Ivy is a Jessie-nominated actor who hails from Winnipeg, MB—Treaty 1 Territory, homeland of the Métis Nation. She is now based in Vancouver, BC, on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples—Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam Nations. Ivy is a Studio 58 graduate. She was awarded the Hnatyshyn Developing Artist Grant in English Theatre in 2019. Previous credits include: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Arts Club); In My Day (ZeeZee Theatre Company); Beautiful Man (Pi Theatre); Orlando (RMTC); East Van Panto: Pinocchio (Theatre Replacement); A Chorus Line, Urinetown, Antony and Cleopatra, Cabaret (Studio 58).

Cecilly hails from Vancouver and is so excited to be making her Citadel debut. Previous Credits Include: Escape to Margaritaville, Ragtime (Theatre Calgary); Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Sound of Music (Arts Club Theatre Company); Wizard of Oz (Western Canada Theatre). Cecilly would like to thank her mother, her friends, and her agents for all their love and support.

Braydon is a theatre actor, director, dancer and now puppet guy. Select theatre credits include: Network (Citadel Theatre/RMTC); Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre, The Tempest, A Christmas Carol (Citadel Theatre); Burning Bluebeard (Edmonton Actors Theatre); Shakespeare’s R&J (Kill Your Television); To Be Moved, Scaramouche Jones, Subway Circus (Blarney Productions); The Salon of the Talking Turk (Teatro); Fortune Falls (Catalyst Theatre/ATP). Training: U of A; Citadel/Banff Centre; Frantic Assembly. A special thank you to Amy, Michael, Beyata and the entire Arts Club props team for building such wonderful puppets to bring to life each night.

Victor is a Vancouver-based Métis actor and is making his Citadel debut. Previous theatre credits include: Matilda the Musical, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast (Theatre Under the Stars); Grease (Chemainus); Rock of Ages (Renegade); Crybaby the Musical (Awkward Stage); You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Globe Theatre). Outside of theatre, his voice can be heard in Dragalia Lost (Nintendo); Zombies, Run!, Marvel Move (Six to Start); and on his podcast Sharlayan Dropouts. He’d like to thank this incredible, supportive cast for everything they do.

Rochelle Laplante (she/her) is ecstatic to be back at the Citadel! She is an Edmonton-raised multidisciplinary performance artist and co-creater of Homegrown, a choreopoem that premiered at Nextfest in 2021. She is an alumni of the Young Company at the Citadel and a graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada. Previous credits include: CTRL-ALT-DEL, Hoodies (Concrete Theatre); Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Arts Club/ Citadel Theatre); Clue (Citadel Theatre); Caribbean Muskrat (Teatro La Quindicina); Macbeth (Freewill Shakespeare); Hiraeth (Bright Young Things); The Importance of Being Earnest (Empress of Blandings).

Madeleine is delighted to bring the plant to Edmonton in her Citadel debut! Madeleine is a Vancouver-born singer, dancer, actor, and makeup enthusiast who graduated from Capilano University’s Musical Theatre Program and Decidedly Jazz Dance Works’ Professional Training Program. Select credits include: Matilda (TUTS); Cabaret, Company (Raincity); Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol (Arts Club); Joseph (Gateway); Naughty But Nice, Touch Me (Forte); Shrek (Globe); Anything Goes (RCMT); Kinky Boots (Mirvish); First Time/Last Time (Shadow); Avenue Q (Stage West); The Last Five Years (Storybook). Madeleine would like to thank Mutti, Vati, and Daniel for their unrelenting love and support.

Ali is absolutely thrilled to be coming to Edmonton for the first time, especially with these top-notch folks (and she’s heard so many great things about this mall)! Ali has always been a huge fan of the Halloween season and is very excited to get to perform this spooky cult classic during the best time of the year! Recent credits include: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (The Arts Club); Grease (Western Canada Theatre); and The Fiancée (Persephone Theatre). Enjoy the show… and DON’T feed the plants!

Tenaj is very excited to be back in Edmonton at the Citadel again.

CITADEL THEATRE: The Fiancée, The Color Purple (Co-pro with RMTC).

OTHER THEATRE: Ragtime: A Concert Performance, A Christmas Carol (Theatre Calgary); Clue (Vertigo Theatre); Sweat (Theatre Aquarius); The Color Purple (Neptune Theatre); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Charlottes Web (ATP); King Lear, Macbeth (Shakespeare Company); Naughty But Nice (Forte); Sextet (Verb).

