CAST

Thomas Gough – Ebenezer Scrooge

Thomas Gough works frequently in the Independent Theatre, having appeared with the Alumnæ Theatre, Safeword, Single Thread, the Storefront, Thought For Food, Theatre Lab, Plain Stage, and Unspoken Theatre. In 2018 he won the My Entertainment World Award for ‘Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play (Independent)’ for his performance as ‘Ebenezer Scrooge’ in the Three Ships Collective’s inaugural production of A Christmas Carol and is pleased to be returning to the role. He will also be appearing in the FX series Mrs. America, starring Cate Blanchett, which is to be broadcast in 2020.

Heather Marie Annis – Belle / Alice / Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come

Heather is an actor, director, playwright, theatrical and therapeutic clown, Co-Artistic Director of U.N.I.T. Productions, and “Morro” of the Dora Award and Canadian Comedy Award winning clown duo Morro and Jasp. 

Acting credits include: Remembering The Winnipeg General (Zeitpunk Theatre), Let’s Go (DMT Productions), Morro and Jasp in Stupefaction, Bright Lights (Theatre Bruhaha), Emily’s Piano (YPT), Morro and Jasp: 9-5 (Factory Theatre), Morro and Jasp: Go Bake Yourself, Of Mice and Morro and Jasp, Morro and Jasp Gone Wild, Morro and Jasp do Puberty (U.N.I.T. Productions), The Money Tree (Dora Nominated for Best Ensemble – Roseneath), Scheherezade (Nobody’s Business Theatre), By A Thread (Sterling Studio Theatre), Come Blow Your Horn (Classic Theatre Festival), Marat/Sade (SoupCan Theatre), Pornstar (BeefyGeek/UNIT), Mixed Messages, Showdown (Mixed Company Theatre), Savage/Love (Zeitgeist Theatre/Column 13), Saving Hope (CTV), Reign (CW).

This January, Heather will be appearing in Morro and Jasp Save The Date at the NextStage Festival. She will also we directing Julia Lederer’s U-R-U (NextStage), and an upcoming workshop production of the new show Pest Me, Pet Me with Animacy Theatre Collective.

Jim Armstrong – Fezziwig / Barleycorn

Some of Jim Armstrong’s favourite credits include Rosencrantz in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Hart House Theatre), Dick in High Park Noir (Toronto Fringe), Jean in Rhinoceros (Seven Siblings Theatre), and Ambituoso in Cousins of Corsica (2015 Spring Works Festival). He is a member of the group Soldiers of Song: A Tribute to Canada’s Famous Dumbells. He also tours with Jason Wilson’s Sumach Roots, a show which blends sketch and song to tell stories from the history of Toronto. He is currently a member of The Second City Training Centre’s Conservatory program. More information can be found on his website at http://www.jimarmstrong.ca/

Chloe Bradt – Tiny Tim / Little Ebenezer

Chloe is reprising her roles with Three Ships Collective and Soup Can Theatre. After a very early start with modeling she continues with some commercial work (currently appearing in Best Buy 2019 holiday commercial).  It was after her first film role at age 6 she decided she loves performance, now including Theatre Sports. Chloe is fully bilingual in French and English. She is also active in other sports, currently volleyball and soccer along with springboard and platform diving. Chloe is thrilled to be a part of such an accomplished cast in such a novel venue.

Justine Christensen – Ghost of Christmases Past / Peter Cratchit

Justine Christensen is a Toronto-born actor-writer-producer. She is a co-founder of LET ME IN, a platform through which she seeks to produce audience-engaging, socially-conscious theatre. Her favourite acting credits include Rosalind (As You Like It, GBTS Theatre), Kayleen (Gruesome Playground Injuries, Theatre at Eastminster), and Bridget (Cannibal, Nextstage Festival 2019). Justine has appeared in TV series such as The Expanse, The Next Step, and The Umbrella Academy. She has worked with Convergence Theatre, Pat The Dog Theatre Creation, and Nightwood Theatre to hone and develop her skills as a producer. Justine is currently working on her own content, including formatting and publishing her Trilogy of Chekhov adaptations, and creating and directing short films. Thanks for coming out to celebrate the holidays with us!

Quinn Dooley – Violinist (2021 Staged Reading)

Marcel Dragonieri – Jacob Marley

Marcel is a Toronto based actor, writer and arts-educator. He is the co-founder of Zanni Arte, a company dedicated to promoting and de-mystifying mask performance to actors and non-actors alike.  Under that banner he performed in and co-produced the Fringe Festival hits The Travelling Salesman and his Magical Suitcase of Desires (Best of the Fest, 2011) and A Funeral for Clowns (Patron’s Pick 2012) which remounted at The Toronto Festival for Clowns in 2018.  After the success of these shows Marcel returned to co-write and perform in Honest Aesop’s Fables (Tarradiddle Theatre) a modern re-telling of the classic stories that remounted the very next year in both Toronto and Goderich respectively.

