2021 CAST
(in alphabetical order)
Jade Douris-O’Hara (She/Her) is an actor and choreographer from Toronto, Ontario who now lives in Halifax with her husband, Drew. She is the Studio Director of The Studio at Shakespeare by the Sea, the company’s year round theatre education department. For SBTS: Four seasons, including playing Dorothy in 2019’s The Wizard of Oz (Bronze Winner, The Coast Best of Halifax Awards). Other Theatre: As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Love’s Labour Lost (Shakespeare BASH’d - NOW Magazine’s Best Site-Specific Theatre Company 2018 and 2019), Romeo and Juliet (Dauntless City Theatre), A Different Kind of Job (Theatre Aquarius). Film/TV: According to Kids (CBC), Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare at Play). Choreography: Shakespeare BASH’d, Shakespeare at Play, Dauntless City Theatre, four family shows at Shakespeare by the Sea including Alice in Wonderland (2018 Merritt Award nominee - Best Choreography). Twitter/Instagram/TikTok: @jadedourisohara.
Raeesa Lalani (She/Her) is a performer and the Artistic Director of the Prismatic Arts Festival based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. She has long been active as an actress, singer, and has been known to tickle the ivories too! Some of her favourite performances include: playing Gillian on BBC Worldwides' Dinosapien, portraying Maria Von Trapp in Rundle College's production of The Sound of Music, and her role as 'Puck' in StoryBook Theatres' A Midsummers Nights Dream. Other accolades include being crowned Junior Miss Calgary 2005, winning first place at the NATS Singing Competition as well as the Musical Theatre at the Calgary Kiwanis Festival, and being a semi finalist in the Calgary Stampede Talent Search.
Raeesa
Lalani
Titania/Hippolyta
Moneesha "Misha" Bakshi (She/They) is a multi-media actor based in Kjipuktuk (Halifax). Originally from Tennessee, Misha is glad to be able to perform in Halifax, a place she's always considered home. Misha has recently completed the Acting Program at the Fountain School of Performing Arts. A proudly bisexual artist of color, Misha strives to create theatre that uplifts the voices of marginalized people while working her way towards becoming a C-list celebrity. Theatre: E.V.I.L (Halifax Fringe), Mary Stuart (FSPA), ClusterF**k (Eclectic Full Contact Theatre). Film and TV: The Real Pigs of Norfolk County (Eastlink), BeCos I Can (CBC).
Misha Bakshi
Lysander
Christian Hansen (he/him) is a Theatre Creator from Germany/Denmark/Friesland (he’s not quite sure yet) who now lives in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. He specializes in Performing, Puppeteering, Stage Combat, and Digital Design. He recently graduated from the Dalhousie Acting program and is incredibly excited to be working with such an amazing cast and crew on such a wonderful show. Other Theatre Credits [Acting]: Mary Stuart, Machinal, Concord Floral, and Ephemera (FSPA); Settle Elsewhere (Theatre du Poulet); What the Owl Said To The Orangutan (The Unnatural Disaster Theatre Company). [Design]: Hamlet (Halifax Regional Arts); #IAmTheCheese (Halifax Theatre for Young People).
Christian
Ludwig-Hansen
Demetrius/Quince
Jade Douris-O’Hara (she/her) is an actor and choreographer from Toronto, Ontario who now lives in Halifax with her husband, Drew. She is the Studio Director of The Studio at Shakespeare by the Sea, the company’s year round theatre education department. For SBTS: Four seasons, including playing Dorothy in 2019’s The Wizard of Oz (Bronze Winner, The Coast Best of Halifax Awards). Other Theatre: As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Love’s Labour Lost (Shakespeare BASH’d - NOW Magazine’s Best Site-Specific Theatre Company 2018 and 2019), Romeo and Juliet (Dauntless City Theatre), A Different Kind of Job (Theatre Aquarius). Film/TV: According to Kids (CBC), Hamlet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare at Play). Choreography: Shakespeare BASH’d, Shakespeare at Play, Dauntless City Theatre, four family shows at Shakespeare by the Sea including Alice in Wonderland (2018 Merritt Award nominee - Best Choreography). Twitter/Instagram/TikTok: @jadedourisohara.
Jade
Douris-O'Hara
Helena /
Choreographer
Shanoa Phillips (She/her) is a musical theatre actor from Nova Scotia who started out at a very young age at the local Unicorn Theatre. Having discovered a passion for musical theatre in her youth, she attended the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts after high school where she studied voice, dance and acting. She then completed her degree in Music at Acadia University where she studied vocal performance, and completed her Level 8 RCM certification in piano.
​Select SBTS credits: Wendy in Peter Pan, the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, Moth in Love's Labour's Lost, and more!
Shanoa has always enjoyed teaching music to children and has over 10 years experience teaching in the arts! Having both performing and teaching experience in many musical styles (classical, musical theatre, pop, folk, etc.), Shanoa is excited to embark on each individual student's musical journey.
