≈ 2 hours · With intermission
Last updated: January 17, 2020
Some stories are timeless, and for me The Wizard of Oz is a prime example. When RWB Artistic Director André Lewis spoke to us about their new project with choreography by Septime Webre (now Artistic Director of Hong Kong Ballet), we immediately jumped on board. While as spectators we’ll enjoy the classic story of Dorothy’s adventures in the magical Land of Oz being played out with sophisticated choreography, we’ll also be dazzled by the incredible costumes and design elements – complete with the flying Witch – that the company has invested into this beautiful production. It’s a story of hope, friendship, and rising above adversity: fitting themes for the ballet and for all generations.
Enjoy the world of NAC Dance!
You’re off to see the Wizard!
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is thrilled to present Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz. This production is filled with all the familiarity of the classic movie – Dorothy and Toto’s landing in Oz, joining forces with three unlikely heroes, traveling to the Emerald City to see the Wizard, and their triumph over the Wicked Witch – yet realized with a bold, new spectacle of music, costumes, sets, projections, and special effects.
The Wizard of Oz has been in the works for the past two years and is a co-production between the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Kansas City Ballet, and the Colorado Ballet. This production required a collaborative team of 120, not including dancers, to bring Webre’s vision to life. The musical score, composed by Matthew Pierce, is 471 pages long and features three percussion players playing 35 different percussion instruments, one of those being a wind machine.
Set designer Michael B. Raiford created the set to give the feeling of looking down into a tornado. Trad A. Burns, lighting designer, created an environment where 300 light cues take place using over 1,000 channels of lights.
Puppet designer Nicholas Mahon created nearly 20 puppets, including a mechanical Toto. The RWB Wardrobe Department spent nearly 7,000 hours in total building costume designer Liz Vandal’s The Wizard of Oz costumes in-house. There are nearly 200 costumes, all that have been hand-sewn and hand-dyed at the RWB.
The Wizard of Oz design team created the perfect canvas for the RWB to immerse you, our audience, in the famed tale.
Along with the talented artists of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, 22 young dancers from Ottawa-Gatineau are featured in this production. These talented performers from across the region were rehearsed by Janice Messam and appear as baby ballerinas, grasshoppers and poppyseeds.
Special thanks to The School of Dance for their support on the audition and rehearsal process.
Thank you for joining us. This performance wouldn’t be possible without your enduring support.
The Making of The Wizard of Oz
A note from Choreographer Septime Webre
My relationship with all things Oz, in four easy steps:
1. I grew up in the Bahamas until I was about 12, and every Sunday, driving to a small missionary church my family attended, we’d pass a tiny greying abandoned house plopped in the brush near a beach. We called it Dorothy’s house and it looked as though a Caribbean hurricane had dropped it there, like Dorothy’s house landing in Munchkinland. My siblings and I were obsessed with the Oz books and read every book in the series multiple times.
2. When I was 12 years old, we moved to South Texas, and my brothers and sister and I bought a whole suite of marionettes for 99 cents each in Mexico. We spent the whole summer re-costuming these string puppets to create a full cast of Oz, and we painted elaborate backdrops to fit the full-sized puppet house my parents had ordered for us from FAO Schwartz. We created what we thought was a rather extravagant puppet version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which we toured all over South Texas – from nursing homes, to orphanages, to church bazaars.
3. A few years later, in my late teens, I ran a youth summer program for the local Parks and Recreation Department, in partnership with the Texas School for the Blind and a social service agency which provided support for kids with Down Syndrome. That summer, I directed a production of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with the majority of the principal roles played by blind teens and the Munchkins played by youth with Down Syndrome. It was such a celebration of humanity.
4. And now, Oz, the ballet. Over the years, I had toyed with working on a ballet adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but had resisted –both the book and the film are such perfect works of art and I wasn’t quite sure I could illuminate anything about the story that hadn’t been said by the source material. But over time I realized the marvelous characters invented by Frank Baum beg to be danced, and that so much could still be discovered using our metaphorical language of ballet. I’ve been living with this magical tale for so long, working on this ballet has been like coming home. And there’s no place like it…
A note from the Composer
Music or choreography, what comes first? People ask this frequently when they witness a new ballet. Music, the simple answer, has always preceded choreography in the collaboration Septime and I have enjoyed through five full length ballets. Septime crafts a libretto that defines a sequence of storytelling moments and dances and I translate the psychology of the narrative and the muscular movement into music. Dancers need a rhythm to move to and a melody to inspire them. Anything can be an inspiration: a snip of song, a dance step, a simple count, a painting, a tone of voice, an episode from a television series, a character description. Free association and improvisation shape the creative process and this spontaneity is the reason for our success. Studio time with Septime follows, where I humbly witness the mysterious kinesthesia and “listen” to the dancer’s moving song.
