Listed below is the original team from 2020, without whom this project wouldn’t exist.
This year, the project is supported by Sheila Christie and Whitney Fawn MacEachern for the remount.
The Original Team
Our thanks to Devin, Jordan Hall, Kendra Fanconi, and Patrick Yancey for their support of this project. Thanks also to Gayle Bird for her help with images.
Actors
Assistants
Technical support
Project Leads
Actors
Dave Petrie is pleased and humbled to be performing in The Path Less Travelled. He is living in New Waterford with his wife Donna. Recently retired, he enjoys all aspects of the Theatre both on and off the stage. He has appeared as Mathew Brady in Inherit the Wind, Charlie in Death of a Salesman, and the Father in Six Characters in Search of an Author. Dave and Donna spend much of their time traveling, watching local theatre productions, playing golf, and finding any excuse to visit their grandsons in Halifax.
Dave loves hiking the many trails in Nova Scotia and worries that his grandsons may not be able to enjoy these treasures in the future.
Eric Letcher is an Interpretation Officer at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, and has worked with Parks Canada’s Cape Breton Field Unit for over 10 years, primarily in the field of heritage presentation. He has also been a very (sporadically) active member of the local theatre community for many years: as a writer, actor, director and producer. In recent years he has consciously stepped away from writing for public consumption, opting instead to listen and allow space for more diverse voices. Eric enjoys walking and hiking in nature, particularly along the coast.
Jenna Lahey was born and raised on the ocean, in Main-a-Dieu and Louisbourg, where she currently resides. She is the Inclusive Innovation Officer for the Cape Breton Partnership, where she mainly works with female entrepreneurs. She also helped to open an Oceans centre in Louisbourg, dedicated to stewardship of and cultural and historic ties to the ocean. Jenna spends many hours a week hiking in the woods and along the coast with her three dogs. It is her hope that we can keep our island beautiful for generations of dogs to come.
Lindsay Thompson is a Cape Breton-based playwright, actress, and director who works in children’s programming at Cape Breton Regional Library. Lindsay is also a founding member of Her Voice Theatre Company, a group dedicated to producing plays with performance opportunities for women and minorities, as well as using theatre as a tool to do good in the community. Most recently, Her Voice Theatre produced a production of Sense and Sensibility which was toured to local nursing homes. Lindsay enjoys taking in the various hiking trails and beaches that the island has to offer and is a regular patron of the Baille Ard Trails. She believes that time outside in nature is imperative to a person’s mental health and happiness.
Assistants
Kate Munro is currently in her 3rd year of her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Honours) with a certificate in Theatre Arts at Cape Breton University. She has worked on a number of theatre productions in the past with the Savoy Theatre, Highland Arts Theatre, and Boardmore Theatre, both on and off the stage. Since 2017, Kate has worked as a historical interpreter at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, which uses elements of Applied Theatre to tell the fascinating stories of those who lived and worked there in the 18th century. It is difficult to choose a favourite, but Kate’s favourite natural space in Cape Breton is the Louisbourg Lighthouse trail. She is thankful that this space is being preserved so that future generations will find as much serenity in the trail as she does now.
Catalina Belalcazar is an MBA candidate in Community Economic Development at Cape Breton University. She is a scholarship recipient from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She received a BA in Community Studies with area majors in environmental studies, political science and communication from Cape Breton University. Her prior research and work experience include sustainable Northern tourism development, reconnecting with nature, playground naturalization, and experiential learning. Ms. Belalcazar is an avid scuba diver and hiker, has a passion for the outdoors, and is actively dedicated to instilling respect, protection, and fairness for the human and more than human elements that compose our surroundings.
Technical support
Sound Design by Anonymous
Nicholas Porteous is a Toronto-based actor and filmmaker. He co-wrote and directed Object Relations, winner of the 2017 48-Hour Film Project: Toronto. He loves socially distant park hangouts even though he can’t throw a frisbee all that well. His latest film, The Meantime: A Short About The Virus, is coming soon. https://youtube.com/noveltyhat
Thomas Colford was born on the island of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia where he began his artistic pursuits. At 16, his dedication to growth, and hunger to perform and create brought him to Toronto, where he began his professional career. Thomas is a versatile performer with training in film and stage acting, a plethora of dance disciplines, singing, and several musical instruments. When Thomas isn’t acting he can be found working behind the scenes as a director, writer, editor, and/or choreographer. Some of his favourite creations include his dance theatre show Chiaroscuro, choreographing for Mr. D (CBC), ongoing collaborations with the Highland Arts Theatre in Sydney, and most recently the release of his comedic short film The Ultimate Showdown (co-written, co-directed, and co-parented by himself and Robert Bazzocchi). From stage to screen, performance to creation, Thomas shows no sign of slowing down, always pursuing growth, art, and fun, all while remembering his mantra: “Made With Purpose.”
Whitney Fawn MacEachern is a visual artist and graphic designer based out of Sydney. She creates highly detailed abstract art called Soulprints, and works mainly with ink on paper but also includes other media and is known to throw paint on canvas or some other surface on occasion. She created Lumière exhibits in 2013 and 2015, participated in Lumière 2014 unofficially, and her artwork can be seen at Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design. Whitney also creates design assets such as textures and vectors, and promotional products such as business cards, flyers, and social media and web graphics. Nature is Whitney’s biggest and most enduring artistic influence, and being deep in an old-growth forest and in or near a body of water, especially oceans, freshwater lakes, and vernal pools, is when she feels most at home.
Project leads
Scott Sharplin is a writer, educator, and activist. He grew up in Edmonton, where he cut his teeth as a playwright and director at the International Fringe Festival. His plays have been produced across Canada, and he was Artistic Director of two community theatre companies (Sound & Fury Theatre and Walterdale Playhouse). Since moving to Cape Breton in 2009, Scott has taught English and Drama at Cape Breton University, directed & produced plays for Lumière, the Boardmore Theatre, Highland Arts Theatre, and the Fortress of Louisbourg Association. He is a member of Cape Breton Extinction Rebellion, and can’t pass up an opportunity to remind anyone who will listen that the planet will become unlivable if we do not urgently address climate collapse by changing the way we live. Enjoy the show!
Sheila Christie is a SSHRC Exchange University Research Chair at Cape Breton University, where she also teaches stage management and runs the Applied Theatre program. She is an Applied Theatre practitioner and researcher who helps people use theatre to tell their stories and foster connections within their communities. Along with directing and stage managing for the Savoy, Highland Arts Theatre, and Boardmore Theatre, Sheila develops original productions that use theatre to promote social change. She stage-managed Bear Witness for Lumière in 2019, and developed Neighbours and Gender Change Room for Lumière in 2017 and 2015, respectively. Sheila finds peace by the Mira River and in the Baille Ard trails and hopes to preserve the beauty of these natural areas for her daughter.