Christina / Philippe

Per K. Brask

Playwright

Per has taught in the Department of Theatre and Film at the University of Winnipeg since 1982.  His creative writing, essays and translations have appeared in Anthropologica, Border Crossings, Canadian Folklore, Canadian Theatre Review, C.G. Jung Page, Contemporary Verse 2, Consciousness, Literature and the Arts (where he also serves on the editorial board), Danish Literary Magazine, Descant, Ecotone, Event, Grain, Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, The Literary Review, Malahat Review, Modern International Drama, NeWest Review, Nexus, Performing Arts Journal, Poetica, Poetry Canada Review, Poet Magazine, Poetry Kanto, Poetry Wales, Prairie Fire, The Philosophers’ Magazine, Quarterly Review, Rhubarb Magazine and Zygote. His activities, apart from teaching, focus on Creative Writing, Translation and Dramaturgy. Together with Patrick Friesen he is currently working on translating a new collection of poems by Ulrikka S. Gernes scheduled for publication with Brick Books in the fall of 2015

Trevor Schmidt

Director, Set & Costumes, Philippe

Trevor is the Artistic Director of Northern Light Theatre as well as a performer, designer of set and costume, a published playwright and a multiple award winner. He has been awarded twice for playwrighting (THE WATERMELON GIRLS, and CHANGE ROOM),for directing the Canadian premieres of Carol Anne Duffy’s THE WORLD’S WIFE and Sean Graney’s THE 4TH GRADERS PRESENT AN UNNAMED LOVE-SUICIDE and the outstanding production award for the Canadian premiere of Elise Forier Edie’s THE PINK UNICORN. For Guys In Disguise, where he is an Artistic Associate, he has also performed the one-man show COFFEE DAD, CHICKEN MOM, AND THE FABULOUS BUDDHA BOI, penned by Nick Green in New York as part of the FRIGID FESTIVAL for which he also received the award for Outstanding Performance, and the Outstanding New Fringe Play (co-written and created with Darrin Hagen) for FLORA & FAWNA’S FIELD TRIP (both at the Sterling Awards), and Outstanding Touring Production at the Critic’s Awards in Calgary. Also for Guys In Disguise, he received an Orlando Fringe award for his performance for Bette Davis in the much-lauded BITCHSLAP.

Kristi Hansen

Director, Christina

Kristi is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting program (2004), and of the Grant MacEwan Theatre Arts Program (2001). Theatre credits as an actor includeThe Sound of Music (National Arts Centre); pool (no water) (Studio Theatre); Little Elephants (Shadow Theatre); Apocalypse Prairie, and Absolute Blue (Azimuth Theatre); L’Homme de la Mancha and Grace et Gloria (l’Unithéâtre); The Jazz Mother, Pith!, The Scent of Compulsion, and The Ambassador’s Wives (Teatro la Quindicina); Or, [sic], and Dying City (Trunk Theatre); Monstrosities, Age of Arousal, Hroses: An Affront to Reason, Folie à Deux, and Hunger Striking (The Maggie Tree); Grumplestock’s (Surreal SoReal Theatre); One (Ghost River Theatre/REDtoBLUE Performance); The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Mayfield Dinner Theatre); June Moon and Rhinoceros (Media Room); Anime (Lucid Productions); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Free Will Players); The Bully Project, and Are We There Yet? (Concrete Theatre); and Woody (One-Legged Productions). Directing credits include Confessions of a Sex Worker (Red Umbrella Productions), Shatter (The Maggie Tree, co-directed with Vanessa Sabourin); and Work Plays (The Alberta Workers’ Health Centre). Dramaturge credits include Confessions of a Sex Worker, by Dawn Friensen, and A Life in the Day, by Beth Graham. Kristi is a Sterling Award winning actor and producer. She is currently the President of the Board of Directors of Azimuth Theatre, and an Artistic Associate with Teatro la Quindicina.

Darrin Hagen

Musical Director & Sound Design

Darrin is an award-winning playwright, composer and queer historian. He is the author of THE EDMONTON QUEEN, which won a Sterling Award and was published in book form by Brindle & Glass Publishing. Darrin is the Artistic Director of Guys In Disguise, marking over 30 years of creating drag comedies that have toured across North America. He has received 7 Sterling awards and over 40 nominations for his work in Edmonton theatre. Other plays by Darrin include BITCHSLAP!: THE NEO-NANCIES: HITLER’S KICKLINE; TORNADO MAGNET: A SALUTE TO TRAILER COURT WOMEN (published by Brindle & Glass), WITCH HUNT AT THE STRAND; BUDDY; WITH BELLS ON; and THE EMPRESS & THE PRIME MINISTER (all nominated for the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Outstanding New Play).

Darrin has also teamed up with Trevor Schmidt to create the award-winning FLORA & FLORA’S FIELD TRIP (WITH FLEURETTE) and FLORA & FAWNA HAVE BEAVER FEAVER (AND SO DOES FLEURETTE), the hit musical KLONDYKES, DRAGULA (now available as a radio play through Bandcamp), PSYCHOBABBLE, 2 QUEENS & A JOKER, PREPARE FOR THE WORST!, PUCK BUNNIES, DON’T FROWN AT THE GOWN and the upcoming CRACK IN THE MIRROR.

Darrin has created sound and sometimes performed for many Northern Light Theatre productions going back 31 years, including CINDERELLA (THE REAL STORY), DOG’S TEMPER, METASTASIS, SPEECH AND DEBATE, 3 DIFFERENT HEAVENS, I GOOGLE MYSELF, BIFURIOUS, MOTEL HELL, MERCY OF A STORM, THE PASSION OF NARCISSE MONDOUX, CHRISTINA/PHILIPPE, DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME, BARONESS BIANKA’S BLOODSONGS, and most recently THE LOOK.

In 2005, Darrin was named one of 100 Edmontonians of the Century. To the best of his knowledge, he’s the only Drag Queen on that list. In 2017 he was named one of the most influential Alberta artists of the past 25 years.

Adam Tsuyoshi Turnbull

Lighting Design & Production Manager

Adam is a multi-talented technician and theatre designer who works in set and lighting design and construction. He is sought-after as an artistic collaborator and his work has been seen on the stages for Northern Light Theatre, Shadow Theatre, Teatro la Quindicina, Fringe Theatre Adventures, L’UniThéâtre, Theatre Yes, multiple high school and performing arts groups, as well as trade shows and conventions. He has served as Production Manager and Site Technical Director for North America’s largest Fringe Festival, currently serves at the Technical Director and Production Manager at Northern Light Theatre. He is a multiple nominee for Sterling Awards.

Kerry Johnson

Stage Manager

Originally from Winnipeg, Kerry has been working as a stage manager in Edmonton for the past ten years. Some favourite SM and ASM credits include Ride and The Ecstatics (Northern Light Theatre), Liberation Days (Theatre Calgary), The National Elevator Project: Part 2 (Theatre Yes), Beowulf the King (Workshop West) and Mary Poppins, The Penelopiad, The Forbidden Phoenix, Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, A Christmas Carol and Noises Off (Citadel Theatre). Kerry is a graduate of the BFA Stage Management program at the U of A and the Theatre Arts Program at MacEwan University.

Rina Pelletier

Assistant Director

Rina is a native to Red Deer, Alberta. These past two years she has performed in Red Deer College’s Ten Lost Years, Shakespeare in the Land of the Dead, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Pride and Prejudice.  She is absolutely ecstatic to be a part of Christina/Phillipe and she hopes you to enjoy this brilliant piece of theatre!