Life in Stages with Joel Greenberg

Ronnie is one of Canada’s foremost theatre artists, credited with creating some of  the world’s most elaborate and provocative puppetry. Ronnie Burkett Theatre of  Marionettes was formed in 1986, continuously playing to great critical and public  acclaim on Canada’s major stages, and as a guest company on numerous  international tours abroad. Among Ronnie’s many awards as playwright, actor and designer, are the 2009  Siminovitch Prize in Theatre and The Herbert Whittaker Drama Bench Award for  outstanding Contribution to Canadian Theatre.  International acclaim has included the Village Voice Obie Award, the GLAAD  Award for Outstanding Theater, four Citations of Excellence in the Arts of Puppetry  from the American Center of the Union Internationale de la Marionette. In 2019 Ronnie was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2024  he received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime  Achievement in Theatre. He is the recipient of the Emmy Award for Excellence in  Puppetry. To learn more and to discover Ronnie’s full professional biography, check him out  at johnlambert.ca. 

Currently Co-Artistic Director of Harold Green Jewish Theatre, Avery has an  extensive resume as an actor both in Canada and beyond. In Canada, Avery’s performed in Guys & Dolls, Annie Get Your Gun, Hairspray,  Sunset Boulevard and Little Shop of Horrors.  Internationally, Avery was seen in Man of La Mancha, Candide, Pirates of  Penzance and The Pajama Game among many others.

Thanks to Zieglerwealth.com -- and continued thanks to all those who help, and have helped, to keep Life in Stages moving forward since our launch exactly one year ago, I'm thrilled to introduce you to this season's sponsor -- and Life in Stage's first season sponsor, in fact: http://Zieglerwealth.com, owned by Tim Zeigler, contacted me during Season 2 with his generous offer to support the podcast. That he found me without my having to figure out how/where sponsors hide out, is all the more delightful.

Introducing each of my guests is one of the challenges coordinating the roster for  Life in Stages. The artists who accept my invitation to sit down and talk about their  professional and personal stories represent the finest artists in the country. Each  background is rich, varied, intriguing. Jimmy Mezon is no exception — in fact, his depth and range are nothing short of  intimidating. And I’ve had the good fortune to see him play in as wide a range of  theatrical styles as one can imagine. There’s nothing he cannot do and, in fact, has  not done. A foundational presence at the Shaw Festival has included roles in St. Joan, The  Madness of King George, The Intellectual Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and  Socialism, Faith Healer, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Pygmalion, Nothing Sacred, The  Seagull and Translations. His performance in Picnic remains a standout for me - a role that played against so  many strong, powerful characters that have dominated his stage career. Film and television credits include Workin’ Moms, Frankie Drake Mysteries,  Murdoch Mysteries, Passchendaele, Road to Avonlea and Dieppe. 

Joel Greenberg has an announcement to make regarding a third season of Life in Stages.

Welcome to the final episode in Series 2 – but please note that Series 3 is on  its way. This week, our guest host is Jody Howze. I met Jody in the mid-80’s when she  was a student in the Theatre Programme at Humber College and I was the  Programme Director. After graduating from Humber, Jody performed in several  professional productions that I directed. Our friendship has continued as we’ve followed different paths, and since  launching Life in Stages, Jody has provided many insights about the project. At  the same time, she has asked many questions that attest to her careful  attention to all my guests’ conversations.  Rather than restricting Jody’s comments and questions to our one-on-one  chats, I invited her to step into the Host chair for this episode. I can’t think of a  more fitting way to conclude Series 2.

Robert Thomson may be among the busiest and most sought-after actors in  the country. “May”? Change that to ‘Is”. His list of accomplishments is as long as it is varied, which is to say that it’s  mighty long. Theatre, film, television – he has mastered them all, and his  commitment has taken him behind the scenes of projects that are fueled by a  passion with no restraint. In our conversation, you’ll also learn that Robert’s career extends well beyond  performing and engages with timely social and political causes. It’s no back-handed compliment to add that Robert is among the most Canadian of  personalities that I’ve had the very good fortune to have met and to have  worked with. Listen to all that he has to say in Episode 26 – this is time very  well spent. 

