Production Bios & Headshots

The World of The Brothers Grimm

Forrest Nickerson Theatre, December 26 to 30, 2015

See Also: Playbill & Credits


Jump To:  Brian DoughertyBen McMahonChris ReidNatalie FitkowskyTim BeaudryHeather ForgieDavid KingAlison KolisnykLexie DuboisJensen GloverJordan PhillipsCamilla OpidaFilip PetrovskiXimon WebsterJohn ChaseKalyn Bomback

Headshot for Brian Dougherty

Brian Dougherty

KING

Brian Dougherty is making his eleventh appearance with Merlyn Productions, reprising his 2012 Winnipeg Fringe Festival role as the King in “The World of The Brothers Grimm”.

Brian was most recently seen at Gimli Summer Theatre, reprising his ChekhovFest 2014 role as Tschubukov in “A Marriage Proposal”. Other appearances include the Engine-Driver in “Through The Looking Glass”, and multiple roles in “Ming Lee and The Magic Tree” at the 2013 Winnipeg Fringe Festival.

After once venturing briefly onto the stage with a self-written solo comedy routine for the local “Free Laughs Comedy Series”, Brian decided to pursue theatre in earnest. He enrolled in the Spring 2011 session of “STAGE ONE: Adult Theatre” at the theatre school, and performed with the class in Dramatic Showcase 2011.

Brian's first major community theatre production was with Chase & Hamill, creating multiple characters in “HEY ABBOTT! - Another Classic Comedy Tribute Show” at the 2011 Winnipeg Fringe Festival.

Behind the scenes, Brian has actively contributed his carpentry talents to numerous productions. He was a key member of the crew that created Castle Wrath for “The Wraith of Wrath”, and also served as the Rehearsal Stage Manager for the company's ShawFest2012 production of “Augustus Does His Bit”.

Headshot for Ben McMahon

Ben McMahon

SERVANT

Ben McMahon is making his first appearance with Merlyn Productions. He's ecstatic to be back on stage after a small time away, and couldn't be happier to have joined the company!

Ben has been acting all his life: most notably in high school productions. Previous roles have included Action in “West Side Story”, Nicely-Nicely Johnson in “Guys and Dolls”, and the title role in “Shrek!: The Musical”.

Ben has had a lot of fun so far, and hopes to be in more shows in the future!

Headshot for Chris Reid

Chris Reid

KING THRUSHBEARD

Chris Reid is making his sixth appearance with Merlyn Productions, and is thrilled to be reprising his 2012 Winnipeg Fringe Festival role as King Thrushbeard in “The World of the Brothers Grimm”!

He was last seen on stage with the company as the White Knight in “Through the Looking-Glass (And What Alice Found There)” in December 2014.

This past Summer, Chris had a special appearance as the Pope in “Sister Act” at Rainbow Stage.

He is the “official voice” at Club Disney at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Chris also spent 10 years on-air in Winnipeg radio at Energy 106, Power 97, TSN 1290, 680 CJOB, and more.

Headshot for Natalie Fitkowsky

Natalie Fitkowsky

PRINCESS

Natalie Fitkowsky is making her third appearance with Merlyn Productions, and is thrilled to be reprising her 2012 Winnipeg Fringe Festival role as the Princess in “The World of the Brothers Grimm”!

Her other acting credits include “Woman's Honor” (Merlyn Productions), “Snow White the Comedy” (Chase & Hamill), “Generation Nexxt: An Evening of Contemporary Scenes for Young Women” (FemFest), “Cinderella! Cinderella!” (Chase & Hamill), and “Raunch Culture: The End of Romance” (FemFest).

For the past 3 years, Natalie has been teaching at Cecil Rhodes School. She was the stage manager for the school's production of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” in 2013, and is currently the assistant director for its spring production of “The Wizard of Oz”.

In her spare time, Natalie takes voice lessons, sings with the Olexander Koshetz Ukrainian Choir, participates in a variety of dance classes, and enjoys running.

Headshot for Tim Beaudry

Tim Beaudry

FISHERMAN

Tim Beaudry is making his sixteenth appearance with Merlyn Productions, reprising his 2012 Winnipeg Fringe Festival role as the Fisherman in “The World of The Brothers Grimm”.