The happiness of the music in this ballet is a direct reflection of the working relationship Septime and I have. The mélange of influences creating the joy span the decades, 1920’s Big Band, 1950’s Cool Jazz, 1970’s Glam Rock, late 1970’s Disco and 1980’s New Wave.
L. Frank Baum’s story of Dorothy and the 1939 film spurred the creation of this collaborative project that required an open mind, an open heart, a fantastical spirit and an unrestrained imagination.
Synopsis
Kansas
It is morning on Uncle Henry and Aunt Em’s farm in Kansas and the farmhands goof off between chores, ignoring Dorothy, who feels unappreciated and dreams of a place far away. Their unpleasant neighbor, Miss Gulch arrives to complain about Dorothy’s little dog, Toto, threatening to take him away. Toto escapes and Dorothy runs away with him. On the road, Dorothy meets a showman, Professor Marvel, who urges her to return to the farm as a twister approaches.
The Twister & Munchkinland
Dorothy is lifted into the sky by the twister and travels for what seems like an eternity. Suddenly, she plops to the ground with a thud. The twister has taken her to the Land of Oz, where she meets the Munchkins and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Dorothy’s bed has fallen upon the Witch of the East, killing her, and freeing the Munchkins from her power. As the Munchkins celebrate, the Wicked Witch of the West arrives to claim her sister’s magical ruby slippers, and avenge her sister’s death. But in a flash, the ruby slippers appear on Dorothy’s feet, thwarting the Witch… for the moment. Dorothy wants to go home to Kansas. The Munchkins tell Dorothy that, surely the Wizard of Oz will help her, and she sets off down the Yellow Brick Road towards the Emerald City to find him.
Along the Yellow Brick Road
Along the way, Dorothy and Toto meet three new friends who need help: a Scarecrow whose head is full of straw; a Tin Man with an empty chest, and a Lion who is afraid of his own tail. Dorothy invites them to join her to see if the Wizard can help them too. When the Wicked Witch fails to intimidate Dorothy and her friends, she creates a beautiful field of poppies whose scent is poisonous. Glinda causes it to snow, and the poppies melt away, revealing the gates of the Emerald City. Dorothy and her friends boldly knock on the gates but the Guard with the Green Whiskers and his Assistant send them away.
The Emerald City
The Guard sees that Dorothy is wearing the ruby slippers and assumes she must be a person of great importance. He welcomes the friends into the Emerald City. As they are preparing to meet the Wizard, the Witch flies by with another warning to Dorothy: give her those slippers! Unsettled, the group is led into the Wizard’s throne room where they ask for his help. He tells them that to prove themselves worthy of his assistance they must bring him the broom stick of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Winged Monkeys and the Witch’s Castle
Dorothy and her friends depart in haste, and as they make their way to the Witch’s Castle, they are set upon by the Witch’s Winged Monkeys who capture Dorothy and Toto. The Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion, sneak into the castle to try to free Dorothy and Toto, who have been imprisoned by the Witch and the Winkies, her slaves. Amid the chaos, the Witch makes a grab for the ruby slippers and Dorothy defends herself by throwing a bucket of water on the Witch, who melts into nothingness. The friends take her broomstick and return to the Emerald City.
The Humbug and Dorothy’s Return Home
In the Throne Room, the Wizard is reluctant to help Dorothy and her friends, when Toto discovers a befuddled man behind an emerald wall: it turns out that the Wizard is a humbug. He’s not a wizard at all, but an ordinary man from Kansas who found himself in Oz after he lost control of his hot-air balloon. The Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion impatiently remind him that he promised to help them, but the Wizard points out that they don’t need his help—they have already shown brains, heart and courage beyond measure. As for Dorothy, he tells her that he will take Toto and her to Kansas himself in his hot-air balloon. As they prepare to depart, Toto runs off, and Dorothy chases him, but it’s too late—the wind has already taken the Wizard, leaving Dorothy and Toto behind.
Glinda appears, telling Dorothy that her ruby slippers will take her home. Dorothy says farewell to her friends, and with the aid of the slippers, wills herself home.
Dorothy awakens to finds herself at home in Kansas, with Toto asleep at her feet.
