation, Peter joins Phil to talk about what it's like to make your directing debut with Sleuth at the Shaw Festival, a mystery that demands the same sleight-of-hand thinking Peter has honed as a magic practitioner. The terror of stepping into a new role, the joy of being trusted with it, and the surprise of discovering how much his illusion work shaped his directorial instincts.

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Playwright Natalie Kaye spent a decade translating A Midsummer Night's Dream into Jazz Age slang, and the result is a screwball musical comedy at this year's Toronto Fringe. New episode of Stageworthy is out now.

stageworthy.caNatalie Kaye is Channelling Harpo Marx, Mae West, and Shakespeare All at OncePlaywright and writer Natalie Kaye joins Phil Rickaby to talk about her wildly ambitious new musical, 1920s Walking Around in a Dream, playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival. The show is a screwball comedy set in an imagined 1920s Jazz Age Chicago, and it's a retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, translated not into modern English, but into the heightened, slang-drenched language of the Jazz Age. It's a project Natalie has been quietly nurturing for at least a decade, and hearing her describe its journey from a single translated sonnet to a fully staged musical is genuinely thrilling.

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I am hearing news that actor Stephen Flett has died. A veteran of at least 7 Toronto Fringe Festivals (according to the Toronto Theatre Database), he was as much a fan of the Fringe as he was a participant. It will be sad to not see him in the Fringe tent again.

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Four of Toronto's Essential theatre voices join Phil to preview the 2026 Toronto Fringe Festival, with show picks, venue tips, the AI poster debate, and yes, we talk about the cheese pervert show. 🧀🎭 New episode out now!

stageworthy.caYour Guide to the 2026 Toronto Fringe, with Four of Toronto’s Essential Theatre VoicesAs the Toronto Fringe Festival prepares to launch, Phil Rickaby gathers four of Toronto's most dedicated theatre content creators (Janine Marley from A View from the Box, Ryan Borochovitz from The Cup Podcast, Alexandra Lean from Being Dramatic, and Ryan McCollom from Plates & Playbills) for a lively live stream preview of the 2026 festival. Together they dig into what makes Fringe such a unique and exciting event, share their personal histories with the festival, and break down what their coverage will look like across podcasts, written reviews, and social media throughout the run.

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Marla Torgerson wrote Sinner, a one-woman musical tragic comedy about breaking up with white Jesus — and it's heading to Toronto Fringe and then Edinburgh. This conversation goes everywhere. 🎤

stageworthy.caMarla Torgerson is Bringing her Show about Breaking Up with White Jesus to Toronto FringeIn this episode, Phil sits down with Marla Torgerson, a Calgary-based singer-songwriter and classically trained vocalist who has written and performs her debut theatrical work, Sinner, a one-woman musical tragic comedy about growing up in the evangelical Bible Belt of central Alberta and the long, often painful process of leaving fundamentalist religion behind.

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New episode! Chris Cracknell talks about Pookumhura Mistress of B-Roll, a musical about online community and identity at the Toronto Fringe. You don't need to know World of Warcraft. You just need to love theatre. 🎭🎮

stageworthy.caChris Cracknell is Making Theatre About Online Community, Identity, and Finding Your PeopleChris Cracknell is a Hamilton-based composer, musician, performer, and web series creator who has channelled a pandemic-era creative crisis into something genuinely extraordinary: a non-canonical musical adventure called Pookumhura Mistress of B-Roll, playing at Theatre Passe-Muraille as part of the Toronto Fringe's Musical Theatre Hub. The show draws on Chris's nearly two decades as a World of Warcraft player, but don't let that fool you into thinking you need to know anything about the game. At its heart, this is a show about how people use online spaces to find community, explore identity, and connect with each other across the divides that increasingly define our world.

