“Tom Stoppard’s duo of one-act comedies:
you’ll laugh, you’ll giggle, you’ll try to keep up.” - Dana Lacey, Mooney on Theatre
Read the full review: www.mooneyontheatre.com

The Real Inspector Hound/After Magritte
by Tom Stoppard

Directed by Barbara Larose & Ellen Green
January 21 - February 5, 2011

A pair of delightfully absurd Stoppard one-acts, previously produced at Alumnae Theatre more than 30 years ago. Hound is an ingenious whodunit based on Agatha Christies famously long-running The Mousetrap. Magritte is a surreal domestic comedy involving a ballroom-dancing couple, his tuba-playing mum, and a couple of coppers.

Read the Hound/Magritte Press Release: Download Here

TICKETS

Performance Dates
Friday January 21 - February 5, 2011
Talkback following matine, Sun Jan 30

Performance Times
Wednesday to Saturday: 8:00 pm
Sunday Matinée: 2:00 pm
Box Office opens one hour before performance time

Admission Prices
Wednesday: 2-for-1
Thursday, Friday & Saturday: $20
Sunday Matinée: PWYC
CASH ONLY! Box Office does not accept credit or debit cards

Reservations
Email: reservations@alumnaetheatre.com
Phone: 416-364-4170 (Box 1)

The Real Inspector Hound/After Magritte
Cast Biographies

ANDREA BROWN*, Thelma Harris - After Magritte
With Alumnae: Lady Windermere's Fan (Lady Plymdale), Baby with the Bathwater (Principal), Moonlight & Valentino (Sylvie). Elsewhere: Cabaret as Sally Bowles (Alexander Players & Singers), Dangerous Corner as Thelma (Village Playhouse), Evil Dead: The Musical as Swing (Diesel Playhouse), Romeo & Juliet as Lady Capulet (Brampton Flowercity Fest). Upcoming: Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady with Alexander Singers & Players this May. Special Thanks: Ellen and Barbara for the opportunity, Cast and Crew for the silly times, The Family for their continued support, and husband Patrick for the rides home.

PATRICK BROWN, Reginald Harris - After Magritte
Recent credits - with Alumnae: Lord Windermere - Lady Windermere's Fan. Other companies: El Gallo - The Fantasticks, Cliff Bradshaw - Cabaret, Jack Point - Yeomen of the Guard, Narrator - Blood Brothers, Pharoah - Joseph & the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Non-Theatre credits: Fusion - a capella quartet (www.fusionquartet.com); Toronto Northern Lights - world class a capella/barbershop chorus (www.northernlightschorus.com). Thanks to Barbara and Ellen for a fantastic opportunity!

ROB CANDY,
Inspector Foot - After Magritte, Major Magnus Muldoon - The Real Inspector Hound
Rob appeared in last year's Alumnae production of A Delicate Balance, and in Conscientia for New Ideas 2007. He is a regular performer at Hart House and Canopy Theatres, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, and As You Like It. For Village Players, Rob's most recent shows have been Ravenscroft, The Heiress, Relatively Speaking, The Winslow Boy, and The Price.

ANDY FRASER, Lady Cynthia Muldoon - The Real Inspector Hound
Selected theatre credits include Wanda's Visit (Toronto Fringe); Death Defying Acts and Office Hours (Tribal Productions); Perfect Pie, The Memory of Water, Absurd Person Singular, Woman in Mind, Criminal Genius, The Real World?, Moonlight and Valentino, (Alumnae Theatre). Film and Television credits include The Bridge, The Ludibrium, Final 24: Sid Vicious, Curious and Unusual Deaths, Urban Legends, Psi Factor and an assortment of commercials, including a beautiful little spot that resulted in Pfizer taking a media bashing for 'promoting graffiti'. Special thanks to Jack, the greatest kid in the world.

RICHARD JONES*, Birdboot - The Real Inspector Hound
Rick is happy to return to the Alumnae stage, having previously appeared in Wit and Pride and Prejudice, and many NIF productions. He can be seen next year in Rhombus Media's Politics Is Cruel - The Opera on the big screen, and in The History Channel's miniseries The Kennedys on the small screen. He is a regular contributor to sound design at the Alumnae, composing original scores for both Hedda Gabler and The Queens, and providing design for Pride and Prejudice, Lady Windermere's Fan, and Daughter of the House, as well as composing music for his own NIF show The Meeting. Rick is happy to be finding a use for his degree in dance by providing movement coaching for this production and previously for Hedda Gabler.