The Wizard of Oz Fun Facts
- The mélange of influences for composer Matthew Pierce’s score draws inspiration from the 1920’s, Big Band, 1950’s Cool Jazz, 1970’s Glam, Rock, late 1970’s Disco and 1980’s New Wave.
- There are 112 hats and approx. 250 costumes, all of which were hand-sewn and hand-dyed at the RWB.
- Approximately 3,000 to 3,500 metres of 120 types of fabric were used to create The Wizard of Oz costumes.
- The RWB Wardrobe Department painted 115 pairs of shoes for this production.
- Each dancer has approximately four to six pairs of coloured pointe shoes for this production.
- There are at least 60 costume changes throughout The Wizard of Oz.
- There will be eight flying effects executed by multiple characters including the Wicked Witch and Flying Monkeys.
- Two state-of-the-art projectors are used for the animations, which are an integral design element that help provide atmosphere and dimensionality.
- The set is created to make the audience feel they are looking down into a tornado.
- There are a total of 300 feet of LED lights lining the Southam Hall stage.
- There are between 175 and 200 crystals on one ruby pointe shoe alone.
- There are three types of stones used on the ruby pointe shoe (AB red, a basic red and short red); the three come together to add dimension.
- It took over 11 hours to make one ruby pointe shoe (half an hour to dye, five hours to dry, six hours to apply the stones, and time for the stones to set).
About the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Founded in 1939, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) holds the double distinction of being Canada’s premier ballet company and one of the oldest ballet companies in North America. Versatility, technical excellence and a captivating style are the trademarks of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, qualities that have garnered both critical and audience acclaim. RWB’s superlative standards keep the Company in demand around the globe as it presents more than 150 performances every season across Canada and in the U.S., South America, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Japan, Asia and Mexico. Under the artistic direction of André Lewis for 22 years, the Company is said to have never looked more resplendent, more assured, and more ravishing.
Cast and Characters
DOROTHY
Sophia Lee (23, 25 mat)/
Alanna McAdie (24, 25 eve)
MISS GULCH, WICKED WITCH
Jaimi Deleau (23, 25 mat)
Sarah Davey (24, 25 eve)
AUNT EM, GLINDA, EMERALD BALLERINA
Yayoi Ban (23, 25 mat)
Elizabeth Lamont (24, 25 eve)
UNCLE HENRY, EMERALD OFFICER
Tristan Dobrowney (23, 25 mat)
Peter Lancksweerdt (24, 25 eve)
FARMHAND, SCARECROWL
Stephan Azulay (23, 25 mat)
Yue Shi (24, 25 eve)
FARMHAND, TIN MAN
Yosuke Mino (23, 25 mat)
Ryan Vetter (24, 25 eve)
FARMHAND, LION
Liam Caines (23, 25 mat)
Tristan Dobrowney (24, 25 eve)
PROF. MARVEL, GREEN WHISKERS, WIZARD
Dmitri Dovgoselets
WIZARD’S APPRENTICE
Logan Shaw
TOTO
Jenna Burns
KANSAS PUPPETEERS
Yue Shi (23, 25 mat)
Stephan Azulay (24, 25 eve)
Liam Saito
Jenna Burns
Joshua Hidson
Peter Lancksweerdt
Bryce Taylor
Ryan Vetter (23, 25 mat)
Yosuke Mino (24, 25 eve)
Michel Lavoie
Parker Long
Tristan Dobrowney (23, 25 mat)
Liam Caines (24, 25 eve)
MUNCHKIN LADIES
Amanda Solheim
Elena Dobrowna
Katie Bonnell (23, 25 mat)
Jaimi Deleau (24, 25 eve)
Katie Simpson
Sarah Joan Smith (23, 25 mat)
Chenxin Liu (24, 25 eve)
MUNCHKIN MEN
Tristan Dobrowney (23, 25 mat)
Liam Caines (24, 25 eve)
Parker Long
Bryce Taylor
Stephan Azulay (24, 25 eve)
Joshua Hidson
Michel Lavoie
CURLY CUES
