A View from the Box - The Podcast

Welcome to episode 23 of A View from the Box - The Podcast! Today, I'm chatting with Praneet Akilla and Lili Beaudoin who are taking on Shakespeare's most famous lovers, Romeo & Juliet, at Dream in High Park! A mostly Vancouverite but sometimes Torontonian Lili Beaudoin is an actor, improvisor and filmmaker. Some of her notable theatre credits include Juliet in Juliet, a Revenge Comedy, Marie...

It's Episode 22 of A View from the Box - The Podcast and it's my final Fringe Feature! Today, I'm talking to Sanskruti Marathe who is performing in TWO shows at the Fringe: "At the End of Kaliyuga" and "Temple of Desire" Sanskruti Marathe is an Indian Canadian dancer, actor and writer with a BFA with Honors from York University's Acting Conservatory. Her journey in the arts beg...

Hello there! It's Episode 21 of A View from the Box - The Podcast and it's my second Toronto Fringe Festival podcast episodes! Today I'm speaking to Banafsheh Hassani and esi callender from "Regarding Antigone." Banafsheh بنفشه is an Iranian feminist artist who performs, writes, and wirghts theatre. She is a co-founder of The Sky is the Limit Theatre, a collective-creation based theatre...

Hey there! Welcome to episode 20 of A View from the Box - The Podcast which is also my first episode featuring artists from the Toronto Fringe Festival! Today, I'm chatting with Ben Yoganathan! Ben Yoganathan is an actor, writer, composer, and director born in Sri Lanka and based in Toronto. Ben has performed in a range of acclaimed productions, including Henry Five with Driftwood Theatre, Three S...

Well hello there! Welcome to episode 19 of A View from the Box - The Podcast! Today's guest is the hilariously funny Mitch Wood. Mitch is an actor/comedian who has been making content the past two years but whose roots are in theatre. You've likely seen him on TikTok or Instagram with his wildly funny impressions. Those impressions range from folks in the theatre to your Starbucks barista, and all...

Well hello there! It's episode 18 of A View from the Box - The Podcast! I have the immense pleasure of speaking to Devin Bell and Jesse McQueen of Wren Theatre's "Dangerous Liaisons" today! Devin Bell trained in NYC at The Tom Todoroff Acting Conservatory from 2019-2021, since then he’s acted in a variety of films, tv shows, commercials, and theatre. Devin is tremendously excited to be r...

It's episode 17 of A View from the Box - The Podcast and I am speaking to the sage and sensational d’bi.young anitafrika. d’bi.young is an internationally acclaimed visionary dub poet, playwright-performer, director-dramaturge, and activist-scholar, who creates, embodies, and teaches critical dub pedagogy. Culminating their PhD in Black womyn’s theatre at London South Bank University, their resear...

Hi everyone! It's episode 16 of A View from the Box - The Podcast and I am so grateful to have each and every one of you here along with me. Today I get to speak to the incomparable Vanessa Sears. Vanessa Sears is a Dora Award, Toronto Theatre Critics Award, BroadwayWorld Award and Critic’s Pick Award winning artist. She has starred on stages across Canada including Shaw, Stratford and Mirvish, an...

It's episode 15 of A View from the Box - The Podcast! I'm so happy to have the one and only Jonathan Wilson on the show today! Jonathan Wilson is a queer writer and performer here in Toronto. He had a recurring role as Howie on SUE THOMAS F.B.EYE. Past theatre work includes the recent hit GAY FOR PAY at Crow’s theatre Toronto. Past work includes his Dora Award winning performance as Timon in the C...

It's episode 14 of A View from the Box - The Podcast and I'm so excited to be chatting with the delightful Tara Sky! Tara Sky is a Queer mixed blood. They do have Indigenous ancestry. They grew up in the theatre world which was very influential to their practice and how they work today. Tara went to an arts highschool (Etobicoke School of the Arts) and furthered their education at the National The...

It's lucky episode 13 and I get to chat with Laura Mullin and Chris Tolley of PlayMe and Expect Theatre! Laura Mullin is a published playwright and writer, a director, producer, and the Co-Artistic Director of the award-winning Expect Theatre. She is also the Co-Host and Producer of CBC’s PlayME Podcast, transforming plays into binge-able audio dramas. She recently wrote the seven-part original au...

Hi everyone! Welcome to episode 12. Today, I get to chat with Rachel Cairns, a playwrights and fantastic podcast host.   Rachel Cairns is a performer, writer, director and producer. She is the creator of Aborsh, a podcast about abortion in Canada and its companion project the solo show Hypothetical Baby, a play about the practical and existential considerations in deciding to become a parent… or n...