LEEMAN KESSLER, Simon Gascoyne - The Real Inspector Hound
A Nigerian-born American living and laughing in Toronto with his beautiful and brilliant wife, Leeman has been seen recently as HP Lovecraft with Monkeyman Productions, Dwight Eisenhower at the Fringe Festival's Flying Avro Arrow and as Roland Maule in the Village Players' production of Present Laughter. This is his second time performing at the Alumnae Theatre since being involved with the New Ideas Festival last Spring. He is excited to be in a Stoppard production for the 2.5th time.

SCOTT MOORE, Moon - The Real Inspector Hound
After training at the Ryerson Theatre School, Scott has performed in numerous shows in Toronto including: Cassius in Julius Caesar and Clarence in Richard III (Hart House); Bob Float in The Aquarium and Robert Greene in It Was Kit (Triple Take Productions); Balthazar in The Spanish Tragedy, Gilbert in Knives in Hens, Hitler in Mein Kampf, Tobias in A Delicate Balance, and Deflores in The Changeling (Drama Centre); Caesar in Julius Caesar, Master Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Alchemy Theatre); Goldberg in The Birthday Party and Ernest in The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine (Rhino Productions); and various roles with the Ancient Comic Opera Co.

DEREK PERKS, Inspector Hound - The Real Inspector Hound
Derek was a theatre major at both the University of Windsor and Humber College and currently takes 'scene study intensives' with acting coach Tom Todaroff. He has been acting in Toronto for the last three years. Derek's previous credits include David in My Darling Judith (Scarborough Theatre Guild); Ian in A Chorus of Disapproval and Don Carlos in A Flea In Her Ear (Amicus Productions - for the latter of which he received an ACT-CO Thea nomination for best supporting actor in a comedy). Derek was last seen as Louie in Lost in Yonkers (Theatre Etobicoke). He is pleased to be returning to the Alumnae for the third time, after playing Victor in Private Lives and Dermot in the world premiere of Daughter of the House.

BRENDA SOMERS, Mrs. Drudge - The Real Inspector Hound
Brenda is thrilled to return to Hound, having played 'Felicity' more years ago than she cares to remember. She toured the U.K. and Europe in various classic and contemporary productions, performed in summer seasons, pantomime, repertory and numerous fringe shows before venturing across the Pond. For the Alumnae Theatre, Brenda has appeared on the Main Stage in three productions; most recently in Pride and Prejudice. She revealed more of herself than usual in An Inked Heart - part of the 2010 New Ideas Festival. This was her fifth NIF appearance having previously been seen in Blood Suit, The Letter, China 1949 and Insane Uncle Leroy. She made her writing debut at the Festival with Waxing Lyrical in 2008 followed by Pearls in 2010.

LAURA VINCENT, Felicity Cunningham - The Real Inspector Hound
Laura's most recent role was that of Hamlet in a gender-reversed staging of the classic, with Socratic Theatre, a fledgling collective of which she is a member. She has had the pleasure of performing at Alumnae in several shows over the past two years, most recently last summer in The Abortion Monologues. She also performed in Alumnae's Palace of the End and Closer. So, Hound is a refreshingly light and girly turn for her! She is glad to be back yet again, except for freezing rehearsal temperatures (as usual). Rehearsing in a scarf, mittens and parka is not terribly conducive to 'presentness'! Just kidding - she loves it here.

SUSAN Q WILSON, Mother - After Magritte
Alumnae Theatre début. Recent credits include Dora Bunner in A Murder is Announced (Scarborough Theatre Guild), Miss Peach in Egad! The Woman in White and Druphonia in The Prince and the Pauper, an original English panto (both NAGs Players), and Lane Overstreet in Bluish (Teatron Toronto Jewish Theatre). An alumna of U of T, where she played Claire in Great Catherine, Madame Babakina in The Diary of a Scoundrel, and Princess Elena Krassiloff in Ways and Means (Hart House Theatre with Robert Gill), as well as Edith in The Women (Women's College Union). Next May: Lady Saltburn in Present Laughter (Eastside Players).

ADRIAN YEARWOOD, PC Holmes - After Magritte
As a longtime fan of all things Tom Stoppard, Adrian is delighted to be a member of the cast of After Magritte. This is his first Alumnae production, and the chance to rehearse and perform in a theatre with such a rich history has been a) humbling and b) freezing. Many thanks to Barbara, Ellen, and the rest of the cast and crew for making this experience one to remember.

