Biographies
Wajdi Mouawad (Playwright) Over the past twenty years Wajdi Mouawad has established himself, both in Canada and in Europe, as a uniquely original player on the contemporary theatre scene, acclaimed for his direct and uncompromising narratives and his spare and compelling theatre aesthetic. In all his work, from his own plays (over fifteen to date, including Tideline, Scorched, Forests and Heavens and adaptations (including Céline’s Journey to the End of the Night and Cervantes’ Don Quixote), the productions he has directed (including Macbeth, The Trojan Women and Three Sisters), to novels (Visage Retrouvé, Anima) Wajdi Mouawad expresses the conviction that “art bears witness to human existence through the prism of beauty.” Wajdi Mouawad’s plays have been translated in more than twenty languages and presented in all parts of the world, including Great-Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Australia and the United-States.
Linda Gaboriau (Translator) has translated over 100 plays from French, including the works of Québec’s most prominent playwrights. Her translations of plays by Michel Marc Bouchard, Normand Chaurette, Daniel Danis, Wajdi Mouawad and Michel Tremblay, to name only a few, have been published and widely produced in Canada and abroad. Her long-standing collaboration with Michel Marc Bouchard has included the English versions of the film adaptations of Lilies (winner of the 1996 Genie Award for Best ScreenplayAdaptation), The Tale of Teeka, and most recently, The Girl King, the feature film directed by Mika Kaurismaki, scheduled for release in 2015. Her other literary translations include fiction by Jean Marc Dalpé, Larry Tremblay, Lise Tremblay, Michel Tremblay and essays by Marie-Claire Blais and Pierre Morency. She has been short-listed five times for the Governor General’s Award for Translation, which she won in 1996 for Stone and Ashes by Daniel Danis and in 2010 for Forests by Wajdi Mouawad. She is also the recipient of three Chalmers Awards and several Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Toronto), Jessie Richardson Awards (Vancouver), the Betty Mitchell Award (Calgary) and the 2014 LAMBDA Drama Award (New York). From 2002 -2007, she was the founding director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre. In 2015, she was named a Member of the Order of Canada.
cast biographies
Salma Abu Ayyash (Nawal) is very very happy to have the chance to work with director Al Miller and everyone in the cast and crew of this play! She is a Palestinian American, born in Jordan, who came to the US to further her education and ended up staying and making a home for herself in Cambridge MA. She's an engineer by training, a social justice activist by disposition (and necessity), and is currently an adjunct professor teaching Math and Engineering courses at various colleges in the Boston area, in addition to serving on the board of directors of Company One Theatre. Salma discovered her latent passion for acting by chance and at a mature age. She has been in a few indie films and local theatre productions, most notable is BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO with Company One Theatre. What she loves most in life is being Giacomo's mother!
Justin Boss (Niwah, Doctor) first performed with the Young People's Theater in 1991. More recently he was seen in the Theater Project productions of Uncle Vanya and The Little Prince. He works as a web developer for Kepware and resides in Portland with his two children
Kevin Calderwood (Ralph/Abdessamad) started his stage work at the Young People's Theater with Al Miller in the 80s and has been in several YPT and TP productions since. He met his wife Corrie in a production as a young adult - starting a tradition of TP couples. He still finds time to get on stage when not working on IT problems at Fairchild Semiconductor. He would like to give a big thanks to his whole family for the support to do so.'
David Covell (Simon) first role with The Young People's Theater was as The Closet Door in Magic Beans. Maybe you remember him squeaking? That was nineteen somethingsomething. Now, he lives in New York City where he is a graphic designer and an author and illustrator of picture books. It’s been ( mumble-mumble ) years since he set foot on a stage. So be kind. Big love and thanks to Al, then and now
JP Gagnon (Lighting Designer) has been designing in Maine since 1993 and is the Resident Lighting Designer at The Theater Project, where he most recently designed the set and lighting for SNOW WHITE as well as WINTER CABARET, and EURYDICE, for which he won a PEER Award for Lighting Design. Past work includes THE GLASS MENAGERIE and THE DROWSY CHAPERONE and THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD for USM, as well as many shows for Oak Street Theater, Acorn Productions and Mad Horse Theatre. During the daytime, JP can be found managing High Output, Inc. which specializes in lighting for the entertainment industry
Rick Horton (Janitor) is a former substance abuse counselor with sixteen years at the Maine State Prison and Bolduc Correctional Facility. He invented all editions of a therapeutic tool called Con Game. He sings with First Parish Senior and Chamber Choirs, and hasn’t acted since 1967. He was in high school presentations of "Marat/Sade" and "Lord of the Flies." He is married to his high school art teacher (3rd time for each of us, finally got it right). He very happy to be working with Al; we've talked about it for years.
