BOB BAKER Artistic Director
Bob Baker graduated from the University of Alberta, Department of Drama, in 1974 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) Honors degree. In 1972 he co-founded and was co-director of Edmonton’s Alberta Barter Theatre. From 1974 to 1979 he was in the Acting Company of The Stratford Festival in Ontario. In 1979 he became a faculty member of Vancouver Community College and taught Professional Acting Classes in Vancouver and Edmonton. In 1982 he was appointed Artistic Director of Edmonton’s cutting-edge Phoenix Theatre where he directed such plays as Cloud Nine; Key Exchange; Torch Song Trilogy; Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You and The Actor’s Nightmare; The Zen of an Intelligent Machine; As Is; B-Movie, The Play; The Curse of the Werewolf and North Shore Live, which he co-wrote, along with Tom Wood and Nicola Cavendish.
The years 1987-1989 saw Mr. Baker directing around the world in places such as The Shaw Festival, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Vancouver Playhouse, The Canadian Stage Company, and Harbourfront Theatre in Toronto, The Edinburgh International Theatre Festival, The National Arts Centre, The Cleveland Playhouse, The Wilbur Theatre in Boston, and The Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. In 1989 he became a member of the faculty at Ryerson Theatre School in Toronto.
In 1990 he was appointed Artistic Director of The Canadian Stage Company in Toronto where he directed such plays as Breaking the Code; The Dreamland; Henry VI; Richard III; La Bête; Once On This Island; Into the Woods; The Glorious 12th; Angels in America Parts I and II and Claptrap.
This 2009-2010 Season marks Mr. Baker’s 13th year as Artistic Director at the Citadel Theatre. Past directing credits include Into the Woods; Popcorn; Picasso at the Lapin Agile; Little Shop of Horrors; the World Premiere of A Christmas Carol(10 years); Cabaret; “Art”; Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You and The Actor’s Nightmare; the World Premiere of Servant of Two Masters; Who Has Seen the Wind; Present Laughter; The Shape of Things; Grease; Measure for Measure; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; West Side Story; the World Premiere of Vanya; Blithe Spirit; the World Premiere of Peter Pan; The Pillowman; The Constant Wife; Oliver!; Noises Off; Disney’s Beauty and the Beast; Pride and Prejudice; The Wizard of Oz.
Mr. Baker has received four Dora Award (Toronto) nominations for Outstanding Direction (Breaking the Code; Into the Woods; Angels in America Part I and Angels in America Part II) and received the award for directing B-Movie, The Play. Locally, Mr. Baker has three Sterling Awards (Edmonton) for Best Director (Popcorn, Cabaret and The Pillowman) and three nominations for Best Director for “Art”; Measure for Measure and West Side Story.
SHANNON BOYLE Acting Class
Shannon has been teaching and adjudicating for over 24 years. When she is not working with the talented members of the Young Companies of the Robbins Academy at the Citadel, she teaches and coaches actors at the University of Alberta in the BA and BFA programs. She also runs a thriving private voice studio and teaches at summer camps around Western Canada. She holds her BFA (Acting) and BMus degrees, and is currently pursuing her MFA in Theatre Vocal Pedagogy from the University of Alberta. She has helped many young artists transition into professional training programs around the country, and looks forward to helping many more young performers achieve their dreams!
STEPHEN DELANO Singing
Stephen Delano teaches Drama, Choral Music and Musical Theatre at Strathcona High School where he recently was Music Director for Les Misérables. He also was Music Director for the school’s production of St. Aggie’s ’84, an original musical that premiered at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He holds a BFA and a B.Ed from the University of Lethbridge, and a diploma in Theatre Arts from MacEwan University.
DON HORSBURGH Singing
Don has directed the music for Sweeney Todd; A Kurt Weil Cabaret; Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and provided original music for As You Like It while also developing programing for the Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program and collaborating on the Citadel’s world premiere production of Hunchback with Catalyst Theatre’s Jonathan Christenson. Over the past 30 years he has visited most Canadian and American centers as a music director and has provided original music for 19 productions during his tenure at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. He music directed Threepenny Opera at Stratford, a highlight of his career. He is the recipient of five Dora Awards (Toronto) for his contributions to Rigoletto; A Little Night Music; Fire and Lilies and a Sterling Award (Edmonton) for Outstanding Music direction for Cabaret.
HEATHER INGLIS Playwriting
Heather Inglis is an award winning director, producer, dramaturg and educator whose career has taken her across the country. Heather has been honoured to work at The Shaw Festival, The Citadel Theatre, Workshop West, Northern Light Theatre, Azimuth Theatre, Theatre Junction, Alberta Playwrights Network, Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre, Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre as well as Universities in Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon. Heather has directed and assistant directed over 40 productions, many of which have been new Canadian works. Heather studied at the University of Alberta, King Alfred’s College (Winchester, England) and Simon Fraser University. She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, and has been privileged to study and work with theatre luminaries such as Peter Brook, Yoshi Oida, Tadeusz Bradecki, Polly Teal, Flora Lauten, Phillida Lloyd, Christopher Newton, Neil Monroe. Heather received the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund Awards in 2001 and 2010 as well as the Telus Courage to Innovate Award at the Mayor’s Evening of the Arts (Edmonton) in 2007. Six of Heather’s productions have been nominated for a total of 12 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, including 5 Nominations for Outstanding Independent Production, 1 for Outstanding Fringe Production and nominations for both Outstanding Director and Outstanding Fringe Director.
