THE FIRST MONDAY

Artwork Created By: Taegan O'Bertos

GOODBYE LAST SUNDAY, HELLO FIRST MONDAY!!!

After five seasons, we bid adieu to The Last Sunday, and welcome our new monthly program: The First Monday. In partnership with Persephone Theatre and Hardly Art, we will present a new Saskatchewan play every month for eight months. So, mark your calendars. It's always the FIRST Monday of every month. 

WHEN: Monday, March 6th, 2023 @ 7:00pm
WHERE: Persephone Theatre (100 Spadina Crescent East)
DOORS: 6:30PM
FREE ADMISSION

Readings will be in Persephone Theatre's lobby, There WILL BE SNACKS, a bar and... 
A NEW PLAY!!!

THIS MONTH'S FEATURED PLAYWRIGHT: Clare Middleton 

"Infill" - By Clare Middleton 
On a windy New Year's Eve in Calgary, three sisters struggle to clean out their mother’s house after her passing. As they rummage through old memories they are reminded that stuffing secrets away in an old box with the Christmas decorations doesn't mean they'll stay hidden forever. With all the crap a person collects over a lifetime, both physically and emotionally, it can be hard to know what to throw away and what to keep.

Clare Middleton

Playwright

BFA in Acting U of S, MFA in Creative Writing UBC, Clare has been working in and around theatre for the past several decades.  A founding member of Live Five and has held various artist in residence positions around the province.  Clare loves to teach adults and kids alike and up until recently, she has spent nearly 8 years at the Saskatoon Public Library doing storytimes and puppet shows for Library goers. Clare lives in Saskatoon with her husband, two kids, three dogs and all her thoughts and insecurities.

Heather Cant

Actor

Heather is a multi-faceted theatre practitioner who works as a director, actor, playwright, dramaturg, and producer. Heather has experience with everything from large scale productions to interactive micro-performance. Her work has taken her throughout Canada, having worked for such companies as the National Arts Centre, Western Canada Theatre, Citadel Theatre, Gateway Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Chemainus Theatre, Persephone Theatre, Pi Theatre, Axis Theatre, Presentation House, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, Upintheair Theatre, Project X Theatre, Urban Ink, and SkirtsAfire. Heather is also the current Artistic Director of Persephone Theatre

Ed Mendez

Actor

Ed Mendez (he/him) is an actor, director, voice actor, stunt performer, and more based in misâskwatôminihk (Saskatoon) in the heart of Treaty Six. Ed is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan’s theatre program, has appeared on-stage in productions for 25th Street Theatre, Persephone Theatre, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, multiple companies with Live Five, has recently voiced characters for City TV’s Why am I, CBC’s Robotik, and is currently General Manager of Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre. In his spare time, Ed enjoys hanging out with his partner Tamara, their three lovely boys, and their two adorable kittens.

Paige Francoeur

Dramaturge

Paige Francoeur (she/they) is an emerging actor, playwright, and dramaturg born and raised on Treaty 6 Territory. Recently, they have had the pleasure of appearing in Theatre Howl's The Love Interest, 25th Street Theatre / Ferre Play's Breaking The Curse, and are currently working on Theatre Naught's Long Day's Journey Into Night. She is also a co-creator on a brand-new adaptation of All's Well That Ends Well through their newly-formed theatre company, the Hagstone Collective. Paige is a lover of cats, mob movie enthusiast, and will talk your ear off about gothic horror if you let her. Coming up for Paige: Measure for Measure through Live Five. www.paigefrancoeur.com/

Amanda Trapp

Actor

Amanda Trapp (she/they) is a Cree and Saulteaux/Austrian artist, member of the White Bear Band, who calls Saskatoon home. An actor and composer, selected credits include: The Invisible: Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Catalyst Theatre; It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Persephone Theatre; The Other Side of the River, Sum Theatre; exempt, Native Earth Performing Arts; Lady Macbeth and the Not Quite Dead, Musical Theatre Works; The Penelopiad, Ferre Play Theatre (composer, SATA nominated). Amanda is a graduate of Sheridan College with an Honours Bachelor in Music Theatre Performance.

