Hey Viola!

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Johnny Wu

Johnny Wu is a bilingual Taiwanese Canadian interdisciplinary artist. Having graduated from Simon Fraser University with a double major in Theatre performance and Criminology, his work seeks to investigate humanity through story-telling with a social justice angle. Johnny has worked on multiple Gateway Theatre projects in a multitude of roles these include: Gateway Language Exchange Game Show; China Doll; Transformations project: Relearning Filial Piety; In Wonderland. Johnny believes story-telling, on stage or screen, allows us to witness diverse lived experiences from an empathetic mind which catalyzes social change. Understanding is the key and story-telling is the hand that turns the key.

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Krystle Dos Santos

Viola Desmond/Co-Creator

Krystle Dos Santos is an extraordinary blues, jazz and soul singer based out of Vancouver, Canada. Her voice is commanding, powerful and rich with talent. Dos Santos grew up in Edmonton and her roots are Guyanese. She studied at the elite Canadian College of Performing Arts and at the University of Alberta. She has performed in the Arts Club musical Dreamgirls and Chelsea Hotel: the Songs of Leonard Cohen at the Firehall Arts Centre and created a show called BLAK exploring Canada’s black history. Krystle is extremely excited to bring Hey Viola! to audiences across Canada this spring/summer and release the soundtrack to the show “Hey Viola! The Soundtrack of a Life”.

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Tracey Power

Director/Co-Creator

Tracey has worked across Canada and internationally as a director, choreographer, actor and writer. She’s the choreographer and writer of GLORY, inspired by the true story of the women’s hockey team the Preston Rivulettes, the musical Miss Shakespeare, and the director/choreographer of Chelsea Hotel, The Songs of Leonard Cohen. She continues to work as an actor both on stage and screen as well as create new work for both mediums. Coming up Tracey is directing and choreographing, The PROM for Theatre under the Stars and her newest co-creation, Rock The Canyon about the incredible music and artists of 1960’s Laurel Canyon premiering September 2023 in Edmonton. Tracey is the recipient of the Jessie Richardson, Elizabeth Sterling and Betty Mitchel Awards for her work

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Sereana Malani

Associate Director

Born in the Fiji Islands and raised in Coquitlam, Sereana now calls Vancouver Island home. Select credits: Gross Misconduct (SpeakEasy), Valley Song (Gateway), Happy Place (Touchstone), You Will Remember Me (Ruby Slippers), Clybourne Park (Citadel Theatre) and five seasons at Bard on the Beach. She is a graduate of the BFA Acting program at the University of Alberta. An emerging Director, Sereana was Apprentice Assistant Director for Romeo & Juliet (Bard). Next up she will be directing NET for Hapax Theatre, you can catch her onstage in the world premiere of As Above at the Belfry Theatre (2024).

When she’s not onstage, Sereana is a full time Mum to Eli and Tevita. Thank you to Tracey and Krystle for the invitation to work on this beautiful show.

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Steve Charles

Music Director/Bass & Guitar

Steve Charles is a composer and performer from Vancouver. Highlights include: Peter Pan (Carousel Theatre), 4000 miles (Belfry), Once (Arts Club), Empire of the Son (VACT), Othello (Bard on the Beach), Love Bomb (Shameless Hussies), Urinetown (Firehall Theatre), Brief Encounter (Playhouse/MTC), Dance Marathon (Bluemouth Inc.), The French-Canadian talent show Galala on TV Unis and Pacifique en Chanson. He is a member of the Escape Artists who created Chelsea Hotel in 2012, Miss Shakespeare and J.Caesar in 2015, Glory with WCT/ATP in 2018, and is excited to be part of the team for Hey Viola! in 2022. He tours internationally with bands Viper Central, and Forro do Cana as a multi-instrumentalist and is very active in Vancouver’s diverse music scene.

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Mary Ancheta

Piano

Mary Ancheta is a Composer, Session Keyboardist, Producer, and an MD. As a Composer she has written for various platforms ranging from Film & TV, Ads, Documentaries, Theatre, Pop songs, Podcasts, to Web content. She enjoys creating a hybrid score and arranging strings for various works. As a session keyboard player Mary incorporates her own flavour while complimenting the artists’ style and vision. She has performed at the 2020 Rugby World Cup in Japan, opened for John Mayer, Ziggy Marley, and Snoop Dogg, and performed on the Warped Tour for 2 consecutive years. Other notable shows include performing for tennis pro Roger Federer in the Maldives, Summerstage Concert series at Central Park opening for Buffy Sainte Marie, and a show  at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  She was the Musical Director of Da Kink in My Hair in 2022 for the Arts Club Theatre and will also be Music Director for Million Dollar Quartet in 2023 and Cambodia Rock show in 2024.

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Chris Davis

Drums & Trumpet

Chris is a touring member of the Grammy-Nominated soul package, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings in 2014. He appears on trumpet and piano on “Soul of A Woman” – Daptone Records. He is also a frequent guest musician in Stay Human, the house band for “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” – CBS. Chris has performed for numerous television productions including the Grammys, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Conan, The Espys, The Mark Twain Prize, The NFL Honors, and the White House.

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Jillian White

Lighting Designer/Associate Set Designer

Jill is a three time Jessie Richardson Award nominated designer, an alumnus of Capilano University, and a member of Associated Designers of Canada. She designs three outdoor shows a year at the Caravan Farm Theatre and spends her remaining time designing in Vancouver. Favourite credits include Bright Blue Future (Hardline), RUINED (Dark Glass), Gross Misconduct (SpeakEasy), System Failure (Caravan), Certified (Touchstone), Never the Last (Delinquent), Inheritance (Touchstone), and She, Mami Wata & the Pussy Witch Hunt (Frank). www.jillianwhite.com

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Drew Facey

Set Designer

Drew designed over 170 professional productions and won 18 Jessies during his career as a set and costume designer in the Canadian Theatre Industry. Early in the pandemic, Drew relocated to Merida, Mexico with his partner Kelly where they renovated a historic home in the city center. Drew re-launched his career as an interior designer and worked remotely for Decorilla, a design firm based in New York City.

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CS Fergusson-Vaux

Costume Designer

CS Fergusson-Vaux (she/her) is a Theatrical and Visual Artivist, Organizer, and Historian with a fervent belief in decolonizing our community, encouraging and aiding in bold cultural endeavours, and constructing an ethical and inclusive artistic legacy. Pre-pandemic works include projects with The Frank Theatre Company, Vancouver Fringe Festival, and Zee Zee Theatre. She currently is the Associate Artistic Director of the SUM Gallery + Queer Arts Festival. She gratefully stands in solidarity with her hosts and stewards of the lands and waters-the qiqéyt (QayQayt), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwxw̱ ú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səli̓ lw̓ ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

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Angela Beaulieu

Stage Manager

Angela is thrilled to be part of the Hey Viola! team. Some of her favorite theatre experiences include: Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer, Shape of a Girl, Skydive (Belfry Theatre); Miss Shakespeare and J. Ceasar (Musical TheatreWorks); One Man, Two Guvnors (Theatre Calgary); The Pavilion (Osimous Theatre); Thanks For Giving, Hand to God, One Man, Two Guvnors, Venus in Fur, The 39 Steps, It’s A Wonderful Life, Blood Brothers (Arts Club Theatre); Urinetown, The Musical (Firehall Arts Centre); Kill Me Now, Sex in Heaven, Lion in the Streets (Touchstone Theatre); Crazy For You, Shirley Valentine (Gateway Theatre). In June 2008, Angela received the Mary Phillips Prize for her work behind the scenes. All my love to SJT, forever in my heart.