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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Logan Robbins Is Giving Puppets (and the Planet) a Fighting Chance
Apr 1400:57:04Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: Logan 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. It's a conversation full of warmth, curiosity, and genuine passion for what theatre can do. Phil and Logan cover a lot of ground - from the origins of the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company and what sustainable theatre actually looks like in practice, to Logan's unusual path from aspiring marine biologist to professional puppeteer. Along the way, they get into the magic of making inanimate objects breathe, the Grogu effect on public perception of puppetry, and a surprisingly relatable detour into dyscalculia. This is also a conversation about community, what it means to build one, how Halifax's independent theatre scene functions with limited space, and why Logan started not one but two puppet festivals in the same year. If you've ever felt the inexplicable joy of watching a puppet come to life, this episode will remind you exactly why that feeling matters. This episode explores: How the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company was founded and what sustainable theatre means in practice Logan's journey from zookeeper and marine biology student to professional puppeteer and theatre maker The magic of puppetry and why breath is the key to bringing any object to life The Halifax theatre scene: independent companies, the Bus Stop Theatre, and Neptune's growing role as a community hub Launching the Objective Puppet Test festival and the Atlantic Festival of Puppetry Arts And much more! Guest: 🎭 Logan Robbins Logan “Lo” Robins is a queer environmental theatre maker, puppeteer, director, producer, stage manager, science communicator, and Artistic Director of The Unnatural Disaster Theatre Co. He is based in the Moolipchugechk region of Mi’kma’ki (colonially known as Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada) and has performed around the world in theatres, on glaciers, and everywhere in between. In the summer of 2025 Logan performed as a puppeteer from Southern Spain to the Arctic Circle with “The Herds”- an international climate action project by The Walk Productions. Logan is passionate about devised theatre, mask, puppetry, and outdoor site-specific theatre that connects audiences to the natural world. As a theatre maker they believe that prioritising collective creation and community care are key to creating art that forges pathways of empathy towards others, ourselves, and the planet. Connect with Logan and The Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company 🌐 Website: www.unnaturaldisaster.ca 📸 Instagram: @unnaturaldisastertheatre 📸 Instagram: @loganrobins 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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Bryn Kennedy is Wearing Many Hats in Toronto's Indie Theatre Scene
Apr 700:57:37Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: Bryn 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. Beyond The Moors, Bryn and Phil dig into big questions facing Canadian theatre: How do we reach audiences who aren't already theatre people? Why do we struggle to communicate story in our marketing? And what can we learn from Hollywood, fringe festivals, and even church about building community and inviting people in? Bryn also reflects on her work as a director, actor, producer, and marketer — and what she learned about the next generation of theatre-makers while managing Musical Stage Company's One Song Glory program. This episode explores: Why The Moors speaks to our culture of isolation and individualism The magic of the BMO Incubator Space at the Theatre Centre What Riot King gets right about indie theatre community Why we need to stop assuming everyone knows the classics What Bryn learned from working with fearless theatre kids And much more! Guest: 🎭 Bryn Kennedy Bryn Kennedy (she/her) is a director, producer, sometimes actor, spreadsheet planner, community builder and life-long learner. As a director, her favourite credits include the upcoming production of The Moors with Riot King, a new interpretation of Vitals by Rosamund Small (Outstanding Solo Performance Nomination, My Entertainment Awards), Beneath the Bed by Gabriel Golin (sold out, site specific run at Toronto Fringe) and new, speculative fiction play JANE by Camille Intson (inaugural Tarragon Greenhouse Residency). She is an alumni of Director's Lab North, Musical Stage Company‘s Apprentice Program and the Stratford Festival Langham Directors Workshop, where she was the recipient of the Jean Gascon Award for Emerging Director at the Guthrie Awards. She has also held assisting positions with prolific Canadian directors Jackie Maxwell (Withrow Park at Tarragon, Ransacking Troy at Stratford), Chris Abraham (Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 and Rogers V Rogers at Crow's) and Peter Pasyk (Hamlet at Stratford). She is currently the Assistant to the Artistic Director at Crow's Theatre and Associate Artistic Director at Directors Lab North. Connect with Bryn Kennedy 🌐 Website: brynkennedy.com 📸 Instagram: @brynkennedy Get tickets to the Moors: https://theatrecentre.org/tickets/?eid=188037 The Moors runs until April 19 at The Theatre Centre. 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. Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!