Kayvon Khoshkam

Actor

Kayvon Khoshkam (He/Him)
Kayvon is the current Artistic Director of Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, as well as an actor, director, writer and musician. Born and raised in Saskatoon, Kayvon studied at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, BC. Kayvon has had the great fortune to work in theatres across Canada, the United States and abroad

Ricardo Alvarado

Director

Ricardo Alvarado (he/they) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist based in Saskatoon. Ricardo is excited to have just stepped into the role of Artistic Producer for SUM Theatre, having previously been their Stage Manager and Production Manager since 2019. He was recently awarded the People's Choice Award at the Saskatoon and Area Theatre Awards for his contributions to Saskatoon's theatre scene, and was honoured to be counted among so many inspring local artists. Ricardo regularly teaches painting to elementary school students through the Hugo Alvarado Community Art Program and recently taught a week-long drag intensive for teens at Persephone Theatre as their alter ego Puffy von Pop-n-Fresh. Select Credits: Hand to God, Little Shop of Horrors, Avenue Q, The Rocky Horror Show (Director, Ppl r Ppl Productions) / The Herd, The Fiancée, The Revolutionists, The Mountaintop, Cottagers & Indians (SM, Persephone THeatre) / Iago Speaks (SM, Shakespeare on the SK). Up Next: The Birds & The Bees (SM, Persephone/Globe Theatre Regina) / Romeo & Juliet, As You Like It (PSM, Shakespeare on the SK).

Liz Whitbread

Actor

Liz Whitbread (she/her) is a queer actor, singer and theatre creator born and raised on Treaty One in what is now known as Winnipeg, Manitoba. She graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a BA: Honours in Theatre, and since then she's been working on pursuing a creative career that aligns with her personal values and, very importantly, brings her joy. She's delighted to be expanding her creative practice and exploring dramaturgy with the wonderful Sum Theatre team. Favourite acting credits include ‘Heathers: The Musical’ (Winnipeg Studio Theatre); ‘It’s A Beautiful Day to Arrest the Cops That Killed Breonna Taylor (Afterlife Theatre) and ‘Women of the Fur Trade’ (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). 

COMING UP THIS SEASON ON "THE FIRST MONDAY"!!

Episode 1: October 3rd, 2022- Playwright Mara Teare - "Sad Girls Watch The Princess Bride" - 
  • A woman and her mother gather together on every major holiday to watch The Princess Bride together. This tradition is one they have clung to steadfastly, but when the mother begins to deteriorate from dementia, the woman must come to terms with facing a world without her mother. A story of grief, loss, and the importance of ritual in our lives.
Episode 2: November 7th, 2022 - Playwright Erin Brophy
  • Seventeen-year-old Oli is facing a challenge that only time can remedy: homework. While putting off their soul-crushing assignments, Oli accidentally summons one of their ancestors to the 21st century. Hazel, also seventeen and soon to become Oli's great-great-grandmother, has been plucked from the 1940's and has to learn to adapt to a world she doesn't recognize. Oli and Hazel strike a deal with one another: Oli assists Hazel's literacy to the complexities of the 21st century in exchange for homework help. Oli and Hazel answer big questions with bigger questions, figure out what a Tik Tok is, and find that they have more in common than meets the eye.
Episode 3: December 5th, 2022 - Playwright Jenna Berenbaum - "18 Jews Order Chinese Food"
  • A Jewish comedy about life, death and ordering Chinese food
Episode 4: January 2nd, 2023 - Playwright Jennifer Dawn Bishop - "The Queen of Bingo" 
  • Through a simple game of bingo we witness a unique bond, family anitics and drama between mother and daughter.
Episode 5: February 6th, 2023 - Playwright Danielle Roy - "Luna"
  • Luna, a young girl, has built a time machine in her Dad's garage, with the intention of unfreezing her mother - who is trapped in time. It deals with grief, loss, depression and the strength it takes to move forward. Luna is a play that was intended for young people, created as part of Persephone Theatre's TYA Playwright Unit. It was initially created for zoom but is being adapted for the stage.
Episode 6: March 6th, 2023 - Playwright Clare Middleton - "Infill"
  • On a windy New Year's Eve in Calgary, three sisters struggle to clean out their mother’s house after her passing. As they rummage through old memories they are reminded that stuffing secrets away in an old box with the Christmas decorations doesn't mean they'll stay hidden forever. With all the crap a person collects over a lifetime, both physically and emotionally, it can be hard to know what to throw away and what to keep.
Episode 7: April 3rd, 2023 - Playwrights Amanda Trapp & Graham Kent -"West of Nowhere - A Western Western"  
  • The year is eighteen-ninety something. The place? A town to the west of the ol’ west. Meet our hero: gun-slinging, fear-inducing, doll-collecting, heart-throbbin’ Bosiah Logan! A step above all others, the best of the best. The stuff of legends he is! And he did it all on his lonesome, a one-man wolf pack that no villain’s army can take down. Sure, he has a niece (oh, what’s her name...Crannie? Frannie? Brannie?) who’s been spotted at these fearsome events, but only as a damsel in distress. Probably. Most likely. Somebody’s verified that, surely. In any case, it’s a man’s world, and Bosiah Logan is a real man’s man! And this is a manly new musical by Grahame Kent and Amanda Trapp. Yee-haw!
Episode 8: May 1st, 2023 - Playwright: Fanny Kearse  - "POP" (followed by a special Playwright's Sharing Circle
  • Two people. Several Hours. No where to go. POP follows Ophelia and Paulo as they engage in deep, emotional conversation about the purpose of life and come face to face with a big secret they unknowingly share

