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Barbara Barsky PENNY KIRK Barbara’s selected credits include : Elegies, Mama Rose in Gypsy, Penelope Pennywise in Urinetown (Jessie Award nomination), Maria Callas in Masterclass, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof (Stratford Festival), Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard(Livent),Charlotte in Larry's Party(CanStage, NAC,MTC), and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. She has received seven Dora Award nominations for Closer Than Ever, Forbidden Broadway, Chutzpah A Go Go, Snappy Tales, Assassins and A New Brain. She co-produced the original Canadian production of Assassins which garnered five Dora Awards. She was a member of the legendary Second City Company and co-founder of Reprise Concerts, great musicals in concert.

Chelsey Duplak HERMIA KIRK After singing and dancing in the South Caribbean onboard Royal Caribbean's the Enchantment of the Seas, Chelsey is thrilled to be making her Toronto Theatre debut in The Dream. A Winnipeg native, Chelsey is a Sheridan College Music Theatre graduate. Selected credits include: Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (Rainbow Stage), Macey in the original cast of The Barbeque King (Sheridan Studio Theatre), 110 in the Shade (Theatre Sheridan), The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Theatre Aquarius) and The Backyardigans (Koba Entertainment). She is grateful to Brian and Yan for this opportunity and blessed to be working with such an amazing team. "Thanks be to my incredible family and friends, Uncle Randy, Gail, Terry, and Sandra! For Mom and Dad. "

Shawn Meunier PAUL LYSANDER Last year, Shawn played the lovable Ginger O'Shaugnessy in the world premiere of Ben Elton & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Boys In The Photograph (MTC & Mirvish). Other theatre credits include: Scrooge! The Musical (Rose Theatre), On The 20th Century, Diana of Dobson’s (Shaw Festival), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Count of Monte Cristo (Stratford Shakespeare Festival). When not on stage, Shawn usually becomes animated, providing voices for both Preyas and Emperor Barodius on Bakugan Battle Brawlers (Nelvana).

Edward Kennington RICHARD DEMETRIUS Edward is an actor from Toronto who is very excited about reprising his role as Richard Demetrius. He first played the role in the 2007 Fringe Production of The Dream, and is looking forward to adding the musical aspects. Edward has attended both Ryerson University’s Theatre Program and the National Theatre School of Canada. Selected Theatre credits include: McMurphy in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Stetko in The Monument and Bobby Brown in Cabaret. He would like to thank his parents for their continued support.

Blair Kay HELEN GREEN Blair Kay is a Toronto-based writer-actor-director who also dabbles in music, photography and propmaking. A proud graduate from the University of Guelph's Theatre program, Blair has written, directed and produced three of her own productions in Guelph, including two one acts (FLUSH!, I Heart You) and a collective creation (Surviving Fantomina). Last May she was awarded the J Percy Smith Prize, which was presented to her by Christopher Plummer. Upcoming shows include The Kiss, as part of the InspiraTO festival in June.

Dean Arnold LITTLE JIMMY Dean Arnold is very happy to have the role as Little Jimmy & to be a member of the band in this production. Even though he is new to acting, he started playing guitar a year and a half ago and he hasn't looked back. Primarily being self taught and never taking any formal lessons, he mimicks the guitar styles of Kirk Hammett, Dimebag Darrell, Yngwie Malmsteen, & many more. Practising up to 30 hours a week during the school year (and many more hours a week over the summer), his diverse playing styles range from Blues, to Metal, to Neo Classical, & more. He also plays bass, drums, and piano.

Ryan Ward NICK BOTTOM OBERON Ryan is thrilled to be part of ‘the dream team’! Stage credits include: Evil Dead the Musical (Off B’way, Toronto, Montreal - Original Cast Album, Dora Nomination), The Nick Drake Project (Picture Box Theatre), Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco, Fusion (DNA Theatre). He has also performed and toured his own plays, Wurn and Nocturnal Musical throughout Canada. Film credits include: Sidekick, About Face, Nature of Wildlife, F2. Son of the Sunshine, Ryan’s debut feature film as writer / director, premiered at Slamdance Film Festival last year and has spent the past twelve months touring festivals worldwide and Ryan was lucky enough to be able to tag along (Rising Star Award for Best Actor - Edmonton Film Fest, Best Actor & Best Director - Wild Rose Film Fest, Audience Award for Best Feature - Malibu and Thunder Bay Film Fests). Look for it this summer at a theatre hopefully somewhere near you!

