Podcast
Stageworthy
Hosted by Stageworthy · EN
Now in its 10th year, Stageworthy is Canada’s theatre podcast, bringing you in-depth interviews with theatre artists, panel discussions, and more. Each week, host Phil Rickaby sits down with the people who make theatre happen: from household names to artists you should know. Whether you're an audience member, a theatre maker, or just plain curious about Canadian theatre, Stageworthy offers a front-row seat to the conversations shaping the industry. New episodes every Tuesday.
27episodes
Episodes
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Kathleen Welch is Bringing Dark Celtic Mythology to the Toronto Stage with Siofra
Jun 1600:53:42Tap to summarizeRead transcriptAbout This Episode: Kathleen 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. The conversation moves through the rich terrain of folklore and what makes it such fertile ground for original storytelling — from Romanian demons to Germanic winter witches, and now to the west of Ireland in the 1860s. Kathleen talks about the collaborative writing process she and Natalia developed during COVID, why writing with a trusted partner makes all the difference, and how Siofra surprised even its own creators when the humor started emerging in rehearsal. Kathleen also talks about the Dead of Winter Festival, the horror theatre festival she and Natalia launched in partnership with Eldritch Theatre, why genre theatre is a powerful way to bring new audiences into the room, and what she believes makes horror such a naturally feminist form of storytelling. This episode explores: The mythology of Irish changeling babies and how it shapes the story of Siofra How The Spindle Collective was born during COVID from a shared love of folklore and horror The Dead of Winter Festival: what they learned in year one, including surviving a polar vortex Why horror is uniquely suited to feminist storytelling and bringing new audiences to theatre And much more! Guest: 🎭 Kathleen Welch Kathleen Welch is a playwright, composer, director, and actor. She is a founding member of spindle collective, which focuses on the creation of horror theatre and dark folklore epics. With Natalia Bushnik, she co-wrote and composed the music for their Dark Mother Trilogy, made up of the plays SAMCA, síofra, and spilleHOLLE. SAMCA received numerous grants and accolades and, for its Toronto production, Kathleen was nominated for a Toronto Theatre Award for her role as Prava. Kathleen and Natalia recently completed their full-length version of spilleHOLLE after the ten minute version won “Gold” at the Grand River 10-minute Play Contest. Apart from their trilogy, spindle collective also created Dead of Winter: The Toronto Horror-Theatre Festival in association with Eldritch Theatre. The festival had a sold out run this past winter and will continue as an annual event! Kathleen's play, Bluebeard's Wives is currently being developed by spindle collective with guidance and support from The Vault Creation Lab. Apart from her work with spindle, some select credits include performing as the Creepy Musician in Eldritch Theatre’s production of The Strange and Eerie Memoirs of Billy Wuthergloom, directing Riot King’s Dora Award winning production of Suddenly Last Summer, and composing the music for Just Across the Causeway (a radio play supported by the CBC Digital Strategy Fund). Kathleen holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Windsor and is passionate about multidisciplinary theatre and plays that feature dangerous, amoral womxn. Learn about Siofra and buy tickets: https://natbushnik0.wixsite.com/spindlecollective/about-3 Connect with Kathleen and the Spindle Collective 📸 Instagram: @spindlecollective Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
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Taylor Trowbridge is bringing DADS to Toronto Fringe
Jun 1100:50:40Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: What 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. Taylor and Phil dig into the generational forces that shaped so many dads — wartime trauma, boomer expectations, the rigid masculinity that made emotional connection difficult — and how those patterns echo forward into all of us. Taylor also shares how her brother Dylan is directing the show, why the family collaboration just makes sense, and what it was like to turn questions about her own dad into a piece of theatre. This episode explores: What Dads is — and why Taylor wanted to build a show around audience interaction, games, and stand-up The generational and emotional weight fathers carry, and how masculinity shapes the father-child relationship Working with her brother Dylan Trowbridge as director, and why no chemistry test was needed Tool for Rebellion: Taylor's verbatim theatre piece on incel culture, the Toronto van attack, and the limits of empathy And much more! Guest: 🎭 Taylor Trowbridge Taylor Trowbridge (she/her) is an actor, educator, and award-wining playwright. As an actor, she has performed