Grace Kneebone (Young Nawal) has been with the theater project since she was in the fifth grade, and now as a senior in high school she is dreading leaving the place she’s called home for seven years. The Theater Project has given her more knowledge and skill than anywhere else, and she hopes to return at some point after graduating.
Jean Konzal (Nazira) What a challenge. Thank you Al for including me. After taking a course called “Acting for Ordinary People", my first roles in the late 1980s with the Theater Project (or anywhere else for that matter) were the ”Dodecahedron" and "The Spelling Bee” in Roald Dahl’s The Phantom Tollbooth. For the past six years she has been having a ball as an active member of the Center Stage Players, an acting group for young-at-heart actors 60+.
Rick McGuire (Chamseddine) After watching his three children grow up on the stage of the Theater Project, and a 40 year hiatus from theater, Rick is making his return to the stage.
Al Miller (Director/Malek) has been involved with The Theater Project and Young People's Theater since their inception. Al Miller and his family moved from Lebanon to Maine in the early 1970s He has been involved with The Theater Project and Young People's Theater since their inception. He has returned to the Middle East several times to teach workshops and visit friends and plans to be there again in April.
Jennifer Musick (Jihane/Prison Guide) is really excited to be working with Al Miller for her 2nd production at the T.P. Jen’s passion for the theater and film has lead her to a small role in an up and coming independant film, “Bad Kid”. Jen has said she will be at T.P. as long as they’ll have her! Break-a-leg friends.
Bella Palopoli (Sawda) started classes with Al Miller at The Theater Project at age 6. She was an active member of TTP's Young Company in high school, both acting and assistant teaching/directing. This is her 5th professional production. Bella graduated college this May with a Bachelor's degree in Pre-Veterinary Biology. She is on her path to becoming a veterinary surgeon.
Amanda Painter (Janine) is thrilled and grateful to return to The Theater Project after having last appeared here in the first version of Matching Shadows with Homer. Since then, she has dabbled in local commercials and film, and has appeared with various local theater companies, including: Acorn Studios’ annual Maine Playwrights Festival; Lorem Ipsum’s production of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding; David Ives’ Sure Thing with Mad Horse Theater Company; Michael Kimball’s Best Enemies at The Players Ring; and others. Amanda most recently appeared in Leonora Rabinowitz, I Love You, an audience favorite at this year’s Fringe Festival in Portland, which she co-created with her partner Hal Cohen. She holds a BA in Theater and English from Clark University and an MA in English from BU, and works as an editor and writer for Planetwaves.net.
George Phipps (Antoine) has been in several shows with the Center Stage Players (of The Theater Project), being part of this production seems like going from cabaret to symphony hall. He’s glad the maestro needed an extra piccolo player. (We do have fun at the cabaret.)
Christopher Price (Scenic Designer) works in theater, radio and television as a director, an actor, and a scenic designer. Local credits include work with The Theater Project, Portland Stage Company, Mad Horse Theater Company, Acorn Productions and The University of Southern Maine. He has narrated performances with The Portland Symphony Orchestra, The Portland Ballet, and the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra and voiced numerous audio books. He holds a Master’s Degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Barbara Truex (Sound Designer) has been designing sound and composing for theater since the mid 1990's. She was a member of the Mad Horse Theatre Company for over 20 years as an artist and administrator. Barbara now puts more time into musical performance with several groups and continues to host a world music radio program on WMPG community radio in Portland. She currently performs with Le Bon Truc, The Maine Squeeze and periodically with the Dark Follies.
Wyeth Tobey (Wahab) has been involved with the Theater Project on and off for several years. Performing in many plays, including Les Miserable and the Little Prince. Wyeth is a freshman at Brunswick High School. His hobbies include skiing, sailing, lacrosse and plenty of music like any teenager.
Nat Warren-White (Alphonse Lebel) has been playing with the Young People's Theater, the Summer Theater Project, and the Theater Project for more than 40 years. Last season, he played Estragon in "Waiting for Godot". He's excited to be back on the boards again with this wonderful crew working on such a timely play.