TARA MORGAN (Stage Manager) is a professional Stage Manager who has had the pleasure of working with a number of Toronto-based companies and organizations, including Why Not Theatre, Toronto Dance Theatre, Gadfly Dance, Hart House Theatre, inDANCE, George Brown Dance, The Lower Ossington Theatre, and Toronto Pride. Tara is pleased to be working with IFT Theatre and The Riser Projects for the first time. Recent credits include: LOT’s Avenue Q, Hart House Theatre’s Boeing Boeing, George Brown Dance’s Next Stage 2015, Why Not Theatre/Butcher’s Block Collective’s Butcher, Hart House Theatre’s We the Family, LOT’s Always ABBA, Gadfly’s UNBXBL, Gadfly’s Klorofyl: Thrive or Survive, inDANCE’s The Book of Sandalwood, George Brown Dance’s Unleashed 2015, Outside Looking In’s 8th Annual Showcase, LOT’s Hey Jude, LOT’s Don’t Stop Me Now.
DAVID CRAWFORD (General Manager) is a graduate of the York University theatre program, where he studied commercial theatre production with Broadway Producer Marty Bell, and interned at Livent, Inc. working in Casting and with Musical Director Jeffrey Huard on productions of Sunset Blvd. and Ragtime. Besides his work through Newface Entertainment, David was also the Producer and Managing Director at Brookstone Performing Arts, and is currently an Associate Producer with Vanier College Productions at York University.
JEFF JONES (Production Manager) is excited to be a part of Oraltorio. A two-time graduate of Ryerson’s Theatre School, Jeff worked as a technician, actor, designer and Director around Toronto for several years before flirting with disillusionment. In 2001, Jeff became a high school drama teacher. Since that moment his creative output has increased exponentially. From writing shows and music to much acclaim at the FRINGE and SUMMERWORKS festivals in Toronto, directing various productions and creating CHARCOAL SKETCH PRODUCTIONS as a creative lab for new work and young performers to releasing his own solo record, Self-Portrait: 13 Songs That Paint a picture of Me, Jeff has been going almost non-stop for years. And, as the Toronto Star once said of him and his work, “We’re sure to hear more greatness from Jones in years to come.” From their lips to God’s ear.
GRACE PHAN (Production Assistant) is a fourth year student at the University of Toronto (Scarborough Campus) specializing in Arts Management and majoring in Theatre and Performance Studies. She is known as a bubbling theatre artist, musician, and scholar with ambitious dreams. Her most recent credits include: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (University of Toronto at Scarborough), and assistant director and stage manager for Provenance (New Ideas Festival, Alumnae Theatre).
MOTIVELIVE COLLECTIVE (Producer) was formed as an ad hoc collaboration, mobilizing culturally diverse artists to develop new works and innovative creative projects. Coming together to produce an award-winning festival debut of Aneemah’s Spot at Summerworks 2012, the continued work of the collective has been fostered by key arts organizations such as Obsidian Theatre Company, b current, Factory Theatre and Caribbean Tales. With the vision to increase access through creative collaboration for artists of colour, African Diasporic stories, urban communities and new audiences, MotionLive Collective’s projects have included Aneemah’s Spot (TD Then & Now Series 2014), as well as Poetiks: Live Exhibit of Word & Sound (City of Toronto) and the cross-Canadian Northside Project: Snapshot of Hip Hop Arts. Bringing together accomplished theatre, musical, visual and literary artists, MotionLive Collective garnered the RBC Arts Award in 2012. The Collective is currently developing Oraltorio: A theatrical MixTape, and are now preparing to present the premier production the play in 2016, co-produced with Why Not Theatre as part of the Riser Project at the Theatre Centre. Recently, MotionLive Collective began fulfilling its vision of connecting with international artists and arts movements, by producing and directing the debut Toronto presentation of Raising Lazarus, written and performed by award-winning UK playwright/slam poetry champion Kat Francois at Dancemakers Theatre. MotionLive Collective will continue to build networks with international artists, collectives and arts organizations to pave the way for cross-global collaboration, touring and creation.
IFT Theatre (Co-Producer) is a not for profit professional performing arts company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 2011 by Theatre Creator-Director Mumbi Tindyebwa, winner of the Mallory Gilbert Leadership Protege Award. IFT theatre focuses on creating and producing culturally diverse work that is interdisciplinary or experimental in form, content and style. Inspired by an insatiable desire and pursuit for artistic freedom, IFT is a home for artists and audiences of diverse cultural and artistic backgrounds
NEWFACE ENTERTAINMENT (Co-Producer) was founded by David Crawford with a mission to delight, entertain, inspire, and impassion audiences through theatre. The company has worked with ift theatre on productions of Motherland, the Dora-nominated Nightmare Dream (presented by Obsidian Theatre), and Dancing to a White Boy Song (SummerWorks). Other producing credits include: Sketchy At Best, Craig Lauzon’s Ham I Am, and Tim Sims’ Santagod (Tim Sims Playhouse), the Canadian premiere of the League Against Tedium (Bathurst Street Theatre), Dave Carley’s Into (Berkeley Street Theatre), tick, tick...BOOM! (co-produced with Angelwalk Theatre) and the premiere of Romeo Ciolfi’s play OverTime (Toronto Fringe).
THE RISER PROJECT (Presenter) In order to create more access and opportunity for artists, Why Not Theatre is looking at new ways of producing theatre in Toronto for independent artists. The RISER Project brings together a community of senior leadership and emerging artists, to support the artistic risk that independent artists must take in order to create and innovate. The model is designed to maximize existing infrastructures by sharing resources, risk and energy to reduce the producing burden on artists. The senior partners of the 2016 round of productions are Necessary Angel, Nightwood Theatre, fuGEN Theatre, Modern Times, Theatrefront and The Theatre Centre. RISER is made possible with the generous support of the Toronto Art Council’s Open Door Program and the Government of Canada.
