Life in Stages with Joel Greenberg

Robert Thomson may be among the busiest and most sought-after actors in  the country. “May”? Change that to ‘Is”. 

His list of accomplishments is as long as it is varied, which is to say that it’s  mighty long. Theatre, film, television – he has mastered them all, and his  commitment has taken him behind the scenes of projects that are fueled by a  passion with no restraint. 

In our conversation, you’ll also learn that Robert’s caree...

Seana is yet one more guest whose professional resume approaches the  magnitude of an anthology. It’s entirely accurate to say that she has done just  about everything that one can imagine an actor accomplishing. Trained at the  National Theatre School, Seana has played every major theatre in the country,  has added film and television to her credits, and has achieved star status in a  country that too often prides itself as a coun...

I’ve known Allen for more than 20 years, but until we met recently, I had no  idea that, in addition to being Artistic Director at both Young People’s Theatre,  Toronto, and the Prairie Theatre Exchange, Winnipeg, his career as an actor  was his principal focus. 

As another guest who came up through the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre  School, Allen reinforces the fact that this was a first-rate training ground. And  as he discusses the...

Anyone fortunate enough to have seen “Blind Date” has already met Rebecca  Northan, although speaking with her is an altogether calmer experience than  watching her interact with an audience. Speaking with her from Edmonton,  where she was on tour with “Goblin: Macbeth”, I learned that clown work is  merely one of many skills that Rebecca has developed throughout her career.  

Second City, in Toronto and on tour, was her opportunity...

Tom has as varied a resume as any actor you are ever likely to encounter. In  fact, when we first started our conversation, I said that I felt an urgency to  cover enough ground to fairly represent him. Tom’s easy manner removed any  concern I may have had. 

We talked soon after he had returned from Ottawa, where he was performing  in “Salesman in China”, the same production that premiered at the Stratford  Festival this past season...

Maria began her career (and her life) in the United States. But once she had a  taste of life in Canada, both personal and professional, Toronto soon became  her home base. And I met Maria when we worked together on a production of  “Lend Me a Tenor”, at Theatre Aquarius – and that was probably about 30  years ago. Maria has worked in every medium and she has criss-crossed the  performing landscape with an enviable agility.  

Our co...

Nancy is originally from Winnipeg, studied at Queen’s University and then  trained at The National Theatre School, in Montreal. She was among the first  members of the Young Company at the Stratford Festival, which soon led to  the creation of Soulpepper Theatre Company, of which Nancy is a founding  member. (She continues to represent the Founding Members on the  Soulpepper Board.) 

Nancy has worked across the country, although her...

Jonathan and I met at an audition. I didn’t cast him, but I knew that I wanted to  work with him one day. Before I had that opportunity, I saw My Own Private  Oshawa, his revelatory solo play about his escape to Toronto and his life as a  young gay man finding his way. 

The Normal Heart and My Night with Reg are recent plays that, finally, allowed  us the shameless pleasure of working together. Jonathan has much more to  fill in bet...

Morris’s recollection of how discovering theatre transformed him is both  moving and chuckle-worthy. Like so many of my guests, he underlines that, for  him, the work is a necessity. For survival, sure, but much, much more than  that: Morris makes it clear, without having to say it literally, that he cannot be  doing anything else with his professional life. 

Playwright, director, actor – Morris works, and has worked, across the cou...

Jessica is my older daughter, so let’s get that on the table and move on.  

Jess discusses her college years at McGill, where she focussed on Political  Science and Women’s Studies. But it was her passionate involvement with  both theatre and music – strictly extracurricular – that defined four years  spent on a student-driven campus, where she was inspired by like-minded  friends.  

Theatre school in New York followed and the exploi...

Ted is among our guests who has accomplished just about everything one can  imagine a theatre artist achieving. As an actor, a musician, a writer, and more  recently a producer, Ted demonstrates the widest possible range with an  inexhaustible energy to match. In our conversation, he discusses the projects  that have brought him a very public profile.  

Ted goes further and reveals that seeing his name on a West End marquee  yielded...

Sharry and I met and worked together for the first time as company members  in the Summer Festival of Arts in Montreal, 1969. I directed Sharry on  productions of The Fantasticks, America Hurrah, and Oh, What a Lovely War!  The festival was fertile ground for many of us as we did our best to start  professional careers.  

Sharry takes us through her training in London, her return to Canada, where  she performed in a variety of music...

Patrick’s career might have been in the Law, following his father and  grandfather before him, had he not found himself in a university production  about the same time that he was writing the LSAT. As he will tell us, Chekov  upended him and reshaped his professional life. 

A long-serving member of the Shaw Festival company, since the early 2000’s,  Patrick’s first years in the profession were a mix of regional and local (i.e.,  Tor...

Corrine joins me as the first of our new season’s guests. Although we haven’t  worked together before, I have certainly seen her work in many Toronto and  Shaw Festival productions. And we have met socially a few times, enough for  me to recognize that Corrine’s passion for the theatre, as both performer and  attendee, is intense. In the best way, of course. Perhaps this accounts for her  many awards, coast-to-coast. 

In this episo...

LIFE IN STAGES ends Series One with this special episode,  responding to comments and suggestions from listeners and  supporters. 

It seems that my ten episodes as the podcast host have sparked  some curiosity about my own path, journey, trajectory, whatever. 

And so, here we are with roles reversed – Mike Boon, producer  and one-man-does-it-all, also the host of his own terrific  podcast, Toronto Mike’d, takes on host duties while...

One aspect that links all our guests is the unqualified ability to refuse to take ‘No’ for an answer. Fiona Reid understands this as well as anyone.

Born in England, Fiona moved to Canada when she was 12 – and although it may be slightly hyperbolic to say so, Fiona has been working steadily since then. She has performed in theatres across Canada, including many seasons at both the Stratford and Shaw Festivals. She has acted in the ...

When Ron was performing in the Studio 180-HGJT production of My Name is Asher Lev, I was struck by the fact that audience members refused to believe that he wasn’t as Jewish as the role he’d played onstage. But that is precisely what defines Ron Lea, an actor who so completely inhabits the characters he plays, whether on stage, on film or television. 

In our conversation, Ron walks us through his professional and personal life with...