DOUG MERTZ Director of Foote Theatre School and Young Companies
Doug Mertz is an actor, director, coach and educator who moved to Edmonton from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania just over a year ago. In Pittsburgh he taught for Carnegie-Mellon University, Point Park University and, most recently, the University of Pittsburgh where he was Director of the MFA Program and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Theatre Arts. Doug was the Director of the Community Conservatories of Point Park University from 1995-2000. He holds a BFA in Acting from Point Park and an MFA in Performance Pedagogy from the University of Pittsburgh.
JACQUELINE POOKE Dance Instructor
Jacqueline is a Dancer, Dance Educator (Grant MacEwan Theatre Arts and University of Alberta BFA Drama Department 2001-2009) as well as a Choreographer (St. Albert Children’s Theatre). Jacqueline is a member of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (London, England), holding Fellowship and Examiner Status. She has travelled extensively across North America as well as overseas to Italy, examining and adjudicating. Jacqueline has been dancing since age five and professionally achieved dance training and teacher training at the Merseyside Dance and Drama Centre (Liverpool, England). She has performed professionally for B.B.C. Television and in various musicals for the New Brighton Operatic Society (England). Jacqueline has also toured the Far East as a dancer and has performed locally with RYTHMATIX and the ESO at the Winspear Centre. She was an original member of FREE FALL DANCE, a local jazz dance company in Edmonton. Recent Choreography credits include Music Man (Grant MacEwan),High School Musical (St. Albert Children’s Theatre), Les Miserable (Bev Facey) as well as Pippin for the Young Companies at the Citadel Theatre.
LINDA RUBIN Improvisation, Modern Dance and Movement
Linda is excited to return for the second year of the Citadel Theatre’s Robbins Academy, Young Acting Company. This season her choreography can be seen in The Citadel Theatre’s A Christmas Carol and A Mid Summer Night’s Dream. Linda is the founder and director of Synergy Movement Workshops established in Vancouver 1971 and is a Graduate of The Emily Carr University of Art + Design and The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, N.Y.C. While performing in New York she danced and toured with the professional companies of Norman Walker, the Deborah Hay, Dan Wagoner and Larry Richardson. In Vancouver she partnered Norbert Vesak and choreographed for Western Dance Theatre. She has choreographed productions for The Citadel Theatre, The Edmonton Opera, Opera Nuova, Studio Theatre, Theatre Network, and Workshop West Theatre. Linda is engaged in rehearsal direction and mentoring for dance companies that include Windrow Production directed by Amber Borotsik and Jesse Gervais, The Brian Webb Dance Company, Mile Zero Dance Company, Usha Gupta, Kathy Ochoa and Tania Alvarado. Ms Rubin is Professor Emeritus, U of A where she taught dance and improvisation in the BFA Acting program for 15 years. Linda is the author of The Creative Dance Keys; a multi media tool kit that is incorporated in arts education curricula across Canada.
KATE RYAN Acting
Kate has been working professionally in Edmonton’s thriving theatre community for over 20 years. Since graduating from the University of Alberta’s Fine Arts Program, she has performed at the Citadel Theatre, the Mayfield Theatre, Leave it to Jane Theatre, Northern Light Theatre, Teatro La Quindicina, Catalyst Theatre and Concrete Theatre and at the Edmonton Fringe Festival. Teaching has been a huge part of her career. She has kept up her teaching training through workshops in Toronto and New York, Atlanta and at the U of A. She has taught Musical Theatre with the Foote Theatre School at the Citadel, Grant MacEwan University, Theatre Alberta, Northern Light Theatre, The City Arts Centre and many schools in the city. Kate received a Sterling award for best actress and supporting actress as well as an Ampia award for leading actress.
DAWN SADOWAY Voice/Speech/Text
Dawn is excited to be back in Alberta after spending the past summer on Prince Edward Island. On the Island, Dawn returned to her past position as Executive Director of one of Canada’s oldest theatres, the King’s Playhouse. She was also the Artistic Director of The King’s Theatre School and The King’s Players. Dawn has been teaching music, drama, art and musical theatre for over 20 years. Dawn holds a Bachelor of Music from McGill University, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta, an ARCT with the University of Toronto and has studied music theatre at the Banff Centre. She has released a solo CD titled “One Pierced Moment” and has performed as a singer and actress on stages across the country. Dawn also conducts the Elk Island Senior Youth Choir is excited to be finishing her MFA at the University of Alberta this year, majoring in Vocal Pedagogy.
HANNAH WHITTAKER Academy Coordinator
Hannah is now into her third Season with the Citadel Theatre. Originally hailing from Australia, she recently made the move to Edmonton to be a part of the Canadian theatre community. After graduating with a BA Design for Theatre and Television, Hannah spent four years working in the Corporate Events industry where she was responsible for the delivery of over 50 national and international events during that time. She is thrilled to be a part of the Robbins Academy at the Citadel where she works primarily with the Young Companies, the Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program and other various Education and Outreach activities.