​You can book Shanoa for singing lessons and music lessons in person at the Park Place Theatre or via Zoom.
Shanoa
Phillips
Hermia /
Composer
Simon Rainville (he/him) is beyond thrilled to be returning to the park for his eighth season in ten years with SBTS, where he is probably best known for his roles as Sven in Robin Hood, and The White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Simon’s career has taken him across Canada and around the world as a performer; but he feels most privileged to be working here in this beautiful park again. He is grateful for this time and space to be, the family who has supported and loved him from the beginning, and this precious opportunity to help share these stories.
Simon Rainville
Oberon/Theseus
Jacob Sampson (He/Him) is a Graduate of the Acadia University Theatre Studies program and is a descendant of the Historic Black Nova Scotian community of Beechville. He has done many seasons with Shakespeare by the Sea, playing such roles as Othello, Oberon and Aaron.
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Jacob
Sampson
Bottom
Newly shorn, Garry Williams (he/him) returns for a fifth season with SBTS. In the time Before, he wrote music and lyrics for SBTS’s The Wizard of Oz, as well as Twelfth Night, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio. Favourite roles include Boyet, Falstaff, Julius Caesar, and Gloucester. Other scores include Play Building (Ship’s Company); KAMP (EFT/Neptune); King of Berlin (Doppler Effect); Tyrant; Arden; Jew of Malta; Edward II (Villains); Munsch Upon A Time (Festival Antigonish); The FEAR Project; So… What About Love? (DaPoPo); and Supermoms!. Outside the Park, he works year-round with DaPoPo Theatre, in particular the Queer Theatre Ensemble, and teaches.
Garry
Williams
Puck
2021 CREATIVE TEAM
(in alphabetical order)
Olivia Rankin (she/her) is a stage manager, lighting designer and sometimes film producer based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, NS. Born and raised in British Columbia she received the CIBC YouthVision of Canada scholarship and graduated with her BA in Technical Scenography from Dalhousie. She has since managed productions with companies across Atlantic Canada, of which most have been celebrated with awards and re-mounts/tours. Her short film Roomies was selected to be broadcast in CBC's Reel East Coast-Season 6. Select recent SM credits include: The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum- Homecoming Series, Lullaby: Inside the Halifax Explosion (Eastern Front Theatre), Controlled Damage (bcurrent & Neptune Theatre), The Bridge (2b theatre & Neptune Theatre)
Olivia
Rankin
Production Stage Manager
Olivia Rankin (she/her) is a stage manager, lighting designer and sometimes film producer based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, NS. Born and raised in British Columbia she received the CIBC YouthVision of Canada scholarship and graduated with her BA in Technical Scenography from Dalhousie. She has since managed productions with companies across Atlantic Canada, of which most have been celebrated with awards and re-mounts/tours. Her short film Roomies was selected to be broadcast in CBC's Reel East Coast-Season 6. Select recent SM credits include: The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum- Homecoming Series, Lullaby: Inside the Halifax Explosion (Eastern Front Theatre), Controlled Damage (bcurrent & Neptune Theatre), The Bridge (2b theatre & Neptune Theatre)
Olivia
Rankin
Production Stage Manager
Olivia Rankin (she/her) is a stage manager, lighting designer and sometimes film producer based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, NS. Born and raised in British Columbia she received the CIBC YouthVision of Canada scholarship and graduated with her BA in Technical Scenography from Dalhousie. She has since managed productions with companies across Atlantic Canada, of which most have been celebrated with awards and re-mounts/tours. Her short film Roomies was selected to be broadcast in CBC's Reel East Coast-Season 6. Select recent SM credits include: The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum- Homecoming Series, Lullaby: Inside the Halifax Explosion (Eastern Front Theatre), Controlled Damage (bcurrent & Neptune Theatre), The Bridge (2b theatre & Neptune Theatre)
Olivia
Rankin
Production Stage Manager
Raeesa Lalani (She/Her) is a performer and the Artistic Director of the Prismatic Arts Festival based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. She has long been active as an actress, singer, and has been known to tickle the ivories too! Some of her favourite performances include: playing Gillian on BBC Worldwides' Dinosapien, portraying Maria Von Trapp in Rundle College's production of The Sound of Music, and her role as 'Puck' in StoryBook Theatres' A Midsummers Nights Dream. Other accolades include being crowned Junior Miss Calgary 2005, winning first place at the NATS Singing Competition as well as the Musical Theatre at the Calgary Kiwanis Festival, and being a semi finalist in the Calgary Stampede Talent Search.
