The Romeo Initiative is sponsored by

We would like to acknowledge that we are the traditional lands of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral) people and territories associated with various treaties of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapewak. We recognize that our ancestors came to this land through government-sponsored colonization. Although we cannot change the past, we can control our future. As a theatre company we are committed to ensuring that respect is given to our Indigenous populations, as the original caretakers of this land. We will continue to work with them to ensure they have representation and to ensure our practices are culturally and environmentally sound.

This production runs approximately 2 hours with a fifteen minute intermission.

The Romeo Initiative is produced by arrangement with Kensington Literary Representation, 34 St. Andrew Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1K6, kensingtonlit@rogers.com.

The world premiere of The Romeo Initiative was presented as part of the Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays 2011, at Alberta Theatre Projects.

Cast

Mica Fage, Karin Maynard

Mica is a 24 year old performance artist from London, ON. Notable shows include Dirt (Tinkerspace Theatre ), Taming of the Shrew (Funeral Pyre Theatre), and The Rocky Horror Show (McMorran Theater). Mica loves red wine, Sylvia Plath, and her cat Calvin. “Thank you to everyone involved in making this show come to life. I’m so grateful to have gotten to work with such kind, talented people who have taught me so much.”

Matt Butler, Markus Richter

Matt has been acting in London since 2012, yet hasn't done anything quite like this show before. Known largely for his over-the-top roles in musicals, Matt feels lucky to find himself in a more grounded and intimate story than usual. His notable credits include: Beauty and the Beast (Lumiere / London Community Players), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Adolfo Pirelli / co-produced by Allswell Productions and Musical Theatre Productions) and Cymbeline (Cloten, Assistant Director / Western's Department of English and Writing Studies). Most recently, he was Nostradamus in Something Rotten! (King's Players).

Keren Kayembe, Lena Hahn

Keren is a third year student at Brescia University College, completing a double major in political science and criminal justice. This is her first production with Allswell Productions having been involved in theatre productions such as Little Women (King’s Players, 2020), and was involved all throughout high school in productions such as Sister Act (MTS Productions, 2019).

Creative Team

Hailey Hill, Director

Hailey is a director, actor, and proud Artistic Director for this theatre company. She has been acting in theatre productions for 15 years and has discovered her passion for directing within the past 6 years. She directed Allswell's previous three shows: Dogfight (2018), Sweeney Todd (2019) and Camille Intson's Patchface (2021). Other notable directing credits include Chicago (Blue Canoe Productions), The 25th Annual Spelling Bee (King's Players), Gamer Boy (London Fringe Festival) and The Laramie Project (Theatre Aezir). When Hailey is not in rehearsal, she enjoys binge-watching anything on Crave, naming her many plants, and eating PC white cheddar mac & cheese. She is incredibly grateful to experience live theatre again after a long hiatus and thanks you for supporting this show. Enjoy and welcome back!

Christine Gruenbauer, Producer & Assistant Stage Manager

Christine is an experienced producer and arts manager, having worked on productions with King's Players Theatre Company (The 25th Annual Spelling Bee, Fools, Reefer Madness), Scooter Productions (The Woolgatherer), Theatre Aezir (The Laramie Project), Lost Soul Stroll, two seasons with the London Fringe Festival, and is the current Company Manager of the Grand Theatre. Since beginning Allswell Productions with Hailey and Ben in 2018, Christine has kept busy producing and stage managing, including the company’s productions of Dogfight (2018), Sweeney Todd (co-produced with Musical Theatre Productions, 2019), and Patchface (2021). She is beyond thrilled to be welcoming audiences back in person, and hopes you enjoy the show!

Ben Leibovitz, Director of Music & Composer

Ben is the Director of Music for Allswell Productions, and is excited to return to live theatre for the first time since 2019. He has been playing piano and writing original music for nearly 20 years. Recent credits include Patchface (original music - Allswell Productions), Cinderella (Original Kids Theatre Company), Sweeney Todd (Allswell Productions/Musical Theatre Productions), Seussical (LYTE at the Palace), and Newsies (Original Kids Theatre Company). He thanks Emma, his family, and friends for their continued support.

Patrick Hoffer, Set Design

Patrick has been an enthusiastic actor on London stages for the past three years including The Wedding Singer (Musical Theatre Productions, 2019), Show Off! 30 Years of Musical Theatre (Musical Theatre Productions, 2019), Sweeney Todd (Allswell Productions & Musical Theatre Productions) and most recently as Freddy in Piccasso at the Lapin Agile (London Community Players, 2022). In 2021, Patrick joined the Allswell team as set designer for Camille Intson’s Patchface. Patrick would like to thank the Allswell artistic team for the opportunity to work on the set of this incredible show. Love and thanks Annie, Ryan and Erin for the patience and support. And as always: God bless Whiskey Soaked Beavers.

