THE FANTASTIC MR FOX
2016-17 play production series
ARTISTIC TEAM
Michelle Thorne - DIRECTOR
Michelle Thorne is a Director, Producer, and Actor based in her home community of Wood Buffalo, AB. Recent directing credits include Steel Magnolias (Keyano Theatre Company), Fanny & Manny Tie The Knot (Theatre; Just Because), The Most Massive Woman Wins (Theatre; Just Because- 2015 ADFA Regional Best Director Award), and Louis and Dave (Theatre; Just Because- 2014 ADFA Regional Best Director Award, Provincial Best Production Award). Michelle holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dramatic Arts from the University of Lethbridge where she studied Theatre Performance. Favourite on stage productions include Boeing, Boeing (Keyano Theatre Company), Extremities (Keyano Theatre Company), and The 39 Steps (Keyano Theatre Company). She is co-founder and co-artistic director for Wood Buffalo’s newest theatre company, Theatre; Just Because. Upcoming projects include The Fantastic Mr Fox (in partnership with SECPA), The Awesome 80s Prom (in partnership with Waypoints), and The Other Side of the Pole for Keynao Theatre Company. Michelle has also participated in the Wood Buffalo arts community as the Program Manager for Arts Council Wood Buffalo, Front of House manager for Keyano Theatre, as well as an Artist Educator for Learning through the Arts and the Keyano DramaForce program.
Dianne Paré - Musical Director
Dianne is very happy, to be Music Director for “ The Fantastic Mr.Fox!” and is very excited to work with the Artistic Team and kids that have been a part of this production with Theatre;Just Because. Dianne is an Elementary Specialist with the Royal Conservatory of Music, and has a busy studio in Thickwood teaching private piano and voice lessons. She has been Music Director for the summer intensive “Drama Force” for the past three years at Keyano College (Alladin Jr, Little Mermaid Jr, and The Jungle Book Kids) She has been involved with many productions with Keyano Theatre (Les Misérables, Vagina Monologues, A Christmas Carol, Cabaret, Into the Woods, Steel Magnolias) Dianne spent 12 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as a musician and produced 2 albums under the stage name “Didi Perry”. Dianne is a certified Piano Technician and belongs to the Canadian Association of Piano Tuners. Dianne continues to serve our community by teaching, performing and mentoring youth in our community and is proud to call Fort McMurray home.
Alexandra Price - Movement Director
Alexandra Price has spent over 15 years training, working and performing in the areas of voice, drama and dance. She earned her Diploma in Visual and Performing Arts - Drama from Keyano College then continued her education at Grant MacEwan University where she graduated the Arts & Culture Management Program. Adding to her training, Alexandra attended the Teacher’s Summer Seminar at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School which included classes for teaching Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, Elementary Technique and Understanding How Children Learn. Dancing since the age of 11, beginning with Modern and soon adding Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Contemporary and Lyrical, Alexandra has found her passion. She has been teaching and choreographing classes in Musical Theatre, Modern, Adult Ballet & Jazz, Tiny Tot and KinderCombo since 2008. She also was the choreographer for Thickwood Heights Theatriks’ performance of Willy Wonka Jr. and Cheepiyak Theatre’s Urinetown. Her Arts education was rounded out with years of private vocal lessons with Cara Brown, Soprano. As a dancer, singer and actor Alexandra has performed on stage since the 4th grade, beginning with Miracle on 34th Street at Keyano Theatre. She has since performed in over 16 plays and musicals including Mayzie la Bird in Seussical the Musical, Marty in Grease and Roxie Hart in Chicago. As both a teacher and the Assistant Manager at the Suncor Energy Centre for the Performing Arts and UpTown! Music & Dance, Alexandra is very excited to welcome all students and to share in their delight and passion for the Arts.
Ruth Perry - Visual Arts Director
Ruth is best known for her large spray paint and acrylic public murals created with local youth inspiration and influence. Today her work takes her to inspiring local youth to create artistic and meaningful works that impact the community. Her recent work can be seen on the corner of the “Art Foundry” Building downtown; it evokes designs of abstraction in the form of assembled geometric shapes intended to blur the building into the background. Ruth has transformed the building to appear to have no starting or ending border by removing the fine lines of what or how an artist should be. Her theory of “just existing” in the community is how Ruth hopes to bring awareness to the talent of our community. Trained for fine arts at Memorial University Ruth currently works as the youth program coordinator with the Meicholas Art Foundation at the Art Foundry in the River Station district, down town Fort McMurray.
Ruth is excited to be part of the “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” production as the costume and props mentor. She hopes through this medium the talents of our performing youth will learn how the process is just as important as the final product.
Jennifer Townsend - Assistant Director/Backstage Team Mentor
Born and bred in Fort McMurray, Jennifer Townsend graduated from the Keyano College VPA Program specializing in the Performing Arts. Since then, Jenn has dedicated countless hours both backstage and onstage for Theatre; Just Because(T;JB) as well as the Keyano Theatre Company (KTC). Onstage highlights include Calendar Girls (KTC, 2012), Bedtime Stories (KTC, 2013), The Vagina Monologues (KTC,2014), Goodnight Ladies (KTC, 2015), The Most Massive Woman Wins (T;JB, 2015), I, Claudia (T;JB, 2015), Fanny and Manny Tie the Knot (T;JB, 2016), and most recently Steel Magnolias (KTC, 2016). Backstage credits include Assistant Stage Manager for Hometown... The Musical! (KTC, 2014), Les Miserables (KTC, 2015), and Deathtrap (KTC, 2015). She was recently awarded the title of Most Outstanding Director for this year's ADFA Adult Regional One Act Festival with her work on David Ives' Sure Thing. Jenn has always appreciated the work that Theatre; Just Because has done not only for the arts scene within Fort McMurray, but for the community itself. She is beyond excited to be a part of the artistic team helping to bring growth to her hometown's theatre community.