Biographies

JONATHON PATERSON - Writer and Performer

Jonathon Paterson has been working in the theatre industry for the past 30 years and is the most recent Technical and Artistic Director of the Astor Theatre in Liverpool, NS.

Jonathon studied both performance and production at Macewan University in Edmonton in 1997, where he co-founded the independent touring theatre company, RibbitRePublic. This company now has a twenty year touring record around North America, and has performed at various festivals including the Orlando Fringe Festival, Fresno Rouge Festival, Canoe Theatre Festival, The Centaur Wildside Festival, Vancouver Comedy Festival and Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.

As a producer, Jon founded the French Quarter Hub at the Edmonton Fringe Festival in 2012. He has co-managed 3 venues (over 15 performing acts) in the hub every year, with attendance peaking at over 20, 000 patrons. French Quarter Hub was the first of it's kind in Canada, modelling after the hub-based Fringes in Adelaide and Edinburgh. Jonathon also has over 2 dozen producing credits and over 20 years with RibbitRePublic, overseeing everything from marketing, promotions, web design, poster design, lighting design, stage managing, accounting, social media etc. After being laid off from the Astor Theatre due to Covid-19, Jonathon created, on a volunteer basis, FringeLiveStream, an online platform for live performances. Since May of 2020, FringeLiveStream has been able to return thousands of dollars to independent artists.

As a performer, Jonathon has been seen at every major Fringe Festival in North America, with over one hundred festivals and 25 years under his belt. He has also worked with Vertigo Mystery Theatre, National Stiltwalkers of Canada, Monster Theatre, Theatre Prospero, Zero Gravity Circus, Workshop West Theatre, Mayfield Dinner Theatre and most recently, Off-Broadway's Soho Playhouse.

As a technician, Jon has served as the Technical Director of the Astor Theatre in Liverpool, Nova Scotia and Monster Theatre in Vancouver, BC. He has been a theatre venue technician since 2011, and has worked with London Fringe Festival, Waterfront Theatre, French Quarter Hub, Theatre Prospero and Silver Skate Winter Festival. Jonathon has several years of experience in sound and video production and over a decade experience in lighting and design. Most recently, Jonathon has adapted to the current climate and learned to stream tech for online content.

Jon is also a stilt-walker, stage manager, poster designer, and Winnipeg Jets fan.

VANESSA QUESNELLE - Director

Vanessa Quesnelle is currently based in Brooklyn, NY, but hails from London, Ontario. Vanessa has created two theatrical solo shows, The Abyss Burrow and Luna. Prior to this, some of her acting credits include Amy in Company (Fountainhead Productions), Nurse Wilson in 7 Stories, Pierrette in Les Belles Soeurs, Helena in Midsummer Night’s Dream (Passionfool Theatre), Suzanne in Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Theatre Woodstock), Margot Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank (Theatre Woodstock), Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream (CAST), Laura Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie (QP Productions). She is the Co-Founder of Concrete Drops Theatre, where she has co-written and appeared in Oh, That Wily Snake!, The Pit, Love Is A Battlefield, and Moonlight After Midnight. She is the Director of Martin Dockery's award-winning Inescapable, which appeared Off-Broadway at the Soho Playhouse.

RYAN GLADSTONE - Dramaturg

Founder and Artistic Director of Monster Theatre, Ryan is the creative force behind Monster Theatre, though he loves collaborating with other artists. Ryan has written, co-written, produced, directed or acted in every Monster Theatre production. Ryan holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Calgary, an MFA in Directing from the University of British Columbia and is a 10 year veteran of Calgary’s Loose Moose Theatre. Ryan is currently working as a writer, director, actor, teacher and improviser in Vancouver. Ryan is happily married to the beautiful and talented Michelle Field and they have two children Felix and Beatrix.

TJ DAWE - Dramaturg

TJ Dawe tours autobiographical monologues, teaches solo performance online, writes humour articles for various websites, co-creates pop culture parodies and co-hosts The Enneagram in a Movie podcast. You can find his stuff at www.tjdawe.ca.

MEAGAN PHILLIPS - Dramaturg

Megan co-wrote and co-starred in People Suck, a musical airing of grievances, with her Creative Life Partner Peter Cavell, People Suck won a bunch of awards at the Toronto Fringe (Ed Mirvish Entrepreneurial Award, Patron's Pick, Best of Fringe), and is currently in development with Second City Theatricals.

Select theatre performances include: Evelyn in Homecoming King (world premiere, 30 Below Theatre), Fay in Here on the Flight Path (Metro Theatre), Gertie in Oklahoma! (Theatre Under the Stars), Helena in The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Applause), My Fair Lady (Gateway Theatre), The Sound of Music (Gateway Theatre).

Megan holds a BA (Music Hons) from the University of Western Ontario, and an MA (Musical Theatre Performance) from Mountview Academy in London, England. She studied at Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City, and really, REALLY loves wombats.

Megan coaches private lessons in both vocal and performance technique, does mind-body healing things for others and had a network marketing company. No it's not a pyramid scheme. She doesn't think. She does improv and sketch comedy in various venus around Vancouver, BC, and sometimes she'll do stand-up comedy.