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Miriam Cummings Finds Freedom Through Solo Performance and Teaching
Mar 3101:04:21Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: In this episode, Phil sits down with Miriam Cummings, a playwright, performer, and educator who creates deeply personal solo theatre. Miriam shares how a tongue-in-cheek suggestion at Canada's National Voice Institute led her to write and perform her first solo show, The One, and how that experience opened up new ways of being vulnerable on stage. She reflects on the protective barriers she built as a young actor after experiencing profound loss, and how solo performance helped her dismantle those walls and get closer to herself as an artist. Miriam also discusses her second solo show, Wide, which pushed the boundaries of audience participation and co-creation, and how moving from Montreal to BC transformed both her body and her art. As an educator, she believes everyone has inherent presence and that actor training is about uncovering the joy of play we all had as children. This conversation explores grief, presence, the writing process, and the courage it takes to be honest on stage. This episode explores: How a casual suggestion led Miriam to create her first solo show The terrifying vulnerability of hearing your own writing read aloud for the first time Navigating grief and loss in theatre school and building protective barriers as an actor The difference between creating The One and Wide, and the role of movement in Miriam's writing process Teaching presence, play, and helping adults reclaim what they loved as children And much more! Guest: 🎭 Miriam Cummings Miriam (she/her) is an artist, actor, and educator who creates on the ancestral, unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. Playful improvisation that connects breath, body, and voice to image is at the core of Miriam’s practice. She holds an MFA (Performance & Creative Writing) from UBCO and a BFA (Acting) from Concordia University. Based in Tiohtià:ke / Montréal for more than a decade, Miriam performed with local companies such as Repercussion Theatre, Montréal Improv, and co-founded Hopegrown Productions, an incubator for new plays. Her solo performance and research of psychologically safe actor training methods have been selected for residencies in Ontario, Québec, and British Columbia. Miriam has instructed adults across the country for more than a decade, teaching acting, devising, and creative writing classes as Part-Time Faculty at Concordia University and workshops at Sheridan College, Okanagan College, Geordie Theatre School, Tempest Theatre, Kaleidoscope Theatre, Rosebud School for the Arts, and more. Miriam offers accessible classes for everyone that boost confidence, creativity, and self-expression through actor training techniques and coaches people one-on-one. Connect with Miriam: 📸 Instagram: @mcummings___ 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. Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!
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Alexis Eastman on Devised Theatre, Novel Writing, Creative Producing and Artistic Identity
Mar 2401:04:30Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: Creative 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. She discusses her collaborations with artists like Adam Lazarus on shows including Daughter and the upcoming Versus, and how her approach to producing integrates her into the creative process as a true collaborator. Alexis also opens up about how becoming a mother profoundly changed her perspective on producing, the importance of failure in the creative process, and her journey from devised theatre to discovering she's actually a novelist. She reflects on growing up in an evangelical church and how that shaped her artistic practice, the necessity of boredom for creativity, and why long-term relationships between artists and producers lead to deeper, more rigorous work. This episode explores: What a creative producer actually does and how it differs from traditional producing The importance of long-term artist support and development in theatre How motherhood transformed Alexis's approach to producing and collaboration Working with Adam Lazarus on Daughter and the new show Versus Why failure and time are essential ingredients in the creative process And much more! Guest: 🎭 Alexis Eastman Alexis Eastman is a writer and creative producer based in Toronto. A graduate of York University's Creative Ensemble program, she learned her producing craft at the Theatre Centre under Ashlyn Rose, where she served as producer from 2018. Alexis works as a creative collaborator integrated into the artistic process from idea through development to premiere and beyond. She has collaborated extensively with artists including Adam Lazarus on Daughter and the upcoming show Versus. Beyond producing, Alexis is also a novelist, having discovered that novel writing is her true creative practice. She brings her experience as a mother and her background growing up in an evangelical church to inform her thoughtful, emotionally intelligent approach to supporting artists. Connect with Alexis Eastman: 📸 Instagram: @alexis_leanna 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. Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!
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Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak Are Sneaking Improv into Mainstream Canadian Theatre
Mar 1700:51:40Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: What 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 Phil to share the wild origin story of Goblin:Macbeth; from a rushed eight-day creation to becoming a phenomenon at major Canadian theatre festivals. They discuss the challenges of performing in Hollywood-grade silicone masks, the art of caring for audiences while embodying creatures, and how they've managed to sneak improvisation into prestigious Canadian theatre companies like the Stratford and Shaw Festivals. This episode explores: The serendipitous eight-day creation of Goblin Macbeth and performing in expensive silicone masks How mask work, clown technique, and bouffon influence the goblins' relationship with audiences Sneaking improvisation into mainstream Canadian theatre at Stratford and Shaw Festivals The legacy of Keith Johnstone and Loose Moose Theatre Company in shaping Canadian improv Why live theatre is the antidote to artificial intelligence and isolation And much more! Guests: 🎭 Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak Rebecca Northan is a "Jill-of-all-trades": actor, director, playwright, improviser,producer, and sometimes-prop-maker. She is the Artistic Producer of Spontaneous Theatre, known for its audience-centered creations that almost always break the fourth wall. Rebecca has worked across Canada as an actor and director. Most recently she co-created Murder-on-the-Lake for the Shaw Festival, which played to 87% houses in the 2025 season. In 2026, Rebecca will travel to Bard on the Beach, in Vancouver, to direct the Merry Wives of Windsor, and will then remain perform in Goblin:Oedipus. Rebecca, and co-creators Bruce Horak & Ellis Lalonde continue to expand the "Goblin Empire", with several future Goblin projects in the hopper. Rebecca is a Canadian Comedy Award Winner, and has also starred in two Canadian TV series ("Alice, I Think", and "The Foundation"). She also teaches improvisation occasionally, and hopes to someday launch a training facility. Rebecca's hit show, Blind Date, has toured across Canada, parts the US, off-Broadway, and in London & Oslo. Bruce Horak is originally from Calgary, Alberta where he trained in Theatre and Improvisation at the prestigious Loose Moose Theatre. He has worked professionally in Canada and abroad for over 25 years. He can be seen onscreen in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for Paramount Plus as the Chief Engineer, Hemmer. When not creating new works and performing onstage, Bruce devotes his time to painting, composing, and writing. Connect with Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak: 🌐 Spontaneous Theatre: spontaneoustheatre.com 📸 Instagram: @spontaneoustheatre 📸 Instagram: @rebeccanorthan 📸 Instagram: @brucehorak 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. Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!