* Appearing with the permission of Canadian Actors' Equity Association

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The Real Inspector Hound/After Magritte
Creative Team

ANGUS BARLOW, Sound Designer
A freelance musician/engineer/sound designer from Toronto, Angus has been working with the Alumnae Theatre for about seven years. Sound designs include: Lettice and Lovage, Summer and Smoke, A Lie Of The Mind, Perfect Pie, Wit, Closer, A Delicate Balance, and most recently You Are Here.

MARYSIA BUCHOLC, Set Designer
In recent years Marysia has designed sets for Heart and Music 2010 (Winter Garden Theatre), Little Murders (Riverdale), A Delicate Balance (Alumnae), Pride and Prejudice (Alumnae), Adam's Attic (Bespoke Theatre), A Streetcar Named Desire (Upper Canada Repertory Company), Daughter of the House (Alumnae), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Randolph Academy) and For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again (Alumnae). She has also created set pieces for Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet (Upper Canada Repertory Company). She received a Dora nomination in 2006 for her design for Kafka and Son (Theaturtle). Marysia works in the audio library at the CNIB, designs and creates stained glass windows and rejoices in her wonderful family.

DAVE CASEY, Master Carpenter
Dave made his acting debut - with an English accent and dancing moves, no less - in Alumnae's 2009 production of Pride and Prejudice. In his other life, he is a father, contractor, singer-songwriter, recording engineer, and producer.

JOHN FLEMING, Dialect Coach
John is a Toronto-based speech and dialect coach. Recent credits include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Hart House Theatre), Mojo (RedOne Theatre) and the world premiere of The 3rd Degree (Chicken Coop Productions). As an actor, John's recent credits include the Horseman in Equus (Hart House Theatre), and a nine month season with the Classical Theatre Project. Also listen for him as the infallible Fenton Farnsby in the I Smell a Mystery radio play series at radiosrevenge.com. John is very pleased to have worked with the talented cast and crew of the Alumnae Theatre.

ELLEN GREEN, Director
Educated in English and Theatre at York University and the University of Toronto, Ellen taught Drama and Film Studies before finding a home at Alumnae Theatre. At the Alum, Ellen was the assistant director for Lady Windermere's Fan, The Memory of Water, Wit, and A Delicate Balance, as well as directing at the New Ideas Festival and co-producing Closer. Selected previous directing credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Into the Woods, Anything Goes, Noises Off, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Harvey, and 7 Stories.

PAUL HARDY, Lighting Designer
For Alumnae Theatre Company, Paul has directed Judith Thompson's Perfect Pie, Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind, and most recently Daniel MacIvor's You Are Here, as well as designing lighting for about a dozen productions, including last season's A Delicate Balance. He also served as lighting designer for The Stranger (Praxis Theatre), (the sadly departed) Alchemy Theatre's All's Well and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lovesick Productions' Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave, and many others. As an actor, Paul's leading roles include Underneath (Praxis Theatre), As You Like It (Canopy Theatre), For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again and She Stoops to Conquer (Alumnae Theatre), Step Up (Stagekids), and Macbeth (Classical Theatre Project).

CHARMAINE HUCULAK, Costume Designer
This is Charmaine's second time costuming for Alumnae and she is very excited to be feeling so at home. She has literally been costuming shows since she was five, and likes to think she is actually getting the knack of it! Her most recent onstage appearance was as 'The Trifecta of Evil' in The Abortion Monologues at Alumnae Theatre last June. She has just hung up all the costumes from S.M.T.'s Annie, and is currently working on the Community Theatre debut of Waiting for the Parade, for Scarborough Players. This will be her last gig for a while, since after Christmas she plans on concentrating on 'costuming' her first grandchild. But she will be back!

BARBARA LAROSE, Director
Barbara studied theatre at Concordia University in her home town of Montreal and has worked as an actor, director, dramaturge, and acting coach for many years. For Alumnae Theatre, Barbara has directed Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Margaret Edson's Wit, Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig, Michel Tremblay's The Real World?, Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan and The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson. Other directing credits include several productions at the New Ideas Festival and the Slaw Festival; Rick Jones' Millennium Madness Sale! (Thick & Thin Theatre); Franca Miraglia's Life on a Diet (By the Word Productions) and Guests Who Harangue: Two Plays by Durang (Svengali Productions).

VALERIE LEMIEUX, Assistant Stage Manager
This is Valerie's fourth(?) foray into backstage duties with the Alumnae Theatre. Previous productions include Pride and Prejudice, Private Lives and After You. Prior theatre experience includes on-stage performance (community theatre) and assistant stage managing with the Scarboro Music Theatre (eons ago!). Outside the theatre Val is a practising Bombshell with Ticking Time Bomb Productions (tickingtimebomb.ca). Valerie is happy to get back into the swing of things with this truly delightful and energetic production! Kudos to Stage Manager Margot for showing me the ropes once again.