Raeesa
Lalani
Titania/Hippolyta
Oliver Dorais-Fleming (he/him) is a costume designer originally from British Columbia. He moved to Halifax in 2016 to join Dalhousie’s Costume Studies program and fell in love with the amazing theatre community in Nova Scotia. After graduating in 2020, he now works as a designer and costumer for theatre, as well as working freelance on costume projects for the stage, drag performers, and cosplayers across Canada. As a costumer, he has worked on The Secret in the Wings (FSPA, 2018), Dante’s Purgatorio (FSPA, 2018), An Evening of Molière One-Acts (FSPA, 2019), and the Vaudeville Student Fashion Show (2018-2019). He also worked as a designer on Dido & Aeneas | Aeneas & Dido (FSPA, 2020).
Oliver
Dorais-Fleming
Costume Designer
Drew Douris-O’Hara (he/him) is an actor, director, theatre educator and Shakespeare enthusiast from across the harbour in Sunny-Sunny Dartmouth! Drew has worked on over 30 productions for SBTS as an actor, director, script editor and co-writer and in 2019 became Shakespeare by the Sea’s Artistic Associate. Drew is also a resident artist of Toronto’s critically acclaimed Shakespeare BASH’d (NOW Magazine’s Best Site-Specific Theatre Company 2018 and 2019) and co-wrote the musical And Now The End (SummerWorks 2014). Drew co-teaches many classes (all ages!) for the Studio @ SBTS with his wonderful wife Jade. We would LOVE for you to join them! Register now to play in the park with us!
Drew
Douris-O'Hara
Director
Olivia Rankin (she/her) is a stage manager, lighting designer and sometimes film producer based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, NS. Born and raised in British Columbia she received the CIBC YouthVision of Canada scholarship and graduated with her BA in Technical Scenography from Dalhousie. She has since managed productions with companies across Atlantic Canada, of which most have been celebrated with awards and re-mounts/tours. Her short film Roomies was selected to be broadcast in CBC's Reel East Coast-Season 6. Select recent SM credits include: The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum- Homecoming Series, Lullaby: Inside the Halifax Explosion (Eastern Front Theatre), Controlled Damage (bcurrent & Neptune Theatre), The Bridge (2b theatre & Neptune Theatre)
Olivia
Rankin
Production Stage Manager
Ell Zagar (they/them) is a theatre artist and technician based in Halifax. After moving to the East coast for school in 2016, they explored theatre at the student-run King’s Theatrical Society at the University of King’s College. This work included producing the King’s Infringement Festival for original student-written works in 2018 and co-directing Crimes of the Heart in 2019. Ell is passionate about queer expression in live theatre and wrote their English Honours thesis on gender defiance in Romeo and Juliet. They are returning to Shakespeare by the Sea from working here as a Production Assistant in Summer 2018. Now as Technical Director, they are excited to be turning the lights on and off at the Cambridge Battery, and glad to be part of the effort for the show(s) to go on here in Halifax!
Ell
Zagar
Technical Director
This is Jaida Lapsley's (she/her) first summer working with Shakespeare by the Sea after six years of costume experience. She is currently a third year Honours student in Dalhousie University's Costume Studies program working towards a career in theatrical costume. Previous design credits include You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, The Lion King, Legally Blonde, Mary Poppins, 9 to 5, and the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Jaida
Lapsley
Costume Assistant
Olivier Blais (He/Him) is a fourth year acting student at Dalhousie University. He is a co-founder of the only bilingual theatre company in Halifax, the Theatre DesAssimilés. He has appeared in the company’s productions of Les Chaises and Les Mangeurs d’Ail and the Nocturne performance Council of Absurd Urbanisation, as well as several improv shows. He was part of the 2017 Nova Scotia team at the Jeux de la Francophonie. He was the assistant director and an actor for the Fountain School of Performing Arts productions of Concord Floral and Beyond Windows respectively. He is thrilled to be working at Shakespeare by the Sea this summer.
Olivier
Blais
Front of House /
Covid Mitigation
Ivy Abbott-Charles (she/her) is a Halifax-based actor, collaborator, children’s drama instructor, and arts administrator. She graduated with a Masters in Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and has since been working in everything from silent film and radio drama to Kent commercials and a children’s shadow-puppetry musical. She has performed with theatre companies such as DaPoPo Theatre, Eastern Front Theatre, Zuppa Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick, and the Unnatural Disaster Theatre Co. Ivy is very excited to be spending her summer in the park, promoting and celebrating the return to live performance!
Ivy
Abbott-Charles
Public Relations /
Marketing Coordinator
Kegan MacIvor (He/Him) comes from a small town in New Brunswick and is entering his fourth year of school at Dalhousie University. He is currently pursuing a major in Theatre and a minor in Sociology. Kegan’s passion for theatre arts and acting started at a young age, even performing in several musicals in high school, such as Grease, Annie, and Peter Pan, as well as DTS’s production of “Late: A Cowboy Song” in early 2020. This is his first year working with Shakespeare by the Sea, and is very excited to be a part of this production.