Meet the Playwrights 

Mara Teare

Read Bio

Mara Teare is a Saskatoon raised actor, singer, writer, and creator. She is a recent graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s acting program. Through her art and work, Mara strives to create and be a part of spaces with a strong presence of marginalized voices. Just as theatre has given her a voice, she wishes to inspire and uplift others like her through the power of theatre. She is excited to begin her journey as an emerging playwright with sad girls watch The Princess Bride. Mara firmly believes in theatre being a safe meeting space for all, and she hopes to bring the community around her closer together in joy and love through her writing. She is so excited to be a part of SUM Theatre’s First Monday collective. She hopes you enjoy the reading and you receive whatever you might need from the piece.

Erin Brophy

Read Bio

Erin Brophy (She/ They) holds a BFA Honours in Acting from the University of Saskatchewan, and works as an actor, playwright, theatre educator, stunt performer, actor combatant, and fight and intimacy director. Erin is a member of Fight Directors’ Canada and The International Order of the Sword and the Pen, and additionally has trained with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (formally Intimacy Directors International), the National Society of Intimacy Professionals, and Principal Intimacy Professionals. Currently Erin is working on an honours degree in Women’s and Gender Studies with a minor in English, and because they don’t back down from a challenge, will be starting their Masters in September. Past acting credits include Shortcuts Festival 2021 (Hardly Art Theatre), The Beaux’ Stratagem, Bronte, Spirit Wrestler (Greystone Theatre), Crowsworld: The First (Myriad Productions), The Unforgettables (Fight or Flight Theatre). Erin wrote The Unforgettables in 2019, presented it at the 2021 Saskatoon Fringe, and looks forward to bringing The Unforgettables to Live Five in February. Intergenerational—their first play designed specifically for teenage audiences, was written as part of the 2021 Persephone Theatre TYA Playwrights’ Unit. Past fight/intimacy direction credits include Rock of Ages (Broadway North Theatre Company), Carmen (Saskatoon Opera), L’Auberge(Fully Productions), 9 to 5: The Musical (Saskatoon Summer Players) Little Women (St. Joseph High School), Flush, Will and Ernest, Scapin (La Troupe du Jour), The Three Musketeers (Odyssey Productions). Erin is grateful for a community that works to cultivate the arts, and for the opportunity to live and work on Treaty Six territory.

Jenna Berenbaum

Read Bio

An award-winning actor, Jenna holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Saskatchewan. They work as a playwright, actor and graphic designer.  Recent credits include J. Caesar, Midsummer, Titus. A puppet revenge, Merry Wives of Windsor, Comedy of Errors, As You Like It (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan), I and You (Globe Theatre), Jack and the Snow Queen (Dancing Sky Theatre), The Penelopiad (Ferre Play), The Wolves (Live Five/Little Big/EvilStick) and Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island (Persephone Theatre). Their play 18 Jews Order Chinese Food premiered at the Short Cuts Festival last November as a 10 minute play and is now being extended to a full show.

