Artist Spotlight – April 2024
Julia Kroft
I am a proud local Jewish musical theatre artist and creative. With experience on stage as a performer, and some creative team experience through assistant directing and costume designing, I am just overjoyed anytime I get to be working in a room creating meaningful art and learning from such talented people in my community.
Favourite Show:
While this will just label me as “basic theatre kid”, I cannot deny my favourite musical of all time is Wicked.
Show or Company you’d like to work on/with someday:
One of my current favourite musicals right now is Mean Girls, and I would love to play any part in that show. It would be really cool to keep building my relationships working with our local theatres and work towards some bigger stages nation wide.
Special Project you’ve worked on to date, and why it left an impression on you:
My most special project I have worked on to date is The Prom. It was a dream come true professional debut, and I learned so much about myself as an artist and a human. I got to learn from some of Winnipeg’s finest talent and humans. I will take everything I learned wherever I go.
Upcoming/What’s next:
I am currently writing my own musical about the Winnipeg Jewish community in the 1920’s. I just finished working on my outline through the Village Conservatory It Takes Too program (mentor= Sharon Bajer), and I have just begun putting pen to paper. I am excited to write a Jewish musical full of light, community, and promise in a time that feels a little dark.
Jazz Marcelino
I’m a stage manager and love to work backstage. My passion for theatre and the arts started when I saw a production of Mulan in a shopping mall in the Philippines and ever since then I couldn’t stop but wonder if I could be a part of something like it. Twenty one years later, here I am working on some of the most amazing productions here in Winnipeg!
Favourite Show:
One of the hardest questions of all: but if I could watch it again it would be Winnipeg Studio Theatre’s Heathers The Musical. (I kid you not, this is a coincidence!) I was in my senior year and I remember how much of it related to me at the time. It was dark but it made me laugh, cry, laugh and cry again.
Show or Company you’d like to work on/with someday:
I hope to work on a show that has some weather element to it. I’ve seen pictures of the West End production of The Crucible at the Gielgud Theatre where they had pouring rain as part of their set. I was mesmerized by the concept knowing I never seen anything like that in Winnipeg. Thinking about the mechanics of the rain, the dynamics of calling a type of show like that and also thinking what it could be like for an audience member to experience something like that intrigues me.
Special Project you’ve worked on to date, and why it left an impression on you:
I worked as an apprentice SM for Theatre Projects Manitoba’s production of Among Men at Tom Hendry Warehouse, a co-pro with Royal MTC. Within the process, I found an interest in poetry which I didn’t have prior interest from the start and even warned the team that I had little knowledge of the world but I was willing to learn more about it. It was a perfect situation to be in.
Upcoming/What’s next:
I will be working on Joseph Sevillo’s Ma-Buhay at Rainbow Stage this upcoming season. I am so excited to work as one of the Assistant Stage Manager for the show and looking forward to working with so many people who I look up to. Definitely a production I hope my family and their friends and their friends come see. I am in absolute awe of the representation of this show and hope to inspire young people to keep seeing more theatre here in Winnipeg.
Artist Spotlight – February 2024
Seanne Buenafe
I’m a 19-year-old Filipino-Canadian musician who’s passionate about all things musical theatre, whether it’s performing onstage or working with performers offstage.
Favourite Show:
Come From Away
Show or Company you’d like to work on/with someday:
Being part of a big Disney musical (whether it’s a live stage show or a Disney film) has always been a dream of mine!
Special Project you’ve worked on to date, and why it left an impression on you:
I felt so honoured to be musical director and sound mixer on Ma-Buhay! The Road to Rainbow at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in July 2023; I learned lots about leadership, music arranging, and giving direction. I also enjoyed seeing the Fringe production slowly come to life — it made me so excited for the full Summer 2024 production. As a Filipino-Canadian, it was amazing being part of something so emblematic of the Filipino spirit, and I hope its legacy lasts far into the future.
Upcoming/What’s next:
Ma-Buhay! A New Musical (Rainbow Stage)
Julia Davis
I am an Inuk performer, composer, and writer living on Treaty One Territory. Storytelling has always been my passion, whether it be through performance, song-writing or other kinds of creation.
Favourite Show:
It’s hard to choose, but I love Phantom of the Opera and Hairspray.
Show or Company you’d like to work on/with someday:
I have had the joy and privilege of travelling this year for my job, and I would love to continue to work with companies across Canada as well as with the fantastic companies here in Winnipeg. My dream show would be to do another Disney show…you can call me a Disney adult but I just love the music, the nostalgia, everything!
Special Project you’ve worked on to date, and why it left an impression on you:
Rainbow Stage’s production of The Little Mermaid will always have a special place in my heart. I treasure every minute spent under the dome that summer with the most incredible cast, crew and creative team, telling a classic story that is so near and dear to my heart. It was a one-in-a-million project and definitely my “roman empire”.
Upcoming/What’s next:
Up next, I’ll be working on The Sound of Music at the Citadel. I had such a great time working on the show here in Winnipeg at MTC, I’m ecstatic to see everyone again and start rehearsals in Edmonton. This year, I will also continue to write my new musical, inspired by experiences reconnecting with my Inuit culture.