Film/TV: JANN(Ctv/Hulu); Wynona Earp (Sci-Fyi); Big Sky (NBC); Meet Me at Christmas (Hallmark).

Awards: Lieutenant Governor General Award 2022.

Selected Acting: ROOM (Grand/Mirvish); Cost of Living, Sweat (Arts Club/Citadel); Shakespeare in Love, Of Mice and Men (Citadel/RMTC); Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet (Bard on the Beach); Omnium Gatherum, As You Like It, Fernando Krapp (Canadian Stage); Trials of Ezra Pound (Stratford Festival); The Fall, Red Priest, Black Rider, Slavs (Tarragon Theatre); Les Miserables (Mirvish); True Love Lies (Factory Theatre). Selecting Directing: Silent Words, Deafy (Follow the Signs Theatre); Twelfth Night (Studio Theatre).

Recently, John appeared in Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes at Theatre Network and performed in the Spiegeltent at K-Days with Firefly Theatre. John is very familiar to The Citadel Theatre. Last year he played Scrooge in A Christmas Carol which he will reprise this year. Favourite roles include: Matilda (RMTC/Citadel/Arts Club); Beauty and the Beast (Citadel/Theatre Calgary); Cabaret, The Pillowman, Rocky Horror Show, and Death of a Salesman (Citadel). He has worked across the country in many theatres from The Segal Centre in Montreal to The Belfry Theatre in Victoria.

Synthia is a Vancouver-based actor and singer. She’s excited to be back at the Citadel after working on Mamma Mia! in 2018. Previous credits: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Original Canadian Cast, Mirvish Productions); Blackout (Musical Stage Co.); Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol, The Sound of Music, Beauty and the Beast (Arts Club Theatre); The Boy in the Moon (Neworld/ The Cultch); Les Filles du Roi (Urban Ink). Thank you to the Sheen family for all of their support through the years.

Best known as a pivotal creative mind behind the renaissance of Disney animation and his work on The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and The Beast (which is dedicated to, “Our friend, Howard Ashman, who gave a Mermaid her voice and a Beast his soul…”) Ashman’s first love was theatre. Ashman was a founder of off off Broadway’s renowned WPA Theater, where he conceived, wrote and directed God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, as well as the classic musical, Little Shop of Horrors (both music by Alan Menken). In 1986, he wrote and directed the Broadway musical Smile (music by Marvin Hamlisch). Lamented as a lost treasure of the 1980’s theatre scene, Smile remains popular on High School and College campuses throughout the country. For more information, please visit www.howardashman.com

Theatre: God Bless You Mr Rosewater, Little Shop Of Horrors, Real Life Funnies, Atina: Evil Queen Of The Galaxy, Kicks, The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz, Beauty And The Beast, A Christmas Carol, Weird Romance, King David, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid, Sister Act, Leap Of Faith, Aladdin and Newsies. Film: Little Shop Of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast, Newsies, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Hercules, Life With Mikey, Lincoln, Home On The Range, Noel, Enchanted, Shaggy Dog, Tangled and Mirror Mirror. Songs: Rocky V, Home Alone 2 and Captain America. Awards: 8 Oscars (19 nominations), 11 Grammys (including Song of the Year), 7 Golden Globes, Tony® (plus 4 nominations), Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, New York Drama Critics, Olivier and London’s Evening Standard Award, Drama League. Honors: Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, Doctorates from New York University and University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Ashlie is the Artistic Director of the Arts Club Theatre Company (since 2018). Recent favourites include: Mamma Mia, Cost of Living (Citadel Theatre); The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time, The Matchmaker, Bed & Breakfast, The Sound of Music, Redbone Coonhound, Teenage Dick, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Arts Club); The Barber of Seville, The Magic Flute (Vancouver Opera); Me & My Girl (Shaw Festival); The Magic Flute (COC); Mustard (Tarragon Theatre).  Ashlie is the proud mom of a spirited toddler. Love and thanks to Daryl and the whole Citadel team!

