Cast and Crew

CAST

kathleenKathleen Jackson Allamby (Natalya)
Kathleen has appeared in various productions in Toronto; Some of her favorites include The Children’s Hour (Encore Productions), The Voysey Inheritance (Amicus Productions), February (Alumnae Theatre), The Vagina Monologues (Toronto VDAY). Independent films include TIFF selected A Small Thing (GirlBoy Productions, 2008). A produced playwright, her last play, Glory’s Grace, was produced at Theatre Passe Muraille in 2009.


chrisChris Coculuzzi (Mihail)
Chris has been involved with independent, community, and educational theatre for over twenty years and with Amicus for the last three. Previous credits with Amicus include All My Sons as Chris Keller and Jekyll and Hyde as Hyde 3/Lanyon, as well as directing Apartment 3A by Jeff Daniels. Recent highlights include Alumnae Theatre’s production of Christopher Fry’s The Lady’s Not for Burning as Thomas Mendip and Fire and Air’s production of Piecing Together Pauline, which he co-authored and directed for the 2012 Toronto Fringe Festival.

nicoleNicole Marie McCafferty (Vera)
Originally from Nova Scotia, Nicole is a graduate of Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts. Though a late addition to the show, she is thrilled to be part of this talented team! Past shows include Grease (Frenchy), Into the Woods, Spring Awakening (Ilse), Footloose (Rusty), Murder on the Nile, Pride & Prejudice (Lydia), Oliver!, The Rocky Horror Show (Magenta), Our Town, The Hypochondriac (Angelique), The F Word, Jacob and Jack, A Tiny Piece of Land, Kilt Pins (original cast), The Mousetrap, and The Epitome of Regret (original tour and cast recording). She will also be reprising the role of Stacey in MUTE: The Anti-bullying Musical for the Toronto Fringe Festival.

samSam Polito (Alexey)

This is Sam Polito’s second show with Amicus this year after performing in the first show of the season, Is He Dead. He is very excited to be returning to the Papermill stage.

 

 

 


lorienLorien Aquarius (Kolya)
This is Lorien’s first show with Amicus and he is having a lot of fun. He’s looking forward to playing an innocent little rich boy who is oblivious to the going-ons in his own house. Lorien is very active in music, participating in choir, ukulele and orph ensemble, and he also enjoys playing sports, especially soccer, ball hockey, and volleyball. Lorien is also a big fan of video games, and he often plays Minecraft with his friend.

 

derekDerek Dorey (Bolshinstov)
Derek is sometimes recognized in public by Amicus patrons who remember his crafty bellboy in Out of Order or his unfaithful servant in The Voysey Inheritance. Some also remember him as co-author of The Evil That Men Do and The Family Jewels. Derek thanks them for remembering him as he feels there is no greater reward. “Thanks to all who have made and kept those memories. It’s been good to know and be known by you.”

zviZvi Gilbert (Arkady)
Zvi was last seen at Amicus playing Major Booth Voysey in The Voysey Inheritance in 2013. He trained with Christopher Brauer at The Drama Workshop, and recently performed at the Alumnae Theatre in Continuum (New Ideas Festival) and Homeward Bound. He is happy to be acting again with the Amicus company.

 


jamesJames Lukie* (Shpigelsky)
James returns to the Amicus stage, where he has had some of his best roles, including John Proctor in The Crucible, Ben Hubbard in The Little Foxes, and Bill Bingham in Having Hope at Home. He has also appeared with Stage Centre as Patrick Flanagan in Jitters, The Curtain Club as Victor in The Price and with East Side Players as Arthur in Nuts.
*Appears with the permission of Canadian Actors Equity Association

saraSara Kohal (Lizaveta)
As a native of the UK, A Month in the Country is Sara’s first performance in Canada. Her previous theatre work has included Equus, Estate of Mind and Midnight Cuckoos. Sara has also worked in TV and Film in the UK and enjoys directing short films.

 

 

carolCarol McLennan (Anna)
Carol is delighted to return to Amicus, having last appeared with them as Lee in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife. She most recently appeared as Margaret in The Lady’s Not for Burning at Alumnae Theatre. Other favourites: A Delicate Balance, Lady Windermere’s Fan and a number of plays in the New Ideas Festival (Alumnae), Dust Motes Dancing (Act 2 Studio Works), The Heiress and The Winslow Boy (Village Playhouse). Thanks to Maureen for inviting me to be part of this sojourn to the Russian country-side, and to Peter, my husband and ever-loyal fan.

vivienVivien Shepherd (Katya)
Vivien Shepherd is delighted to return to Amicus, having made her community theatre debut as Bert in Amicus’ All My Sons in 2011. Vivien is currently a Grade 8 Student at Karen Kain School for the Arts, and will be attending Etobicoke School for the Arts as a Musical Theatre Major in September. Many thanks to Maureen Lukie for giving her the opportunity to join this talented cast and crew, and to her parents for getting her to and from rehearsals and performances.