Seana is yet one more guest whose professional resume approaches the  magnitude of an anthology. It’s entirely accurate to say that she has done just  about everything that one can imagine an actor accomplishing. Trained at the  National Theatre School, Seana has played every major theatre in the country,  has added film and television to her credits, and has achieved star status in a  country that too often prides itself as a country with no star system at all. I  think that Seana puts a lie to that tiresome boast.

I’ve known Allen for more than 20 years, but until we met recently, I had no  idea that, in addition to being Artistic Director at both Young People’s Theatre,  Toronto, and the Prairie Theatre Exchange, Winnipeg, his career as an actor  was his principal focus. As another guest who came up through the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre  School, Allen reinforces the fact that this was a first-rate training ground. And  as he discusses the path he followed, a path that is as geographical as it is  developmental, we travel from the West right across the country with  substantial stops along the way. Finally, it’s Toronto that has claimed Allen as  one of its own, and I know that you’ll find our conversation both engaging and  revealing. 

Anyone fortunate enough to have seen “Blind Date” has already met Rebecca  Northan, although speaking with her is an altogether calmer experience than  watching her interact with an audience. Speaking with her from Edmonton,  where she was on tour with “Goblin: Macbeth”, I learned that clown work is  merely one of many skills that Rebecca has developed throughout her career.  Second City, in Toronto and on tour, was her opportunity to refine both her  writing and her audience engagement chops. And as an actor, i.e., one who  can actually learn others’ lines of dialogue and create a character without a  red nose, Rebecca is as committed and focussed as she is when she is  creating her own work and, by extension, her own world.

Tom has as varied a resume as any actor you are ever likely to encounter. In  fact, when we first started our conversation, I said that I felt an urgency to  cover enough ground to fairly represent him. Tom’s easy manner removed any  concern I may have had. We talked soon after he had returned from Ottawa, where he was performing  in “Salesman in China”, the same production that premiered at the Stratford  Festival this past season. Back home, where he is always happy to spend  time, Tom discussed the early influences that helped to shape both his  dreams and his approach to the work that would define his professional life.  He pays special tribute to many of the people with whom he has worked and  from whom he has continued to learn.

Maria began her career (and her life) in the United States. But once she had a  taste of life in Canada, both personal and professional, Toronto soon became  her home base. And I met Maria when we worked together on a production of  “Lend Me a Tenor”, at Theatre Aquarius – and that was probably about 30  years ago. Maria has worked in every medium and she has criss-crossed the  performing landscape with an enviable agility.  Our conversation ranges from early influences in Chicago and at the Stratford  Festival. Maria discusses the perennial artist’s challenge with finding a  balance between work and family – and the added challenge of career when  the family is grown and no longer the daily focus. So, a chatty segment of  today’s conversation might be titled Life After Active Parenting. 

Nancy is originally from Winnipeg, studied at Queen’s University and then  trained at The National Theatre School, in Montreal. She was among the first  members of the Young Company at the Stratford Festival, which soon led to  the creation of Soulpepper Theatre Company, of which Nancy is a founding  member. (She continues to represent the Founding Members on the  Soulpepper Board.) Nancy has worked across the country, although her base continues to be in  Toronto. Anyone who has attended theatre in the city has seen Nancy in many  productions in many venues. Nancy has worked in film and television,  although she is quick to point out that at almost 6-feet tall, casting directors  have tended to overlook her.

Jonathan and I met at an audition. I didn’t cast him, but I knew that I wanted to  work with him one day. Before I had that opportunity, I saw My Own Private  Oshawa, his revelatory solo play about his escape to Toronto and his life as a  young gay man finding his way. The Normal Heart and My Night with Reg are recent plays that, finally, allowed  us the shameless pleasure of working together. Jonathan has much more to  fill in between arriving in Toronto and working with Studio 180 Theatre – tune  into this episode and listen as Jonathan guides you through the path that he  created for himself.