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What if Ontario's Premier had to live on minimum wage? Victoria Sullivan's absurdist political comedy Minimum is coming to Toronto Fringe after winning Best in Venue at Hamilton Fringe. A Fringe extra episode of Stageworthy is out now.

stageworthy.caVictoria Sullivan is Forcing Ontario’s Premier to Live on Minimum Wage at Toronto FringeWhat would happen if a newly elected Premier of Ontario was forced to live on minimum wage? That's the provocative — and deeply funny — question at the heart of Minimum, the political satire written and performed by Victoria Sullivan. After winning Best in Venue at the 2025 Hamilton Fringe Festival, Victoria Sullivan is bringing the show to Toronto Fringe, and the timing couldn't feel more apt.

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Playwright & composer Kathleen Welch joins Stageworthy to talk about Siofra — The Spindle Collective's Irish changeling horror show at Red Sandcastle, June 17–28. Plus: the Dead of Winter Festival, feminist folklore, and binge theatre.

stageworthy.caKathleen Welch is Bringing Dark Celtic Mythology to the Toronto Stage with SiofraKathleen Welch is a playwright, composer, director, and actor, and one of the founding members of The Spindle Collective; the Toronto-based company making some of the most compelling horror theatre in Canada right now. She joined Phil to talk about Siofra, Spindle Collective's latest show, which opens at the Red Sandcastle Theatre on June 17th. Rooted in the Irish mythology of changeling babies, Siofra is the second in a trilogy of folklore-inspired horror plays that Kathleen has written with Spindle Collective co-founder Natalia Bushnik.

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What does your dad reveal about the world you grew up in? Taylor Trowbridge's Fringe show Dads blends storytelling, games & stand-up to explore exactly that. New Fringe Extra episode of Stageworthy is out now.

stageworthy.caTaylor Trowbridge is bringing DADS to Toronto FringeWhat do we really know about our dads — and what have we never been able to say out loud? Taylor Trowbridge joins Phil to talk about her new solo show Dads, playing at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Part stand-up, part storytelling, part audience game, the show invites people to sit with the full range of their experiences with their fathers: the funny, the complicated, and the quietly unresolved.

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Director & dramaturg Stephen Drover joins Stageworthy to talk adapting Macbeth for Bard on the Beach, and talks about stripping away 400 years of baggage, embracing the play's brutal violence, and treating Shakespeare as a collaborator.

stageworthy.caStephen Drover is Directing the Macbeth He’s Been Thinking About for Twenty YearsStephen Drover has directed Macbeth before; twenty years ago, the day after it closed, he wanted to do it again. Now, as both adapter and director for Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, he's finally getting that chance. In this rich conversation, Stephen talks about approaching Shakespeare not as a sacred text to be served but as a living collaboration, asking not what the words inherently mean but what meaning is being created in this specific theatre, for this specific audience, right now.

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Rymn Wadhwa is an engineer making her theatre debut at Toronto Fringe with Assembly Sϋggested — a play about two women building an IKEA chair and maybe a relationship. It's one of the most inventive premises I've heard in years.

stageworthy.caRymn Wadhwa is an Engineer Turned Playwright at Toronto FringeWhat happens when an engineer decides to write a play? If you're Rymn Wadhwa, you end up with one of the most inventive premises at this year's Toronto Fringe Festival. Assembly Sϋggested follows two women building an IKEA chair (and maybe, just maybe, a relationship )guided by an instruction manual that gets increasingly, wonderfully absurd. It's a debut play with a deceptively simple setup that promises real emotional depth.

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Actor, playwright & producer Chantel Winters joins Stageworthy to talk Dear Ms. Kitt, co-producing And Other Concerns (now free on CBC Gem!), Fringe vs. independent producing, and why theatre will always be her first love. 🎭

stageworthy.caChantel Winters on Planting Clues in Her Scripts, the Reality of Producing, & Other ConcernsChantel Winters is a Toronto-based actor, playwright, and producer who has built a career by refusing to wait for permission. In this conversation with host Phil Rickaby, Chantel talks about how the realities of the audition grind pushed her toward making her own work.