for theatre companies such as Canadian Stage, The Shaw Festival, Nightwood Theatre, Bard on the Beach and SummerWorks Festival, and for TV shows such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Upload, SKYMED, Orphan Black, Murdoch Mysteries and Copper. Taylor’s documentary play Tool for Rebellion was part of Studio 180's IN DEVELOPMENT program in 2022 and 2023 and received the Equity Showcase Cayle Chernin Award for Theatre. Her new play DADS – a playful, interactive solo show – will be at Toronto Fringe from June 30th to July 12th. Get Tickets to DADS: http://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/dads Connect with Taylor: 📸 Instagram: @taylorbluetrowbridge Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, SteveRead transcript
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Stephen Drover is Directing the Macbeth He's Been Thinking About for Twenty Years
Jun 901:00:42Tap to summarizeRead transcriptAbout this episode: Stephen 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. The conversation covers the challenge of stripping away cultural baggage around the witches, to building a post-environmental dystopia as the world of the play, to why Stephen leans into the brutal, blood-soaked reality of the play rather than sanitizing it for comfortable consumption. He also reflects on how becoming a parent has changed the way he receives Macbeth's deeply embedded anxieties about children and grief. This episode explores: Approaching Shakespeare as a collaborator rather than a proprietor — and what that means in practice for this production The concentric rings of Stephen's career: actor to director to artistic director to dramaturg How a late diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and ADHD illuminates why theatre suits his brain so well New play development at the Arts Club and the 'one size fits one' philosophy And much more! Guest: 🎭 Stephen Drover Stephen is a dramaturg and director originally from Newfoundland and presently based on the lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver, British Columbia). He holds a BFA in Theatre from Memorial University of Newfoundland, an MFA in Directing from the University of British Columbia, and an MA in Theatre Theory and Dramaturgy from the University of Ottawa. Since 2018, he has served as Head of New Works and Professional Engagement at Arts Club Theatre Company, where he leads the commissioning and development of new plays. His dramaturgical work there includes projects such as Forgiveness (Hiro Kanagawa), Redbone Coonhound (Amy Lee Lavoie & Omari Newton), and The Cull (Michele Riml & Michael St. John Smith). For Bard on the Beach, he has worked as a production dramaturg for Harlem Duet, he adapted the script for their celebrated production of Julius Caesar, and he directed Hamlet in 2024. He is a four-time recipient of a Jessie Richardson Award for directing, has worked as a director or dramaturg on over 60 professional theatre productions across Canada, and has published research on Shakespeare adaptation process analysis in Shakespeare Bulletin. Stephen has taught and directed at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Douglas College, Neptune Theatre School, and the University of British Columbia. He sits on the board of LMDA Canada. 🪶 Check out MacBeth at Bard on the Beach: https://bardonthebeach.org/whats-on/macbeth/ 📸 Bard on the Beach on Instagram: @bardonthebeach Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
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Rymn Wadhwa is an Engineer Turned Playwright at Toronto Fringe
Jun 200:53:11Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: What 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. This is Rymn's first play, first Fringe, and first podcast interview, and it's a conversation full of warmth, honesty, and real excitement about what theatre can do. If you're heading to the Toronto Fringe this year, Assembly Sϋggested is one to put on your list. This episode explores: The ingenious premise of Assembly Sϋggested and how a friendship became the blueprint for a play about building and breaking things How Rymn's engineering mindset and chess background shape the way she structures drama — including charting emotional highs and lows in spreadsheets How such a personal play evolved into something with no villains, only two people with different needs Creating Original music for the play, and suiting it to the performer And much more! Guest: ♟️ Rymn Wadhwa Rymn is a Toronto-based playwright, artist, and engineer interested in structure, performance, and the narratives we build around everyday events. Her debut play, Assembly Sϋggested, premieres at the 2026 Toronto Fringe Festival. Connect with Rymn 🌐 Website: assemblysuggested.com 📸 Instagram: @assemblysuggested Get tickets (starting June 3): https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/assembly-suggested Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, SteveRead transcript