Marcel is also a sought after arts-educator, having worked with numerous schools and companies including: The National Theatre School Drama Festival (formerly Sears), City of Toronto: Parks and Recreation, Firebrand Theatre, beyond 3:30, TCDSB Arts and the TDSB Arts Co-op. He holds a BFA from the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies  at the University of Toronto and a B.ED from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Some other acting credits include: The Misanthrope (Mirvish Productions), The Witch of Edmonton (Red Light District, Summerworks), Politically Correct Bedtime Stories (Pheasant Plucker’s Mates) and numerous productions in Toronto and across Canada.

Tayves Fiddis – Fred / Augustus Scrooge

Tayves is a Toronto based artist and activist focused on acting, directing and sound design. Originally from Vancouver, he is a graduate of Ryerson Theatre School and a founding member of The Empty Room. As an activist he campaigns for electoral reform and climate action, and would love to talk to you about anything and everything. Select credits: The Comedy of Errors (Theatre Georgian Bay), The Omnibus Bill (Counterpoint Players/TACTICS Festival), Mary’s Wedding, Sucker (Highland Arts Theatre), We Must Have More Men! (Theatre By The Bay), Othello, Twelfe Night (Ale House Theatre), Lot and his God (Desiderata), Showdown 2.0 (Mixed Co. Theatre), Journey’s End (Empty Room), Macbeth (Classical Theatre Project). Directing: Tribe of One (Highland Arts), Boys From the Burbs (Empty Room), The SantaLand Diaries (Lil’ Frosty Collective). Extinction is coming, join the rebellion – https://Rebellion.Earth

Diana Franz – Mrs. Dilber / Mrs. Fezziwig

Diana recently moved back to Canada after completing an MA in Acting at East 15 in London in the UK, where she had the opportunity to work with the likes of Colour House Theatre, Big Time Academy, Inside the Box Theatre, Sabotage Theatre, Bakehouse, A Brands and Northbank Entertainment on a variety of pantomimes, devised theatre pieces, immersive theatre pieces and feature films. She is thrilled to be joining the Three Ships Collective and Soup Can Theatre for her foray back into the Canadian theatre scene! When not acting, Diana works as a professional translator and can generally be found in the company of her dog named dog, Perra, her “lost boy” rescue mutt, Rufio, and her three-legged Bengal cat, Murford.

Carolyn Hall – Emily Cratchit

For Soup Can Theatre: Estelle in No Exit; Kitty in Pride and Prejudice, Playwrights’ Cabaret (The Grand Theatre); Lady Teazle in School for Scandal (Odyssey Theatre); All Female Roles in Test Drive (Lighthouse Festival Theatre); Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Myrrhine in Lysistrata, (Hart House Theatre); Louise in Steve Martin’s The Underpants, Caroline Bingley in Pride and Prejudice (Alumnae Theatre); Marybeth in Frances and Marybeth (Factory Studio Theatre); Cyprienne in Cyprienne (Village Theatre). Education: BFA Acting, University of Windsor. Carolyn is an experienced arts educator and writer/director for youth theatre, as well as a creator of historical/heritage dramatizations.

Aliya Hamid – Lydia Berryman / Martha Cratchit

Aliya is thrilled to be apart of her first production with The Three Ships Collective with the support of Soup Can Theatre. Selected credits include: Diana in Anne (Guild Festival Theatre), Petra in A Little Night Music (Randolph Theatre), Elizabeth Banks in Young Frankenstein (Whitby Courthouse Theatre). Aliya is a recent graduate of Randolph College for the Performing Arts and has been involved with music from a young age with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company (where they would put on A Christmas Carol every year!)

Michael Hogan – Young Ebenezer / Old Joe

Mike is a Toronto-based actor from Windsor, Ontario. A graduate of the University of Windsor’s BFA program, Michael is thrilled to be working for the first time with Soup Can Theatre. Selected credits include: Harry/Arthur/Len/Mad Jacko in The Gut Girls (Alumnae Theatre), Brody in Choking the Butterfly (Rarely Pure Theatre), Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest (Hart House Theatre), Jaques in As You Like It (Rarely Pure Theatre), Mace/Tamagotchi/Pale Person in Trashman’s Dilemma (New Fangled Stages), Pozzo in Waiting for Godot (Sweet Nothing Productions).