Alex Furber PETER QUINCE Alex is thrilled to be a part of The Dream this spring. A Toronto native, Alex is a recent graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada. Selected theatre credits include: Romeo and Juliet (Resurgence), The Little Prince (Resurgence) Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest and George Deever in All my Sons (NTS); Richard III, The Particulars, Grease (Escape), Jesus in Godspell (TCST) and Jacob in Saltwater Moon. Thanks to my friends and family for their continual support and inspiration. Alex can be seen this summer playing Lucentio in Theatre By The Bay's The Taming of The Shrew.

Alex Fiddes FRANKIE FLUTE Past theatre roles include Gary (Why We Tortured Him, Sky Gilbert, Hammertheatre), Boy (Icarus Redux, Open Season Theatre/Toronto Fringe Festival), Ugly (Honk Jr, GADZ Productions), Kenicke (Grease, Theatre Sheridan), Mr. Bungee (A New Brain, Theatre Sheridan), Young Scrooge (A Christmas Carol, Uxbridge Players). Alex has a strong passion for music and involves himself in the industry as both a pop artist and theatre composer. Many thanks to the cast and crew of The Dream!

Brendan Shoreman TOM SNOUT Brendan is a Toronto based actor with a strong passion for the art of theatre. He is a graduate of Sheridan's Music Theatre Performance program. Past theatre credits include: Taming of the Shrew, A Christmas Carol, Broadway Gold (ACT Productions) Urinetown, 110 in the Shade, West Side Story (Theatre Sheridan) and has also been a part of some original canadian works including: The BBQ King (Sheridan Studio) and Hey Marilyn (Capricorn9 Productions). Brendan is thrilled to be a part of The Dream and to be working with such a talented group. Love to the family and friends for all of the support.

Sam Graham LARRY SNUG Sam is thrilled to be working with such a talented cast and crew. A recent graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts, select credits include: The Pastor Phelps Project with Ecce Homo, Hey, Marilyn! (Jack Lemmon), Heart Times (Brian), You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Charlie), Never Swim Alone (Frank). He would like to thank his friends and family for all their love and support.

Ryan McKeen ROBERT STARVELING Ryan is a third year philosophy major from York university, and is very excited to bring his love of acting to the stage again. As an actor and musician, Ryan will be reprising his role as Robbie Starveling and couldn't be happier working with Mr. Kennington for a second time. Acting credits include: Ben Finlay in The Lives of Moths, Dr. Isaac Grace in The Syringa Tree, and Giles Rolston in The Mousetrap.

Lauren Toffan CAMPER PEASEBLOSSOM Lauren is so happy to be a part of this production! When she first heard Bear Productions was looking to put on a contemporary version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with the music of Three Dog Night, she knew she had to be a part of this! Lauren graduated from the University of Windsor with a BFA in Acting in spring of 2009 and she has been actively involved in musical theatre (her secret passion) and comedy around the city. She has worked to develop a Vaudevillian Variety show called the “Old Time, Rag Time, Good Time Show” at the Bread and Circus, with the help of Eric Miinch, Heidi Toffan and Chris Murray. She would like to take the time to thank her family, dearest friends and Eric. She would also like to extend a great big thank you to Brian for taking a risk on this energetic, goofy blond! So sit back, relax, LAUGH and enjoy the show!

Allison Edwards-Crewe CAMPER MUSTARDSEED Allison is delighted to be working with such a talented and inspiring group of artists. Allison is a recent graduate of Sheridan College’s Music Theatre Performance program. Her selected theatre credits include: Binti’s Journey (Junie/Theatre Direct Canada), Dreamgirls (Michelle/The Grand Theatre), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Silvia), All The Things You Are: A Jerome Kern Review (Queenie), and the original Canadian work Big Time Operator (Gertrude Delmire) for Theatre Sheridan. “Thanks to my family and friends for all the love and laughter. God bless and enjoy the show!”

Alison Daley CAMPER COBWEB CHOREOGRAPHER Alison Daley is an independent choreographer and performance artist originally from Scarborough, Ontario. She has performed and shown her own work in festivals and independent productions across Canada, Germany and Japan. After completing her formal dance training in Montreal she took off to Japan where she danced with Tokyo based company, Tokyo Space Dance. Returning to Canada in 2006 she dove into creation and has shown work in both Montreal and Toronto. She is presently working on her MFA in choreography at York University.