Artist Spotlight – December 2023
Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu
Anaka Sandhu is a South Asian & gender non-conforming artist born and raised on Treaty One Territory. As someone who has a deep love for human connection and a fascination with everyday life, Anaka has always been attracted to the shared experience that comes with theatre and performance. Anaka seeks to create space for stories that have historically been erased and challenge the notion of Western ‘classics’; examining stories that were not written with people like them in mind, and reimagining said classics in a manner that reflects our ever-evolving world.
Favourite Show:
Thom Payne; Based on Nothing by Will Eno
Show or Company you’d like to work on/with someday:
I’d love to work with Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, BC. Being surrounded by oceanic views and performing by sunset sounds like a dream!
Special Project you’ve worked on to date, and why it left an impression on you:
The first show I worked on out of theatre school was called Mahabharata with WhyNot Theatre in Toronto. The show is incredibly ancestrally significant to me, and continues to inform the way that I approach theatre.
Upcoming/What’s next:
In the new year, I’m working on the development of a few shows in Montreal as well as developing my own work, and then embarking on an international tour of Mahabharata!
Emma Welham
I’m an artist working primarily as a director, though I have also worn many other hats including dramaturg, actor and producer. Theatre has been one of my biggest passions since I was a child, and I will never stop being grateful that one of my greatest joys is also my job!
Favourite Show:
A tough choice! Favourite musical: Matilda; Favourite play: POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Show or Company you’d like to work on/with someday:
For the past six months I have had the pleasure of working at theatres across Canada. I’d love to continue exploring theatre scenes throughout the country while also working with the wonderful companies we have here in Manitoba. And, getting the chance to direct both Matilda and POTUS would be pretty amazing!
Special Project you’ve worked on to date, and why it left an impression on you:
This past summer I directed Mark Ravenhill’s Pool (No Water) for the Winnipeg Fringe. We received such an overwhelmingly beautiful outpouring of love and support from the community – something that continues to mean everything. Working on that show with a fearless, brilliant, collaborative team is an experience I will cherish forever.
Upcoming/What’s next:
I’m currently one of the Creation Coaches for the Village Conservatory’s 2024 Inhibition Exhibition. In the spring, I will be the assistant director for The Year of Magical Thinking at Prairie Theatre Exchange. And, in the fall, I’m incredibly excited to be directing my first opera, The Tales of Hoffmannn, for Manitoba Underground Opera!
Artist Spotlight – October 2023
Chase Winnicky
Chase is an internationally toured and proudly queer performer and director. Outside of theatre he loves to travel, foster puppies through Spirit of Hope rescue (his saving grace through the pandemic) and enjoy great food and drinks with family and friends.
Favourite Show:
Musical – A Little Night Music / Play – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
Show or Company you’d like to work on/with someday:
I really want to explore more of Canada with my work and work all over the country. As a director I’d love to tackle It Shoulda Been You, Legally Blonde, and Terrence McNally’s Master Class. As an actor a few dream roles are Dr.Pomatter in Waitressand the Emcee in Cabaret.
Special Project you’ve worked on to date, and why it left an impression on you:
Assistant directing Million Dollar Quartet at Theatre Calgary, and learning under my friend and mentor Thom Allison. That rehearsal process with that specific group of artists both onstage and off was such a special experience being my first show out of the pandemic. We brought something fresh and important to that story. I truly cherish my time at that theatre, and would jump at the chance to work there again.
Upcoming/What’s next:
I’m currently in Montréal working on Beautiful: the Carole King Musical (a co production between the Segal Centre and Royal MTC – catch us in Winnipeg this January!), then I’ll be playing Tumnus and Mr. B in a new musical adaption of Narnia at MTYP (a co production with Toronto’s Bad Hats theatre), and next spring I’ll be directing Songs for a New World for Winnipeg Jewish Theatre.
Ksenia Broda-Milian
I’m a set, costume and lighting designer – people ask me to pick a favourite discipline and I never can! I’m also really proud to be an arts educator and for completing my training and exams to be a Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification Professional, to assess the built environment for meaningful access.
Favourite Show:
Cats (sorry, not sorry!), Little Shop of Horrors, West Side Story, A Little Night Music, Hair, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Fiddler on the Roof…
Show or Company you’d like to work on/with someday:
I’ve designed lighting and costumes for 2 separate productions of Yaga by Kat Sandler, so would love to do a set for that one somewhere! And I’m always excited to do a non-literal design for any musical.
Special Project you’ve worked on to date, and why it left an impression on you:
Recently, Yaga at the Belfry Theatre with an all-Indigenous and Ukrainian cast and creative team. Such a good process and I feel that we made something cool and beautiful. Also Pippin, produced by ViC and WST in 2018, had a dream team where we worked so collaboratively to make a cohesive production across every discipline.
Upcoming/What’s next:
Spending some time focusing on my day job as Education and Enrichment Manager at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, teaching and designing for Manitoba Theatre for Young People theatre school, mentoring a young designer through Creative Manitoba, and doing some dance performances, with more design work to come in the spring!