A View from the Box - The Podcast

Hello everyone! We have a whole bunch of 2's going on today! 2 guests from "2% of Condoms" It's Episode 22 of Season 2 of A View from the Box - The Podcast AND it's June 22nd! Which also means that the Toronto Fringe Festival is just 9 days away! Do you have your tickets yet? My guests this week are Nikki Bon and Claire Cavalheiro. Nikki is an LA based stand-up comedian. Originally from Toronto. And she is back in town for her two woman show that will be premiering in the Toronto fringe. She was just recently featured on comics unleashed. Claire is an actor, writer and producer from Toronto. She can most recently be seen starring in the feature film, Plan C, across Vivica A. Fox. You can find them on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/2percenttheplay/ https://www.instagram.com/nikkibon/ https://www.instagram.com/iamclairecavalheiro/ And if you'd like to hear their Before You Go! Episode, and to support me and the podcast, you can join my Patreon here: https://patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox

Well hello there! And welcome to episode 8 of season 2 of A View from the Box - The Podcast. Today, my guest is Clyde Wagner of TO Live! Clyde Wagner is the President and CEO of TO Live, one of Canada’s largest multi-arts organizations, which programs and operates three iconic civic institutions in Toronto: Meridian Hall, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, and Meridian Arts Centre. Appointed in 2017, Clyde has overseen the merger of all aspects of the three venues—which include seven theatres and an art gallery—into one entity as TO Live. He established a purpose-driven mission for the organization focused on inclusion, diversity, equity, and access, and has spearheaded a new strategic plan centered on building creative community hubs through TO Live’s venues in downtown and uptown Toronto. Clyde oversaw a historic naming rights partnership with Meridian, Ontario's largest credit union, that included an investment of $30.75 million over 15 years to TO Live—one of the largest agreements of its kind in the arts and culture community in Canada. An internationally accomplished producer, Clyde's previous experience includes Senior Producer, Park Avenue Armory (New York). He was the first Producer and General Manager for Luminato Festival Toronto and served as Executive Producer in charge of all production until leaving the organization to join TO Live. Clyde also founded a mobile tech startup and was an Associate Creative Director for eLUXURY.com, an ecommerce platform owned and launched by LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) that was the largest luxury website at the time. Clyde received his MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and his BA from Queen's University. You can find TO Live on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/TOLivebook https://www.instagram.com/tolivegram/ https://www.tiktok.com/@tolivetok If you'd like to see Clyde's Before You Go! Episode, you can join my Patreon at: https://patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox

Hello everyone! Welcome to episode 6 of season 2 of A View from the Box - The Podcast! I'm excited to share with you my conversation with Heather Marie Annis! Heather is a Toronto based actor, playwright, clown, therapeutic clown and Blue Jays fan. She is Morro of the award winning comedy dup Morro and Jasp and Co-Artistic Director of Up Your Nose and In Your Toes Productions. She will be appearing in Theatre Gargantua's upcoming production of Dissonant Species. You can find Heather on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/heathermarieannis/ If you'd like to hear Heather's Before You Go! Episode, become one of my Patrons on Patreon: https://patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox

Hello there, dear listener, and welcome to Episode 4 of Season 2 of A View from the Box - The Podcast. Today's episode is just a quick chat about what I've seen this fall, what you can still see on stage right now, and what I'm looking forward to this fall. Also a Happy Thanksgiving to those of you here in Canada. I'm so thankful for all of you and for your support with everything I do. If you'd like to help support A View from the Box - The Podcast, you can become one of my Patron on Patreon here: https://patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox

Hi there everyone! It's time for Episode 2 of Season 2 of A View from the Box - The Podcast! Today's guest is Andrea Donaldson, and we're chatting about "Enormity, Girl, and the Earthquake in Her Lungs" which opens this week! Andrea has been Nightwood Theatre’s Artistic Director since 2019. Her artistic practice has spanned over 20 years rooted in dramaturgy and directing feminist works. Directing highlights include: Mad Madge (Nightwood VideoCabaret), The Queen In Me (Nightwood, Amplified Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Theatre Gargantua), Betrayal (Soulpepper), Every Day She Rose (Nightwood), Beautiful Man (Factory Theatre), The Taming of The Shrew (St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival), Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells) (Nightwood/Crows), Quiver (Nightwood/Buddies), Sequence (Tarragon), Romeo & Juliet (Ruff), Soliciting Temptation (Tarragon), Within the Glass - GG Nomination (Tarragon), Mistatim (Red Sky), The Atomic Weight of Happiness (Theatre Direct), and Montparnasse (TPM). Prior to her time as Artistic Director at Nightwood, Andrea ran the company’s Write from the Hip program for five years and was the Assistant/Associate Artistic Director at Tarragon Theatre. Awards: Stratford Festival’s Jean Gascon Award for Direction, nominations for the Pauline McGibbon & John Hirsch Directing Awards. Her projects have received over a dozen Dora nominations and have been awarded Outstanding Performance (Ensemble) & Outstanding Production for And By the Way, Miss (Theatre Direct). You can find Nightwood Theatre on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/nightwoodtheatre/ https://www.instagram.com/nightwoodtheat/?hl=en https://bsky.app/profile/nightwoodtheat.bsky.social If you'd like to hear Andrea's Before You Go! Episode, you can become one of my Patrons on Patreon here: https://patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox

It's the final episode of Season 1 of A View from the Box - The Podcast! Thank you all SO much for your support of me and my podcast in this new journey for me! My guests today are Birgitte Solem and Robert Ross Parker of Here For Now Theatre and Hope and Hell Theatre's "Apples in Winter" Birgitte Solem has worked at theatres across the country, and has spent several seasons over the last twenty years at The Blyth Festival, including performing and co-creating The Pigeon King and as a playwright, debuting her first full-length mystery Resort to Murder, top seller of the 50th anniversary season. She is co-founder of Hope and Hell Theatre Co., starring in Disgraced (Mirvish Entertainment and The Citadel Theatre). With over 30 film and television credits, Birgitte was a series regular on Malory Towers for CBBC, appeared in the recent TIFF award winning short Motherland and for two years was the voice of Volvo Canada. You can find Birgitte on Instagram at: Instagram Robert Ross Parker Robert is a NYC based Canadian director, actor, and writer. He is the co-founder of the Obie winning Vampire Cowboys. He has directed all of their productions including Soul Samurai, Alice in Slasherland, Fight Girl/Battle World, The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G, and Revenge Song (Geffen Playhouse and Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Other directing credits include Anna Moench’s Mothers (Playwrights Realm) Vietgone (RMTC) Disgraced (Mirvish, Citadel) Fast Company (Ensemble Studio Theatre) the world premier of She Kills Monsters (The Flea) and the award winning Hamlet (solo) (Hope and Hell) which has toured for more than fifteen years playing in the US, Canada and the UK, most recently Soulpepper. You can find Robert on Instagram at: Instagram If you'd like to hear the Before You Go! Episode, become one of my Patrons and help keep this podcast going: https://patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox

Welcome to episode 23 of A View from the Box - The Podcast! Today, I'm chatting with Praneet Akilla and Lili Beaudoin who are taking on Shakespeare's most famous lovers, Romeo & Juliet, at Dream in High Park! A mostly Vancouverite but sometimes Torontonian Lili Beaudoin is an actor, improvisor and filmmaker. Some of her notable theatre credits include Juliet in Juliet, a Revenge Comedy, Marie in The Nutcracker at Caravan Farm Theatre, Claudia in I, Claudia at The Arts Club, Mimi/scenographer in Blind Date, Brigid Blake in The Humans at Theatre Calgary, Gracie in Gracie at ATP & Belfry and Miranda in The Tempest at Bard on the Beach. Elsewhere Lili’s voice can be heard in several animated shows such as Beat Bugs, Littlest Pet Shop, Rainbow Ruby, Max Steel and My Little Pony. Lili is the Associate Artistic Director of Tightrope Impro Theatre where she spend most of her weekends strutting her stuff on stage and pretending she knows what she’s talking about. Lili is the honoured recipient of a Betty Mitchell award for Outstanding Performance by a lead Actress in a Drama. Praneet Akilla is an award winning Indian-Canadian Actor & Producer best known for his leading roles on The CW’s Nancy Drew, Disney Freeform’s Motherland Fort Salem, and Netflix’s October Faction. He is currently the series lead of the Canadian Screen Award nominated medical drama Skymed on CBC Gem & Paramount Plus. Over the last 3 years Praneet has made the successful transition into producing a variety of critically acclaimed short films and digital series with his new production company Akilla Express, focusing on telling unique, genre-bending stories from a Third Culture Global Majority perspective. Most recently Praneet produced and starred in the critically- acclaimed short film “Mom vs Machine” which is currently on the film festival circuit with 6 Leo Nominations (B.C. Film & Television Awards) including Best Short Drama. With stops at Fantasia Film Festival, Whistler Film Festival, Reelworld Film Festival, and Brooklyn Horror Festival- the short film premiered on the Sci-Fi Streaming Platform- DUST in 2023. Praneet also produced a Telus Funded short film entitled Not For Us (Whistler Film Festival Premiere 2023, LA Comedy Film Festival 2023 Best Short film). He is currently in development on a TV adaptation of the celebrated Canadian novel Junie with 100 Dragons Media Inc. and a new comedy horror series called Raksha with funding from IPF & Canada Media Fund. Praneet is a recent graduate of the National Screen Institute of Canada’s Access BIPOC Producers program. Praneet is currently selected as a producer participant in the highly competitive Netflix Diversity of Voices Program as part of the 2025 cohort for emerging BIPOC creators to decision-makers at the Banff World Media Film Festival. You can find Praneet online here: Instagram If you'd like to hear their Before You Go! Episode, you can join my Patreon here: https://patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox