The Passion of Narcisse Mondoux

Gratien Gélinas

Playwright

The dean of Canadian playwrights, Gratien was born in St-Tite, Québec, in 1909. In 1937 he created his character Fridolin for radio. Brought to the stage in 1938, Fridolin was the main character of Gélinas’ enormously popular satirical revues, Les Fridolinades, throughout 1946. In 1948, he wrote Ti-Coq, a play that was performed more than 600 times.

In 1957, he was the founding director of la Comédie-Canadienne and was a founding member of the National Theatre School. Meanwhile he wrote his second play, Bousille and the Just, whose success exceeded that of Ti-Coq, reaching 700 performances. In 1966 he wrote his third play Yesterday the children were dancing. Recipient of numerous honorary degrees, he is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 1986 he wrote his last play, The Passion of Narcisse Mondoux, which was performed over 600 times.

Linda Gaboriau

English Translation

Linda is an award-winning literary translator based in Montreal. Her translations of plays by Quebec’s most prominent playwrights have been published and produced across Canada and abroad. In her work as a literary manager and dramaturge, she has directed numerous translation residencies and international exchange projects. She was the founding ­director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre. Gaboriau has twice won the Governor General’s Award for Translation: in 1996, for Daniel Danis’s Stone and Ashes, and in 2010, for Wajdi Mouawad’s Forests.

Trevor Schmidt

Director, Set & Costumes

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.

Brian Dooley

Narcisse Mondoux

Brian is an award winning actor and producer.  During the last 35 years  Brian has worked throughout the country and abroad in a variety of media. Trained and educated at the National Theatre School and Bishop’s University, his past performances  for Northern Light Theatre include:  Mercy of a Storm,  Do This in Memory of Me,  The Passion of Narcisse Mondoux and Flora and Fauna.   Brian recently  relocated to Montreal but continues to hold  Edmonton and its community close at heart. He draws inspiration form Victor Banda’s fervent  message: “The theatre moves, illuminates, disquiets, disturbs, lifts the spirit, reveals, provokes and violates conventions. It is a conversation shared with society. Theatre is the first art to confront emptiness, shadows and silence to make words, movement, lights and life surge forth.”

Manon Beaudoin

Laurencienne Robichaud

Manon has been involved in the Edmonton theatre community for almost twenty years.  During that time she worked as an actor, director, writer and translator.  She has worked with many different companies, including L’UniThéâtre, Northern Light Theatre, Catalyst Theatre, La Troupe du Jour (Saskatoon), and Théâtre la Seizième (Vancouver).  As a writer, her plays include:  AMOUR, TU M’ATTIRES; MARIE BRUNER; TERRE BLEUE; DANS LES BRAS D’UN GÉANT; GLORIOUS LIARS, and LA MAISON ROUGE. Her translations include Vern Thiessen’s EINSTEIN’S GIFT, Mathew Edison’s THE DOMINO HEART, Joan MacLeod’s JEWEL, as well as some of her own.  In 2002, life brought changes necessitating a completely different direction.  In 2004, Manon relocated to Montreal where she works as a massage therapist but continues to work as a translator.

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.

Darrin Hagen

Original Composition & 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.

Matt Schuurman

Projection & Multi-Media Design

Matt is thrilled to return to NLT as projection designer. He has designed video for over 50 productions across Canada and has received numerous award nominations for his work, including Edmonton’s Sterling Award for NLT’s A HUNDRED WORDS FOR SNOW.

Recent credits include Rock of Ages, First Date, Vegas: Live, Mamma Mia!, Nashville Outlaws, and Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story for Mayfield Dinner Theatre, and The Blank Who Stole Christmas for Rapid Fire Theatre, where he is also the Artistic Director. In 2019 he was named one of Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40. Enjoy the show!

Molly Pearson

Stage Manager

Molly’s recent credits include assistant stage managing As You Like It and Coriolanus (The Freewill Shakespeare Festival), apprentice stage managing Playing with Fire, The Penelopiad, 2 Pianos 4 Hands and A Christmas Carol (Citadel Theatre), Helen Lawrence (The Arts Club Theatre) stage managing Jéan et Béatrice (l’UniThéâtre) A Midsummer Nights Dream (Theatre Prospero), The Blue Flame Power Game, and The Origins of Power Woman  (ATCO Energy Theatre), Alcina and Rusalka  (Opera Nuova), The Gertrude Stein Project  (Studio Theatre), and Prairie Stars (Alberta Transportation).  She is also a member of The UnNaturals, who have performed magic at The Edmonton Fringe Festival, The Edmonton Street Performers Festival, and The Orlando Fringe Festival.