CREW

Anna Plugina (Producer)
Anna is a freelance stage and production manager and A Month in the Country is her producing debut. Being Russian at heart she is thrilled to bring the famous Turgenev’s countryside in all its beauty to a Canadian audience. Other credits include: Tainted (Moyo Theater), Bea (Artists Repertory Company) both as Apprentice Stage Manager and A Chorus Queen (Canadian Cancer Society) as Production Stage Manager. Apart from theatre, Anna shortly endeavored into the world of television, where she secured a GEMINI Award nomination for the best editorial research in 2010. Anna is a proud alumna of Rotman School of Management and she thanks her friends and family for their continuous support and encouragement.

Maureen Lukie (Director)
Maureen Lukie joined Amicus in 1978 and has since acted, produced and directed for the company.  She last acted for Amicus as Marjorie in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife and as Mrs. Banks in Barefoot in the Park, and directed Having Hope at Home, Arcadia and Les Liaisons Dangereuses, among others. She is also proud to be a member of the Toronto Irish Players.

Chris Douglas (Adaptor)
Holding a B.A. in Theatre Studies from York University, Christopher led Amicus’ Play Reading Committee for the past five years. Among Christopher’s writing credits are “The Ghost in the Secretary” (Inspirato), “Superheroes” (Sound It Out), “Regrets” (What Are You Doing Back There), “Stop Spadina, Save Our City” (Protestival), “Growing Up” (playGround) and “Scene for Two Friends in a Crisis” (Pride Cab and playGround). In adapting A Month in the Country, Christopher largely stayed faithful to Garnett’s translation. He chose to create conformity with her style and expediency for modern audiences via the removal of extraneous characters, modifying and expanding relationships and focusing the action into two days at the peak of the rural heat wave.

Shara Clair (Stage Manager)
Shara Claire, originally from B.C., is a writer, percussion teacher, and expressive arts therapist. She sees clients and students in her East York studio near the lovely Taylor Creek Park ravine, and is the founder of FindingRhythm, a company that brings drumming to schools, camps, and corporate settings. Shara was part of Langham Court Theatre in Victoria, years ago, and since then has been waiting for the right moment to jump back into community theatre. She is glad to make a re-entry through Amicus and has enjoyed her work with a great director and cast.

Arash Eshghpour (Set Design)
Arash is happy to work again with Maureen and Amicus Productions on A Month in the Country. Arash has worked with Maureen and Amicus on Fallen Angels and Having Hope at Home. Last season Arash designed the set for Amicus production of The Voysey Inheritance, directed by Andrew Freund. Arash is an architect and he completed his degree at the USTI, School of Architecture in Tehran, Iran in 1996.

Katherine Johana Cordero (Costume Design)
Katherine is a textile and costume designer living in Toronto and is a graduate of the Crafts and Design program at Sheridan College. Born in Colombia, she grew up in a vibrant mountainous landscape and surrounded by the energy of South American culture. She is inspired by the beauty of nature and romance of aged textiles. She creates these elements in her work using natural dyes, silk screen techniques, embroidery, and beading. Thesis work creating garments and wallpaper for theatrical sceneries created direction for career aspirations. This encouraged her to get involved in Costume Design for Theatre and has collaborated with many theatrical productions in her community. In her spare time she enjoys making jewellery from her hand dyed fabrics, practicing yoga, and watching the X-Files with her boyfriend.

Karlos Griffith (Lighting Design)
Karlos Griffith community theatre experience began here in this very space in 1988, and although the theatre looked very different back then. He has had the opportunity to work on many productions here creating  many fond memories, and would like to thank Amicus for giving him a second group to call home, and for the opportunity to return to this great theatre again.

Dave Fitzpatrick (Sound Design)
David has worked in Community Theatre for the past five years. His principal roles in the theatre are Sound Design and Photography. David’s photography started at the age of 12, when he was introduced to darkroom techniques. David’s passion for photography and theatre have allowed the two to merge, providing memories and keepsakes of the contributions everyone works so hard at. David’s understanding of computers has also allowed the creativity of melding sounds into performances to enhance the play’s experience for all to enjoy.