THE COMMITTEE
Brandon is a Toronto-based actor, director and theatre creator. Originally from Hamilton, Brandon is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Sheridan College’s joint Theatre and Drama Studies Program, and a co-founder of the seven member Theatre By Committee. Credits as director include; Faith (TBC, Hamilton and Toronto), Lovelash (Entr’Acte), Offers of Home (Panfish), and The Contract (Pandora’s Box). Acting Credits include Comme Ci, Comme Ca (TBC), Boeing Boeing (Hart House), Lion in the Streets (TBC), Grapefruit (Theatre Hera), Tournament of Lies (TBC), The Census (NewTeatro), Our Country’s Good (Theatre Erindale), Sure Thing (Beck Festival). He is also a pretty stellar DM.
My worst onstage moment was the first professional production I was ever in; “Who Has Seen the Wind” by W. O. Mitchell at Theatre Aquarius. There was a scene set in a prairie classroom where I needed to threaten my teacher with a knife to protect another student. One night, the scene was running smoothly, and I reached into my pocket to get my knife before the big moment and realized that I had forgotten to grab it off the props table. I had to threaten the teacher with my fist, which was decidedly un-knifelike. I have never again forgotten a prop.
Ben Hayward (writer/actor) Ben Hayward is a Toronto-based actor and writer. He is a founding member of both Theatre By Committee and Fail Better Theatre. With those companies he has appeared in Faith, Lion In The Streets, Comme Ci Comme Ca, The Dinner Table and Andy Warhol Presents: Valerie . As an actor he has appeared in The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia (ATIC Productions); Marianne, Are You Asleep (Beck Festival), December 1917: The Halifax Explosion (Well Fought Theatre). He has directed for the Toronto and Atlantic Fringe Festivals and Assistant Directed on Brantwood (Sheridan Musical Theatre, Mitchell Cushman/Julie Tepperman). He is the author of the plays Kink, Faith, Pathetic, Sometimes and Think Tank. He is a graduate of the Theatre and Drama Studies Program at the University of Toronto.
My worst onstage moment was when I forgot my next line, just blanked completely, and instead of ad libbing or trying to get to the rest of the scene, I said "Well, I have to go now." and abruptly walked off. I wasn't an important character and a grand total of one person noticed.
Lindsey has won an Indie Series Award for Best Supporting Actress, an IAWTV Award for Best Female Performance in a Drama and has been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. Lindsey has also worked on international best selling writer Linwood Barclay’s book trailer Tap at the Window and you can find her in the horror feature Red Spring which made its world premiere at the Blood in the Snow Film Festival as it’s 2017 opener.
Lindsey is a very active member in the Toronto theatre community. Lindsey is a graduate of University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College Theatre and Drama Studies Program, a co-funder of Well Fought Theatre Company and Theatre By Committee. She has worked as a puppeteer both on film and under black light and is certified in stage combat from Toronto’s top school Rapier Wit. She is also the co-creator of HappyHer, a documentary web series focused on sharing women’s stories about happiness from all over the world.
My worst on stage experience was during 'Dentity Crisis when an audience member was holding a knife to us...true story.
Jonathan Walls is a Toronto based theatre performer. Selected recent work includes a reading of Alexander Kentris’ new play Kairos (produced by Pure Carbon), Theatre By Committee’s Lion in the Streets, Messy Kween Collective’s then, then. by Kyle Capstick, and Mixed Company Theatre’s touring production of Frenemies by Andrea Scott. Jonathan attended the Theatre and Drama Studies program at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College.
My worst onstage moment was a Grade 12 Sears' Drama Festival production at Hart House. A toaster caught fire on stage and began to spew smoke. Quickly unplugged the toaster in time before it really started to burn. The adjudicator thought we had the coolest special effects…
Laura McCallum, an emerging producer and arts administrator, joined Theatre by Committee in 2016. Beyond TBC, she produced The Rape of Lucrece (Paprika '17), Damn Tank (Toronto Fringe '16), and The Tempest (UTM Drama Club). She previously participated in Fringe 100 (now T.E.N.T.), Theatre Gargantua’s Emerging Artist Roundtable, and the inaugural Producers Learning Network. She is the co-founder of ApplauseDB, a database of post-secondary performing arts institutions across Canada.