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Actor & theatre maker Blythe Haynes joins @stageworthy.ca to talk about And Other Concerns — now streaming on CBC Gem — plus cold bathtubs, late-night painting in Hamilton, and what the pandemic changed. 🎭 #CanadianTheatre #CBCGem #TorontoTheatre

stageworthy.caBlythe Haynes on Creative Risk, Accessibility, Emotional Safety, & Other ConcernsBlythe Haynes returns to Stageworthy for a wide-ranging conversation with host Phil Rickaby about indie theatre, artistic process, community, and the evolution of a Fringe hit into a feature film. Blythe reflects on how Toronto’s theatre scene has changed since the pandemic, why she believes artists need spaces to experiment and fail, and what Canadian theatre can learn from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe model. They also discuss the journey of An Atlas, A Necktie, and Other Concerns — the acclaimed 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival production that eventually became the filmed adaptation And Other Concerns, now streaming on CBC Gem.

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Playwright Susanna Fournier joins Stageworthy to talk about take rimbaud at Buddies in Bad Times: 12 years in the making, and worth every draft. A conversation about artistic risk, vulnerability, and why theatre still matters.

stageworthy.caSusanna Fournier is Spending a Season in Hell with take rimbaudPlaywright, director, and theatre maker Susanna Fournier joins Phil Rickaby fresh from rehearsal to talk about take rimbaud, her ambitious new production at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in association with the Howland Company. Inspired by Arthur Rimbaud's iconic prose poem A Season in Hell, the play is a decade-plus labour of love that explores what it means to be a young artist crashing into the hard realities of the industry — and what happens when you refuse to take the path of least resistance.

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🎭 This week on Stageworthy, Theatre Direct Artistic Director Lisa Marie DiLiberto talks 50 years of TYA, clown training in Paris, and why getting stories to kids is the whole point.

stageworthy.caLisa Marie DiLiberto is making theatre that doesn’t sit quietlyLisa Marie DiLiberto, Artistic Director of Theatre Direct, joins Phil Rickaby for a wide-ranging conversation about one of Canada's most enduring theatre companies for young audiences. With the company approaching its 50th anniversary in 2026, Lisa Marie shares how she's been preparing to honour that legacy. She also speaks candidly about the realities of sustaining an arts career in Canada, the value of collaboration over competition between theatre companies, and how COVID reshaped, and in some ways reinvigorated, the work she wanted to do.

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What happens when a sports medicine doc rediscovers theatre during a pandemic? Dr. Janet McMordie joins Stageworthy to talk improv, the 2024 Paralympics, and producing Vitals at Factory Theatre. 🩺🎭

stageworthy.caDr. Janet McMordie is Mixing Medicine and Acting with VitalsWhat happens when a sports medicine physician rediscovers her inner theatre kid during a global pandemic? In this episode, Phil sits down with Dr. Janet McMordie — a physician, actor, podcast host, and Team Canada Paralympics doctor — for a wide-ranging, warm, and genuinely surprising conversation about what it means to pursue two very different callings at once.

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Just added a page to the website so you can see what's coming up in the next few weeks on the podcast! stageworthy.ca/upcoming-epi...

stageworthy.caUpcoming EpisodesVisit the post for more.

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What can doctors learn from actors? Alexis Milligan — Shaw Festival movement director and creator of the Theatre of Medicine — joins Stageworthy to talk bodies, breath, and human connection. 🎭

stageworthy.caAlexis Milligan Knows what Doctors can Learn from TheatreWhat does it mean to move with intention? For Alexis Milligan, movement is everything — every breath, every blink, every shift of weight tells a story. As the Resident Movement Director at the Shaw Festival, Alexis works at the intersection of physical storytelling, design, and performance, helping actors inhabit their roles from the inside out.

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As I start planning my new few weeks of Stageworthy, I realize that I haven't been able to feature as many theatre artists from the prairie provinces, or Quebec as I would like. So, if you know a theatre maker from those provinces, please suggest them to me, so I can feature them on the podcast!