Kat Letwin – Ghost of Christmas Present

Kat Letwin is a Dora award winner/multiple nominee whose favourite theatre roles include Michele in Chasse Galerie (Kabin/Storefront/Soulpepper), Thoth in Featherweight (Theatre Brouhaha/Toronto Fringe), so many Canadians in VideoCabaret’s Confederation Pts 1 & 2 (Soulpepper), and any collaboration with Kat Sandler. She’s performed sketch comedy and improv across North America with various troupes, including her current duo 1623. She performs often at Comedy Bar, Bad Dog Theatre, and The Social Capitol Theatre in Toronto, and can be seen in season 3 of the International Emmy award-winning The Amazing Gayl Pile, streaming on CBC Gem and Amazon Prime.

Cihang Ma – Bailiwick / Violinist

Cihang Ma is a Chinese-Canadian actor and improv/sketch comedian. She abandoned her science degree two years ago and refuses to look back. Since then, she has graduated from the Second City Sketch Conservatory Program, is a recent alumna of the Second City Bob Curry Diversity Fellowship, and has just been nominated for the 2019 Second City Tim Sims Encouragement Award. You can catch her performing on comedy stages around Toronto, individually, or often as part of the improv troupes, Grim Diesel, and Fire! Fire! Fire!. She also wrote and created the sketch revue, Carpe Into My DMs with her sketch troupe, We Are Sports!, which won Best of Fringe in Toronto this summer. She is very excited to be a part of this beautiful production. Many thanks to this entire wonderful team, her family, friends, and Marty (her mouse, who is also an actor).

Nicholas Koy Santillo – Bob Cratchit

Koy is a classically trained actor; a graduate from LAMDA and Concordia University.  He has trained in the martial-dance performance style of traditional Beijing Opera, at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts (NACTA) in Beijing, and also in Western styles of stage combat through Fight Directors Canada.  He has been working professionally in the theatre since 2008. He is excited to be joining Three Ships Collective for this production, in such an incredible space. Toronto Credits include; Hart House’s The Crucible, Alumnae Theatre’s The Importance of Being Earnest, and Nowadays Theatre’s A Dance of Torn Papers.

Callum Shoniker – Tiny Tim / Little Ebenezer

10 yr old Callum is thrilled to be part of Soupcan’s / Three Ships: A Christmas Carol. Select past favourite Theatre Productions: LOT-  Ralphie Parker in A Christmas Story, Benji in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert. CATS: Genie in Aladdin, Gomez in The Addams Family. He studies singing with Rosalind Mills. Select Favourite Film/Television credits include: Focus Feature: James Ginsburg in On The Basis Of Sex, roles in Netflix: Polar, The Silence. Amazon Prime’s The Boys and CBC’s Kim’s Convenience, and Anne with an E. Callum will also be heard voicing many animated characters on various children’s Networks: PBS Kids, NickJr, TreeHouse and Netflix in 2020. Callum is represented by AMI Artistic Management. Special thanks to Shari and Paige @Amiagency, @callumshoniker

CREATIVE

Sarah Thorpe – Director / Co-Producer

Theatre artist and co-founder of Soup Can Theatre. Directed productions of A Christmas Carol, No Exit, Marat/Sade and Soup Can’s original creations Love is a Poverty You Can Sell I and II; produced productions of Gut Girls, Antigone, A Hand of Bridge, Circle Jerk, and Let’s Go! by Robert Fothergill. Acting credits: The Really Real Adventures of Scott Free and Will Do, Gut Girls, Titus Andronicus, Comedy of Errors, Threepenny Opera, Bare Canadian premiere, and Tomson Highway’s Pimooteewin world premiere, directed by Michael Greyeyes. Wrote and performed in the award-winning solo piece Heretic: a modern retelling of the story of Joan of Arc. Recipient of two OAC grants: directing mentorship with Alan Dilworth, and a recommender grant (recommended by Volcano Theatre) to co-create a new play, American Traditional, about women in the tattoo and circus worlds in the early 20th century with circus artist Tamara Salpeter. BA with honours in theatre from York University.

Justin Haigh – Playwright / Assistant Director / Co-Producer

Justin is a graduate of York University’s Film Production and Screenwriting program but has found a happy home in the world of independent theatre. Justin is proud to be one of the founding members of Soup Can Theatre; his credits include Soup Can Theatre’s previous seven productions, Love is a Poverty You Can Sell (Writer/Emcee segment Co-Director/Co-Producer), Marat/Sade (Sound Designer/Set Co-Designer/Co-Producer), Antigone (Co-Producer), A Hand of Bridge / No Exit (Co-Producer, No Exit Dramaturge, Sound Designer, Set Co-Designer), Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 2: Kisses for a Pfennig (Writer/Emcee segment Co-Director/Co-Producer), The Session – part of Circle Jerk (Writer/Director), and Heretic (Dramaturge/Co-Producer). Justin has also written for CBC Comedy and is the founder of the Spoon Vs. Hammer comedy collective and the writer-director of their critically acclaimed sketch revue, Behold, the Barfly!

