PORT ALBERT PRODUCTIONS

PORT ALBERT PRODUCTIONSPort Albert Productions exists to produce new Canadian theatre and film. This company's inaugural production “White Wedding” by Taylor Marie Graham will premiere summer 2017 as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival.

TAYLOR MARIE GRAHAMplaywright and director

Taylor is a writer, director, producer, and educator living in Toronto. She holds a BA in theatre from York University, a MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph, and is currently a partial load English professor at Sheridan College.

Taylor began writing plays, poetry, and short stories as a young child living in Goderich, Ontario, and her love for telling stories is what brought her to study theatre in Toronto. She established herself as a bright young talent early on when she was accepted into Tapestry New Opera’s Librettist / Composer Lab even before finishing her degree!

Since then, Taylor has had many lovely opportunities to write for opera and theatre, direct theatre, direct television, work dramaturngically on others’ projects, help administratively on others’ projects, and work as an educator. Taylor has worked in various capacities with esteemed artistic companies and educational institutions as the Toronto Fringe Festival, Canadian Stage, Theatre Gargantua, b current, Tapestry New Opera Works, Theatre Brouhaha, Alumnae Theatre, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Tiny Owl Workshop, These Five Minutes, the Playwrights Guild of Canada, Humber College, Sheridan College, Artscape, and Rogers Television.

In 2016, celebrated playwright Judith Thompson named Taylor as the up and coming playwright to watch in Playwrights Guild of Canada’s The Playwright Applause campaign. Thompson described Taylor’s most recent play Cottage Radio as, “a dynamic, complex, and very funny play with fabulous music set in beautiful and historic Goderich. Taylor Graham has written such rich and delicious characters, people who are familiar and yet presented in an utterly unique way. I am thrilled to see sucha powerful play set in small town Ontario – true Canadiana, and yet, universal!” Taylor’s writing has also been described as “charmingly twisted” (John Terauds, Toronto Star), “delivering notes of comedy,irony and real feeling” (John Kaplan, NOW Magazine), “with good humour, warmth, and intelligence” (Andrea Romaldi), and “searingly written. . . a significant accomplishment!” (Bill Mandel).

Taylor is the recipient of the George Ryga Award for Excellence in Playwrighting from York Universityand the Connie Rooke Scholarship from the University of Guelph. She has received multiple Ontario Arts Council theatre creator reserve grants for the development of her writing, and her opera The VirginCharlie was nominated in 2008 for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Opera / Musical.

Currently, Taylor is developing a new opera with composer William Rowson which was recently supported with two Ontario Arts Council Theatre Creator Reserve Grants. In June and July of 2017, Taylor will be involved in two theatre productions. At Montreal Fringe Festival, Taylor will be directing a fabulous new play by Julia Haist entitled This is Not She, and at the Toronto Fringe Festival Taylor will be premiering her new site specific play White Wedding.

KAYLA WHELANplaying the role of “Lisa”

Kayla has been kicking around the acting industry for 23 years now. She holds a B.F.A in Acting from the University of Windsor, and is a member of ACTRA and CAEA. In Toronto, she has studied with Tom Todoroff, Gloria Mann, Shawn Lawrence, and Debra Toffan. She has also been coached by Janine Pearson and Ian Watson of the Stratford Festival of Canada. Currently,Kayla spends her weekends dressed as various Disney Princesses in order to entertain children at their birthday gatherings. Wigs, manicures, singing with her animal friends, driving her Toyota Corolla in a ball gown...it's all in a day's work! Selected theatre: Toronto, Mississippi (Jhana), Doubt (Sister James), The Woolgatherer (2015 Toronto Fringe Festival – Rose),

Goldilocks: Beyond the Bears (Goldilocks), Red (Rose/Red), That Summer (Maggie), The Dining Room (3rd Actress), and The Crucible (Elizabeth Proctor). Upcoming: Kayla's voice is featured in The Shuyan Saga, a graphic novel series slated for release on Steam later this year.

CASS VAN WYCKplaying the role of “Heather”

Cass Van Wyck is a Toronto based actress/producer who splits her time between her position as volunteer co-oridnator at the Storefront Theatre and producing the new works festival "OPEN OPEN OPEN". In addition to her BA in performance from Brock University, Cass has worked with many notable directors including Soheil Parsa, Sonia Norris & Daniel MacIvor. Her latest credits include Hildy Johnson in ‘His Girl Friday’ (Bygone Theatre) and Bridget in Broken Soil Theatre’s ‘#dirtygirl’ (2016 Audience Choice Award winner at the Hamilton Fringe Festival). Originally from the small town of Fenwick, Ontario, Cass currently lives in Toronto and can normally be found baking chocolate chip cookies and cheering on the blue jays. She is so excited to be working with the team can’t wait to share the work with everyone!