Laura is a graduate of Humber's Arts Administration & Cultural Management post-grad, and the Theatre & Drama Studies program at the University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College. She enjoys volunteering for the Toronto Theatre Database and learning ASL at the Canadian Hearing Society.
My worst onstage moment was being upstaged at my high school graduated by the guy in front of me who decided to do a backflip as he grabbed his diploma. My inner cynic was born that day.
Kelly Anderson is a graduate of York University’s theatre program, specializing in Design, Playwriting, and Devised Theatre. Recently, she has been working as a set, costume, sound designer, and playwright in theatre – and a costume and production designer in film.
For TBC: lighting design for Faith; playwright, set, costume, and lighting design for Family Debts; set, costume and lighting design for Come Ci Come Ca; costume and set design for Lion in the Streets. Recent credits include: costume design for webseries pilot Jib & Jab (Kurt Ogilvie); sound design for Pearle Harbour’s Sunday School (Justin Miller); costume design for Faust (Theatre by the Bay); composition and sound design for Carbon (Little Black Afro Theatre Company).
Kelly has never had a bad moment onstage
For TBC: Director/Designer Thom Pain (2018), Committee Member; Faith (2016), Family Debts (2016), Lion in the Streets (2015), Tournament of Lies (2015), 'Dentity Crisis (2014)
Hannah Jack is a Toronto based writer and comedian. She is a founding member of Theatre By Committee and with them has performed in Lion In the Streets, A Tournament of Lies, Family Debts and ‘dentity Crisis. She is also a writer/performer with the sketch comedy troupe The 95s. Check out Hannah’s work as a contributing writer for The Huffington Post Canada and HelloGiggles. Working with TBC has been an absolute joy for Hannah and she eagerly awaits all of their exciting future projects.
For TBC: Committee Member, Comme-ci - Comme-ça (2016), Lion in the Streets (2015), Tournament of Lies (2015)
Sarah completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto & Sheridan College's joint theatre and drama studies program where she met the other founding members of Theatre By Committee. In 2015 she received her Masters degree at the Centre for Drama, Theatre, & Performance Studies at UofT, and she is now there currently completing a PhD with a focus on the intersection of feminism and theatre pedagogy. TBC is one of her proudest projects, and she wishes the current members the very best moving forward.
Owen Fawcett is a Toronto-based actor, director and theatre creator and a founding member of Theatre by Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Theatre and Drama Studies program and a member of Straight Camp, a queer theatre collective. Past credits include (For TBC) Family Debts, Lion in the Streets, A Tournament of Lies, ‘Dentity Crisis. (Other): Nocturne, Red Winter (Pure Carbon), Here After (Upstart Theatre), Stumble, Topple and Stand, Spoon (Straight Camp), December 1917: The Halifax Explosion (Well Fought Theatre), Macbeth, Semi Monde, Stage Door, 1917: The Halifax Explosion (Theatre Erindale). Past directing credits include: Lion in the Streets (TBC), Arcadia (UTMDC), Piece (UTMDC)
My worst on stage moment as an actor would have to be in A Christmas Carol the Musical in high school. I was blessed with the jolly role of the Ghost of Christmas Present and had a big song at the end of Act 1 that picked up in an even bigger reprise at the top of Act 2. As the curtain went down for intermission, I stumbled through the backstage darkness and some how walked into a door. My nose started bleeding profusely. With great care, I managed to avoid bleeding all over the many white parts of my costume but as intermission ended, my nose bleed had not. So I shoved wads of toilet paper up my nose and sashayed onstage. It wasn’t certainly didn’t sound pretty but the show must go on. Lesson learned: wait for the backstage lights to turn on.