Hello there! Welcome to episode 11 of A View from the Box – The Podcast. My name is Janine, and I’m excited to introduce this week’s guest: Jesse Nerenberg.   Jesse is excited to return to the Bash’d stage, performing Shakespeare’s timeless works for the first time in nearly five years. He has appeared with Shakespeare Bash’d in Cymbeline, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and more. Acr...

Well hello there! Welcome to episode 10 of A View from the Box - The Podcast. I’m so excited to introduce you to this week’s guest: Arkady Spivak. Arkady Spivak was cited as a 2020 Canadian Arts Hero by the Globe and Mail. He founded Talk Is Free Theatre in Barrie in 2003, and is the company’s Artistic Producer, in charge of both artistic and administrative visions. Since TIFT's founding, Spivak p...

Happy New Year! I'm kicking off 2025 with an awesome episode featuring one of my favourite playwrights Nick Green. Nick is a Dora Mavor Moore, Elizabeth Sterling Haynes, and Tom Hendry award winning playwright and book writer based in Toronto. You might know him from his plays like Casey and Diana, which had sold-out runs at both the Stratford Festival and Soulpepper, or his musicals In Real Life,...

Happy Holidays from A View from the Box - The Podcast! Thank you all for your unwavering support this year, it means the world to me! There's plenty more to come in 2025 as well! Have a safe and happy holiday season!

It's time for episode 8 of A View from the Box - The Podcast with the LEGENDARY Phil Rickaby. Phil Rickaby is a writer and performer from Toronto, Ontario. Theatrical works include The Commandment, a solo play about an atheist who discovers that he’s been chosen to deliver a new commandment, has been seen at Fringe Festivals across Canada, and was named Best Solo Show at the 2018 Fundy Fringe, and...

Welcome to episode 7 of A View from the Box - The Podcast. Today I have the absolute joy of chatting with Denim and Pythia. Pythia is a drag queen and performer based in Montreal, Canada, originally from Greece. She is known for her appearance on Canada's Drag Race Season 2 and RuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars.  She has a background in theatre set, costume and makeup design as well as photograp...

Welcome to Episode 6 of A View from the Box - The Podcast! Today, we shine the spotlight on Wren Theatre, an innovative independent theatre company making waves with its fresh approach to classic storytelling. This season, they’re bringing to life Louisa may Alcott’s “Little Women”, directed by their visionary creative director, Tatum Lee. With a commitment to compelling narratives and powerful pe...

In this week’s episode, I’m chatting with Naomi Snieckus and Matt Baram, a comedy power couple who are writing and performing in “Big Stuff” at Crow’s Theatre. Matt and Naomi met at the famous Second City Theatre in Toronto and it was love and first laugh. They wrote and performed 5 shows together and then went on to create The National Theatre of the World with MadTV alumnus Ronald Pederson and f...

Today, I'm chatting with Liza Paul about her amazing Comedy is Art Festival which is back for a 5th season! liza paul is a curator, artistic leader, director and producer who loves laughter, life, music, family, stories, all things bashment, impromptu dancehall-flavoured a cappella street jams, and pum-related non sequiturs. she has trained at the second city’s improv conservatory and was selected...

Today I’m chatting with Ilana Khanin and Olivia Daniels from “I was Unbecoming Then” which is part of the 2024 Next Stage Festival! Ilana Khanin (she/her) is a director of experimental new plays and musicals. Her work has been developed and presented at Ars Nova ANT Fest, Prelude, HERE Arts Center, New Ohio, Judson, Governors Island, The Tank, The Brick, Primary Stages, Theaterlab, Dixon Place, Sa...

In this week's episode, I'm chatting with the incredible teams behind Spindle Collective and Riot King about their upcoming production of SAMCA . Natalia Bushnik, Brendan Kinnon, and Kathleen Welch are my guests for the episode, and we take a deep dive into SAMCA , it's various workshops and productions, and talk about their upcoming performance at Black Creek Pioneer Village. SAMCA runs September...

In this week's episode I'm chatting with my friend, colleague, and an overall awesome human, Aisling Murphy. We talk about her role at Intermission, her new role at the University of Ottawa, and so much more! Make sure you follow Aisling on social media: https://www.instagram.com/aisling.murph https://www.threads.net/@aisling.murph https://x.com/aisling_murph_ And make sure you check out Intermiss...

Hello! And welcome to the first ever episode of A View from the Box – The Podcast! I’m Janine, author of A View from the Box and unabashedly passionate patroness of the arts. This is just a little get-to-know-me episode to give you a little taste of my background, education, theatre career, and how I started A View from the Box. To check out my site and find my socials and Patreon check out: https...