PROGRAM A

PLAYS in this set: BillyJoelTookMeToTheProm.com, Gyntish, Poor Donna, And This is This One.

BIOS: In the order of the plays in the set, playwright, director(s) and actors.

BillyJoelTookMeToTheProm.com

TASHA GORDON-SOLOMON – BillyJoelTookMeToTheProm.com – Playwright

Tasha is currently pursuing her MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she is the recipient of the Rita and Burton Goldberg Fellowship in Playwriting. She has written plays, read plays, directed plays, and done other theatrical things for: Player’s Theatre and TNC Theatre (Montreal), Woolly Mammoth Theatre (DC), Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center (CT), NYC Fringe, Women’s Expressive Theatre and the American Globe Theatre (NYC). BillyJoelTookMetotheProm.com was a finalist at the New York Fifteen Minute Play Festival, where it received a Producer’s Choice Award and Honorable Mention for Best Play. She is a founding member of Full Stop Theater Collective.

ANGELA MOORE- BillyJoelTookMeToTheProm.com – Director

Angela Moore has been a professional actress for over 14 years. This past year, Angela has been busy in roles in “Smallville”, “Under” , “Addicted ” and “Little Girl Lost”. Her debut directing project was for the Ladies Who Lunch production of “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” . It has been her pleasure to participate in theWomen at Play Festival for 3 years, this past January as a director for “Surprise”.

It’s been her honour to direct two very talented young women in the Tasha M. Gordon-Solmon’s “BillyJoelTookMeToTheProm.com” As a devout Buddhist, Angela is continually inspired to create value in her life and in the lives of others.

Courtesy of Actor’s Equity.

LINDSEY ANGELL- BillyJoelTookMeToTheProm.com – Actor

Lindsey would like to thank the Walking Fish organizers and all the brave and exciting artists she’s had the pleasure of meeting through this experience.

As she looks into her crystal ball before the whole thing has actually begun, she envisions packed houses every night, a tropical summer, and a construction-free Vancouver. Lindsey is an optimist. In the fall, she will return to Studio 58, where she has played Dulcie in “The Boyfriend” and Sara in “Over the Edge.” Lindsey is the 2007 recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artist Grant for English Theatre Acting.

LISSA NEPTUNO – BillyJoelTookMeToTheProm.com – Actor

Along with reprising her lead role as Meg in a TYA tour of Woman Idiot Lunatic Criminal this past winter, Lissa’s most recent roles include a sexy Chorus Member in Bondage (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre/Vancouver Fringe Festival); Veronica Lee, a school teacher torn between two suitors in Cowboy Versus Samurai (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre); and Gloria, the hip-hop loving plant-saving janitor in Halfway There, a short film to be aired on CityTV. Lissa can also be seen in this fall’s release of the feature film Impulse, and will be joining Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre again not once but twice: First in May, in the comedy festival Sketchoff at the Roundhouse Community Centre, and again this summer to play Cecily in a production of The Odd Couple. When Lissa isn’t acting she is working toward her black belt in Tae Kwon Do, her university degree and tutors part-time. She is a graduate of Studio 58 and thanks her family always for their love and support.

Thistle Project/ Gyntish

ERIKA BATDORF – Thistle Project/ Gyntish -

Erika has created, performed, directed and choreographed original theater since 1983. Her solo works have appeared in such places as the 7th International Women Playwrights Festival in Indonesia, 9 Dragon Heads Festival in South Korea, Performance Conditionelles in Taller, France, UN conferences in Switzerland and Copenhagen. the Smithsonian Institute, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Harvard, the Movement Theater Festival International and the Women’s Theater Festival in Philadelphia, the Boston Center for the Arts and in NYC for PS122, Dixon Place, Moonworks, So Grand Studio’s Movement Theater Festival, and in Toronto for Theatre Passe Muraille, Factory, Rhubarb and Hysteria. She has four Dora nominations. Batdorf has performed and directed for universities across the USA. Batdorf teaches at York University in Toronto.

CHRISTINE HORNE– Thistle Project/ Gyntish-

Originally: From Aurora, Ontario.