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Chantel Winters on Planting Clues in Her Scripts, the Reality of Producing, & Other Concerns
May 2600:58:10Tap to summarizeAbout 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 Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, SteveRead transcript
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Blythe Haynes on Creative Risk, Accessibility, Emotional Safety, & Other Concerns
May 1901:00:33Tap to summarizeRead transcriptAbout This Episode Blythe 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. The conversation also explores the challenges of sustaining indie work in Toronto, the importance of artistic community, and how Blythe’s own understanding of her career shifted during the lockdown years. 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. Blythe shares what it was like adapting the theatrical piece into film, acting while serving as a producer, and working within the unusual constraint of keeping the story confined to a single room. The episode also touches on rehearsal room culture, emotional safety in performance, outdoor theatre disasters, the realities of producing independent work, Gangway Theatre’s long-developing project Digital Divergence, and Blythe’s growing interest in playwriting and collaborative creation. This episode explores The state of Toronto indie theatre post-pandemic Why Fringe in Canada functions differently than Edinburgh Building artistic community outside traditional theatre spaces Turning An Atlas, A Necktie, and Other Concerns into a film Emotional safety and accessibility in rehearsal rooms Performing The Drowning Girls outdoors in near-hypothermic conditions The importance of process over product in artistic work and much more Guest: 🎭 Blythe Haynes BLYTHE HAYNES (she/her). Actor, Theatre Maker & Co-Artistic Director Gangway! Theatre Co. Blythe holds her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Alberta, but calls Toronto home, where she is an active member of the community. For Gangway she is currently working on their play Digital Divergence, a design first creation process centring on who we are in different mediums. For her solo projects, Blythe is developing her play Uplifting Stories for Seniors, which won Second Place Winner of the Toronto Fringe 2025 24 hour Playwriting Contest. An active member of Showing Up For Racial Justice, her art practice has come to involve work with grassroots community advocacy, melding together direct action and art; she was a co-producer/performer of the political play reading community event 8 Men Speak (The Theatre Centre, 2024); Favourite performances: The Drowning Girls (Guild Festival Theatre), An Acorn: a text for performance (impel Theatre/Oldham Coliseum) and the play-turned-short film & Other Concerns (dir. Sabina Olivia Lambert), which debuted at the Big Apple Film Festival (NYC) and the Female Eye Film Festival (Toronto) in 2024, and Available Now on CBC Gem. Honourable mentions: She has had the opportunity to work on two Thomas McKechnie projects - 12 Letters from Your Lover, Lost at Sea (zietpunktheatre), and was an anti-capitalist worm in Life and death and life and death and life (dir. Steven Hao). Blythe is an AMY Project Board Member, and also works with the project Anchoring Accessibility (with lead artist Leslie Ting, Dr. Jessica Watkin and Macy Siu) - which “works to find ways through practice-based research to support artists in the sector to develop relational and pragmatic approaches to accessibility and confidence by creating creative tools (the protocol) and educational materials.” Watch & Other Concerns on CBC Gem: https://gem.cbc.ca/canadian-reflections Connect with Blythe 📸 Instagram: @blythe_haynes Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
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Susanna Fournier is Spending a Season in Hell with take rimbaud
May 1201:15:08Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: Playwright, 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. Susanna and Phil dig into the state of Canadian theatre with refreshing candour: the fear of artistic risk, the pressure to program safe and familiar work, and what it costs artists, emotionally, financially, and creatively, to keep showing up. From graduating the National Theatre School and navigating the post-theatre-school identity crisis, to collaborating with director ted witzel and the Howland Company across twelve years of drafts, workshops, and rewrites, Susanna reflects on what it means to grow up inside a play; and what it takes to finally let it become what it needs to be. This episode explores: What take rimbaud is, and why Rimbaud's A Season in Hell still feels urgently relatable to artists today The culture of artistic risk-aversion in Canadian theatre and why safe programming may be slowly destroying the art form Why theatre may actually become more essential, not less, in a world where AI is replacing on-screen performers The millennial anxiety baked into the play, and what twelve years