Since his theatrical début as Warden Holt in the 2009 Winnipeg Fringe Festival production of “THE VALIANT”, Tim has performed regularly with the company. Three Master Playwright Festival appearances include The Clerk in “Augustus Does His Bit” for ShawFest 2012, Khirin in “The Anniversary” for ChekhovFest 2014, and most recently, Sir Reginald French in “The Astonished Heart” for CowardFest 2015.

Other roles include Uncle James in both the Ellice Theatre and Thaw Festival runs of “The Boy Comes Home”, and Robert Baldwin in “Confessional”, when the company presented its Morality Plays triple-feature. Both shows received critical acclaim on The Uniter's “Top Ten Theatre Productions of the 2010/2011 Season”.

Tim appeared with Chase & Hamill in “HEY ABBOTT! - Another Classic Comedy Tribute Show” at the 2011 Winnipeg Fringe Festival, and also with the BS Comedy Players at the PTE Mainstage in May 2012.

Offstage, Tim is an accomplished photographer. He enjoys paddling competitively (aka splashing in the river) with his dragon boat team, “Boogie's Draggin Butt”, and has helped them win two Championship trophies, among others.

Headshot for Heather Forgie

Heather Forgie

FISHERMAN'S WIFE

Heather Forgie became the Property Mistress at Merlyn Productions in 2014. Onstage she has been moving from queen to queen: most recently reprising her role as the Queen in “Snow White” in May, and appearing as Red Queen in “Through the Looking Glass (And What Alice Found There)” last December!

Heather stage managed for the first time while working on “The Anniversary” for ChekhovFest 2014, and made three appearances with the company during the prior two seasons in “Ming Lee and the Magic Tree”, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, and “Wind of a Thousand Tales”.

In addition to being an actress, Heather is a playwright, and occasional director. Recently, she became the artistic director of fellow local theatre company R-G Productions, which staged English family drama “Skirmishes” in a drama & comedy double-feature with Merlyn Productions for this year's Gimli Summer Theatre Season.

Heather is a graduate of the University of Winnipeg's theatre and dramatic arts program, and is currently employed as a high school Drama and English teacher.

Having once upon a time taken a few years off from the acting scene to have children and establish herself as a teacher, Heather is now back full-force. She looks forward to many further creative endeavours with the company!

Headshot for David King

David King

SHOEMAKER

David King is making his sixth appearance with Merlyn Productions, reprising his 2012 Winnipeg Fringe Festival role as the Shoemaker in “The World of The Brothers Grimm”.

He was most recently seen onstage at the 2013 Winnipeg Fringe Festival, playing the Property Man in “Ming Lee and The Magic Tree” at the Kids Venue. David has also stage managed six plays for the company, including “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in May, and “Through the Looking Glass (And What Alice Found There)” last December.

For more than twenty years, David has been involved in both amateur and professional theatre, and has worn many hats, including acting, set construction, and stage management, with theatre companies in Toronto, Ontario and Cornwall, Ontario, as well as Wichita, Kansas.

On the film and television scene, David has been involved in several films and commercials shot locally in Winnipeg, and recently worked as a background performer on the television series “The Pinkertons”.

Headshot for Alison Kolisnyk

Alison Kolisnyk

HILDA

Alison Kolisnyk is making her second appearance with Merlyn Productions, and was first seen as the historical Alice Liddell in “Through the Looking-Glass (And What Alice Found There)” last December!

Previously, Alison had been on Winnipeg stages as part of FemFest with Sarasvati Productions: appearing as Angelina in “Cowboy Boots and A Corsage” (2003), in “Martha in the Corner” (2004), and in the one-woman show “A Kick in the Head” (2006).

Alison began studying acting, musical theatre, and dance as hobbies in her adult years. Recently, dance has been her primary recreational activity, and she has taken classes in various styles including jazz, tap, hip hop, modern, and African.

Offstage, Alison's “real world” revolves around hospitality, coordinating her front desk team in one of Winnipeg's vintage downtown hotels. Her other interests include travel, photography, horseback riding, and Zumba.

Alison extends cheers and hugs to her friends and family for their continued inspiration and support in her pursuit of happiness!