Recently: Played Desdemona in Othello for the CBC and a Valentine-loving private school teacher in How Are You?, a short film by Martha Burns and Susan Coyne.

Previously: Nina in The Seagull and Antony in Julius Caesar (Wordsmyth Theatre), all sorts of things in Gorey Story (The Thistle Project), Viola in Twelfth Night and a Weird Sister in Macbeth (Classical Theatre Project), Absolution, The Vic, Where’s My Money? (Column 13 Actors Company), Summit Conference (Umbrella Projects), Secondary Wishes (Toronto Fringe), and Interior (SummerWorks). Directed Nelly Boy by Dave Deveau at the 2007 SummerWorks Festival. Received her Honours BFA in Acting from York University in 2004.

Currently: Artistic Co-Director of the Thistle Project and Artistic Producer of KICK Theatre; making the film festival rounds (or her celluloid image is, anyhow) as Hagar Shipley in The Stone Angel.

Boastfully: Geraldine Page Award nomination for Best Actress in a Feature at the 2008 Method Fest and a 2008 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film for The Stone Angel. Four 2007 Dora Mavor Award nominations for The Thistle Project’s Gorey Story including Outstanding Production and Outstanding New Play. Recipient of the Edna Khubyar Acting Scholarship at York University for “exceptional achievement in acting”.

Unfortunately: One episode of The Dresden Files.

Eventually: Canadian release of The Stone Angel (May 9), a workshop presentation of Peer Gynt at the Walking Fish festival in Vancouver (Thistle), Othello airs (June 15), Bluebeard (Toronto Fringe), Twelfth Night (Resurgence), and a new Canadian adaptation of Miss Julie (KICK).

MATTHEW ROMANTINI -Thistle Project / Gyntish-

Matthew has been a theatre-maker in Canada for the past fourteen years, and has recently turned toward multi-disciplinary performance as his main pursuit. He is the artistic director of The Thistle Project, a performance company that adapts non-theatrical sources to the stage. Recent credits include Even Happy Endings are Endings with Blue Ceiling Dance, To-Morrow & To-Morrow & To-Morrow, with Kokoro Dance and the Vancouver Symphony, Prior Engagement with Out of the Box Productions, Almost Night with Kinesis Dance, April 14, 1912 with Theatre Rusticle, and The Thistle Project’s inaugural mainstage show, Gorey Story (nominated for 4 Dora Mavor Moore Awards). Upcoming: Peer Gynt with The Thistle Project, Just Out of Reach with the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble Ten Nights of Dream with Rhizome Productions, and Duralumin, a butoh duet, with butoh artist Ronya Lake.

Matthew trained for eight years as a competitive figure skater, and included modern dance, ballet, jazz, karate, flamenco and improvisation in that training. He completed an Honours BFA in Acting Magna Cum Laude from York University, and recently received a Chalmers Professional Development Grant to further his work with Erika Batdorf.

Poor Donna

Chadderton Thornton – Poor Donna – Writer

Chadderton is best known for his award-winning portrayal of Huckleberry Finn back in Grimsby, Ontario in Grade 8. Mainly a screen-writer, he is at work on his first independently produced feature film, Techno. This is his first stage play. Thanks to one Miss Soares, without whom this play would not exist.

Robin Richardson – Poor Donna – Director

Robin has been an actor, is a stage manager, and has been the Technical Director for The Walking Fish Festival for the last 4 years. This year Robin is also Directing for the first time, and would like to thank the WFF for this opportunity.

Most recently Robin was the ASM for the Richmond Gateway’s and Musical Theatre Work’s production of I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change. Robin has worked in various capacities for Western Gold Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, neworld Theatre, Horseshoes and Handgrenades, Small Brown Paper Bag Productions, Theatre One, Urban Ink, Little Apples Equity Co-op, Section 8, Hoarse Raven, Rumble Theatre, Carousel Theatre, Pacific Theatre, Quickchange productions, The Arts Club, and The Vancouver Playhouse. Robin has been seen on Stargate SG1, Davinci’s Inquest, Psych, Men In Trees. Robin will be spending lots of time at Stanley Park as the Head Carpenter at Theatre Under The Stars for the summer.

Robin is a Graduate of Studio 58.