Caitlin is a Vancouver-based music director, accompanist and performer. Selected MD credits include: Carrie, Urinetown (Capilano U); Closer Than Ever (Gateway); Mame, Ernest in Love, Good News, Fiorello! (Applause!); Annie (Chemainus Theatre Festival); Godspell (Arts Club—assistant music director). Caitlin is grateful to live and work on the unceded traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. She is a faculty member at Capilano University’s theatre department and is the accompanist for the renowned Vancouver Youth Choir.

Ruth is an Edmonton-based actor/musician originally from Scotland. Her career spans four decades in theatre and television including: Once, A Christmas Carol (Citadel Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Freewill Festival); TWO (Edmonton Fringe); Les Misérables (U.K. Tour); and a recurring role on long running series Coronation Street. As a musical director, her work in Canada includes Catalyst Theatre’s The Invisible, Vigilante in concert, Nevermore at Vertigo Theatre for which she won The Betty Mitchell Award for Best Music Direction. Ruth is also the co-artistic producer of Theatre Yes alongside her husband, director Max Rubin.

Gianna Vacirca is a dancer, actor, and choreographer from the prairies. On stage she performed in the Citadel Theatre’s productions of Pride and Prejudice, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Jane Eyre, and A Christmas Carol. Shout out to her movement mentors Ashley, Amber, Julie, Ainsley, Lin, Marie, and Miss O, to name a few, for sharing their brilliance. And, especially to her mum Teresa, the most inspiring dancer of all. Big love to her husband Oscar for being choreography guinea pig. Gianna is overjoyed to join Ashlie and this incredible team of Little Shoppers!! Recent Choreography credits: JERSEY BOYS (Citadel Theatre, Assistant Director/Choreographer); I DON’T EVEN MISS YOU (Tiny Bear Jaws); A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Citadel Theatre, remount); SHAKESPEARE’S WILL (Thou Art Here); MACHINAL and LYSISTRATA (University of Alberta); HOWL (Abbadam).

Beyata is an Alberta-based theatre designer, currently living in a household of beloved friends & dogs. She delights in movement-driven pieces, new works, and shows that embrace the thoroughly strange – although she has an embarrassingly tender spot for musicals (particularly Sondheim). Recently, she’s been splitting her time between the Shaw Festival and contracts closer to home. Select Credits: Jersey Boys (Citadel Theatre); Playboy of the Western World, Village Wooing, Bright Lights, Overruled (Shaw); Metronome, MOB (Workshop West); Freaky Green Eyes (Backstage Theatre); Sleight of Mind (WCT); EDAY (Serial Collective). She can juggle, sort-of. beyatahackborn.com

Originally from Mexico, Carmen is a Latinx artist who earned her MFA degree in Theatre Design at UBC (2010). Some of her recent design credits were seen in companies such as: Vancouver Opera, Arts Club Theatre Company, Bard on the Beach, Globe Theatre Regina, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Citadel Theatre, Electric Company, Milwaukee Rep Theater and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Carmen is an Assistant Professor at University of Victoria. She is also a recipient of four Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards. For more information visit: carmenalatorre.com

Lighting Design for The Citadel Theatre: Cost of Living.  Rebecca has worked with a variety of other theatres including Thousand Islands Playhouse, Buddies in Bad Times, Canadian Stage, GCTC, National Arts Centre, The Shaw Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Mirvish Productions, and Volcano Theatre Company.  Rebecca has received three Dora awards for outstanding lighting design.

Dave has created sound and music for theatre, film, dance, and multi-media for three decades. Previous designs for the Citadel Theatre include: The Royale (Sterling Award for Outstanding Sound), Deafy, Network, The Tempest, Cost of Living, A Brimful of Asha, and Mary’s Wedding: A Métis Love Story. Other recent designs include Fiji (Shatter Glass Theatre – Edmonton Fringe); Enough (Northern Light Theatre); All The Little Animals I Have Eaten (Shadow Theatre). Dave is a CODA (child of deaf adults). A Canadian tour is planned for his musical Songs My Mother Never Sung Me, performed in sung English and American Sign Language.

CITADEL: As You Like It, Silver Arrow, Shakespeare In Love, Crazy for You, West Side Story, One Man Two Guvnors, Romeo & Juliet, Spamalot, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Three Musketeers.

