Kyle Blair - Jack

Kyle grew up in London attending Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts and Oakridge S.S. as well as being involved with the Amabile Boys Choir, London Music Theatre and Original Kids. For the past six seasons, Kyle has been a member of the acting company at the Stratford Festival of Canada and will appear as Will Parker in Stratford's upcoming production of Oklahoma. Kyle has appeared at the Grand Theatre in It’s A Wonderful Life, as well as the Playwright’s Cabaret.

Amber Cunningham - Cindy

Amber is very pleased to be reprising her role as Cindy. It has been a busy year with performances in the London Fringe Festival, In Good Company, and most recently with Orchestra London in Hearts Made Great. She also had the privilege of studying opera at the St. Andrews-by-the-sea Opera Workshop under the direction of soprano Wendy Neilson. She is looking forward to this coming year of performance and teaching voice, and completing her ongoing studies with the Royal Conservatory.

Jim Doucette - The Uncle

Jim is very excited to be working with such an energetic and talented group on such an original and exciting project. It’s like an early Christmas present. He would like to thank all involved for the time and effort put forth to make this such a positive and worthwhile experience. Selected Theatre: Annie, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Playwrights Cabaret 2003, 2005 and 2006 all for the Grand Theatre. The Love List, Looking, Outlaw, The Mousetrap, Marriage is Murder for Port Stanley Festival theatre. It’s All True, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Lion in the Streets for Theatre Soup. The Foursome for Pelee Island Playhouse. Kiss Me Kate for LMT. Co-creator of London’s DuffleBag Theatre Selected Directing Credits: Crimes of the Heart and Sexual Perversity in Chicago for Theatre Soup. Marriage is Murder for Port Stanley Festival Theatre and Pal Joey for London Musical Theatre.

Natalie Howard - Rachel

Originally from London, England, Natalie now resides in London Ontario. Natalie's theatre career has taken her to four continents where she has performed in such shows as Starlight Express (Japan/Australia/Germany), Chess (UK Tour), Cabaret, and Return to the Forbidden Planet (Berlin, Germany). Natalie has been busy raising her two young daughters the past few years and was pleased to return to the musical stage in the summer of 2004 at the Lighthouse Theatre, performing in Summer of Love and again last year when she returned to Germany to perform the show in that country.

Rick Kish - Ralph

Rick is thrilled to be working with such a talented collective of artists on this Equity Co-op production of P & J. Most recent performances include My Way: A Musical Tribute To Frank Sinatra & What Happens In Vegas.... A few of Rick's favourite performances include A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (Grand Theatre), Forever Plaid (London Convention Centre), The Wild Guys/Side By Side By Sondheim/Toronto, Mississippi (Port Stanley Festival Theatre). Rick served as Artistic Director at the Bluewater Summer Playhouse from 2001 - 2006 and The Port Stanley Festival Theatre from 1999 - 2001. This coming March/April Rick will be off to The University of Windsor to teach/direct a production of Steel Magnolias.

Joshua Richardson - Writer

Joshua Richardson is a London musical theatre writer. His first London Fringe show, P&J: The Original Mock Musical, won best show of the 2005 festival as well as funniest show. His latest show Oscar, Emily and the Giant won best original work of the London Fringe festival 2006. Richardson also wrote and starred in You, Me & Them, a musical of ambivalence. He recently put P&J through an extensive masterclass with famed Canadian composer/lyricist Leslie Arden. He has high hopes of taking the show to the New York Music Theatre Festival summer 2007. Richardson is the founder of Pretentious Theatre, a theatre company devoted to the development of contemporary musical theatre. Joshua would like to thank all his mentors and of course his family, and anyone who has taken a chance with him in the pursuit of success.

Jeff Culbert - Director

Jeff appeared in the original production of P&J in the role of “Uncle”, and he’s happy to be re-visiting the show as director. This January will mark his fifth year of co-ordinating and directing for the Grand Theatre’s PlayWrights Cabaret. He has also directed several premieres by London playwrights, including James Reaney (The Gentle Rain Food Co-op), Jayson McDonald (Novel House and Arc of the Axe), Peter Desbarats (Her Worship), Chris Doty (The Donnelly Trial) and himself (Running Rude).