Jennifer Dawn Bishop

Read Bio

Jennifer a Metis artist of the Treaty Six Territory is an actor, playwright, director and Artistic Director of the Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre. Starting with the company when it first opened its doors in 1999 with the Circle of Voices Program. Continuing her passion in the arts, Jennifer’s most recent work includes directing 3 audiobook projects with Penguin Random House Canada, her play Shadows among the Prairies had its world premier presented at the new SOTS site and shortly after debut directed at Persephone Theatres production Cottagers & Indians by Drew Hayden Taylor. Jennifer looks forward to what comes next!

Danielle Roy 

Read Bio

Danielle Roy is a performer, playwright, producer, and director based in Martensville SK. She is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan Bachelor of Fine Arts Theatre Program, and the Globe Theatre Conservatory. Her playwriting credits include the 5-star smash hit Peach which toured across Canada in 2016. She is also the creator behind the “masterpiece” Metempsychosis which made its world premiere this summer in the 2022 Fringe Festival. Danielle is an active performer and writer for Saskatoon’s Sketch Comedy group The Sketchy Bandits and for Buttered Ghost, Dr. Frightful Presents: A Podcast. She is thrilled to be working with SUM Theatre to help her new play Luna meet its full potential. 

Fanny Kearse

Read Bio

Storyteller • Poet • Radical • Mental Health Advocate • Truth Seeker • Elevator of Youth • Slayer of Mountains •The Dream of a Slave

Fanny fuses her previous experience as a social worker and lived experiences as a justice seeking human to express her artivism through means of poetry and storytelling. Fanny uses words to create spaces and stoke connections that start dialogues around generational healing through a poetic and dramaturgical entry point.

Clare Middleton

Read Bio

BFA in Acting U of S, MFA in Creative Writing UBC, Clare has been working in and around theatre for the past several decades.  A founding member of Live Five and has held various artist in residence positions around the province.  Clare loves to teach adults and kids alike and up until recently, she has spent nearly 8 years at the Saskatoon Public Library doing storytimes and puppet shows for Library goers. Clare lives in Saskatoon with her husband, two kids, three dogs and all her thoughts and insecurities.

Amanda Trapp

Read Bio

Amanda Trapp (she/they) is a Cree and Saulteaux/Austrian artist, member of the White
Bear Band, who calls Saskatoon home. An actor and composer, selected credits include:
The Invisible: Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Catalyst Theatre; It's a Wonderful
Life: A Live Radio Play, Persephone Theatre; The Other Side of the River, Sum Theatre;
exempt, Native Earth Performing Arts; Lady Macbeth and the Not Quite Dead, Musical
TheatreWorks; The Penelopiad, Ferre Play Theatre (composer, SATA nominated).
Amanda is a graduate of Sheridan College with an Honours Bachelor in Music Theatre
Performance.

Graham Kent

Read Bio

A neurodivergent Treaty 6 based theatre artist, Grahame can be found in many places in and around theatre; working as a performer, writer, producer, designer, voice artist, editor, dramaturg, foley artist, director and stage manager. Grahame is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan with a BFA in Acting and a graduate of the Globe Theatre Conservatory. Grahame has been seen on stages across Canada and you may have seen his work at Live Five, Persephone Theatre, The Globe Theatre, Wide Open, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan and many more indie venues. Grahame is the Artistic Producer of Buttered Ghost Theatre, a Treaty 6 based company that produces new and exciting work. Grahame is an active member with The Sketchy Bandits sketch comedy group. If you like podcasts, check out Dr. Frightful Presents: A Podcast which is created, produced and curated by Grahame and created with a bundle of incredible talent. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
Find out more at grahamekent.com

Meet the Dramaturgy

Clare Middleton

Read Bio

BFA in Acting U of S, MFA in Creative Writing UBC, Clare has been working in and around theatre for the past several decades.  A founding member of Live Five and has held various artist in residence positions around the province.  Clare loves to teach adults and kids alike and up until recently, she has spent nearly 8 years at the Saskatoon Public Library doing storytimes and puppet shows for Library goers. Clare lives in Saskatoon with her husband, two kids, three dogs and all her thoughts and insecurities.

