TED DYKSTRA (Playwright) Ted’s professional career began in Edmonton at age 15.  Since then he has gone on to play leading roles on every major stage in Canada, from Hamlet at Theatre Calgary to Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at The Citadel Theatre, and often combining his musical skills in such roles as: Mozart in Amadeus; Cale Blackwell, a character based on Jerry Lee Lewis, in Fire (seven Canadian theatres); Shostakovitch in Master Class (Manitoba Theatre Centre); Glenn Gould in An Evening with Glenn Gould (National Arts Centre), Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Crow’s Theatre); and Cousin Kevin in The Who’s Tommy (Mirvish Productions). School children around the world know him as Bach in the film Bach’s Fight for Freedom. He is a veteran of both the Shaw and Stratford Festivals. As well as directing dozens of award-winning shows across Canada, he has acted in dozens of films and TV shows including The Expanse, Orphan Black and Reign, and has also voiced countless cartoon characters. Currently he is the voice of Dad Tiger on Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood (PBS). Ted is the co-founder, with wife Diana Bentley, of Toronto’s hottest new indie theatre The Coal Mine, and is a founding member of Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto. He has directed, acted, composed, and written for dozens of productions for both companies. His new musical, the smash hit Evangeline, was produced in Charlottetown, PEI for two seasons, as well at the Citadel Theatre. Currently he is composing music for Dion, a rock opera based on The Bacchae. Ted has received six Dora Mavor Moore Awards, as well as Gemini, Merritt, Sterling, and Chalmers Awards, and has oodles of award nominations for acting, directing, composing, writing, and producing. For him, all of the above pales compared to being the proud father of Theo, Rosie and Henry.

RICHARD GREENBLATT (Playwright) was born in Montréal and received his acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England. He has performed in theatres across Canada and abroad, as well as in feature films, television and radio. He has directed well over 100 productions for theatres across the country; the vast majority being original and/or Canadian works. As a writer, he wrote or co-wrote: 2 Pianos 4 Hands, Sibs (also made into a TV movie for the CBC), The Theory of Relatives, i.d., Letters from Lehrer, Care and Soft Pedaling. 2 Pianos 4 Hands has played on five continents and in over 150 cities since it opened in 1996. Greenblatt himself has performed the play over 900 times across Canada, and in New York City, Washington D.C., London and Tokyo. He is currently co-writing a piece with David S. Craig called Athabasca about the tar sands and the nature of protest.He has taught acting, directing, and play creation at most of the theatre training institutions in Canada. He has also directed the premieres of many groundbreaking and award-winning plays for young audiences. Recently, he directed Waiting Room at the Tarragon Theatre, R-E-B-E-C-C-A at Theatre Passe Muraille, and The Incredible Speediness of Jamie Cavanagh for Roseneath Theatre, as well as acting in Oregano at the Storefront in Toronto and Late Company at the Theatre Centre. He has received numerous nominations for his work, and has won seven Dora Awards and two Chalmers Awards. He lives in Toronto with partner Tanya Greve and their daughter, Amelia, and is the proud father of Natasha, Will, and the dearly missed Luke Greenblatt.