Headshot for Lexie Dubois

Lexie Dubois

FIRST ELF

Lexie Dubois is making her community theatre début with Merlyn Productions.

Lexie is in her first year of classes as a Junior Acting student at the Winnipeg Theatre School, and previously took one year of acting at the PTE Theatre & Film School.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, she decided she wanted to be an actor after once seeing a local children's production of “The Cat in the Hat”.

Lexie enjoys playing softball, riding her bike, and spending summers in St Malo with her family.

Headshot for Jensen Glover

Jensen Glover

SECOND ELF

Jensen Glover is making her community theatre début with Merlyn Productions, and thrilled to be working with the talented cast of “The World of the Brothers Grimm”.

From a young age, Jensen has been involved in musical theatre, jazz, tap, ballet, singing and piano. She has a keen interest in theatre, loves being on stage, and is an eager participant in all her school's productions.

When she can find spare time, Jensen loves reading, drawing, music, and of course, cats.

Headshot for Jordan Phillips

Jordan Phillips

PRINCE / DUKE / EARL / FLOUNDER / CUSTOMER

Jordan Phillips is making his first appearance with Merlyn Productions, and is excited to once again get involved with Winnipeg's theatrical community.

Before taking a two-year hiatus to run a Saturday morning kids program in Winkler, MB, Jordan graduated from the University of Winnipeg Acting Honours program. While at the university, his roles included Polonius and the Gravedigger in “Hamlet”, and Carl in “The Whole Ninth Floor”.

Most recently, you may have seen Jordan as the Minstrel in “Journeys”, presented at the 2015 Winnipeg Fringe Festival by his company, Sheep On A Mission. Writing, directing, and designing the play gave him the chance to marry his loves of music and theatre in an unconventional, yet poignant way.

Outside the theatre, you may catch Jordan from time to time performing his music (a blend of folk, hip-hop, and spoken word) under the alias iFollow.

Headshot for Camilla Opida

Camilla Opida

ELF / SCENE-SHIFTER

Headshot for Filip Petrovski

Filip Petrovski

ELF / SCENE-SHIFTER

Headshot for Ximon Webster

Ximon Webster

ELF / SCENE-SHIFTER

Headshot for John Chase

John Chase

DIRECTOR

John Chase is the Artistic Director of Merlyn Productions Theatre Company, and an acting instructor at the Winnipeg Theatre School. As a Winnipeg actor, director, producer and stage manager, he has worked on more than 100 local productions to date.

John is a veteran of theatre for young audiences, having produced classic children's titles for the past six years – including multiple Kids Fringe best-sellers – and worked extensively in children's theatre with Fantasy Theatre for Children, both on and behind the FTC mainstage for twenty seasons (1991 – 2011). He directed multiple shows for G.D. Productions (FTC's adult arm), and is an alumnus of The Theatre School, where he obtained five years of formal training under Tony Frost in the 1990s.

John founded Merlyn Productions after his Co-Artistic Director at C.G. Productions departed Winnipeg in 2000, and has produced a full season of plays locally each year since 2009. As one half of the critically-acclaimed Chase & Hamill act, John is also known for portraying quintessential straight man Bud Abbott of Abbott & Costello fame, alongside Kevin Hamill (Lou Costello).

John is pleased to have worked with the diverse cast and crew of “The World of The Brothers Grimm” in reviving and expanding this Fringe favourite for the Forrest Nickerson Theatre's stage!

Headshot for Kalyn Bomback

Kalyn Bomback

STAGE MANAGER

Kalyn Bomback is stage managing with Merlyn Productions for the first time, and appeared with the company as Leonora Vail in “The Astonished Heart” for CowardFest 2015.

Once a quiet, shy little girl, Kalyn was thrown into the world of theatre at the age of 11, when her mother surprised her by dropping her off at a theatre class one warm summer morning. She never looked back, and has since performed in over 10 theatrical productions.

Kalyn has also acted on screen in over 20 films, television series, and commercials. Her most recent film project was a speaking role in the Winnipeg-shot “A Dog's Purpose”, filmed in Autumn 2015.

As a Winnipeg lawyer and actor, Kalyn thrives on the values of communication, interpretation, and strength that she has derived from the stage and her work on set.


See Also: Playbill & Credits

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