Igor Saika-Voivod - Music Director

Igor is an active pianist, cellist, music director and composer. Over the past three years he has worked on over a dozen musical theatre productions with organizations such as London Musical Theatre, Original Kids Theatre Company, and Drayton Entertainment. This coming February, Igor will be appearing on stage for the first time in a musical, playing the roles of The General and The Grinch in the upcoming Althouse College production of 'Seussical'.

Gerry Egan - Production Manager

Mr. Egan is happy to be part of this great project and wishes wonderful things to the great group of people involved in P & J. Gerry is nearing the end of his Equity apprenticeship as a stage manager. This Summer he was in Kincardine working for Bluewater Summer Playhouse on Mary’s Wedding, My way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, and The Love List. Most recently Mr. Egan was Assistant Stage Manager for Menopostive, and The Drawer Boy for Theatre Athena in Waterloo.

Sheliza Jamal - Promotions

Sheliza has had a love for theatre since she could talk. Born and raised in British Columbia, Sheliza has appeared both on stage and behind the scenes. As a graduate of the Theatre Program at York University, she is heavily involved in all aspects of the arts including starting her own company, out!CAST Productions. Sheliza is currently working at The Grand Theatre through the Income Managers Program part of the Cultural Careers Council of Ontario. She wishes the cast and crew of P&J all the best!

Leanne Danowski - Stage Manager

Leanne has been very active with the theatre community; she started Stage Managing with the Original Kids Theatre Company in London on Teenage Night of Living Horror directed by Hale Herlihey as well as Fame: the musical, which was directed by Richelle Brown. She enjoys working with kids and the community. Leanne has also worked in Dallas, Texas with the Labyrinth Theatre on The Exit, which was written and directed by Kevin Ash. She was the Assistant Stage Manager for this production in addition to her involvement with the marketing and carpentry aspect of theatre. Leanne is currently attending Fanshawe College for Theatre Arts Technical Production. At Fanshawe, she has worked on Mini Putt directed by Jim Schaefer as an Assistant Stage Manager and a part of the set construction crew. She is looking forward to working with everyone on P&J and very excited about the production.

Rob Coles - Lighting Designer

Rob has designed lighting for production companies in London and the surrounding area at venues such as The Arts Project, Talbot Theatre, The Palace Theatre, Park Place Theatre Ingersoll, Market Centre Theatre Woodstock, Princess Street Theatre St. Thomas, and the Town Hall Theatre St. Mary’s. He is a three time nominee for WODL Lighting Design and a nominee for a Brickenden. Selected recent credits include Cardboard Boxes, The Priest, The Ice Cream Man Has Died, Water Play, This Just In, Kingfisher Days, The Fantasticks, Chess, and numerous others.

Rob Richardson - Sound Designer

Rob Richardson has been involved in the Live Sound Industry for over 35 years. He has engineered over 3500 live performances and events while installing sound systems in various venues such as Canada’s Wonderland. Rob has directed his efforts over the last 4 years delivering Broadway quality wireless systems to live performances across North America such as Les Miserables, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Our Town, Suesical the Musical, You Me and Them, Grease, Guys and Dolls to name a few. He is committed to showcase and support the talent across the many community theatres, High Schools and Colleges across Canada. Rob has taught Sound for the last couple of years at the Technical Theatre Arts program delivered by Fanshawe College.

Jeremy Richardson - Graphic Designer

Jeremy is a graphic designer working from London, Ontario. He has been involved in the visual aspects of all of Joshua Richardson's shows including the original production of P&J: The Original Mock Musical, You, Me & Them and Oscar Emily and the Giant. Jeremy designed and takes care of the Pretentious Theatre website, as well as individual sites for each show. Jeremy works under the Circle Corp name and focuses on website and graphic design supporting the arts community.