Mark Schoenberg - Comedy Category

After directorial successes in New York and Philadelphia, Dr. Mark Schoenberg ran a small theatre in New Orleans while studying for his MFA and Ph.D.  He taught for three years at The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill before emigrating to Canada.  Mark taught at the University of Alberta and founded what was, arguably, the most exciting small theatre company in Western Canada, Theatre 3.  Dr. Schoenberg was also the Associate Director of The Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, the Managing Artistic Director of The Sudbury Theatre Centre and has directed across Canada.  Mark has just been appointed Artistic Director of the newly formed company Stage (Toronto). As a teacher, Mark served as an Associate Professor of Drama at the University of Alberta and headed the Professional Actor Training Program at Humber College in Toronto.  He currently maintains an active actor coaching service for both theatre and film.

Thom Currie - Musical Category

Thom Currie has enjoyed a varied twenty-year professional career as an actor, director, playwright and producer.  Originally from New York, he has appeared onstage on both sides of the Atlantic, performing in cities such as Paris, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Brussels.  Since settling in Toronto, Thom has worked steadily as actor and director in theatres across Canada, including Victoria Playhouse, Stage West (Calgary and Mississauga), Theatre in the Park, The Georgian Theatre Festival and The Showboat Festival Theatre, among many others. His directing credits include over 30 productions, including Peter Pan, Sexy Laundry, Urinetown, Crazy For You, A Bench In The Sun, and Looking, in addition to over fifty productions for young audiences.  Thom is the Founding Artistic Director of ReallyLittleTheatre, an international children’s theatre.  He was Artistic Director of The Georgian Theatre Festival and currently serves as Artistic Director of The Showboat Festival Theatre, Ontario’s only full-time professional Theatre-in-the-Round.

 

Brenda Kamino - Drama Category

Brenda Kamino has been seen on many of Canada’s best  known stages for over 30 years.  A veteran performer of the Shaw Festival, she has created many roles in new plays at such theatres as Theatre Passe Muraille, Factory Theatre and Young Peoples’ Theatre, as well as the Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg.  Her theatrical career has taken her from the National Arts Centre in Ottawa to The Citadel in Edmonton in shows as varied as Naomi’s Road to M. Butterfly.  As instructor for Theatre Ontario’s Summer Intensive Program she has taught “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Acting” and “Hot Scenes: Scene Study.”  She has been the full-time acting instructor at the Centre For Indigenous Theatre, run an intensive theatre training program at Young Peoples’ Theatre, led the young company at Tarragon’s Spring Arts Fair and helped a multitude of actors with her private coaching.  She has been a guest artist, teacher and speaker at many institutions and schools across the country and is on the Theatre Advisory Committee at Humber College.  She is the recipient of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association's Larry McCance Award for outstanding contribution to Equity and its membership of performers.