Justin is thoroughly chuffed to be returning to the Campbell House Museum for another round of yuletide shenanigans and to be working with such a remarkable collective of artists and creators.

Pratik Gandhi – Musical Director

Pratik Gandhi is a freelance conductor based in Toronto.  He has been music director of Soup Can Theatre since its inception, and also serves as music director of the Rouge River Winds.  Pratik is Vice-Chair of the Concert Band division of MusicFest Canada, and syllabus coordinator for the OBA Concert Band Festival.  He has also been selected as a finalist for music director of the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. Pratik is credited as conductor on several recordings of new music, including the Juno-nominated track “Granitic” from Bekah Simms’ debut album, impurity chains.  Pratik is originally from Markham, and received B.Mus. and M.Mus. degrees from the University of Western Ontario.

Ellen Brooker – Stage Manager

Ellen Brooker is a stage manager, and scenic designer and builder based in Toronto. 

She has a Master’s Degree in Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries from Central St Martin’s (University of the Arts London), and has been happily living and working in Toronto for a year now. She’s very pleased to be working on this classic story, as she loves Christmas more than anything and finds the folks in Three Ships wonderful to work with.

Selected credits: Production Stage Management for Bella Donna at Tarragon Extraspace, Stage Management for CorpOLuz Theatre’s Siranoush in the 2019 Caminos Festival, Assistant Production Management and Technical Direction for the Kingston-based digital arts festival, foldA 2019 (produced by SpiderWebShow), and Costume and Design Assistant for Punchdrunk’s Small Wonders in London, England. She is also the co-founder of Restless Legs Theatre. 

She’s got a deep-seated love of florals, a cone-a-day ice cream habit, and can be found stage managing U-R-U in her NextStage debut in January!

Madeline Ius – Costume / Prop Designer

Madeline is thrilled to be working with the Three Ships Collective for the first time. She looks forward to finishing her degree in production & design and would like to thank her mentor Sylvia Defend.

Recent Credits: Costume Design & Head of Wardrobe, Here are the Fragments, Theatre Centre; Head of Wardrobe, Pass Over, Obsidian Theatre; Costume Design & Head of Wardrobe, Newmarket National Play Festival.

Wendel Wray – Production Manager / Co-Producer

Wendel is an emerging producer, production manager, and costumer based in Toronto. Coming from a multidisciplinary background in the arts, Wendel takes pride in fine tuning a variety of skills in order to better understand his craft. After starting his career as a costume technician, Wendel went on to make his costume design debut in January 2017 for The Gut Girls (Alumnae Theatre,) which he also co-produced. Recent costuming credits include Macbeth’s Head (Malfi Productions, 2017,) and Exiles (Sad Ibsen Theatre, 2016). Producing credits include: The Gut Girls (Alumnae Theatre, 2017,) All of Me (Theatre Insomnia, 2018,) and A Christmas Carol (Soup Can Theatre & The Three Ships Collective, 2018.)  Wendel most recently worked as a Production Assistant for Starvox Entertainment on their production of David Ross Bowie’s Four Chords and A Gun, which toured Toronto and Chicago.

Amanda Baker – Assistant Stage Manager / Audience Guide

John Fleming – Dialect Coach

John is an actor, producer, and dialect coach.   He’s coached film and television shows like Umbrella Academy & The Boys, coached dozens of theatrical productions from Dora-winning shows to big musicals to last year’s production of Three Ship’s Christmas Carol. He’s acted on stage in multiple shows with the Red One Theatre Collective, and on television like Murdoch Mysteries and Heroes: Reborn.   He also produces and stars in action films.   Check them out at www.ActionCANFilms.com.

Louisa Zhu – Fight Director

Louisa is an actor and performance combat artist based in Toronto. She is a Certified Fight Instructor and is also the Director of Training for Fight Directors Canada (FDC). Louisa teaches on faculty at George Brown College as well as Rapier Wit. Selected credits include: AS FIGHT DIRECTOR-  Hilot Means Healer (Cahoots Theatre/b.current performing arts), A Blow in the Face (Nightwood Theatre/Bald Ego Theatre), Yellow Rabbit (Soulpepper/Silk Bath Collective); AS PERFORMER: The Silver Arrow (Citadel Theatre), Reflector (Theatre Gargantua), Sex Tape Project (fu-GEN), Treasure Island (Solar Stage *Dora Nomination-Ensemble).