Peter Aitchison (Director):
“Fall, then figure out what to do on the way down” — Del Close
“Several times in biological evolution animals become crabs” — Something Peter said in rehearsal.
I think Del has the better quote here.
Peter has been a student of Improv for most of his life. Active study at the Second City Training Centre in Toronto was preceded by a childhood of making something from nothing. Never afraid to jump into a situation and make something of it; this is how he ended up directing this project. Pulling from thoughts and ideas on how to remain active and engaged in the hard winter of 2021, Peter said Yes AND to this project…. and began to figure out what to do on the way down.
Trying to find common ground from the traditional theatre experience, while working with individual actors over ZOOM, has been a great learning curve. At the time of writing, Peter is still working out the unique challenges of creating an improvised piece, with an ensemble cast, and presenting it to the world, without coming within 6 feet of the actors and production team.
Peter wants to thank all those who jumped off the cliff with him, volunteering hundreds of hours, to figure this one out on the way down. When we land, we land together.
Joe Gull (Assistant Director): Joe is thrilled to be involved in KWLT’s online improv production. You may recognize Joe from such past roles as Constabarus in KWLT’s radio production of The Tragedy of Miriam, Liam in TCP’s production of Calendar Girls, Quasimodo’s Gargoyle in TCP’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, and as Bill Sikes in TCP’s Oliver. Joe wishes to thank his high school drama teacher Bill Cook for teaching him everything he knows about stage performance and getting him involved, all the great people he has come to know through theater, and finally Odin the Allfather. Enjoy the show!
Paul Budel (Technical Manager): Though new to the theatre community, Paul Budel’s has spent decades on a different type of stage as an active part of Ontario’s music scene. When not busy with his kids, he can be found walking his dog, thinking about pizza, or wishing Jurassic Park was real.
Monica Maika (Production Manager): Monica is happy to be involved behind the scenes for KWLT’s online foray into improv. She has been involved with KWLT on-stage, in front of house, and in the green room since moving to KW in 2018. She is now on the board of directors and enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in any kind of theatre during the pandemic. Thank you to Peter for getting me involved in the project and opening up my eyes to the work involved in improv and the wonderful worlds it can open. Congratulations should also go out to the cast for doing online improv, where we’ve added the additional challenge that you can’t actually see your scene partner while recording. Thank you all for your patience, determination, raw talent, and the amount of laughs you’ve created during the rehearsal process.
Abigale Johnson (Technical Editor): Abigale is a media student at Conestoga College, Kitchener. She has had a keen interest in being part of the entertainment world since her teens, and KWLT is an excellent platform for her to explore her talent. Having worked in a different industry and taking a break to support her family, Abigale now finds great encouragement at KWLT. A big thanks to my family for all the support to pursue my dreams. Mostly give gratitude to Nancy Richards Abigale’s professor at Conestoga College for sharing the opportunity to be a part of the production team at KWLT.
Mathieu Preston (Technical Editor): Mathieu is making his KWLT debut as an editor for the online improv productions. Mathieu has been performing since high school and is planning to pursue musical theatre in the future. Selected performance credits include Beast – Beauty and the Beast, Drew Boley- Rock of Ages (SBCSS Drama), Mr. Fezziwig – Christmas Carol: Radio Musical, Boo-tube, Yule-tube and From the Heart Cabarets (Penny & Pound Productions) and KW Glee. I’d like to thank Rob Curwain, Peter Aitchison and Paul Budel for this incredible opportunity, Sebastian Cristancho for helping me improve my editing chops during quarantine and my parents who always support my work whether it’s on or off stage. Enjoy improv at its finest!
Rob Curwain (Technical Editor): Although Rob was not able to continue the project past the rehearsal stage, he was invaluable to the development of our technical process and development of our first trailers. Rob was thrilled to be involved with KWLT for the first time, and even more so to be a part of their online improv production. You may recognize Rob from his various roles with Ichthys Theatre Productions, in plays such as “A Dickens of a Time” and “Before the Prequel: Dawning Inception”. While Rob may be new to the world of improv, he’s always got something to say at a moment’s notice, be it funny or not. Not to mention that he’s always looking for a script to go along with the improvised scenes. A big thanks to everyone for putting up with him so far, and to his feet for keeping him on the right path. Enjoy the show!
Nicole Beer (Technical Editor): While Nicole was unable to continue with the project past the rehearsal stage, we would like to thank her for her time and effort during the early post-production trials and tribulations. Nicole is happy to violetear for the online improv production by KWLT. She’s a student at Conestoga college and member of the editing team for this production. Nicole was contacted through her Television and film production program and was happy to help.
Anne-Marie Lemieux (Rehearsal Technical Editor): While Anne-Marie was unable to continue with the project past the rehearsal stage, we would like to thank her for her time and research during the early post-production trials and tribulations. Anne-Marie is a server/bartender with a background in theatre, pivoting into the technical world of film editing and production. She was excited to discover this opportunity to work with KWLT in a remote production, eagerly absorbing new skills. It’s been a pleasure for her to collaborate with this community.
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