Alanna McAdie (23, 25 mat)
Sarah Joan Smith (24, 25 eve)
Chenxin Liu (23, 25 mat)
Katie Bonnell (24, 25 eve)
Elizabeth Lamont (23, 25 mat)
Yayoi Ban (24, 25 eve)
RUFFIANS
Peter Lancksweerdt
Yue Shi (23, 25 mat)
Bryce Taylor (24, 25 eve)
Liam Saito
YELLOW BRICK ROADIES
Peter Lancksweerdt
Parker Long
Bryce Taylor
Michel Lavoie
Ryan Vetter (23, 25 mat)
Stephan Azulay (24, 25 eve)
Joshua Hidson
Tristan Dobrowney (23, 25 mat)
Yosuke Mino (24, 25 eve)
Liam Saito
TREES
Amanda Solheim
Sarah Joan Smith
Katie Simpson
FEMALE POPPIES
Elizabeth Lamont (23, 25 mat)
Yayoi Ban (24, 25 eve)
Sarah Davey (23, 25 mat)
Jaimi Deleau (24, 25 eve)
Sarah Joan Smith
Chenxin Liu
Katie Bonnell
Elena Dobrowna
Amanda Solheim
Katie Simpson
MALE POPPIES
Tristan Dobrowney (23, 25 mat)
Yosuke Mino (24, 25 eve)
Parker Long
Peter Lancksweerdt
Bryce Taylor
Liam Saito
Ryan Vetter (23, 25 mat)
Liam Caines (24, 25 eve)
Michel Lavoie
Joshua Hidson
POSER LADIES
Katie Bonnell
Sarah Joan Smith
Amanda Solheim
Elena Dobrowna
Katie Simpson
POSER MEN
Liam Saito (23, 25 mat)
Liam Caines (24, 25 eve)
Bryce Taylor
Michel Lavoie
Parker Long
Joshua Hidson
BELL HOPS
Peter Lancksweerdt (23, 25 mat)
Liam Saito (24, 25 eve)
Ryan Vetter (23, 25 mat)
Yosuke Mino (24, 25 eve)
POP CORN GIRLS
Chenxin Liu
Alanna McAdie (23, 25 mat)
Yayoi Ban (24, 25 eve)
WINGED MONKEYS
Liam Saito
Joshua Hidson
Parker Long
MONKEY PUPPETEERS
Ryan Vetter (23, 25 mat)
Yosuke Mino (24, 25 eve)
Yue Shi (23, 25 mat)
Stephan Azulay (24, 25 eve)
Amanda Solheim
Bryce Taylor
Peter Lancksweerdt
Michel Lavoie
Katie Simpson (23, 25 mat)
Liam Caines (24, 25 eve)
Elena Dobrowna
Sarah Joan Smith
WINKIE MEN
Michel Lavoie
Yue Shi (23, 25 mat)
Stephan Azulay (24, 25 eve)
Bryce Taylor
Peter Lancksweerdt
WINKIE WOMEN
Chenxin Liu
Sarah Joan Smith
Sarah Davey (23, 25 mat)
Jaimi Deleau (24, 25 eve)
Katie Bonnell
Elizabeth Lamont (23, 25 mat)
Yayoi Ban (24, 25 eve)
Amanda Solheim
Elena Dobrowna
Katie Simpson
BABY BALLERINAS
Mia McIntyre
Frida Pohl
Piper Davies
Janna Matoussova
Sophie Legault
Brianna Ross
Natasha Kleman
Sarah Zaugg
POPPYSEEDS
Mathilde Simard
Victoria Noisette
Cierra DeJong
Maïka Lalonde
Nora Beshai-Moubarak
Julie Metrailler
Dava Fleming
Claire Trickey
GRASSHOPPERS
Angie Di Iorio
Ella Langis
Zoë Walters
Hannah Kreft
Émélie Garneau
Clara Shaleseveeve
Credits
Story lines and visual elements from the classic motion picture provided by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.
The ballet production of The Wizard of Oz is a joint commission by Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and Colorado Ballet.
WORLD PREMIERE: October 12, 2018 in Kansas City by Kansas City Ballet
CANADIAN PREMIERE: May 1, 2019 in Winnipeg by Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Creative Team
Original Story: L. Frank Baum, (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900)
Choreography: Septime Webre
Music Composition: Matthew Pierce
Scenic Design: Michael Raiford
Costume Design: Liz Vandal
Lighting Design: Trad A. Burns
Projection Design: Aaron Rhyne
Puppetry Design: Nicholas Mahon
Design Coordination: Trad A. Burns
Staging: Philippe Larouche & Kristi Capps
Artists
Septime Webre is the Artistic Director of Hong Kong Ballet and the Washington, D.C.-based S&R Foundation which launched Halcyon Stage in 2017, a new interdisciplinary performance and dialogue series. From 1999 until 2016, Webre served as the Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet and from 1993 to 1999 was the Artistic Director of the American Repertory Ballet based in Princeton, New Jersey.
During his tenure at The Washington Ballet, the institution enjoyed unprecedented growth in the scope and quality of its work on stage, its school grew from 325 students to 1,500 students, and the organization developed impactful community engagement initiatives including the award-winning Dance DC and TWB@THE ARC, both of which he founded. Webre launched an array of artistic initiatives for the Ballet including The American Experience, which developed great works of literature into full-length ballets, including The Great Gatsby and Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, among others. He also developed partnerships with many colleague arts institutions in the Washington, D.C. area, including collaborating with Imagination Stage on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2012 and The Little Mermaid in 2016.
As a choreographer, Webre’s works appear in the repertoires of ballet companies throughout North America, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Colorado Ballet, Ballet West, Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Austin, Ballet Memphis, Milwaukee Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, and many others. He has served on the boards of Dance/USA and Dance Metro DC and his work has received numerous honors, grants and awards. He holds a degree in History/Pre-Law from the University of Texas at Austin, and is the seventh son of a large, boisterous Cuban-American family.
Composer-violinist Matthew Pierce is celebrated for his new classical scores commissioned by major American ballet companies. He has written ballet scores for Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Atlanta Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Ballet Met, Cincinnati Ballet, Miami Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Ballet Hawaii, Post Ballet, Ballet Coeur d’Alene, Colorado Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, New York City Ballet, Houston Ballet, Ballet Austin and the San Francisco Ballet. Night, a full orchestra score set to a Chagall-inspired dreamscape ballet has been seen at the Opera Garnier in Paris, Covent Garden in London and City Center in New York. Sarah Kaufman of the Washington Post called his 2012 score for Washington Ballet’s Alice (in wonderland), “The cherry on top: Pierce’s visionary result, a shimmering landscape that weaves together bits of our own world — Asian, Middle Eastern, pop riffs, jazz — with a contemporary edge and a spirit of discovery. And, yes, wonder.”
Michael B. Raiford is a scenic and costume designer based in Austin, Texas. In Austin, his work has appeared at Ballet Austin including world premieres of Exit Wounds (costume and set), Belle Redux (costume set and video direction), Mozart Project (scenic design), Magic Flute (scenic and puppet design). Also in Austin: Austin Lyric Opera, ZACH Theatre and the Rude Mechanicals. Raiford’s work has also been seen at Opera Boston, Central City Opera (Colorado), The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, South Coast Repertory, Cleveland Playhouse, Geva Theatre Center, Playmakers Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Ford’s Theatre (Washington, D.C.), New Victory Theatre (New York), Merrimack Repertory Theatre, The Lyric Theatre (Oklahoma City), and Actors Theatre of Louisville where he designed 20 productions including 12 world premieres for Humana Festival of New American Plays.
Raiford’s most recent adventure: Director of Blast: The Music of Disney, Tokyo and National Tour of Japan. He is a creative consultant/director in: architecture, advertising, and, yes, marching band/DCI and WGI. Education: M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught for 10 years. Other: Member of United Scenic Artists.
“Architect of the body in extreme movement”, Liz Vandal’s costumes reach the ultimate goal: “Equilibrium between esthetics and technique”, aesthetics as beautiful as it is functional. Vandal started her career as a fashion designer. Self-taught, she entered the universe of clothing more than 25 years ago. From dazzling beginnings she brought her originality to the rigorous domains of dance, circus, cinema and special projects, building a company of excellency. Great partnerships link her with numerous choreographers and dance companies around the world: Edouard Lock; Compagnie Marie Chouinard; Margie Gillis; José Navas; Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal; Le Ballet National du Canada; The Washington Ballet; Mannheim Theater; Stuttgart Ballet (Germany), l’Opéra de Paris; Göteborg Theater (Sweden), Hong Kong Ballet.
She explores all domains of show business, from creating costumes for The Backstreet Boys’ Black ‘n Blue Tour, to films including The Lathe of Heaven directed by Philip Haas and La Turbulence des fluides by Quebec director Manon Briand. In the circus world, Vandal designed flamboyant insect costumes for OVO, the 25th Cirque du Soleil show, CIRKOPOLIS, a Cirque Éloize creation and the opening duo for Les 7 doigts de la main’s new creation, Tryptique. Collaborating with multi-national IGT (International Gaming Technology) in Las Vegas, Vandal created AVATAR costumes approved by Jon Landau and 20th Century Fox.