ERMINA PEREZplaying the role of “Gabrielle”

Ermina studied at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City where she has performed notable roles in plays such as Anna in the Tropics, House of Bernarda Alba and La Ronde. Recent theatre credits include a production of G.K. Chesterton’s The Surprise with the much loved and revered Storm Theatre Company in NYC and touring Toronto and the GTA in Shakespeare-in-Hospitals with the wonderful and inspiring Spur-of-the-Moment Shakespeare Collective.

She is delighted to take part in this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival with a brilliant team dressed to the nines!

LAUREN WOLANSKIplaying the role of “Michelle”

Lauren is a recent graduate of the joint Theatre and Drama Studies Program at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College (2017). Here, she received an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, graduating with High Distinction, and a diploma in Acting. Past theatre credits include Katrina- Fermata (OPIA Theatre Collective), Thea- Hedda Gabler, Dionyza- Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Mother- The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Theatre Erindale), Chava- Fiddler On The Roof, Agnes- Gypsy (Steppin’ Out Productions), and Margot- Legally Blonde The Musical (Wavestage

Productions). Lauren has enjoyed fusing her passion for theatre and teaching as the Artistic Director at the Richmond Hill Performing Arts Centre's Musical Theatre Program. Her directing credits include Footloose, Legally Blonde The Musical, Annie, Shrek The Musical (RHCPA) and Death Knocks (Erindale Fringe Festival). Lauren is thrilled to be apart of White Wedding!

DAVE MARTINplaying the role of “Dave”

A graduate from the Theatre program at Claude Watson School for the Arts, Dave has since worked in the film and music industries in various capacities for over 20 years.

Dave has had the great pleasure of working with Taylor Graham in the role of Gordon in her play “Cottage Radio” performed at the

Alumnae Theatre in 2015 and is very much looking forward to working again with Taylor and the very talented cast of “White Wedding” for this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival.

DANIEL CRISTOFORIplaying the role of “Carl”

Daniel Cristofori is an award-winning actor. He holds a B.A. of Theatre and Performance from the University of Waterloo, and has trained at numerous institutions, including the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Favourite theatre roles include Aunt Dan and Lemon (Theatre Passe Muraille), The Baby (Storefront Theatre), and Some Girl(s)(Tarragon Theatre). Selected film / TV credits include Bonne Maman (CFC), Murdoch Mysteries (CBC), Saving Hope (CTV), and a plethora of re-enactment docudramas for the History Channel.

NABIL TRABOULSIplaying the role of “Jason”

Nabil Traboulsi is a Canadian film, television and stage actor based in Toronto. Nabil is a Meisner-trained actor and a graduate of the 2-year conservatory program at the Maggie Flanigan Studio in New York City and has appeared in numerous short films. Recent stage credits include Silas in Sinners on a Southbound Bus Off-broadway at the New York International Fringe Festival, and Picot in Vanishing State at the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) and the Kaaitheater in Brussels.

JEANETTE DAGGERplaying the role of “Margot”

Jeanette has graduate degrees in both music performance and theatre with a long career in opera and stage work having taught at the Canadian College of Performing Arts and the University of Windsor in both the music and theatre departments. She has served as Artistic Director of Kingsville Repertory Theatre where she directed numerous musicals. She received great reviews for her direction of several musicals for the Victoria Operatic Society and also served as voice coach and assistant in directing and casting for the shows at the C.C.P.A. She last directed Betty Jane Wylie’s play

Moon and Murna for the Alumnae New Ideas Festival and just finished playing a role in the Fireworks Festival production of Cottage Radio; also, in the main season of Alumnae in Stepping Out. Last autumn, she had the pleasure of playing Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music with Confidential Music Theatre Project and Marion Abbott Productions. Recently she played PM Margaret Thatcher in anew play reading called Granite Girls. She is happy to be working with Taylor Graham again in this Fringe play, The White Wedding.

LINDSAY WOODS Costume and Set Designer

Lindsay is a graduate from the University of Victoria in theatre and is a B.C. to Toronto transplant. Although she isn’t quite sure what she’s doing in Toronto for the most part, she is very excited at the prospect of workingwith Taylor on “Frankie When She Died” as part of Summerworks. Lindsay has administrative experience in theatre as she held the position ofOperations Manager at the Toronto Fringe Festival for two years. Lindsay is currently a freelance artist whose creations you can find in the

Distillery's Art Market every weekend until Christmas. To see her beautiful creations you can visit her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/constance_doesnt_care/ Her theatre costume design credits include: Brave New World (Litmus Theatre), The Harvester (FAWN Chamber Creative), Tuesdays and Sundays, The Ghost Ship, The Selkie of Kincardine (Sundown Theatre), Hansel and Gretel (Cow Over Moon Children’s Theatre), The Hollow Square (kith and kin) and Birth of Frankenstein (Litmus Theatre).

ABBY WEISBROTplaying the role of “Annie”

Abby is a recent graduate of the University of Windsor and studied with the Stratford Summer Academy. She is extremely excited to workwith Taylor this summer on “White Wedding” with talented cast and crew.