Timothy Johnson – Poor Donna – Vince

Tim studied Theatre at both Capilano College and the University of Victoria and is excited to take part in the 6th annual Walking Fish Festival. He believes strongly in the development of new work and is thankful that this opportunity is available to such a large group of great artists. Selected Previous Credits include Disney’s Aladdin Jr.(Kaleidoscope), Toothpaste & Cigars(SatCo), Seussical the Musical(Random Ent.), Footloose and Big:The Musical(TUTS), Into The Woods(Exit 22) and This is Our Youth(Twentysomething).

Susan Coodin – Poor Donna – Donna

This is my first time participating in the Walking Fish festival, and am so excited to be part of something so inspiring and important. I am currently finishing my training at Studio 58.

Erin Garcia – Poor Donna – Quelimia

Erin Garcia is thrilled at the opportunity to misbehave on stage in her debut performance with the WFF! When not shocking audiences with risqué plays, she delights in photography and flamenco. Born and raised in the prairies, Erin is delighted to now live in a place where the biggest hill nearby wasn’t the result of digging the town swimming pool. So, on most sunny weekends you can find Erin rock climbing in the area.

And This Is This One

TIM CARLSON- And This Is This One – Playwright

Tim is artistic producer at Theatre Conspiracy in Vancouver.

In 2008, he is co-creating Live From the Bush of Ghosts with Theatre Conspiracy, which will premiere at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in 2009, and developing the newsroom comedy Liar’s Guide to Non-fiction as an artist-in-residence at the Vancouver Playhouse.

The Conspiracy production of Omniscience was nominated for six Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards in Vancouver (2005), including best production. A German translation was presented at the Maxim Gorki Theatre, Berlin in 2006 and produced by Theater Magdeburg in 2007. Chicago’s Stage Left presented the U.S. premeire in April 2008. A Portuguese-language translation will be produced by Novo Grupo de Teatro in Lisbon in 2009. The play is published by Talonbooks.

Carlson’s other plays include Diplomacy (2006), Night Desk (2001) and The Chronicle has Hart (2000). His short comedy The Reinvention of Minister Thorne is included in the Brave New Play Rites anthology (Anvil Press, 2006).

STEPHANIE PLAITIN – And This Is This One – Director

An actor, director, dramaturge, and theatre administrator, Stephanie relocated to Vancouver from Winnipeg last year. She holds a BA Honours in Theatre and Film from University of Winnipeg. Selected theatre credits: Assistant Director The Shadows Project: Addiction and Recovery (Vancouver Moving Theatre); Assistant Director The Rocky Horror Show (Manitoba Theatre Centre); Director Ionesco’s The Lesson, Lily/Rhonda/Scarlett Lion in the Streets, and Sheila Broadbent The Reluctant Debutante, all for the University of Winnipeg. She’s a Fringe Theatre Festival veteran, first as actor, then director, and finally working for the festival as Coordinator, both in Winnipeg and Vancouver. Currently, Stephanie is pursuing Graduate Studies at Tooba Physical Theatre.

MEGAN MARIE GATES – - And This Is This One – Elise

Having recently graduated from the 3 year program at The Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, BC, “And this is this one” marks Megan’s debut on the Vancouver stage. She is thrilled to be working with such a fantastic team on such a wonderful play. Favorite credits include: As You Like It, Unity (1918), The Caucasian Chalk Circle, HAIR and City of Angels. Enjoy the show!

MARISA SMITH – This is this One – Abby

Marisa received her BFA in Theatre from UVIC in 2004. While at UVIC she performed in Sophocles’ Electra, Taming of the Shrew and Listen to the Wind. While in Victoria she starred in a one-act monologue called The Susan Smith Tapes which she will be remounting this year at the Vancouver Fringe Festival. Also in Victoria, Marisa performed in As You Like It (VSS) and Woyzeck Songspiel (Victoria Fringe). Recent theatre credits include Carnage (Pi Theatre), Leisure (Walking Fish), The Apprentice Bride (Queens Players), The Crackwalker (Vancouver Fringe) and Alladin (North Shore Theatre for Children), The Shoes (Belfry Incubator Project) and November (Brave New Play Rites).