Steven Gallagher PUCK Steven was most recently seen as The Tinman in The Wizard of Oz at the Grand Theatre in London. Toronto credits include Elegies and A New Brain for Acting Upstage, Urinetown, The Rocky Horror Show, It’s a Wonderful Life and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, all for The Canadian Stage Company, Batboy:the Musical at the Bathurst St Theatre, Cabaret, and The Producers for Stage West Mississauga, and Top Gun: The Musical at the Toronto Fringe Festival. His play Craplicker will be seen at the Toronto Fringe this summer. Steven is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Roger McKeen GENE KIRK Some of Mr. McKeen’s theatrical experiences include “Ronnie” in David Fennerrio’s Moving, “Bishop Strachan” in MacKenzie-Papineau Rebellion, and of course, “Dante” in John Krizanc’s Tamara. On the big screen Roger was “Coach Chickeren” in Simon Birch and “The Reverend” in Bride of Chuckie. Fans of Desgrassi Jr High will remember him as the wheelchair bound teacher “Mr Ells”. Roger is thrilled to be working again with Mr. Kennington, his friend and band mate for over thirty years.

Brian Kennington DIRECTOR An actor, teacher, writer and director, Brian Kennington has worked in the theatre and film industry across Canada over the past thirty years. He wrote and performed in George and Gracie, a play based on the life of George Burns and Gracie Allen, which has toured across Canada over the past fifteen years. One of Brian’s screenplays That Scottish Play, a comedy mystery about the MacBeth curse, has been optioned for a future film production. The Dream, a contemporary version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was originally written and performed for high school audiences. Due to an enthusiastic response, the play was produced professionally at the Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival in 2007 and subsequently has been expanded to a full musical comedy.

Sonia Vaillant STAGE MANAGER At a young age, Sonia developed a love of tree climbing, cannon balls, all things nerdy, and (much to her mother’s chagrin) having perpetually grass stained knees. After being homeschooled and travelling around Canada and US for most of her childhood, Sonia's sense of adventure has led her to settle into the Toronto theatre community, where she is loving life. Sonia is a soon-to-be graduate from the University of Guelph Theatre Studies program, having worked on over 25 productions within the school and is thrilled to now be working on The Dream with such a wonderful and talented group of people. If you enjoy the show as much as she does, she will probably give you at least one high-five (but only if you don't cheat by looking at the elbow).

Yan Li Music Director A graduate of the University of Victoria with a degree in composition, Yan has performed across Canada and abroad. He has written several shows and composed the incidental music for Blue Bridge Theatre’s inaugural production of As You Like It. His work as a teacher and producer have taken him as far as Nigeria where he worked for His Majesty Oba Oladele Olashore. Other favourite experiences include Piaf: Love Conquers All (Tone Poet), Cannibal! the Musical (Where's Noonan?), Die Fledermaus (Opera NUOVA), and Sweeney Todd (Esquimalt Theatre).

Lewis Spring Greame Gerussi PERCUSSION Lewis has been contributing to Toronto's music scene since the age of 11. His talent and attitude have given him the opportunity to play with artists such as Canadian Idol Finalist/Sony Music recording artist Mookie Morris as well as former Warner Music recording artist Dylan Murray, tour parts of Ontario and Quebec and work with veteran rock producer Murray Daigle. He attended arts schools from grades 7-12 where he learned to play a variety of styles from rock to jazz and played percussion in the TDSB Youth Orchestra which gave him the opportunity to travel to Vienna and Prague. He studied jazz performance at U of T with great Canadian jazz drummer Terry Clarke and has also studied with Toronto jazz legends Bob Mclaren, Lorne Nehring and Barry Rhomberg.

Erin Saunderson SOUND Erin started doing freelance live work for friends and clients of Raven Street Studios shortly after graduation from The Audio Recording Academy and was then recommended for a permanent position as a Sound Technician at Carleton University's Alumni Theatre. This is where she earned her chops, working her way up to Head Sound Technician and eventually dabbling in lighting for low-key events. These days Erin does freelance recording and web design through her company Chill and Shake Productions. Erin would like to thank Brian for giving her this opportunity to be a part of his production.

More Bios to follow.

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