Barbara Rand, Wardrobe and Props Design

Barbara has had a life-long love of live theatre, mostly as an appreciative audience member, but on a few occasions decades ago, as actor and crew member. In 2017, she joined Theatre Æzir as Production Assistant for A Permanent Image and in 2019 as Associate Producer for The Laramie Project. Later that year, she ventured into Prop Design for the first time on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Allswell Productions & Musical Theatre Productions). She returned to Allswell as Prop Designer and Costume Designer for Patchface and is currently repeating those roles for this production. She recently did Prop Design for On A First Name Basis (Palace Theatre Arts Commons). She’s delighted to be continually invited back to work with the Allswell team and is especially happy and grateful to be working alongside Christina van Hardeveld on costumes.

Christina van Hardeveld, Wardrobe Assistant

This is Christina’s first time working on wardrobe for theatre, though she has been sewing for over a decade. Previous credits include Stage Manager for Dream (Paradoxa Theatre Company), and Original Kids Theatre Company. In her spare time, Christina is a historical costumer at Mrs Maple Costuming, where she shares her research through Youtube videos, social media, and community presentations. She is also the current Public Programming Coordinator at Fanshawe Pioneer Village.

Regine Li, Stage Manager

Regine is also the Production Coordinator for Allswell Productions and no stranger to wearing different hats for whatever suits the occasion; pit band musician, stage manager, stage crew. Notable credits include: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Keys 2/King's Players, 2016), A Chorus Line (Percussion/Theatre Western, 2017), Newsies (Keys 2/Original Kids Theatre Company, 2019), Sweeney Todd (Stage Manager, Allswell Productions & Musical Theatre Productions, 2019), R&H Cinderella (Keys 3/Original Kids Theatre Company, 2019), Patchface (Stage Manager/Allswell Productions, 2021). She would like to thank the entire cast, crew, and band for their hard work and dedication; Christine, Hailey, and Ben for their collaborative teamwork, support, and friendship; Heather, for wrangling her while she wrangles everyone else; and you, the audience! Thank you for coming to see our show and supporting local community artists.

Heather Williams, COVID-19 Compliance Contact & Assistant Stage Manager

Heather has been involved in community theatre for many years as a musician in pit bands. Past shows include The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee and Something Rotten! (Kings Players), Newsies and Cinderella (Original Kids), Hello Dolly! and Show Off! (Musical Theatre Productions), and Dogfight (Allswell Productions). In her professional career she works as a Physiotherapy Assistant at University Hospital. It is this experience in an acute care hospital that has informed her role as the COVID-19 Compliance Contact for both Patchface (Allswell, 2021) and The Romeo Initiative.

Musicians

Jeanny Jung, Violin

Jeanny is a full-time violin student and performer from Saskatchewan, currently pursuing her Bachelor of Music at Western University. Throughout high school, she studied privately with violinist Oxana Ossiptchouk while serving as principal second violinist of the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra. During this time, she participated in numerous solo, chamber, and orchestral performances across Canada including performances with the Victoria Conservatory of Music and the Thomastik-Infeld Canadian String Orchestra. Since beginning her studies at Western University in 2019, she has performed in the pit orchestra for numerous opera productions including Mozart's La Finta Giadiniera, Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, Handel's Alcina, and Donizetti's L'Elisir D'Amore. She is also a member of the Western University Symphony Orchestra, and has played with numerous chamber groups throughout her degree. In addition to her musical studies, she is currently serving as the Faculty of Music Councillor on the Western University Students' Council, and she has recently been elected as the 2022/23 Faculty of Music Students' Council President.

Grace Theriault, Cello

A native of Windsor, Ontario, Grace has studied cello, piano, and voice from a very young age. She has almost 20 years of ensemble experience, and performs regularly with the London Community Orchestra and as a special event musician with "It's a String Thing". Grace is passionate about theatre, and is equally comfortable in the pit or on the stage. Her notable credits include Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera (Walkerville Centre for the Creative Arts), Phyllis in Iolanthe (McGill Savoy Society), Little Buttercup in HMS Pinafore (McGill Savoy Society), and as a cellist for The Pajama Game (Walkerville Centre for the Creative Arts), Pirates of Penzance (McGill Savoy Society) and Sweeney Todd (Allswell Productions and Musical Theatre Productions).

Patrons

Allswell Productions is partially funded through the generous support of our community patrons. Become a patron today at allswelltheatre.com/support!

Jennifer Bates-MacDonald
Sam Clark
Andrew Dawson
James Gruenbauer
Tammy Hill & Don Barber
Peter Janes
Beth Leibovitz
Simon Leibovitz
Melissa Metler
Jake Schindler
Henry Truong

Thank Yous

We wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to the following individuals:

Steve Allen, Karen Killeen, Brayden Crawford & the Grand Theatre
Alexis Bedard-Cahill
Diana Barr
Pat Boggitt
Sarah Callahan
Rory Davis
Scott Dewar
John Gerry
Moffatt and Powell Rona
Celine Peter & Shauna Driscoll
Olaf Plotske
Sarah McNeil
Jacob Nunns
Mary Jane Walzak
The Williams Family
Palace Theatre Arts Commons & London Community Players Props, Set, Furniture & Wardrobe Departments