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New episode of Stageworthy! Logan Robins of Unnatural Disaster Theatre Co talks puppetry, sustainable theatre, Halifax's indie scene, and founding Halifax's first puppet festival.

stageworthy.caLogan Robbins Is Giving Puppets (and the Planet) a Fighting ChanceLogan Robbins is one of those rare theatre artists whose work sits at the intersection of science, storytelling, and a deep love for the natural world. As the artistic director of the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Logan has built a practice rooted in environmental themes, puppetry, site-specific work, and creating space for emerging artists to find their footing in the professional theatre world.

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🎙️ New Stageworthy Episode! Bryn Kennedy returns the podcast to talk about directing The Moors with Riot King, and the bigger challenges facing theatre: audiences, storytelling, and community.

stageworthy.caBryn Kennedy is Wearing Many Hats in Toronto’s Indie Theatre SceneBryn Kennedy returns to Stageworthy to talk about directing Riot King's production of The Moors by Jen Silverman — a darkly comic Victorian Gothic play about isolation, power, and the cost of giving up community. Bryn shares why this unsettling tale of spinster sisters, a mysterious governess, a mastiff dog, and a moorhen feels urgently relevant in our age of individualism and loneliness.

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This week on Stageworthy, Miriam Cummings shares her journey into solo theatre, navigating grief, and finding vulnerability, presence, and play through performance. A powerful conversation about honesty and artistic growth. 🎧 Listen now

stageworthy.caMiriam Cummings Finds Freedom Through Solo Performance and TeachingIn this episode, Phil sits down with Miriam Cummings, a playwright, performer, and educator who creates deeply personal solo theatre.

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Creative producer Alexis Eastman talks about what it really means to produce theatre as a creative collaborator, working with Adam Lazarus, and how motherhood changed everything. New Stageworthy episode!

stageworthy.caAlexis Eastman on Devised Theatre, Novel Writing, Creative Producing and Artistic IdentityCreative producer Alexis Eastman joins Stageworthy host Phil Rickaby to explore what it really means to be a creative producer in Canadian theatre. From her early days making work at the Toronto Fringe to her current role supporting artists through long-term development processes, Alexis shares insights into how she bridges the administrative and creative aspects of theatre-making.

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Three goblins discover Shakespeare and chaos ensues! Rebecca Northan & Bruce Horak talk Goblin Macbeth, mask work, and why authentic intelligence beats AI every time.

stageworthy.caRebecca Northan and Bruce Horak Are Sneaking Improv into Mainstream Canadian TheatreWhat happens when three goblins discover the complete works of Shakespeare and decide to stage Macbeth? Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak, the creative minds behind Spontaneous Theatre and the Goblin Empire, join Stageworthy host, Phil Rickaby to share the wild origin story of Goblin:Macbeth.

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🎭 "I’m not performing heart surgery... I’m your emotional temporary bandage." This week, Tika McLean joins #Stageworthy to talk about art as activism, navigating the stage with chronic pain, and her new EP 'Koreaboo, Black Girl Hero.' 🎨🎶

stageworthy.caTika McLean is Building Community in Art and Every DayThis week on Stageworthy, Phil Rickaby is joined by the vibrant and multifaceted Tika McLean. In a conversation that is as funny as it is profound, Tika reflects on her journey from a self-described "shy kid" who once froze during a church solo to becoming a bold, multidisciplinary artist who uses her voice to challenge the status quo.

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On Canada's theatre podcast, Stageworthy host Phil Rickaby talks with Emily Jeffers about artistic identity, collaboration, vulnerability, and carving out a sustainable life in theatre. A thoughtful conversation about redefining success on your own terms.

stageworthy.caEmily Jeffers is Making Theatre on Her TermsThis week on Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby sits down with Emily Jeffers for a thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation about artistic identity, collaboration, and carving out a sustainable life in theatre.