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Tika McLean is Building Community in Art and Every Day
Mar 1000:57:19Tap to summarizeAbout This Episode: This 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. In this episode: The "General Creative" Philosophy: Why Tika refuses to choose just one lane between acting, dancing, and painting. Art as Social Commentary: Using satire to address racism and the "distraction economy." Navigating the Industry with Disability: The reality of chronic pain, healthcare "sensitivity," and accessibility on stage. The K-Pop Connection: How global fandoms and the South Korean idol system inspired her new musical project. And much more! Guest: 🎭 Tika McLean Tika McLean is a performer who uses acting, singing, dancing & painting as creative outlets to express her performance abilities to her audience. She created her one woman (for now) production company, Beyond A Productions, and shares her comedy skits, cover songs and dances on her YouTube channel TIKA! (@tikacreates), & LOVES to perform live! Tika strives to build mutual aid networks in her community through her work with various organizations as an outreach worker for people experiencing homelessness, hosting clothing drives and a portable soup kitchen, and handing out Covid fun packages for people in isolation. She continues to volunteer in her community by mentoring youth & young adults to create their own community initiatives & achieve their career goals. She also is the proud creator of GIVE ‘EM LOVE, an art fundraiser platforming communities experiencing oppression due to stigma, to finally have the opportunity to tell their stories to the world. Tika wants you to know that mutual aid networks are key to creating positive change in our communities. Connect with Tika: 📸 Instagram: @angry_black_womban 🎥 TikTok: @angry_black_woman 📺 YouTube: @TikaCreates 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. Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!
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Alysa Pires
May 17, 2016Tap to summarizeChoreographer Alysa Pires has created works for Ballet Jorgen, Citie Ballet (Edmonton, AB), Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, Cadence Ballet, Ryerson University, Dancestreams Youth Dance Company, Victoria Academy of Ballet, McMaster Dance Company, Helix Dance Theatre, the Parahumans, Kalos Collective, and her own company Alysa Pires Dance Projects. Her work in theatre includes choreography for ten musicals, a series of world premiere plays by Judith Thompson (CAN), Velina Hasu Houston (USA) and Timberlake Wertenbaker (UK) that toured through Greece (The Women and War Project) and the first workshop of a new commission for the Los Angeles Opera. In July 2014, Alysa represented Canada and performed as part of the Tin Forest Theatre Festival in Glasgow, Scotland in celebration of the Commonwealth Games. Her work ...keeping in mind they may be behind you was reimagined for the 2014 Emerging Artist Intensive in Toronto. Alysa was the sole North American and the only female selected from a pool of international applicants as one of four choreographers to participate in DanceEast's ChoreoLab in Ipswich, UK in April of 2013, where she developed “i am vertical.” The work recently received its Canadian premiere at the dance:made in Canada Festival in Toronto. She is the Heliconian Club of Toronto’s 2015-2016 Dancer-in-Residence. Alysa is an Honours BFA graduate of Ryerson Theatre School. Look for a full-length work from Alysa Pires Dance Projects at the 2016 Toronto Fringe Festival. For more information go to www.alysapires.comAlysa Pires Dance Projects is a Toronto based contemporary dance company. Founded in 2015 as a home for choreographer Alysa Pires, APDP aims to utilize the extreme physical ability of the dancers while maintaining their humanity so that the audience can see their own trials and tribulations expressed through a heightened but relatable physical language. Through highly dynamic physicality and tender intimacy, Alysa Pires makes contemporary dance works that aim to transcend their abstraction and connect to an audience beyond dedicated dance lovers. For more information, visitwww.alysapires.com/APDP or follow us on Instagram @alysapiresdanceprojects. INSTAGRAM - @alysapiresdanceprojects TWITTER - @alysapires FACEBOOK - www.facebook.com/alysapiresdance FUND WHAT YOU CAN - bit.ly/APDPFringeStageworthy:http://www.stageworthypodcast.com Twitter @stageworthyPod Facebook: http://facebook.com/stageworthyPod
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