OTHER THEATRE: As You Like It, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare in Love (BARD on the Beach); Antony & Cleopatra, Three Musketeers, Caesar, Much Ado (St. Lawrence); Inferno (Firefly Theatre); I Am For You (Concrete Theatre); Singin’ in the Rain (Chemainus); Little Shop of Horrors (TIP); Beauty & the Beast (STC); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Theatre Calgary); Forbidden Phoenix (Citadel/YPT/MTYP)

FILM/TV: Faultline, Motherland, When Calls the Heart, Blue Book, Fortunate Son, Northlander.

Originally from Fort McMurray, Alberta, Michelle Thorne-Speir is a practice-based Director, Designer, and Educator residing on the traditional lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaɬ Nations. Thorne’s work focuses on building community through innovative and collaborative performance arts experiences. She holds an MFA in Directing from The University of British Columbia and a BFA in Dramatic Arts from The University of Lethbridge. Thorne is the recipient of the Yvonne Firkins Prize and the Sydney J. Risk Award in Directing with UBC.

Dialects: Sunny, Shogun (Apple TV); Tomorrowland, Turner & Hooch (Disney); Nancy Drew, Altered Carbon (Netflix); Harry & Meghan II & III, Arrow (CW); Magicians, (SyFi); Psych (USA). For Stage: Kinky Boots, The Cull, Buffoon, Mary Poppins, One Man & 2 Governors, The …. Dog in the Night Time, Matchmaker, Cost of Living (The Arts Club); Death of a Salesman (Vancouver Playhouse); Lonesome West & Killer Joe (Itsazoo). Actor, director, narrator, trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In Edmonton: The Bonehouse (Marty Chan). Background actor: The Little Shop of Horrors (Warner Brothers).

Emma (she/her) is delighted to be working with the Citadel Theatre for the first time! Her previous credits include: Orlando, Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes (RMTC); House at Pooh Corner (MTYP); The Dark Lady (SIR/SOTS); A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Dry Cold); Pool (No Water) (Winnipeg Fringe); Meet Me at Dawn (Theatre by the River); Escaped Alone (Full of Days). Emma is an alumna of the CGDC’s Assistant/Associate Program and has been mentored in directing by Ashlie Corcoran, Krista Jackson, and Sarah Garton Stanley. Enjoy the show!

Melicia (they/them) is a costume designer for stage and screen. Born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia to a family of Chinese ancestry, they are grateful to be based on unceded Coast Salish Territories, colonially known as Vancouver, BC. Recent theatre credits: assistant costume design Forgiveness (Arts Club & Theatre Calgary); costume design God Said This (Pacific Theatre); My Little Tomato (vAct); Courage Now (Firehall Arts Centre). Melicia is passionate about telling visually impactful stories through striking colour palettes, and creating art that uplifts and celebrates the QTBIPOC community. meliciazaini.com

For the past decade, Michelle has been both a Stage Manager and an Assistant Stage Manager in theatre and opera.  Select previous credits include: The Sound of Music, Kinky Boots, Peter and the Starcatcher (Arts Club Theatre); The Flying Dutchman, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, HMS Pinafore, Orfeo ed Euridice, The Barber of Seville, La Traviata, La Cenerentola, La Bohème, Eugene Onegin, Le Nozze di Figaro (Vancouver Opera); Whose Life Is It Anyway? (Realwheels); Mies Julie (Baxter Theatre Centre/The Cultch).  Michelle is a graduate of the University of British Columbia.

Nyssa is thrilled to be bringing Little Shop of Horrors to the Citadel Theatre. Graduate of the University of Alberta, Nyssa is an Edmonton-based stage manager, happily hiding in the safety of the shadows backstage. Recent stage-management credits include: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Matilda, Christmas Carol and Shakespeare in Love (Citadel Theatre); Nevermore, The Invisible (Catalyst); Unsung, Here there be Night (WWPT); The Wrong People Have Money, The Mountaintop (Shadow Theatre). Extra love to the rest of the Stage Management team and her partner Kia for sanity maintenance.

Galen Hite (any pronouns) is a queer, Edmonton-based theatre artist specializing in Stage Management! Notable recent projects include the workshop of Cycle (Thou Art Here); Mythic Quest Adventure (Thousand Faces Festival 2023); and All These Things Collide Inside Of Me (Good Women Dance Collective). Galen has always loved plants and is currently the proud parent of 37, including a problematic number of spider plants. They want to thank their partner, friends, family, and cat Paintbrush for always being there for them. Enjoy the show!