Jennifer Squires

Read Bio

Jennifer Lyn Squires (she / her) is a theatre artist from and living in Oskana. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Theatre Studies from the University of Regina. Select credits include Much Ado About NothingThe Velveteen Rabbit, and Leading Ladies (director); Into the WoodsNunsense II (Regina Summer Stage, stage manager); Peter Pan (Do It With Class, Tinkerbell). She also wrote and performed Jen is Fat for the 2021 TicTocTen festival. Jennifer can usually be found championing Saskatchewanians in both of her day jobs: as the Creative and Operations Director at the Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre and manager of Handmade Saskatchewan. Jennifer is unabashedly neurodivergent, both thriving and struggling with combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive ADHD. Since January 2021, Jennifer has been fostering cats for Regina Cat Rescue. She is currently fostering her 5th cat, a big tuxedo boi named Alfred. Jennifer plays a lot of board games, is a fat advocate, and devours as much true crime as possible.

Liz Whitbread

Read Bio

Liz Whitbread (she/her) is a queer actor, singer and theatre creator born and raised on Treaty One in what is now known as Winnipeg, Manitoba. She graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a BA: Honours in Theatre, and since then she's been working on pursuing a creative career that aligns with her personal values and, very importantly, brings her joy. She's delighted to be expanding her creative practice and exploring dramaturgy with the wonderful Sum Theatre team. Favourite acting credits include ‘Heathers: The Musical’ (Winnipeg Studio Theatre); ‘It’s A Beautiful Day to Arrest the Cops That Killed Breonna Taylor (Afterlife Theatre) and ‘Women of the Fur Trade’ (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). 

Kody Farrow

Read Bio

Kody (he/him) is an emerging theatre artist from Saskatoon who graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a BFA in Drama. Recently he has expanded his experience to include stage, film, voice-over, and streaming credits. Video credits include Ready To Be Brave (perf. Jeffery Straker, dir. Dylan Hyrciuk) and Save Me (perf. Eden Paige, dir. Dylan Hyrciuk). Stage credits include Coriolanus (Shakespeare by the Sea), The Skiffle Disco Soul Circus (Fringe Festival), Delft Blue (Burnt Thicket Theatre) Rooftops (Drama Student’s Association), The Romeo Project (The Studio), Machinal, Henry V, Arcadia, Spirit Wrestler, and The Beaux’ Stratagem (Greystone Theatre). 

Mark Claxton

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Since completing the Globe Theatre's conservatory program in 2008, Mark has worked and played as an actor, director, producer, and writer of theatre on various stages across Treaty Four and Six territories. He recently produced and performed in Ekstatika Stage & Screen's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in Regina. Mark currently serves as executive director of the Saskatchewan Association of Theatre Professionals.

Paige Francoeur

Read Bio

Paige Francoeur (she/they) is an emerging actor, playwright, and dramaturg born and raised on Treaty 6 Territory. Recently, they have had the pleasure of appearing in Theatre Howl's The Love Interest, 25th Street Theatre / Ferre Play's Breaking The Curse, and are currently working on Theatre Naught's Long Day's Journey Into Night. She is also a co-creator on a brand-new adaptation of All's Well That Ends Well through their newly-formed theatre company, the Hagstone Collective. Paige is a lover of cats, mob movie enthusiast, and will talk your ear off about gothic horror if you let her. Coming up for Paige: Measure for Measure through Live Five. www.paigefrancoeur.com/

Tim Bratton

Read Bio

Tim is a Saskatoon-based actor, playwright, and sound designer, serving as the Artistic Associate for Burnt Thicket Theatre. With a broad range of training and experience in both theatre and theology, Tim is committed to telling stories that help us make sense of life. Recent acting credits include the role of Guildenstern in ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, and Robert in BOEING BOEING (Persephone Theatre); THE FOURTH WISEMAN (Dancing Sky); CYMBELINE (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan). Recent sound design credits include work on CYMBELINE, Burnt Thicket’s production of EVERY BRILLIANT THING, and the audio drama podcast series WE TREATY PEOPLE.

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