About This Episode:

Chantel 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. The conversation also digs into & Other Concerns, the film adaptation of the 2019 Fringe hit An Atlas in a Necktie and Other Concerns, how it evolved from a pandemic Zoom project into a short film now available for free on CBC Gem, and what Chantel learned about producing for screen along the way. She also speaks candidly about the shift from non-union to union work, the exhaustion of self-tape culture, the state of diversity in Canadian film and theatre, and why, despite everything, theatre will always be her first love.

This episode explores:

How the audition grind pushed Chantel toward playwriting and producing her own work
What producing outside of Fringe taught her about ticket sales, venue costs, and the gap between expectations and reality
The evolution of And Other Concerns from Toronto Fringe to a short film now streaming free on CBC Gem
How Eartha Kitt inspired her play, Dear Ms. Kitt.
And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Chantel Winters

Chantel Winters is an actor, playwright and producer born and raised in Toronto. Select theatre credits include: 'Honey Never Spoils' Toronto Fringe 2025; 'Good People' Bloor West Village Players; 'An Atlas, a Necktie & Other Concerns' Toronto Fringe 2019; 'Professionally Ethnic' Summerworks 2017. Now Magazine named Professionally Ethnic one of the outstanding ensembles of the season. She recently re-mounted her one-act play, 'Dear Ms. Kitt' under Hard-Bitten Productions. Chantel’s first film producer credit for the short, ‘& Other Concerns’ based on the Fringe hit, is now available on CBC Gem.

Connect with Chantel

📸 Instagram: @chantel.winters

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