TINA McCULLOCH, Producer
Tina produced Hay Fever for Alumnae Theatre last season, as well as Talking Heads (co-producer, 2008) and Criminal Hearts (2004), and several plays in SummerWorks and Fringe. It's much better to share the load - thanks, Lynne! As an actor, her favourite roles include Jane Eyre (Amicus Productions), time-travelling dominatrix Poopay in Communicating Doors (Theatre Aurora) and Rose in Enchanted April (Village Playhouse). Tina has written several short plays that have been seen in various theatre festivals, most recently the spooky Soledad (Alumnae's New Ideas Festival 2010). Upcoming: roles in How To Hunt A Woolly Mammoth at Village Playhouse (February - Sweets & Treats fundraiser) and Having Hope At Home for Amicus Productions (April).

CATHY McKIM, Assistant Stage Manager, bloggergal, scenic artist
Before finding a second home at Alumnae Theatre nine years ago, Cathy studied visual arts at York University and acting at George Brown Theatre School. (At the age of four, she pretended to be Speed Racer - see photo.) At Alumnae, she's worked as an actor, playwright, compulsive singer, bartender, scenic artist, props person/ASM, play reading committee member, newsletter columnist and blogger. Scenic painting for Alum includes Hedda Gabler, You Are Here, Hay Fever, Pride and Prejudice, Wit, The Memory of Water, The Real World?, After You, Orpheus Descending and Beautiful City. Check out the blog at: alumnaetheatre.wordpress.com. Slugs and fishes to the entire Hound/Magritte gang.

LYNNE PATTERSON, Producer
Lynne is thrilled to be co-producing, with Tina, these funny, surreal Stoppard plays. Although she has seen The Real Inspector Hound several times back in England and is a big Tom Stoppard fan, she never imagined being involved in producing not one but two of his plays. Thanks to Barbara and Ellen, all the cast and crew who are tremendous to work with. Previously with Alumnae Theatre, produced Palace of the End, co-produced and acted in The Abortion Monologues.

BILL SCOTT, Special Effects Builder
Bill hasn't written a bio in 30 years - this one is penned by a ghostwriter. He has a long association with Alumnae, and fond memories of designing the lighting for a Studio production of two one-act plays by Edward Albee, Box and Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung. Most recently he was lighting designer for last seasons Hay Fever on the Main Stage. He has also designed lights for Scarborough Village Theatre for about 10 years, including productions of Cabaret and Anne. He is also a whiz with gadgets mechanical, which is how he got suckered into the Special Effects category for Hound/Magritte.

TOM STOPPARD, Playwright
Born Tomáš Straüssler in Czechoslovakia in 1937. After a childhood in Singapore and India, he moved to England in 1946 with his family, and became a journalist while still in his teens, working for various newspapers. Later, he served as a freelance drama critic for the British literary magazine Scene, sometimes using the pseudonym William Boot. His writing career began with plays for radio and television in the 1960s, including A Walk on the Water (1963), The Dissolution of Dominic Boot (1964), and The Stand-Ins, later revised as The Real Inspector Hound (1968). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1966. It was produced at the National Theatre and on Broadway in 1967, winning a Tony Award for Best Play. His three other Best Play Tony Awards are for Travesties (1975), The Real Thing (1984) and The Coast of Utopia (2007). In addition to his stage plays, Stoppard's screenplays include Empire of the Sun (1987), Billy Bathgate (1991), and Shakespeare in Love (co-written with Marc Norman), which won the 1999 Oscar for Best Screenplay. Tom Stoppard was knighted in 1997.

DOROTHY WILSON, Props Designer
I just love doing props, especially in plays like these, where there's such a variety of props needed, many of them in period. Yes, children, the 1940's are now officially a period. Now I love Tom Stoppard's plays - he manages to blend his own unique brand of silliness with great humour. Thanks to Lynne and Tina for being such involved producers, and to Barbara and Ellen for their usual blend of innovation and helpfulness. Props credits at the Alumnae include Summer and Smoke, The Real World?, She Stoops to Conquer, Lady Windermere's Fan, and A Delicate Balance.

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ALUMNAE THEATRE COMPANY
70 Berkeley Street
Toronto, Ontario • M5A 2W6
Phone: 416-364-4170
Email: contactus@alumnaetheatre.com