Morris’s recollection of how discovering theatre transformed him is both  moving and chuckle-worthy. Like so many of my guests, he underlines that, for  him, the work is a necessity. For survival, sure, but much, much more than  that: Morris makes it clear, without having to say it literally, that he cannot be  doing anything else with his professional life. Playwright, director, actor – Morris works, and has worked, across the country  and beyond. His more than 100 theatre and opera productions are balanced  by an enviable body of plays, many of which have received national and  international productions. Morris is the recipient of the Governor General’s Award for Drama – in 1994 for The Ends of the Earth and in 2004 for  Girl in the Goldfish Bowl.

Jessica is my older daughter, so let’s get that on the table and move on.  Jess discusses her college years at McGill, where she focussed on Political  Science and Women’s Studies. But it was her passionate involvement with  both theatre and music – strictly extracurricular – that defined four years  spent on a student-driven campus, where she was inspired by like-minded  friends.  Theatre school in New York followed and the exploits of surviving that city  reveal a tenacity and resilience that have served her well. Jessica discusses  her move back to Toronto, the ways in which the two cities are so different,  and how she came to be a permanent member of Studio 180 Theatre. At the  same time, we discuss a career apart from any family connection and the  opportunities that being a central member of an indie theatre company can  offer. In Jessica’s conversation, you’ll hear how actors’ careers demand  flexibility and how they discover skills that they’d never explored while in  theatre school.

Ted is among our guests who has accomplished just about everything one can  imagine a theatre artist achieving. As an actor, a musician, a writer, and more  recently a producer, Ted demonstrates the widest possible range with an  inexhaustible energy to match. In our conversation, he discusses the projects  that have brought him a very public profile.  Ted goes further and reveals that seeing his name on a West End marquee  yielded results that he couldn’t have imagined. He exposes aspects of his  career and personal life that, as our producer said, are not the items that one  adds to a professional resume or theatre programme bio. For all this, I know  that you’ll respond to Ted’s honesty and lack of bravura just as I did.

Sharry and I met and worked together for the first time as company members  in the Summer Festival of Arts in Montreal, 1969. I directed Sharry on  productions of The Fantasticks, America Hurrah, and Oh, What a Lovely War!  The festival was fertile ground for many of us as we did our best to start  professional careers.  Sharry takes us through her training in London, her return to Canada, where  she performed in a variety of musical and dramatic productions. The work  took her to the Charlottetown Festival, Stratford and the Shaw Festival, where  she is a longtime member of the Company. In our conversation, Sharry  explains how being at the Shaw Festival and living in Niagara-on-the-Lake has  contributed to a healthy and supportive family life.

Patrick’s career might have been in the Law, following his father and  grandfather before him, had he not found himself in a university production  about the same time that he was writing the LSAT. As he will tell us, Chekov  upended him and reshaped his professional life. A long-serving member of the Shaw Festival company, since the early 2000’s,  Patrick’s first years in the profession were a mix of regional and local (i.e.,  Toronto) theatre. Seasons with Theatre Plus provided a stronger base of varied  and challenging roles, and on-and-off at Stratford taught Patrick the  importance of being in the moment rather than planning too far ahead.

Corrine joins me as the first of our new season’s guests. Although we haven’t  worked together before, I have certainly seen her work in many Toronto and  Shaw Festival productions. And we have met socially a few times, enough for  me to recognize that Corrine’s passion for the theatre, as both performer and  attendee, is intense. In the best way, of course. Perhaps this accounts for her  many awards, coast-to-coast.  In this episode, Corrine looks back at the early influences that led her to an  acting career and the professional life that she was drawn to. You’ll  experience the full-on drive and purpose that speaks to the resilience  demanded of any performing artist.