of drafts taught Susanna about herself as an artist And much more! Guest: ✍️ Susanna Fournier Susanna Fournier is an award-winning Canadian playwright, theatre maker/director, and educator. Her play texts include: The Empire Trilogy (The Philosopher’s Wife, The Scavenger’s Daughter, Four Sisters), take rimbaud, PYPER, Next Time I Die, HEART/BODY, Always Still the Dawn, and antigone lives*. Her work centres on form-as-meaning and holistic dramaturgies. As an educator, she is the Artistic Director at Armstrong Acting Studios where she shapes performance pedagogy for beginner to master-level actors. She’s taught and lectured at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Creative School, Etobicoke School of the Arts, Randolph College, and Cawthra Park Secondary School. Connect with Susanna Fournier: 🌐 Website: www.susannafournier.com 📸 Instagram: @_susanna_f Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
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Lisa Marie DiLiberto is making theatre that doesn’t sit quietly
May 501:07:49Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: Lisa 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 — from digging through decades of archives to planning a celebration at the Canadian Theatre Museum that will feature five decades of performance. Lisa Marie traces her own journey from training in classical acting at George Brown Theatre School and clowning with Philippe Gaulier in Paris, through founding her own company Fixpoint Theatre, to taking the helm at Theatre Direct in 2019. She 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. This episode explores: Theatre Direct's history, mission, and preparations for its 50th anniversary season in 2026 Lisa Marie's path from George Brown Theatre School and Paris clown training to founding Fixpoint Theatre and leading Theatre Direct Why Theatre for Young Audiences is vital - and how to reach kids who didn't choose to be there Site-specific and participatory theatre as a strategy for engaging young audiences and navigating gatekeepers And much more! Guest: 🎭 Lisa Marie DiLiberto Lisa Marie is the Artistic Director of Theatre Direct Canada, formerly Artistic Director and founder of FIXT POINT Arts and Media, and co-creator of The Tale of a Town, a site-specific theatre and media project that has toured to every province and territory in Canada. She is a Dora nominated Director and the co-creator of Main Street Ontario an animated series now airing its second season on TVO. Ms. DiLiberto holds a Masters of Arts in Theatre and Performance Studies from York University where she is currently pursuing her PhD. Past posts include Playwright-in-Residence at Theatre Passe Muraille, Associate Artistic Director at Jumblies Theatre, and Education & Audience Development Coordinator at Canadian Stage. Lisa Marie is an Artistic Advisor for the National Arts Centre and a graduate of George Brown Theatre School and École Philippe Gaulier in Paris, France. She is an advocate for artist caregivers through Theatre Direct’s initiative Balancing Act and the proud mom of two wild children. Connect with Lisa Marie & Theatre Direct 🌐 Website: theatredirect.ca 📸 Instagram: @theatredirect Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
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Dr. Janet McMordie is Mixing Medicine and Acting with Vitals
Apr 2801:01:25Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: What 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 genuinely surprising conversation about what it means to pursue two very different callings at once. Janet shares how Second City's free online improv classes for healthcare workers during COVID cracked open a creative life she'd tucked away during years of medical training. From community theatre up north to landing an agent at a showcase, her path back to the stage has been anything but conventional — and she's leaning into every messy, joyful step of it. Now Janet is producing and starring in a remount of Rosamund Small's acclaimed play Vitals at Factory Theatre (May 2 - 10), directed by Alaine Hutton. She opens up about what it's like to hire yourself when the industry won't, the humbling surprise of discovering that the script is only 10–20% of the show, and why she believes theatre - real humans breathing the same air - is exactly what the world needs right now. This episode explores: How pandemic improv classes reignited Janet's lifelong love of performance What it's like to navigate the identity of being both Dr. McMordie and an actor Producing Vitals at Factory Theatre — finding funding through small businesses when grants fall short Being a Team Canada physician at the 2024 Paris Paralympics The politics of sport, the politics of theatre, and why artists can't just 'stay in their lane' And much more! Guest: 🩺 Dr. Janet McMordie Dr. Janet McMordie is a Sport & Exercise Medicine Physician with specialty training in Women’s Sexual Health. She completed medical school, family medicine residency, and