As a consultant, Vandal offers her services to Sportswear multinational Oxylane to develop avant-garde products. As the company continued to expand, an incomparable opportunity led Vandal’s creativity to Azerbaijan for the first European games in 2015, where she designed an incredible 3,000 costumes for the closing ceremony. Since 2017, Cirque du Soleil has floated onto the sea on cruise ship Meraviglia with Vandal’s costumes dressing up two shows: Viaggio and Sonor. Vandal’s creativity has no boundaries!
Trad Burns has been designing scenery and lighting professionally since 1989 for theatre, dance, and amusement parks. Recent designs include the world premiere of Romeo + Juliet choreographed by Adam Hougland for Louisville Ballet, Peter and the Wolf, choreographed by Ma Cong for Tulsa Ballet, and world premiere works for Stephanie Martinez, Robert Colby Damon, Jennifer Archibald and Matthew Neenan. Burns has had the privilege of designing world premiere ballets for such notable choreographers as Trey McIntyre, Val Caniparoli, James Kudelka, Edwaard Liang, Adam Hougland, Garrett Smith, Jessica Lang, Alejandro Cerrudo, Donald Byrd, Jodie Gates, Gina Patterson, Amy Seiwert, Ma Cong, Andrea Schermoly, Jennifer Archibald, Penny Saunders, Septime Webre, Devon Carney, Victoria Morgan, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Robert Curran, Serkan Usta, and Sarah Slipper.
Over the years, his dance lighting has been seen at American Ballet Theatre, the National Ballet of Canada, Atlanta Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, BalletMet, Louisville Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Pittsburg Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street, and 18 seasons with Cincinnati Ballet. This is Burn’s fourth season with Kansas City Ballet. His work has also been seen at New York Theatre Workshop (NYC), The Public Theatre (NYC), La Mama ETC (NYC), HERE (NYC), Classic Stage Company (NYC), North Shore Music Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Cleveland Public Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Cedar Point, Valleyfair, Knott’s Berry Farm, Kings Island, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Japan, Disney Sea, Disney Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Universal Studios Florida and Japan, Woodstock Ice Productions and The Family of Charles M. Schulz.
Aaron Rhyne’s designs include, on Broadway: Anastasia (Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Drama Desk Award), Bonnie and Clyde. In ballet: The Sun Also Rises (Washington Ballet). In opera: The Ghosts of Versailles (LA Opera), La Traviata (Wolftrap), Florencia en el Amazonas (Florida Grand, Opera Colorado, Utah Opera). Off Broadway: This Ain’t No Disco (Atlantic), Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (Westside), Bootycandy (Playwrights Horizons), Appropriate (Signature), Water By the Spoonful, Lonely, I’m Not, The Blue Flower, All New People (Second Stage), Wild With Happy (The Public, Drama Desk Nomination), Graceland (Lincoln Center). Regional venues include: Arena Stage, Asolo Rep, Berkley Rep, Ford’s Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, Washington Ballet, Williamstown, Shakespeare Theatre.
Nicholas Mahon is an Emmy-nominated puppet and theatrical designer based in New York City specializing in performer interactive pieces and character creation. Since 2004, he has worked on projects for Michael Curry Design, Walt Disney Entertainment, Universal Studios, The Jim Henson Company, Blue Man Group and many more. Most recent projects include Sesame Street Television (2013–present), Mother Of The Nation (Abu Dhabi 2016), Islamic Solidarity Games Opening Ceremony (Baku 2017) and 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony (Pyeonchang). His work on the Baku 2015 European Games Opening Ceremony as Scenic Designer was nominated for a Daytime Emmy.
Philippe Larouche is a Winnipeg-based dancer, choreographer and international stager from Laval, Québec. An emerging choreographer, Larouche has been commissioned to create two new works for Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB). His neo-classical work For Bye and About premiered last May, and brand-new contemporary work Next of Kin premiered in March to the music of The Bros. Landreth, who joined the dancers on stage. His duet Better Together was also performed by RWB dancers at the Canada Games in July 2017.
A versatile dancer, Larouche performed with Red Sky Performance in Backbone at Canadian Stage in Toronto, as well as in Adizokan with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Fall 2017. He took the stage with them again this winter for the European tour of Backbone. He also performed Freya Olafson’s CPA [Consistent Partial Attention] as part of Les Jeux de la Francophonie in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in July 2017.
Larouche is a stager for Val Caniparoli’s A Cinderella Story, which he staged on Orlando Ballet, and for The Wizard of Oz, which has been performed by Colorado Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and its Canadian premiere with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.