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This week on Canada's theatre podcast, Phil Rickaby talks with Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival producer Virginia Woodall about turning 164 submissions into a 12-day lineup of 78 troupes — and why sketch comedy deserves recognition as its own art form.

stageworthy.caVirginia Woodall is Building Community at the Toronto Sketch Comedy FestivalIn this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby speaks with Virginia Woodall, producer at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. With the festival entering its 21st year, Virginia shares the story of how she moved from volunteer to producer, how 164 submissions become a 12-day lineup of 78 troupes, and why sketch comedy deserves recognition as its own artistic discipline.

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Playwright and screenwriter Anusree Roy joins Stageworthy host Phil Rickabynto discuss her new play Through the Eyes of God, writing as an act of witnessing, and sustaining an artistic life while carrying urgent stories.

stageworthy.caAnusree Roy Writes in Service of the StoryIn this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby speaks with acclaimed playwright, actor, and screenwriter Anusree Roy about her newest play, Through the Eyes of God, now onstage at Theatre Passe-Muraille. The conversation explores Roy’s evolving artistic process, the deeply personal roots of her storytelling, and her journey between theatre and television writing.

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*sigh* Another American at the head of a Canadian arts institution. So disappointing.

aisling murphy@aislingmurph.bsky.social

#Exclusive: American Ian Derrer has been named the next general director of the Canadian Opera Company. My interview with him is online now: www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/stag...

theglobeandmail.comCanadian Opera Company names American Ian Derrer next general directorDerrer starts on July 1, following an eight-year leadership stint with the Dallas Opera

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This week on Stageworthy, Phil Rickaby sits down with Dienye Waboso Amajor — a Dora-nominated Nigerian actor, writer, and researcher based in Ontario. They discuss identity, authorship, scholarship, and the power of performance grounded in lived experience.

stageworthy.caScholarship Meets Theatre and Art with Dienye Waboso AmajorIn this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby sits down with Dienye Waboso Amajor — a Dora-nominated Nigerian actor, writer, and interdisciplinary artist living and working in Ontario. With an academic background in theatre and performance studies and ongoing doctoral research, Dienye’s practice bridges performance, scholarship, and cultural storytelling.

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What does sustainable theatre look like beyond major cities? 🎭 On Stageworthy, Phil Rickaby talks with Tim Porter, founding Artistic Director of Tweed & Company Theatre, about building a professional company in a rural community — and why serving audiences matters more than chasing prestige.

stageworthy.caTim Porter Makes Theatre Work Outside the Big CityIn this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby sits down with Tim Porter, founding Artistic Director of Tweed & Company Theatre, to talk about what it means to build a sustainable professional theatre company outside of major urban centres.

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Why does Shakespeare still matter — and why is indie theatre where it thrives? 🎭 This week on n Stageworthy, Phil Rickaby talks with actor and Unchained Theatre Artistic Director Jack Burrill about classic texts, intimate spaces, and why live theatre is irreplaceable.

stageworthy.caJack Burrill Makes Shakespeare Feel Dangerous AgainIn this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby speaks with Jack Burrill, actor, director, acting coach, and Artistic Director of Unchained Theatre. What begins as a shared nerd-out over Shakespeare quickly becomes a wide-ranging conversation about why these 400-year-old plays still matter - and how indie theatre is often where their most exciting reinventions happen.

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In a solo Stageworthy episode, Phil Rickaby argues that pipelines aren’t nation-building — culture is. A passionate look at Canadian arts history, identity, and what happens when we treat culture as optional instead of essential. 🎭

stageworthy.caThe Arts Are a National Defence StrategyIn this solo Stageworthy episode, host Phil Rickaby takes a deep dive into the idea of “nation-building” — and why Canada keeps getting it wrong. Sparked by post-election rhetoric around pipelines, railways, housing, and AI infrastructure, Phil argues that these are construction projects, not nation-building ones. Part rant, part cultural history lesson, and part call to action.