sport medicine fellowship at McMaster University. She holds a diploma in Sports Medicine from the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM) and is a member of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH). Dr. McMordie is an Associate Medical Director with Odyssey Medical Inc. She also provides medical consulting and surgical/medical device hand doubling services to the film industry. She has extensive theatrical credits including the upcoming remount of VITALS at Factory Theatre, Theatre by The Bay, Mariposa Arts Theatre, The Second City and Antic Theatre. Select film/tv credits include Doc (Fox), Ginny & Georgia (Netflix), and Two Brothers (OutTV). Through her independent podcast Second Act Actors, recently nominated for a Canadian Podcast Award, she has facilitated over 200 in-depth interviews exploring identity, resilience, and transformation. Connect with Dr. Janet McMordie: 🌐 Website: www.janetmcmordie.com 📸 Instagram: @janetmcmordie 🎙️ Podcast: Second Act Actors Get tickets to Vitals at Factory Theatre (May 2 - 10): https://purchase.factorytheatre.ca/EventAvailability?EventId=52402 Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
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Alexis Milligan Knows what Doctors can Learn from Theatre
Apr 2101:03:32Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: What 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. In this episode, Phil and Alexis dig into what movement direction actually is, how it differs from choreography, and why getting rehearsal corsets and headpieces into the room early can mean the difference between injury and artistry. But Alexis's work extends well beyond the rehearsal hall. She is the creator and director of the Groundbreaking Theatre of Medicine program — an accredited continuing professional development program through the University of Toronto that brings performing arts skills directly to physicians, surgeons, and healthcare providers. The research is unambiguous: when patients feel heard and seen by their doctors, their outcomes improve. Alexis is building the bridge between those two worlds, using theatre games, movement exercises, and the transferable skills of the performing arts to fill critical gaps in medical education. Alexis also opens up about podcasting — both as the host of Finding Creativity and as the host of the Shaw Festival's own Let's Get This Shaw on the Road podcast. She and Phil share a candid conversation about the realities of building an audience for niche arts programming, the importance of pulling back the curtain for audiences, and why Canadian theatre needs to get louder about the value it brings to communities. This episode explores: What movement direction is — and how it differs from choreography The physical challenges of period costuming and why rehearsal corsets matter from day one Emotional bleed, the actor's cool-down, and the practice of 'taking off the mask' How the Theatre of Medicine is using performing arts skills to improve patient outcomes and physician well-being The power of pulling back the curtain to build new and loyal theatre audiences And much more! Guest: 🎭 Alexis Milligan Canadian actor, movement specialist and director Alexis Milligan practices and teaches a diverse range of work from theatre and film to movement direction and puppetry. Currently, she is the resident Movement Director at the Shaw Festival, host of the “Let’s Get This Shaw on The Road” podcast, and the director of the ground-breaking Theatre of Medicine program, created in partnership with the Canadian Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. Alexis is a much sought after teacher and arts educator. Her unique approach blends the arts and science by sharing knowledge through experiential learning - which simply means learning through doing. She holds a diploma in Classical Performance from George Brown Theatre School, a diploma in University Teaching from Renaissance College, and a master’s in interdisciplinary studies, combining the performing arts, communication, education, and neuroscience, from the University of New Brunswick. She has served as a consultant for the Canadian Medical Protective Association and has sat on the steering committees for the Canadian Network of Imagination and Creativity and the Atlantic Centre for Creativity, as well as host of the “Finding Creativity” podcast. Alexis is a regular guest teacher at NYU Tisch School for the Performing Arts, The Verbier Festival, The European Association of Urology (TIP Program), Dalhousie University School of Nursing, and University of New Brunswick, School of Nursing. Connect with Alexis Milligan: 🌐 Website: www.alexismilligan.com 📸 Instagram: @milligan.spike 🎙️ Podcast: Let's Get This Shaw on the Road 🎙️ Podcast: Finding Creativity Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell! Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20. Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve
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